The Character Page for Legend of Zelda: The Sage Of Darkness Fan Film. A familiar story, but with its own twists and takes on the characters of legend.
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The Dark One, The Princess, and the Hero of Time
The eponymous trio of the series. Wielders of their respective Triforces, they have fought a never ending battle century after century, with Link and Zelda triumphing over Ganon time and time again. However, this dynamic might be challenged this time around, due to the mysterious Sage of Darkness...
The Hero of Time
Link
Portrayed By: Dan Hogan
The main protagonist. A local farm boy and elder brother to Kyrin, he's taken on the role of managing the farm that they were left after both of their parents died. However, after Kyrin gets the negative attention of the Gerudo leader Ertegun due to his theft of some of their supplies, Link finds himself dragged into the conflict...and the revelation of his destiny as the next Hero of Time.
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: While a number of Link's incarnations are no stranger to traumatizing and troubled pasts, This Link is visibly and negatively affected by the death of his parents, holding no shortage of resentment and anger towards his father in particular. He is noticeably moodier and openly blunt about his negative feelings, especially when he's angry.
- Adaptational Jerkass: The above situation, combined with the misery he suffers at the hands of Ertegun and later Davik's betrayal results in this version of Link being much more snappish, cruel and easily angered, lashing out at those he sees as getting in his way. Not unjustified, since this was not only due to his above circumstances, but also deliberately set in motion by the Sage of Darkness in order to manipulate him. It takes a substantial chunk of the story for him to finally cool down and better manage his rage.
- Deconstructed Character Archetype: Of The Hero. Due to being able to vocalize his own thoughts, it's made plainly clear that he doesn't care to be the hero at first, only doing so because of being dragged into the conflict due to his heritage. He also struggles to really fit into the role at first, due to his simmering resentment towards his father for abandoning them, and later his volcanic hatred against those who've tormented and manipulated him. It takes a long time before he really begins to fulfill the role of the Hero of Time.
- Fatal Flaw: His hatred and resentment. This Link is a much angrier person compared to most other Links, being far more willing to make his disdain clear and having a deep loathing of Ertegun and later Davik. However, this is not only intentional on the part of the enemy, being used to manipulate him into making the situation worse despite his intentions. He also deeply resents his father for seemingly abandoning them for reasons unknown, and very much holds it against him. It ultimately takes a harsh beatdown from Dark Link the shade of his late father and his own realization about what he was becoming for him to finally let go.
- Foil: To Prince Ertegun. Both are the successors to a long lineage tied to the eternal cycle of Ganon, Link and Zelda, with both ending up being manipulated by the Sage of Darkness into fulfilling his master plan. However, they differ drastically in their attitudes and reasoning:
- Link is a direct descendant of the previous Hero of Time from his father's side and the Sage of Shadow from his mother's side a reluctant participant at first, dragged into the conflict by circumstances beyond his control. However, he shows himself to be courageous enough to stand up against the likes of Ertegun, continuing to fight against him even when it's clear that he's outmatched. However, he has a deep resentment towards those who have wronged him in some form, and spends a good chunk of the story stuck in a vengeance-filled haze due to the manipulation of the Sage of Darkness. However, he eventually manages to pull himself out and return to the path of the Hero.
- Ertegun is a direct descendant of Ganondorf, being the leader of the Gerudo in the present. Despite his powerful lineage and posturing, Ertegun is shown repeatedly to be much more cowardly compared to his predecessor, relying more on magical trickery and his skills with sorcery to get what he wants. He is also keenly aware of his lineage and desperately wishes to prove that he's a worthy successor to Ganon in his own right, but this only makes him easily manipulated by far cleverer beings than him, such as the Sage of Darkness. Unlike Link, he never succeeds in his goal as he is ultimately consumed and overtaken by Ganon when his usefulness has ended.
- Heroic Lineage: Unusually for the Hero, Link is a direct descendant of two heroic lineages. His father was the previously intended Hero Of Time, who unfortunately succumbed to his desire for vengeance against Davik's betrayal and perished before he could properly assume the role. On his mother's side, Link is also the Sage of Shadow, and thus the nephew of his treacherous uncle Davik. This latter point turns out to be a crucial plot point, since it allows him to fulfill both the role of the hero and the sage needed to defeat and seal Ganon away, since Ganon believed he had managed to destroy the entire Sages' lineage.
- Slowly Slipping Into Evil: The darkness roiling in his heart from all of his past traumas, combined with the manipulations and lies is slowly turning Link into a vengeful and anger-driven warrior, instead of the noble hero of justice that he should be. It takes confronting Dark Link while seeking the Master Sword to finally snap him out of it.
The Princess
Princess Zelda
Portrayed By: Natalie Feldsbusch
The Princess of Hyrule, and the current incarnation of Zelda. Intelligent and aware of the complicated lineage between her, Ganon, and Link, she finds herself in the unenviable position of opposing Ertegun after he bewitches her family and council in a bid to control Hyrule. Fortunately for her, Link’s opposition of Ertegun catches her attention.- Big Good: She fulfills this role, since her father is bewitched and under the control of Ertegun.
- Damsel in Distress: She falls into this several times throughout the film, mainly because of her country being held hostage, although oddly she refuses to do anything to try to stop her forced marriage to Ertegun. That being said, she’s also proactive enough to find Link, as well as doing her part to fight against Ganon by searching for the missing Book of Mudora.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Her decision to upstand Ertegun outweighs her common sense for a brief moment, showing him where Link is to prove that he isn’t as in control as he thinks, but also costing them the element of surprise.
- Time Stands Still: When the Triforce enhances her power, she’s able to stop a powered up Ertegun and the treacherous Davik in place, though it doesn’t last forever.
The Dark One
Ganondorf/Ganon
Portrayed By: Nick Rhys
The Evil One according to legend, and the wielder of the Triforce of Power. He has been resurrected and reincarnated many times to fulfill his side of the cycle, always attempting to conquer Hyrule each time he comes back, and always being sealed away afterwards. This time however, things might be different.- Genius Bruiser: Much like his many other incarnations, Ganondorf is portrayed as being anything but a fool. His long term plan of steadily killing off the Sage lineages in order to disrupt their ability to seal him away is very successful, steadily eradicating every single bloodline, with the Sage of Light being his most recent one. If it weren't for the fact that Link is descended from the Sage of Shadow's bloodline via his mother, Ganondorf would have won by default since there's no way to get rid of him without them in this interpretation. He's also smart enough to understand that the Sage of Darkness cannot be trusted, and once he's gotten what he needs from the latter, he immediately offs him to ensure that he can't backstab Ganon as well. It admittedly doesn't stick, but it's a good demonstration that Ganon is far from stupid.
- Hijacked by Ganon: He pulls this on Prince Ertegun, taking advantage of the young man gaining his Triforce (and with help from the Sage of Darkness) to forcefully resurrect himself, at the expense of his descendant's death. He also tries to get rid of the Sage of Darkness as well, since he knows that the latter isn't trustworthy and will only be inclined to get rid of him as well if left to his own devices.
Other Major Characters
Link’s Younger Brother
Kyrin
Portrayed By: Blake Henderson
The Prince of the Gerudo
Prince Ertegun
Portrayed By: Connor Osborn
The current leader of the Gerudo, and direct descendant of Ganondorf. Powerful and cunning, but also incredibly insecure, Ertegun has successfully put the leadership of Hyrule under his control with the exception of Zelda. His deep insecurities have also made him very vulnerable to the machinations of others...
The Sage Of Darkness UNMARKED SPOILERS!!!
Davik/Skull Kid/The Sage of Shadow
Portrayed By: Michael Stevenson
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: It's easier to count the number of people who Davik hasn't betrayed at one point or another. He betrayed his fellow sages, Princess Zelda, Prince Ertegun, Link, and was strongly implied to be considering betraying Ganon if it served his purposes.
- The Dragon: He serves as this initially for Prince Ertegun, but it becomes increasingly evident that he's the one who's really in charge. His true master is Ganon, at least until the latter stops being useful to him.
- Evil Uncle: To Link.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: His core motivation is driven by an absolute disdain for the cycle that the Hero, the Princess, and the Dark One is stuck in, since it results in everyone involved being stuck in the situation for eternity without any choice in the matter. His methods however make it clear that he's doing so mainly because it directly affects him, being willing to kill off everyone else in order to free himself from the cycle by any means necessary.
- Wild Card: It becomes increasingly clear that for all of his willingness to aid others, he serves no one but himself. He's helped Prince Ertegun as the Skull Kid, only to betray him to resurrect Ganon. He aids Link into losing the qualities of a hero so as to ensure that Ganon can be resurrected via Ertegun. He's aided Princess Zelda as seemingly one of the last few loyal guards, only to double cross her. And even long before that, he also betrayed his fellow Sages as well as his own sister for his selfish desires. Ganon gets wise to this and tries to kill him (as well as ensuring that the Sage of Shadow's bloodline dies with him), but even that doesn't stick. He's last seen in the film with Kyrin on his side, ready to continue whatever schemes in mind.
Secret Character UNMARKED SPOILERS!!!
