Eachdraidth Application

[dragmire]

( CHARACTER INFORMATION )
- ★ NAME: Ganondorf Dragmire
- ★ AGE: In his forties, though the Triforce of Power seems to have slowed/halted his aging, since he spent centuries in the Twilight Realm unchanged.
- ★ CANON POINT: Before confronting Link and Midna at Hyrule Castle.
- ★ CANON INFORMATION: Zelda Wiki - note, the Zelda series employs a silly timeline split. For his history, only the “Unified Timeline” and “Child Timeline” segments apply to this particular Ganondorf.

- ★ PERSONALITY:

As a preface, talking about Ganondorf’s personality is difficult in context of just the events relevant to just this Ganondorf. However, he is the same individual in the entire series, only in different timelines. Consequently I will be drawing on events from other games to put aspects of his character into perspective, because they are all relevant to him, even if they haven’t happened to him.

"My country lay within a vast desert. When the sun rose into the sky, a burning wind punished my lands, searing the world. And when the moon climbed into the dark of night, a frigid gale pierced our homes. No matter when it came the wind carried the same thing... Death. But the winds that blew across the green fields of Hyrule brought something other than suffering and ruin. I coveted that wind, I suppose." - Ganondorf

Before he was even born, Ganondorf was meant for a great many things. Centuries before him, a powerful demon known as Demise willed that his hatred would rise again to curse the descendants of the goddess Hylia. This evil would become Ganondorf, a man born to a race known as Gerudo. His birth was not of noble blood. It was nothing so simple. He was meant to be born, as the Gerudo produce only one male every one hundred years. This male would be their king. Little is ever seen of his time among his own people, but it is enough that most of his people were loyal and most seemed to hold no grudge against him, save for only his second in command, Nabooru,and any who might have been loyal to her. However, being king of a people who were little more than thieves was not enough for him. As he grew and was raised by two evil witches, Koume and Kotake, he saw what the desert meant for his people: death. While his people struggled with their daily existence, the people of Hryule lived in plenty and abundance, unaware of how well off they truly were. In time, this envy turned to hate. His hate became ambition. Ultimately, it led him to the path that created the Ganon the world would one day dread the name of.

"Those who share the blood of the goddess and the spirit of the hero... They are eternally bound to this curse. An incarnation of my hatred shall ever follow your kind, dooming them to wander a blood-soaked sea of darkness for all time!" - Demise

It could be argued that Ganondorf never had a chance to be anything but what he is. Though his original intentions were set out for his own people, Ganondorf has never had any reservations with associating himself with being an evil man. He is well aware that the Master Sword is evil's bane and can harm him. He comfortably uses the title of 'King of Evil' unironically. It begs the question of how much of this is Ganondorf and how much is the result of him being an incarnation of Demise's curse. In truth, Ganondof is unconcerned with the difference. He is a man who firmly believes he makes his own choices and his own fate. After all, he is well aware that his ambitions do not sit well in the eyes of the gods. Though he holds regrets for his failures and what has been lost, he lives and stands by who and what he is. He is a man of strong convictions, one who does not show remorse for how he was raised or the role he was born into. If anything, being a device of an ancient demon's curse is convenient to him, so long as it gives him power.

"And you two...faithless fools, who dare take up arms against the King of Light and Shadow. So you choose. And so you shall feel my wrath!" - Ganondorf

Ultimately, Ganondorf has always stood by his convictions. It is that which he believes gives him strength. When faced with his foe, he calls them ‘faithless fools’ to challenge him. While he may be directly opposed to the will of the gods, he does hold firmly to his what he does believe in. Largely this is himself. Ganondorf is not above a god complex. It is remarked by the gossip stones in Ocarina of Time that the Gerudo worshipped him like a god. In Twilight Princess he goes so far as to say that the power he possesses makes him a fitting god to rule the world. Its that same power that convinces Zant that Ganon was an actual god. He is a man who has, or rather had completely bought into his own power and hype. This is demonstrated largely in Ocarina of Time where he has not yet tasted defeat. But even in other appearances, like A Link to the Past and Twilight Princess, Ganondof is extremely brazen about his right to rule. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

"They say that Ganondorf is not satisfied with ruling only the Gerudo and aims to conquer all of Hyrule!" - Gossip Stone

At the height of his power, Ganondorf was defeated by the Seven Sages and the forces of Hyrule. How long he spent in the Twilight Realm is unspecified. But a long enough time passed for him to be forgotten by Hyrule and for the Arbiter’s Ground, where he was executed, to fall into ruin and disuse. His lust for power did not fade in this time. Instead, his hatred of Hyrule and those who had trapped him kept him going, drove him forward, and sustained him. In time, it saw him return to his own world again, but one different than the one he left. The Gerudo had moved on to other lands, he had been forgotten, and the people of Hyrule once again grew fat and lazy from the fruits of a prosperous land. He may no longer have been able to take Hyrule for his people, but it did not sate his desire to rule it. Even if it meant doing so through his servant, Zant, who held a similar contempt for the people of Hyrule.

"Ganondorf... pitiful man... Without a strong, righteous mind, he could not control the power of the gods... and..." - Zelda

Although Ganondorf is very much a man of control, he is not strictly as sane as he could be. Centuries of imprisonment have taken their toll, years of envy have left him bitter, and a complete loss of all that was important to him has blinded him. As early as his first defeat to Link (in an alternate timeline), the princess lamented that he could not control the power he commanded. Indeed, Ganondorf’s impure heart is why he has never had the full Triforce. His desire for power has corrupted him fully. In The Wind Waker, he is completely unhinged when the King of Hyrule robs him of the Triforce. He is cut off from his immense power and, more importantly, his one last. As he reaches that point, Ganondorf forgets his intentions to spare Link and Zelda. Instead he turns on them, hoping to defy the gods in one last final mad rush by undoing a wish from the Triforce, despite knowing his doom is already guaranteed. In Twilight Princess, beyond his current canon point, Zelda and Link look on in pity as Ganondorf breathes his last breath. Seeing it on their faces, his last moments are spent in anger and hatred. More than anything, he has never wanted pity, least of all from the Hylians who he blames for all that has gone wrong in his life.

"I have been waiting for you, boy. For one like you... Yes... For the hero. Do not betray my expectations." - Ganondorf

There are other aspects of Ganondorf worth mentioning. While he is indeed power hungry and ambitious, his origins started out as a thief. He believes the strong rule the weak. However for as evil as he may be, he’s a bit more complicated that that. For instance, having grown up in a culture entirely of women, he has no pretenses of gender roles and little concept of sexism or chivalry. What he finds admirable in people is strength and hard work. For instance, he allows Ingo to take over Lon Lon Ranch because the man is shrewd and hard working, as opposed to the lazy and carefree Talon who was the original owner. In battle, he presents himself as a proud warrior type. He intentionally tests Link in The Wind Waker to ensure he is worthy. In the same game’s final battle, he only strikes Link if the boy is standing up. Likewise he refrains from attacking Zelda with his blade, most likely because she has no sword in which to defend herself. There is a great deal of arrogance and vanity to him. Much of this is reflected in his appearance. Even though he no longer has a people to rule, he takes great pride in his looks, as evidenced by the care he puts into the armor he wears and how he keeps his hair. Despite being cocky in attitude, there is a certain amount of formality in how he deals with others. Much of this is a result of his royal upbringing, but a large part of it plays into his deceitful nature, as he is by nature a thief and con man, only one with tremendous power.

”Eyes of Ganon are everywhere. Be careful.” - Villager from Saria

Ganon is very much a master manipulator, preferring to work from the background to achieve his ends. Indeed he often uses other proxies to accomplish his goal, most notably in the case of Zant. He creates phantoms of himself to fight in his stead or test his enemies. He allows his legions of enemies to fight his battles for him, despite Ganondorf being infinitely stronger than even the most powerful of his lieutenants. Indeed, Ganondorf is a practical man and will often avoid violent situations if he can. In his initial plan to gain the Triforce, he used coercion, threats, and infections to force the Goron, Zora, and Great Deku Tree to surrender their Sacred Stones. When he realized what Link and Zelda was up to, he was clever enough to stand back and allow Link to do all the hard work for him and only then step in to take the Triforce. In spite of being what many consider a cruel and wicked man, Ganondorf is a practical man who sees little value in killing his enemies or subjects. Rather than kill the Gorons in order to get their Spiritual Stone, he opted to starve them out until they gave in. Likewise he infected the Zora's deity rather than bringing harm to any of them. These same traits are seen in the alternate timeline where he rules Hyrule for seven years. Few people actually died under his reign. He was far from a benevolent ruler, but he only dealt harshly with the enemies who refused to submit, those once more being the Zora and Gorons. Likewise in The Wind Waker, he kept prisoners (who were of no value to him) rather than disposing of them. Even when attempting to gain the Triforce, he had no desire to kill either Link or Zelda, despite what their predecessors had done to him.

"Heh heh heh... You want a piece of me?! Very funny! I like your attitude!" - Ganondorf

The hatred that has festered from his near execution and later imprisonment has has made him more vindictive, but much of this attitude has remained. Through Zant, both Hyrule and the Twilight Realm were conquered with little blood actually spilled. Indeed, he managed to take control of Hyrule without its citizens being aware of what had transpired. In spite of that, he can be cruel to his enemies, even without killing them himself. In fact, such is his conceit that in spite of being capable of dealing with his enemies himself, he thinks most foes 'beneath' him and prefers to have his minions do his dirty work for him. He does not seek to bloody his hands unless absolutely necessary.

”He was known as a demon thief, an evil-magic wielder renowned for his ruthlessness...But he was blind...In all of his fury and might, he was blind to any danger, and thus was he exposed, subdued, and brought to justice.” - Sage

Yet for all his intelligence, all his power, and all his plans, Ganondorf is a man driven by hatred and a lust for power. It has made him blind to all else, including his own shortcomings. He embraces evil because it is convenient to him, having lost sight of what he originally desired power for. His envy of Hyrule turned into unbridled hate for reasons he doesn’t quite understand anymore. When it comes to pursuing that which he desires, he may not always do the smart thing. Ganondorf is a man who does not retreat. Though he could avoid certain failure were it so, his pride and arrogance has been that which cost him victory many times in every single timeline. This one is no exception.



- ★ COURT ALLIANCE: Unseelie. Ganondorf falls easily under ‘Lawful Evil’, but to the extent that he himself is that very law. He has a very strict and disciplined way of looking at things, as well as a strong desire to control and dominate. He places value on the strong and despises the weak.

- ★ ABILITIES: Without the Triforce of Power, Ganondorf was an exceptional man already. There are only a few instances of when we see this, but these are primarily in early Ocarina of Time and in the final battle of The Wind Waker. In the early half of Ocarina of Time, we see that Ganondorf already has some command over magic (that he uses on Link) and an ability to dominate and control creatures like Queen Gohma, King Dodongo, and Barinade. Impressively he uses these on The Great Deku Tree and Jabu Jabu, both deities in their own right, and succeeds in killing the first in this way. At the end of The Wind Waker, he loses his piece of the Triforce thanks to the King of Hyrule. Despite lacking access to its awesome power, he proves himself to be an exceptional combatant, one whom only Link and Zelda succeed in defeating only by employing an impressive display of tricky combat to catch him off guard. Even then, without the Triforce, he is strong enough that only weapons like the Light Arrows and Master Sword can harm him.

Ganondorf with the Triforce of Power is godlike in his power. He claims this himself in Twilight Princess. Although there is no means to truly compare, his abilities seem to be on par with his predecessor, Demise, who was able to go toe to toe with an actual goddess in a prolonged war. It's possible Ganondorf has exceeded even his power, because time and time again it is demonstrated no power can match that of the Triforce. In The Wind Waker, Ganondorf survives a full onslaught of Valoo's fiery breath, who himself is a deity of great power. In Twilight Princess, we see the same again when Midna unleashes the Fused Shadows on him and proves utterly ineffectual against him. In fact, even the Master Sword and Light Arrows are not sufficient in defeating Ganondorf in Ocarina of Time. It only weakens him long enough for an elaborate combination of the Sage's powers to lock him away in another realm. A tactic that proves to work only temporarily. When he breaks out of the seal, no power in Hyrule proves capable of dealing with him save for the old gods themselves, who bury Hyrule under the waves in an effort to contain Ganondorf. Even then, this tactic only delays him in the long run.

He also possesses a great deal of magic. Much of it I have discussed here, but for the purposes of the application I will summarize. Primarily he possesses a great deal of elemental magic for combat. In battle he possessed super strength, levitation, and the ability to transform into a great and powerful beast. He can perform a variety of spells like mind control or animating artificial creations. Most devastating are his variety of curses that can cause long term effects, like freezing time, affecting the weather, or bringing back the dead. For the purposes of the game, he will be unable to perform some of his more game breaking magic like freezing time or omniscience.

Primarily Ganon has one weakness and that itself is the Master Sword. However it is hardly his Kryptonite. The weapon does not weaken him, but rather it is unique in that it is capable of actually harming him when most other weapons would fail to do so. Likewise he has a weakness to other weapons of a holy nature, such as the Light (or Silver) Arrows, blessed by the goddesses. Other such weapons or magic are bound to have the same effect on him. Beyond that, he has other disadvantages in combat. Although a powerful combatant, his armor and weapon, as well as his size, makes him a slow combatant and makes it difficult for him to deal with speedy opponents (though his strength tends to make up for that.) He also, at least initially, still has the wound given to him by the Sage of Water, presenting a significant vulnerability on his own chest.

- ★ INVENTORY: His armor, the Sage’s Sword, and the Triforce of Power.