Dethl (Total War)

Dethl was a notable and powerful Druthulidi that survived the purging of the Goddesses and later began to haunt the dreams of important characters in Hyrule's history, creating the ReDead and the Dark Interlopers.

Etymology
Dethl is the Ancient Hylian word for "Nightmare."

Characteristics
Dethl usually appears as an ambiguous mass of black smoke, tentacles, and a single glowing eye flanked by bulbous arms when interacting with the real world. When manifesting in an individual's dreams, Dethl can assume virtually any shape and form.

Personality
Dethl shows signs of extreme cowardice, a trait not common amongst other Druthulidi. When exposed it will almost always flee. When Dethl has the upper hand or is in otherwise control of its victim's dreams, it usually displays a sadistic personality that finds enjoyment in emotional torture. Though Dethl is likely physically genderless, it tends to prefer being referred to as female.

Powers and Abilities
Dethl is able to invade and manipulate the dreams of almost any individual. Its control over a dream does not seem absolute, study has shown that the creature influences the victim through suggestion and tricks them into accomplishing Dethl's needs. As such Dethl's abilities while inhabiting a dream are rather ambiguous and seem to scale in power the longer it has been influencing a victim. It also seems that Dethl can only influence a victim while they sleep or are undead as Bongo was able to surrender to Princss Zelda of her own will; something Dethl likely would not have done. In the real world the extent of Dethl's abilities are unknown. When Ganon confronted Dethl the massive creature seemed to resort to smashing his Moblin soldiers with two rotating arms, as well as being able to rapidly dodge arrows and Ganon's charge attacks and phase through the floor.

History


Pre Hyrule
Dethl arrived in Hyrule shortly after the first Druthulidi began to battle on its surface for domination. Rather then actively enslave the creatures of the world, Dethl would appear to creatures and slowly exasperate their nightmares. Dethl usually played on its victim's fear of death, eventually twisting the creatures into horrific undead abominations which it could control more easily. Dethl warped entire populations in serving its will until the Goddesses put an end to the conflict.

Rise of Ganon
It was discovered by Ganon and Bongo that Dethl had infiltrated the Shadow Temple for an unknown period of time and haunted dreams of its prisoners. Dethl was able to extract the horrific thoughts and nightmares of these criminal Sheikah and manifest them within the temple. Over time Dethl was able to twist the prisoners into hideous creatures, thus creating the Redead: zombie like monsters that continually died and came back to life. Dethl was able to feed on the Shadow Temple's population for a significant period of time, but eventually desired a fresh source of nourishment. Dethl reached out and began haunting the dreams of Bongo, impressing the need to visit the Shadow Temple. Bongo eventually was able to enter the Shadow Temple with the help of Ganon, though Dethl was taken by surprise by the army that was brought in with them. Dethl attempted to stop Ganon's army with hordes of Redead and other twisted denizens of the haunted prison, but Ganon's army was able to fight their way through and injure Dethl. Before Ganon and Bongo were able to leave the Shadow Temple, Dethl was able to slip into Bongo's mind and escape.

Though Bongo had notions of rebelling against the Royal Family, it is likely that Dethl's presence convinced Bongo to take advantage of Ganon and seek the Triforce for its own uses. Bongo aided Ganon in sieging Hyrule Castle, as well as extracting the location of the Triforce from Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule after Ganon had failed to find it under the throne room. Instead of telling Ganon the truth, Bongo convinced him that the King had the Triforce brought to Spectacle Rock on top of Death Mountain. While Ganon was away seeking the Triforce Bongo gathered her Sheikah followers and took control of Hylia Marine and the Water Temple; the true location that the King had brought the Triforce.

Dethl and Bongo's efforts were foiled when the Twinrova sisters and Veran caught word of the Triforce's location. Gerudo armies attacked the Water Temple from the west, while Veran's Fairies attacked from the east. While all three armies where busy fighting each other, General Rutela, Impa, and Princess Zelda I were able to lead an attack on the city. Bongo was knocked unconscious by Impa and later surrendered along with the rest of the Interlopers. While many of the fallen Sheikah were banished into the Mirror of Twilight along with other Gerudo and Fairy prisoners, Impa personally executed Bongo at a guillotine in Kakariko Village and her body was tossed into the city's well.

The Gerudo Wars
It was revealed that Agahnim had secured the Eye of Truth that Bongo had created and was using the device to brainwash soldiers into serving him. It is possible that Dethl might have tried to influence Agahnim through the Eye of Truth, but whatever the case may have been Agahnim eventually pledged his service to Majora, rendering Dethl's nightmare influence useless.

A Tale of Two Swords
The Eye of Truth came into the possession of Akazoo after Agahnim had been killed. Slowly over time the device had accelerated his insanity until Dethl was able to invade his nightmares near his death. When Akazoo's necromantic spells worked and he later rose from the dead, Dethl was again able to suggest and influence Akazoo. Eventually Akazoo wished to confront the source of his insanity and was drawn to Dethl in the Shadow Temple, now a giant monster that had grown from the headless corpse of Bongo. Rather than rebel against Dethl, Akazoo instead chose to embrace the madness and released Bongo from the temple.

Dethl was eventually destroyed in the form of Bongo-Bongo by Impa when Princess Zelda V had lured its armies of Stalfos into battle with Ganondorf's Gerudo, Nardu's Lizalfos, and Hylia's Wizzrobes. Impa eventually put Bongo out of her misery and killed the creature she had become, as well as destroying the Eye of Truth. It is unknown if Dethl had escaped into the nightmares of another victim, though it was never heard from again in historical chronicle of Hyrule.