Zelda's Wrath

"Beware the fury of a patient man."
"You must not do this!"
"I have no other choice, my queen."
"Give me the dagger, Alnesaan. You must not do this!"
She stared at us, kneeling, the dagger shaking as she held it to her chest. Zelda was reaching out to her, and I was holding my breath out of fear.
"Alnesaan," I pleaded, "Give me the dagger. You-"
"I'm sorry," she said, and the dagger plunged. She collapsed, and the sound echoed in the chamber.
Zelda was silent. I looked to her. We both breathed heavily.
"I can't do this, Nabooru," she whispered.
I couldn't answer.
"All this death. Every life... I... I can't do this anymore," she said, looking to me. She had no tears in her eyes, no expression on her face.
"She was a sister to me," I said. Zelda was silent. She closed her eyes.
"Prepare for battle, Nabooru," She said. "They are coming."
Before I could respond, I heard running footsteps. I turned to face the entrance to the chamber and saw a dozen or so Gerudo warriors enter and stand in formation. Once the last of them arrived, two old women entered. The Witches.
"Ah, what have we here, Kotake?" One of them said.
"Goodness me, it's the Queen of Hyrule, Koume!" The other cackled.
"I see a young lady with her!" Koume said.
"You do? I see a corpse!" Kotake snarled.
Zelda did not turn to face the witches. She raised her head and looked to the ceiling, her eyes closed.
"What do you have to say for yourself, princess?" Kotake said mockingly.
"Yes, you have killed one of our own! The King will be displeased," Koume added.
"Oh, and you have Nabooru with you!" Kotake said, "I am disappointed."
"Of all Gerudo to be a traitor. Poor Nabooru." Koume said.
"You lie!" I said, "Zelda did not kill her!"
"Nabooru," Zelda sighed.
"You have no proof. This is unjust! Unfair!"
Zelda bowed her head.
"Nabooru," she sighed, "please." I stopped speaking, but glared at the witches.
"What should we do, Koume?" Kotake asked.
"The king would want to see her." Koume replied.
"Dead, or alive?" Kotake inquired.
"Dead, certainly." Koume said, nodding decisively.
"Nabooru, too?"
"Nabooru, too."
The witches motioned for their warriors to attack. Zelda turned to face them. Her expression was neutral and empty.
"I'm sorry," She said emotionlessly. The first Gerudo to swing at her was dodged. Another Gerudo swung and Zelda blocked her blade. I was challenged by a pair of warriors, and fought for my life. My fight brought me away from Zelda. From where I fought, I saw eight more warriors surround her, ready to charge when the two actively fighting her were dispatched. The witches took to the air and hovered over her, spells ready.
As the eight warriors charged from around her, and as spelled volleyed from above, a gust of wind exploded from her, and the eight warriors were thrown to the ground. The spells struck the floor where Zelda once stood. She reappeared near me, knocking the warriors and me to the ground. I quickly stood up and looked to Zelda, who spun around, surrounded in blue magic, reflecting a fire spell away from her and back at Kotake. The witch reacted too slowly and took the blast, but managed to recover and extinguish any lingering flames. One of the Gerudo near me unsheathed a dagger and slashed at Zelda's ankle, but Zelda kicked the dagger out of her hand. The other Gerudo stood to engage me in battle.
"Traitor!" She shouted, swinging her blade at me. I blocked it, and attempted to disarm her. She countered and slashed at my arm, forcing me to drop my weapon. I held my hand against the wound, and she held her blade against my neck.
"Too easy," She said. As she tightened her grip, she was enveloped by glittering magic and thrown to the side. Zelda had stopped her, for the time being. Zelda knelt to me and grabbed my arm. She briefly concentrated and my wound was healed.
"Nabooru, please forgive me." She said, looking into my eyes.
"For what?" I asked.
"For that which I am about to do." She replied. She let go of my arm, stood, and faced the witches, as well as the warriors who had surrounded us.
"Do you want to end the fight?" Koume laughed.
"Asking for peace? Do you give up?" Kotake cackled.
Zelda said nothing and launched a fireball at Kotake, ending her laughter. The witch was too hurt from her previous injury, and too surprised to react, and took the full power of the spell. She fell from the air and struck the ground with a sickening thud. Time stood still. Koume rushed to her sister's side, then quickly stood.
"Kill her," she commanded, and the Gerudo charged Zelda.
Zelda closed her eyes, held out her hands, gestured, and a massive, fiery explosion swept from her. I was left unharmed, but every warrior was severely burned, and they collasped, screaming in pain. Koume was unharmed as well.
Zelda walked slowly, stoically toward the witch, past the screaming warriors writhing in pain. I watched Koume's expression change from anger to shock to fear as Zelda came to stand before her.
"You now know the meaning of loneliness," Zelda said quietly, the room shaking as she spoke. "I have shown you that Good has it's limits." She suddenly plunged her sword into Koume's chest. The witch cried out in pain. "As you spend your last moments alone," Zelda said calmly, "listen to the sounds of your dying daughters, and thinking about the life you had. How long were you hated? How long were you angry? Why were you so committed to hate and death and suffering when the horizon was darkening, the path was ending, and everyone's fate was coming to a close?"
"I..." Koume choked. Blood had soaked Zelda's hand and her dress, but she was still expressionless. "I... am sorry." Koume whispered, "I don't... I don't want to die."
"No one does," Zelda replied. She kneeled to look Koume in the eyes. Tears streamed down the witch's face as she looked at Zelda. Zelda put her hand to the witch's face, then moved her arm around her neck in an embrace, and her mouth close to the witch's ear. "I forgive you." She whispered, then quickly twisted her sword. Koume let out a peaceful sigh and died. Zelda waited a moment, then drew her sword from Koume's chest. She stood, and turned to Kotake's corpse. She kneeled and placed her hand on Kotake's forehead, bowing her head in prayer. She then stood and faced the Gerudo warriors on the ground, some still writhing, others unconscious. Koume's blood dripped from her sword.
She went to each soldier and healed them of their wounds, erasing their burns and dissolving their pain.
"If you value this world," Zelda announced, "You will join me. Only I can save it." The soldiers stood one by one and followed Zelda to me. I stared at her, shocked, confused, and terrified. She looked at me with solemn eyes.
"Why..." I said breathlessly, "What about Alnesaan?"
"She is beyond my help," Zelda said.
"But, after she... after she..."
"Her soul belongs to another god now," Zelda said stoically, "Come Nabooru. We have work to do." She turned and made her way out of the Spirit Temple. I retrieved my glaive from the ground and followed her, turning to look at the destruction left in the room. I felt dread. I felt a shadow hanging over me.
Everything will come to dust. 
All things.
== Notes ==
This book can be obtained from the Yiga Blademaster after his defeat, which is only located within the Spirit Temple. A burned book can be found in the same room, so the veracity of the book is unknown. It is possible that the Yiga burned the original book found in the area and was about to replace it with Zelda's Wrath, or that the burned book is unrelated.
Alnesaan, the Gerudo who attempted suicide, is located at the Haafingar Secret Grotto as a vampire.
Nabooru, the leader of the Gerudo Tribe and the Sage of Spirit narrates the story from her point of view, explaining what she witnessed in the Spirit Temple. Princess Zelda travels with Nabooru into the Spirit Temple, but is encountered by the Twin Witches, Twinrova, formally known and Koume and Kotake. The Twin Witches suspect and begin to accuse Zelda for killing a Gerudo that was Nabooru's friend, and order the attack with the Gerudo warriors. Both Zelda and Nabooru defend themselves from the ambush, but Zelda overpowers the Twin Witches and defeats the Gerudos. After the Twin Witches were killed, Zelda heals the Gerudo that followed Twinrova and tells them to follow her. They leave the Spirit Temple after her statement, gathering their weapons with her.
The capital letters in the first section of the book spell "YIGA."
== Background and Inspiration ==
The opening quote is by John Dryden.
"Everything will come to dust. All things." is a reference to Doctor Who and is a quote repeated in many Relics of Hyrule lore books, such as Ganon's Vexation.
Zelda's Wrath was added in version 6.5.20 with the rest of the Spirit Temple. It was added to explore Zelda's strife during the Last Great War of Hyrule. It also serves to establish Nabooru's presence during the war, as well as Alnesaan's presence. It provides some context for Alnesaan's death.
The book is deliberately shocking in its depiction of Zelda's stoic slaughter of Koume and Kotake as well as her injury of the Gerudo soldiers. This is intended to suggest to the reader that the events described in the book may not be entirely true. The shocking nature of Zelda's Wrath also explore's Zelda's mental state and her assertion that "good has its limits."
Kotake and Koume are the main bosses in the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, within the Spirit Temple.
== See Also ==
Yiga Blademaster
Spirit Temple
Sand God Passage
Reach Secret Grotto
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Category:Lore
Category:Story