The Legend of Zelda: Zelda's Honor

Chapter 13 - Setting the Stage

It was starting to get dark, the last rays of the sun dwindling on the horizon. The guards kept a watchful eye on the perimeter, working in shifts throughout the day and night. Crossbows were armed and nocked. Their arrows at the ready awaiting any wanderers or intruders who would dare enter their firing range. The wall was blockaded by stone and mortar. Various crates of artillery were stacked up alongside it for lack of anywhere else to place them. Regardless of this formidable obstruction, they still needed to defend the gate to their fortress. The gate commander siphoned off several scouts who were returning to head back to the fortress for rest from their patrols.

The gate commander was not to be taken for granted. She was a woman, like every other person living in the fortress. She wore the standard full body garb that was required of a person in her position. Each guard was adorned with an ivory robe reaching down to their ankles, around their midriff was a simple leather belt keeping it in place. The higher in status one achieved, the more jewels they could set into their belts.

The bottom portion of the robe had far more material than the top portion causing it to billow out the sides of each leg even in moderate winds. It was easily taken off by unclasping the buttons at the back; afterwards they could easily slip out. They wore plain sandals or nothing at all on their feet. Many of the women ignored callouses forming on their feet, it only made them tougher in their opinion. To improve their harsh stance and appearance, they would cover their faces with purple sashes strapped around their heads leaving only their eyes to glare at trespassers.

She was a Gerudo, an ancient race of thieves consisting mainly of females. For scientific reasons unknown, only one male child was born to the Gerudo every hundred years. That lone male child would become the next Gerudo king. One might wonder how a child might be born to a race of all women, but the solution is pretty obvious. The leader would choose who was to bear the child and that woman would then go out to the nearby provinces and steal a husband. They would take their prisoner groom back to the fortress and mate with them many times. Within nine months she would give birth to a baby boy. That was being hopeful. If it was a girl, it didn't matter, just another apprentice to the Gerudo culture. No one outside of the Gerudo was quite clear what they did with the stolen men after that.

These apprentices wore plain, drab, white clothing worthy of their stature. They were the lowest on the totem pole, second to even children. They were forbidden to cover their faces until they had earned the respect of their peers. It was during these apprentice years where they would be subjugated to the other women for pleasure. After all, there were no men around. When they weren't pleasing their superiors in carnal bliss, they would be tasked with mundane chores such as cleaning the fortress and tending the horses. The Gerudo took great pride in their marksmanship on horseback and regularly held tournaments for the best archer in the community.

Then there were the elders of the Gerudo tribe of which there can only be six at any one time. Each of these women wore attire similar to that of the regular guards but instead of ivory tones, each woman wore fabric dyed in the color of their choice, most of them choosing shades of purple and red hues. Each elder had a specific set of ancestral scimitars that were passed from one woman to the next. Each woman cared for her weapons well, making sure they were exceptionally sharp and deadly.

The most interesting aspect of these elders was the inlaid jewels carved into each of their foreheads. Elaborate frame designs of purest gold was cut into their flesh and pushing far into their hairline, set in these mounts were rubies of the most scintillating sheen. Each elder undergoes this painful procedure willingly for it is the lifeline of order and command. With these elaborate ruby fixtures, the six elders can communicate telepathically across great distances with each other and with their current king; this single fact is the best kept secret of the Gerudo. No races outside of their own realize this key tactical advantage they can access.