"Life is always on the edge of death; narrow streets lead to the same place as wide avenues, and a little candle burns itself out just like a flaming torch does. I choose my own way to burn."
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.
I remember my childhood. My mothers would bring me to Hyrule's marketplace, and I would hear laughing, mocking. I could see the Hylians stare. "Look," they would say, "Gerudo. They say a boy is born every hundred years. How? How can you have children if a man is only born every 100 years?" They never asked us, only each other in jest. We Gerudo live harsh lives in the desert, but we are hardy and live long lives. A century to a Gerudo is not the same length of time as to a Hylian or a Zora. Gerudo blood is not bound to the valley. The Hylians ignore the desires of their own men, of their own soldiers. They ignore that the world is gray. They ignore the women and children abandoned to the desert because Gerudo blood is strong, and a child born of a Gerudo mother, or with Gerudo heritage will be female and with Gerudo features. A Gerudo boy is born to be king, because Gerudo blood eclipses the blood of the father. I am destined to be king. This world is mine.
It can only be called fate, that here, I would again gather the three with the crests, that I should lay my hand on that which grants the wishes of the beholder. That when power, wisdom, and courage come together, the gods would have no choice but to come down. The power of the gods. The Triforce! He who touches it will have whatever he desires granted! Hero of Time! Face me! Your absence has upset the balance of our deadly game. I clench my fist, and only you are brave enough to step forward to fight, rather than cower in fear. I am the desert-scape: the sand inside your hourglass.
I have taken advantage of the key strategic weakness of Hyrule: the dead outnumber the living. My dark army has allowed me to obtain the crest of courage, and Lorule has crumbled to my hand. Everything must come to death. All things. Hyrule is bleeding, and I will be its tourniquet. There must be balance, Hero, and yet you have not arrived to save this kingdom. You were meant to save this world. People would have looked to you and seen hope. I will take that from them first. The angels fall first. I grow stronger by the day, and crush Hyrule more, but you do not see. I want to rule this world, but without balance, I may only rule the dust.
It is your fault if Hyrule falls. All you love is a lie. Balance must rule this world.
The Gorons awakened a beast that will devour this land, and it will not listen to me, though I have the power and will that it may. I must obtain the Triforce so that I can control this beast and have Hyrule to myself. Only the princess stands in my way.
Notes[]
Ganon's Vexation provides details for Ganon's motivations during the Last Great War of Hyrule and his perspective on Link's absence. The book also addresses the fact that male Gerudo are born every 100 years, but it is unclear if Ganon is implying that Gerudo live lives past 100 years of age, or whether time seems to pass more quickly or more slowly from a Gerudo perspective. The book also explicitly states that the Hero of Time is the Hero who was expected to return during the war.
The phrase, "Everything must come to death. All things," is repeated in Hero's Lament and Zelda's Wish, each with different contexts. In the case of Ganon's Vexation, Ganon views bringing death as a primary goal.
Background and Inspiration[]
Ganon's Vexation was included in version 6.0 of Relics of Hyrule with the Master Poe and the Ruptured Towers. During the production of Ganon's Tomb, it was briefly moved to a chest in that dungeon, but was moved back to the Ruptured Towers when the update was finalized.
Ganon's Vexation quotes heavily from The Wind Waker to provide Ganon's motivation and to draw parallels between the context of The Wind Waker and the story of Relics of Hyrule.
The opening quote comes from Sophie Scholl.
The line, "I have taken advantage of the key strategic weakness of Hyrule: the dead outnumber the living," paraphrases a quote from the Doctor Who episode "Dark Water."
The line, "People would have looked to you and seen hope. I will take that from them first," comes from the film Avengers: Age of Ultron.
The line, "Balance must rule this world," comes from Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire. The line is spoken by Zinnia's grandmother in Meteor Falls during the Delta Episode.
The phrase, "Everything must come to death. All things," is paraphrased from the Doctor Who episode "The Parting of the Ways."
The book also quotes the Nightwish songs "Angels Fall First," "Whoever Brings the Night," "Ghost River." The line "All you love is a lie" comes from "Whoever Brings the Night" while "I am the desert-scape: the sand inside your hourglass" comes from "Ghost River."