Zant

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Zant
Artwork of Zant from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
First appearance	The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (2006)
Latest appearance	Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition (2018)
Species	Twili

Zant is a Twili who makes his first appearance in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess as a major villain. In the game, Zant has usurped the throne of the Twilight Realm while serving as one of Ganondorf's chief followers. Zant later appears as a playable character in Hyrule Warriors and its reissues.

History

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

As one of the Twili, Zant is the descendant of a power-hungry tribe that was banished by the goddesses of Hyrule to the Twilight Realm. Zant despised the royal family of the Twilight Realm, blaming them for not taking any action to rid the Twili of their miserable existence, and claiming that his race lost all passion and even the faintest hint of desire. Zant lived a life of oppression and unfulfilled promises, eventually turning him into a misunderstood maniac. Zant lived in the royal household for a long time, always believing that he would be the next in line to become King of the Twilight. However, he was not accepted as the Twili's ruler due in part to his overwhelming ambition, and Midna became their princess instead. While fuming with boundless hatred against his own kind, Zant ran to a balcony where in despair he fell to his knees and angrily hit the ground with his hands and head. Eventually he looked up in the air and saw a large orange energy ball; Zant backed away but didn't flee, and his body was enveloped by the ball, upon which he encountered Ganondorf. Posing as a god to Zant, Ganondorf told him "I shall house my power in you. Anything you desire I shall desire it too." Ganondorf promised to fulfill Zant's dreams of ruling the Twilight realm in exchange for bringing Ganondorf back into the Light Realm. With his newly acquired powers, Zant forcefully robbed Midna of her rightful place as the Twilight Princess. He then used his powers to transform the remaining Twili into dark shadow creatures, with a small movement of his hand Zant cursed Midna into an imp-like form and she was forced to flee from Zant.

Assuming the throne as Usurper King, Zant continued to serve Ganondorf, and through Zant, Ganondorf would attempt to conquer the lands of Hyrule. According to Zant, even if he somehow died, Ganondorf would not hesitate to return him to the physical world. Zant, commanding his newfound army of Shadow Twili, sent them forth to the four light spirits of Hyrule, which serve as protectors of their respective provinces. Upon the crippling of Lanayru, Eldin, and Faron, the light was stolen from the majority of the land and the Twilight expanded into Hyrule, trapping its citizens as spirits within the clouds of the Twilight, successfully conquering the land for both Ganondorf and himself.

Link eventually meets Midna, who aids him in returning light to the world and attaining the Fused Shadows, ancient artifacts of the Twili that hold tremendous power. After the Fused Shadows are successfully reassembled, Zant appears and steals them from Midna after chiding her for thinking the fused shadows could defeat him. He nearly kills her and curses Link to be trapped in his wolf form. The duo then searches for Princess Zelda, who sacrifices herself to save Midna's life. Later, they travel to the Sacred Grove and find the blade of evil's bane, which returns Link to his original form. It is later on infused with the sources of light of the Twilight realm, called Sols.

He makes one more appearance to taunt Link in the Arbiter grounds before reanimating Stallord with a Twili sword. It is here we find that Zant actually has hands which he reveal to create the sword. Interestingly, Zant's hands are bone like in structure and are colored red, which looks nothing like his later appearance when he is unmasked as shown below. Any other appearances from this area onwards are flashbacks of Midna's fall and Zant's rise, until Link fights his way to the top of the Twilight Palace.

Wielding the Master Sword, Link confronts Zant in the Palace of Twilight, leading into the penultimate boss battle of the game. It is here that Zant tells Link his story while making erratic and awkward movements with his body, and he attacks Link. During the battle, he shouts out in a shrill voice and acts more childish than tactical (Such as mindlessly spinning and flailing with his swords until becoming dazed and vulnerable, and verbally taunting Link with loud laughs and shrieks). However, he still possesses great power and is a formidable foe. Zant explains how he came to meet Ganondorf and was granted his immense powers. Link proceeds to fight Zant in a series of battles where Zant mimics the scenery and combat tactics of past bosses and mini-bosses. In the final stage, Zant duels Link outside of Hyrule Castle.

After the battle, Midna retrieves the Fused Shadows from Zant. Zant declares Midna and the rest of the Twili were traitors to the cause. Midna responds saying that no one accepted Zant as king due to his eyes, which were filled with ambition. Midna asks Zant if he had forgotten that "our ancestors lost their king to such greed?" Zant taunts Midna, claiming that since the curse placed on her was placed on her by his god, the Fused Shadow could not undo it. Zant also claims that as long as Ganondorf lives, he will be resurrected without end, and an angered Midna uses a fraction of the power of the Fused Shadow to attack Zant, seemingly killing him. Upon returning to Hyrule, Midna utilizes the Fused Shadows to destroy the barrier erected over Hyrule Castle and remove Ganondorf's taint from Princess Zelda. After Ganondorf is impaled by the Master Sword during the final battle with Link, a vision appears displaying Zant, whose neck promptly snaps before Ganondorf's death.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	ザント Zanto	Zant

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