Ghirahim

Ghirahim, One of the Death Generals of Shadowblood

Still... it hardly seems fair, being of my position, to take all my anger out on you. Which is why I promise up front not to murder you... No, I'll just beat you within an inch of your life!

Ghirahim is the main antagonist of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, He is the lord of The Surface during the events of Skyward Sword. He is actively hunting Zelda, and is able to detect her presence. He possesses knowledge of the Goddess Sword, and the power that it holds. Ghirahim wants Zelda so he can use her as a vessel to break the seal of the ancient demon king Demise, and though he initially does not care if Link lives or dies, he becomes increasingly frustrated with the boy's interference in his plans. It is eventually revealed that the form he normally takes is not his true self. When Link encounters him at the Sealed Grounds Ghirahim takes his true form out of anger which resembles a black version of Fi with white hair and diamond patterns. Interestingly a red diamond is on his belt in his "human" form while the same diamond is located on his chest in his spirit form. The gem serves as his only weak spot in his spirit form.

He is one of the Major Antagonists of Beyond Light and Darkness, appearing as a Minor Antagonist through the 1st 3 arcs but becomes one of the Main Antagonists during and after the events of the Rise of Vaati Arc. Ghirahim is one of Vaati's comrade and one of the commanders of Vaati's Sub-Army within Shadowblood. Ghirahim is one of the Dark Emperor's Commandants of Shadowblood.

Appearance

He is a white-haired humanoid being with purple eyes and a long tongue, and wears flamboyant clothing covered in diamond patterns.

Personality

At first glance, Ghirahim appears to be calm, confident, and collected, although very flamboyant. He often acts gentlemanly, speaking eloquently and formally introducing himself to Link. He even shows a slight sense of sportsmanship at the beginning, promising not to murder Link, as it would be unfair. He is quite arrogant, holding himself in high regard and preferring to be indulged with his full title: Lord Ghirahim. He also exhibits traits of narcissism, which are especially evident in his second fight with Link. He has little concept of personal space, as he seems to relish invading Link's. He also has a flare for the dramatic, and enjoys using broad gestures. He is extremely eloquent; his speech patterns vacillate between refined formality and uncomfortably close intimacy. He exudes confidence and egotism, although he freely acknowledges his character flaws.

During their first fight, he mocks Link's combat ability, calling him a novice for telegraphing his attacks. This overconfidence is what eventually leads to his downfall; he will come to regret not killing Link while he still had the chance, and will later admit to having been a fool for not doing so.

However, beneath his calm exterior is a violent and sadistic psychopath. To his core, Ghirahim is merciless, and enjoys bloodshed. This shows quite graphically in the way he constantly licks his lips during a fight, and even licks the blade of his sword after landing a hit on Link during their second battle. Ghirahim frequently loses himself to uncontrollable rage, easily finding excuses to take his anger out on Link. He also enjoys intimidating and toying with his victims, frequently teleporting behind Link during battle, and making colorful threats, such as promising not to kill him but rather beat him within an inch of his life.

As the story progresses, his composure progressively shatters, and his mannerisms and speech become more melodramatic, colorful, and violent. His apparent derangement hits its peak shortly after Demise is successfully revived, as Ghirahim cackles without end at his success, then laughs insanely upon being forcibly reconverted into Demise's sword.

In Beyond Light and Darkness, Ghirahim is a Cold-Hearted and dispassionate individual on the service when he encounters his enemies but as he gets angry he reveals he is a Completely Nihilistic Psychopath who desires to end any life that stands in his Master's Path (Dark Emperor) and will stop at nothing to complete this goal. He is also loyal and a good ally of Vaati.

Story

Ghirahim is the humanoid representation of Demise's sword, created by Demise to break the seal on him and resurrect his master.

Near the beginning of the game, Ghirahim summons a huge, black tornado up to the sky, which knocks Link and Zelda off their airborne Loftwings.

The first time Link encounters Ghirahim, at the Skyview Temple, Ghirahim is trying to break through the door to the sacred chamber, where he says he can sense Zelda, and that he'd have had her already, had not "that loathsome servant of the goddess snatched her away". This greatly angers Ghirahim. He decides to take his frustration out on Link, claiming that the turn of events has left him with a strong appetite for bloodshed. He decides that Link isn't much of a threat, however, and declares that he will beat him within an inch of his life instead of murdering him outright. Throughout the battle, he criticizes Link for being a novice who telegraphs his moves. By the time Link eventually defeats the Demon Lord, Ghirahim can no longer sense Zelda's presence, and decides to stop toying with Link and leave. He also decides to let the boy live for the time being, but threatens him with death if their paths ever cross again.

The two later meet inside the Earth Temple, where Zelda was held captive. Furious to learn that she escaped his lackeys a second time, Ghirahim vents his frustration to Link and calls on Scaldera to kill him, in hopes of relieving his anger and stress.

After Link travels through the Lanayru Mining Facility, he finally meets up with Zelda and Impa at the Temple of Time. But the reunion is cut short when Ghirahim appears, creating a barrier to impede Link. He then goes after Zelda, but is stopped by Impa's own barrier. During the confusion, Zelda tosses Link the Goddess's Harp. Ghirahim manages to pierce Impa's barrier, but is unable to finish her, as Link interferes, buying Impa and Zelda enough time to cross the Gate of Time. Just as they do, Impa destroys it so Ghirahim cannot follow them into the past. Greatly incensed by Link's interference, Ghirahim retreats, vowing that, when next they meet, he will make Link suffer so badly that the boy will "deafen [him]self with the shrill sound of [his] own screams".

Later on in Link's quest, Ghirahim awaits the hero in the boss room of the Ancient Cistern, regally perched atop the giant statue, Koloktos. After expressing his annoyance regarding the fact that Link is still interfering with his plans, Ghirahim brings the inanimate Koloktos to life with a snap of his fingers.

The two then cross paths yet again at the Fire Sanctuary, where a rather upbeat Ghirahim claims he and Link are bound by a "thread of fate", then shows him a series of old drawings that confirm the existence of a second Gate of Time (which is at the Sealed Grounds). Since Ghirahim doesn't yet know the location of the second gate, he offers Link a deal: reveal the location of the Gate of Time and his life will be spared. Link refuses, leading to another fight between the pair. At the start of the battle, Ghirahim reveals a portion of his true form: as a cracked pattern of black lines crawls up one side of his body, his arms blacken. Despite this, Link manages to defeat Ghirahim again, forcing the enraged demon to retreat, although not before vowing to "drag [Link] into everlasting torment."

After using the Triforce to wish for the destruction of Demise, Link reunites with Zelda just as she wakes up from her long slumber. The reunion is interrupted when Ghirahim appears and captures Zelda, then declares that he will go to the past and revive Demise there. Groose tries to stop him, but is kicked aside.

Ghirahim begins the ritual to free Demise as Link arrives to stop him. Ghirahim attempts to slow him down by erecting a magic barrier and summoning hordes of Bokoblins, but Link manages to fight his way through the hordes of enemies and confronts Ghirahim. Having had enough of the youth's constant meddling, Ghirahim decides to personally put an end to Link in his true form: a dark-skinned, white-haired humanoid creature with metallic skin, much like Fi. He also reveals his true nature as a weapon. This leads to their final showdown. He states that he'll kill Link by bludgeoning him, and then knock him off a ledge and land a finishing blow on Link when he finally gets bored. He even has a pet name for the maneuver: "the endless plunge" (a strategy that Link ends up using against him). Though he loses, Ghirahim reveals the ritual was continuing all throughout their fight. Zelda's soul is ripped from her body, and Demise regains his original form.

Soon after Demise's revival, Ghirahim is forced by his master back into his true form as Demise's sword (seemingly much to Ghirahim's delight). After Link defeats Demise, the sword that is Ghirahim shatters, putting an end to his existence

Beyond Light and Darkness

Rise of Vaati Arc

Ghirahim will be one of the Main Antagonists of this Arc and will be helping Vaati command his army

Powers & Abilities

Despite his delicate appearance, Ghirahim proves to be a powerful opponent for Link. He possesses great physical prowess, agile enough to leap great heights and distances and fast enough to dodge Link's Skyward Strike. He also posseses physical strength sufficent enough to kick Groose aside with little effort and hold the Goddess Sword in place and force it out of Link's hands. He also shows great skill in hand-to-hand combat, attacking with fierce punches and roundhouse kicks.

Reflecting his true nature as a sword, Ghirahim shows mastery in various types of weapons, ranging from throwing knives to swords of any kind. Upon taking his true form, Ghirahim's skin hardens to where it can withstand blows from even the Master Sword, save for the diamond on his chest.

Ghirahim also possesses considerable magical talent. Fittingly, most of Ghirahim's spells are diamond based, and are activated by a snap of his fingers. These include:

■ Creating barriers and platforms with diamond patterns decorating them.

■ Creating tornadoes.

■ Telekinesis.

■ Materializing objects out of thin air (i.e. swords, knives).

■ Teleportation of himself and others, as how he summoned hordes of Bokoblins to his aid.

■ A fiery version of the Skyward Strike.

■ Renanimating inanimate objects (i.e. Scaldera, Koloktos).

■ Beams of light that are fired from the sky, used to incapacitate Link and Zelda.

■ Generating electricity in his hands.

Forms

Ghirahim's 1st Form: Black Armed Form

1st Form: Black-Armed Form/Half-True Form: his arms turning black while his face begins to crack to show his true power and a portion of his true form. Ghirahim attacks by grabbing whatever weapon his enemy uses with his right hand, but now summons two daggers around him like a shield. Instead of forcing the sword out of Link's hand (or whatever weapon or whoever he is fighting), after Link successfully attacks him, Ghirahim will snap his fingers and fire the daggers at range. Link and many other heroes must once again trick Ghirahim into moving his hand one side and attacking from the opposite side, but must be careful not to strike the daggers as this will alert Ghirahim. Alternatively, Link can knock away the daggers before attacking Ghirahim. After taking some damage, Ghirahim will summon four additional daggers. After enough damage, Ghirahim summons two swords to fight with. In this phase, Ghirahim is fought similar to Stalfos (Skyward Sword). Depending on the orientation of his swords, Link must attack horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. Ghirahim's attacks have been improved in this fight, as he can summon more daggers, usually in a circle or an arc around Link (who must use the spin attack or a horizontal slash to deflect them). He can also summon them in a circle around himself and fire three rows in various positions. Also, his charge attack is replaced by an attack where he teleports into the air and strikes from above.

Ghirahim's True Form (2nd form)

2nd Form: True Form: Ghirahim surrounds himself in darkness and transforms into his true state before fighting his opponents in this form obviously. Ghirahim serves as the boss of the Sealed Grounds in Skyward Sword, and the penultimate boss of the game. Ghirahim faces Link in his true form. Unlike previous battles where he would grab Link's sword and use it against him, Ghirahim now attacks with fierce punches and roundhouse kicks. Ghirahim also cannot be damaged under normal circumstances. To defeat Ghirahim, Link must repeatedly attack the boss and send him to the edge of the platform, then deliver a final strike that will cause him to fall to the lower platform (which was what he stated that he intended to use against Link in a method called the "Endless Plunge"). Link can deliver a fatal blow to his chest. Beware when Ghirahim's hands are coated with purple electricity. If Link touches them, he will be stunned momentarily, allowing Ghirahim to maneuver around and attack from behind. After repeating this three times, the fight moves to the bottom of the Sealed Grounds. The skin on Ghirahim's chest has now cracked, revealing an orange diamond that serves as his weak spot. In this round, Ghirahim wields his sword from the first battle with him. He still retains his dagger toss, but he can also fire a fiery variation of the Skyward Strike, which can be repulsed in the same manner as his daggers - but Link must remain wary, as Ghirahim can return the attack right back. To damage Ghirahim, Link must attack the orange diamond on Ghirahim's chest. This is easiest for Link if he manages to knock Ghirahim's sword out of his hands or after a successful repulsion of his attacks. After taking enough hits, Ghirahim summons a bigger sword. Now Link must knock him off guard or otherwise force him to guard, then repeatedly slash away at the sword at its edge to destroy it. Depending on how Ghirahim holds it, Link must slash horizontally or vertically. He may change the orientation of the sword, to make it harder for Link to strike the same edge. It requires four hits on the same edge to break the weapon. Note that if Link charges energy for a Skyward Strike and stabs Ghirahim, Ghirahim will be stunned, allowing Link to get in more hits. Repeat this strategy to defeat Ghirahim once and for all. This battle style is what Ghirahim still uses in the Darkness within Shadow Series as well.