Zant

Zant is the secondary antagonist of Twilight Princess.

Origins

Dark Interlopers

Zant is a descendent of a group of sorcerers named the Dark Interlopers. This tribe excelled in shadow magic and intended to use the power of the Fused Shadow to seek domain over the Sacred Realm. However the Light Spirits intervened and took the Fused Shadows and broke them into four separate piece's. With the power of the Fused Shadows gone from their grasp, the tribe were left powerless, thus they were banished to the realm of darkness. Over time due to the appearance of the Sols the Dark Interlopers eventually evolved of what become to be known as the Twili.

The Twili race where known to be very peaceful and a monarchy was established in order to lead the Twili. Zant had been a loyal servant to the monarchy of the Palace for many years. Zant was meant to be next in line to ascend to the throne. However it was Midna who was chosen as the true leader, she was known as the Twilight Princess. Zant, distraught by this news, looked to the heavens for an answer. He was gifted a mysterious foreign power by his supposed god.

This power was gifted to Zant by Ganondorf. Ganondorf had previously escaped his imprisonment in Arbiter's Grounds. Due to his failed execution, the remaining sages decided the only option now was to seal Ganondorf into the banished Twilight Relam. Ganondorf housed his power into Zant at one request, that he merge light with shadow, therefore creating complete darkness. Zant took this power and falsely usurped the throne of the Twilight Realm. With this false power, Zant turned its habitants into mindless Shadow Beasts and Minda into an imp. Zant invaded Hyrule Castle and forced Princess Zelda to give up the throne of Hyrule. Zant sent out Shaodw Beasts to steal the light from the provinces across Hyrule, thus suspending Hyrule in Twilight.

Story

Link will first be caught up in Zant's evil plot during the end of the prologue. King Bulblin and his army of Bulblins will Invade the safety of the Ordona Province and attack Link and its inhabitants. Link will wake up after being left unconscious and he will realise that both Colin and Ilia have been taken. Link will then come up against a Wall of Twilight, a Shadow Beast will then drag him into the Twilight Realm, thus starting the events of the main plot.

Zant invading Hyrule Castle

Link will first hear about the whereabouts of Zant when escaping his imprisonment in Hyrule Castle. Midna will aid him in reaching in the tower where Princess Zelda is. She will tell Link about how Zant, and how the King of Twilight invaded the Castle and she was force to give up the throne. Zelda will also tell Link, that now Hyrule is covered in perpetual Twilight and all of its inhabitants have turned into spirits, who know only fear. Later on in the game after resorting the light to Faron Province, the Light Spirit Faron will tell Link about a dark power that lies in the Forest Temple. This will be a piece of the Fused Shadows and Faron will tell Link that he must use this power to defeat the King of the Shadows, Zant.

Link will first encounter Zant after collecting the third and final piece of the Fused Shadows, from the Lakebed Temple. Zant will halt Link and Midna as they exit, the Light Spirit Lanayru will try to intervene but Zant will once again steal the light, thus restoring twilight to the province. Zant will also take the Fused Shadows of Midna, calling them an old and withered power, he will proclaim that his power is new and was granted to him by his god. Wolf Link will try to attack Zant but in the process Zant uses his dark powers to curse Link meaning he is now suspended in beast form. Zant will then go onto tell Midna of his desires and that darkness and light will meet at last, he will then ask Midna to aid him. After Midna refuses to aid Zant he manipulates Lanayru, to return Midna to the Light World, leaving Midna to a near inch of death.

Later on in the plot Link and Midna will find the whereabouts of the Mirror of Twilight, hidden within Arbiter's Grounds. This is the only connection to the Twilight Realm and Zant but Link will have to pass through the dungeon to get to the Mirror Chamber. Upon navigating through the dungeon Link will find the remains of of a skeletal being covered in sand. Zant will appear and pull out the Twilight Sword and thrust into the skull of the remains. This will bring the seemingly dead being to life and this will be the forth boss of the game Stallord. Upon defeating Stallord, Link will make is way up to the Mirror Chamber, only to find it is broken. The Sages will tell this was the work of Zant and that it was their fault that Zant was allowed to gain power. The Sages will tell Link that they sealed Ganondorf in the Twilight Realm when he escaped and that they think this could be the source of Zant's power.

Palace of Twilight

After collecting the three Mirror Shards, the Mirror of Twilight will now be restored. Link and Minda will now be able to access the Twilight Realm and confront Zant. Upon entering the realm Link will have to restore the two Sols to the plaza. Each Sol will be on the opposing ends of the Palace. Once the Sols have returned to their original position it will power up Link's Master Sword. The Master Sword will now become the Light Sword and it will allow Link to clear up the shadows that block the entrance to Zant's Palace. Link will now be able to confront Zant. Upon entering the throne room, Zant will explain his hatred for the Light World, saying they trapped us like insects in a cage and the Twili new desire or hate. He will also explain his frustrations with not becoming king and how he was gifted power by his god.

After Link has defeated Zant, he will explain that the curse set up on Midna cannot be broken. It was put on her by his god Ganondorf and now he is reborn in the Light World, Zant proclaims that aslong as he lives, that Ganondorf shall resurrect him. It is at this point that Midna uses her restored Fused Shadows to ultimately kill Zant. However in the final events of the game after the defeat of Ganondorf, Zant can be seen snapping his neck upon Ganondorfs death. This could be seen as symbolism of the betrayal.

Boss

Zant boss fight

Zant is one of the longer boss fights in Twilight Princess and the battle itself is composed of six stages. Each stage will take place in a past boss room and it will require Link to remember the skills he has learnt on his journey as well as his use of items.

First Stage

The first stage will take place in the Boss room from The Forest Temple. This battle will be very similar to the Diababa boss battle from earlier on in the game. Zant will hover around the boss room firing dark energy blasts at Link. Link will have to block these attacks using his Shield and then he can equip the Gale Boomerang and target Zant. This will bring Zant down to the surface, leaving Zant prone to attack. After a limited time Zant will warp away, thus repeating the original process.

Second Stage

The second stage will take place in the Goron Mines Mini Boss room and will be very similar to the Dangoro boss fight. Zant will repeatedly stomp the surface which will wobble the platform. Link will have to equip the Iron Boots in order to stay grounded, this will lead Zant to attack with dark energy blasts. Link can simply block these with his shield, once Zant gets tired, Link can unequip the boots and attack Zant.

Third Stage

The next stage, Zant will replicate the Morpheel boss battle from the Lakebed Temple. In this area Link must equip both the Iron Boots and the Zora Armor, so that he can stay grounded underwater. Zant will first appear in a giant version of his helmet, once appearing he will again use his blast attack. Link will have to equip the Clawshot to grab Zant and the attack him when he is close. The next phase Zant will now appear in several giant masks, once tageted Link can again use the clawshot and attack Zant.

Forth Stage

The next stage will take place once again within the Forest Temple, however this time its Ook's stage. Much similar to Ook, Zant will leap from platform to platform and he will once again power up his blast attack. Link will have to avoid the attack and roll Into the bottom of the platform to knock Zant down. Zant will now be prone to attack, Link will have to repeat this process.

Fifth Stage

The fith stage will take place in the boss room of Blizzeta, seen in Snowpeak Ruins.This time Zant will increase in size to replicate a giant version of himself. Link will have to use the same tactic that he used against Blizzeta, by looking at the reflection on the ice. Once dodging Zant, Link can equip the Ball and Chain and hit Zant. This will cuase Zant to repeatedly decrease in size, Link will have to carefully navigate the slippery surface in order to attack the injured Zant.

Final Stage

The final stage differs from the others as this time Zant won't replicate a previous boss and the fight itself takes place just outside of the Hyrule Castle. Zant will this time draw out two blades from under his arms and attack Link. Zant will have two distinct attacks, the first attack Zant will come running at Link. Link will have to dodge Zant and attack him from behind. Another one of Zant's attacks is his spin attack, Link can run away from this attack or use his shield. After a while Zant will get tired from spinning, leaving him prone to attack. Zant will also warp many times in this battle making it harder for Link to target him and evading his attacks. After dealing enough damage, Zant will fall to his knees, ending this boss battle.

Gallery

<gallery> File:Zant's Throne.jpg|Zant sitting on his throne File:Zant Face.jpg|Zant revealing his face