Agahnim (A Link to the Past)

Agahnim (司祭アグニム) is the primary antagonist for the majority of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Agahnim is a mysterious wizard (a priest in the Japanese original) who gained favor with the King of Hyrule, betrayed him and took over the throne of Hyrule, all the while being possessed by Ganon. His likeness appears as statues in the Dark World.

Biography
In the land of Hyrule, without warning, a series of sudden disasters occurred. The Kingdom of Hyrule despaired. However, a powerful wizard named Agahnim appeared and stopped the horrific events. In honor of his achievements he was made the King's royal advisor. After having gained the trust of the King of Hyrule, he betrayed him and took control over all the Royal Guards. Using the armed forces of Hyrule, he pursued and captured the Seven Maidens, descendants of the Seven Sages who originally sealed the Evil King Ganon away to the Dark World. Princess Zelda of Hyrule was revealed to be one of the Seven Maidens. He planned to sacrifice them and send them to the Dark World to break the seal. Fearing that the prophesied Hero of Hylian descent would appear and stop him, he also took the three Pendants of Virtue and sent them away to his three dungeons in Hyrule, preventing the Hero from gathering all three and removing the Master Sword from its pedestal.

However, on the eve of her sacrifice, Princess Zelda, from the depths of the castle dungeons, contacts a young boy named Link via telepathy. The courageous youth finds a way into Hyrule Castle and rescues her from her imprisonment. They escape through a hidden passage, leading to the nearby Sanctuary. Enraged, Agahnim tells the people of Hyrule that Link has kidnapped Zelda, ordering civilians and military alike to keep an eye out for him. Evading capture, Link is told of the Master Sword, the only weapon with the power to defeat the evil wizard. He braves the three dungeons, retrieves the Pendants of Courage, Power and Wisdom and pulls the Master Sword from the Pedestal of Time. However, Princess Zelda's hiding place is discovered, and she is taken away by Agahnim's soldiers. Link breaks the seal on Hyrule Castle with the Master Sword and ascends Hyrule Castle Tower in order to stop him from sacrificing her, but he is too late &mdash; she is sent to the Dark World. Link battles Agahnim, and after a hard-fought battle, Agahnim appears to be defeated. However, he manages to retreat to the Dark World, taking Link with him.

In the Dark World, Link learns of the imprisoned Seven Maidens and one by one, rescues them. After rescuing the seventh Maiden, Zelda and the other Maidens use their power to break the seal on Ganon's Tower. After braving the dangerous tower, Link confronts Agahnim once more. After this ultimate defeat, Ganon abandons his host and flees to the Pyramid of Power. After a final showdown with Link, Ganon is defeated, and Link uses the power of the Triforce to undo the evil deeds of Ganon.

Battle
Agahnim can only be defeated if Link has the Master Sword. He is encountered twice; first in the Hyrule Castle Tower and for the second and last time in Ganon's Tower. He attacks Link with balls of energy and occasionally, bolts of lightning. He warps around the room every time after he has attacked.

Strategy
In order to defeat him, Link must deflect his energy balls back at him with the Master Sword. Strangely, this can also be done with the Bug-Catching Net. In order to do this easier, stay exactly in front of him at all times. Sometimes, he will send an energy ball that will disperse after it hits Link's sword, so keep your eyes peeled at all times and move out of the way when this happens. After his energy balls are deflected back at him a couple of times, he will be defeated. He always faces the door when he attacks with lightning.

The second battle is not much harder. However, here, he creates two slightly transparent "copies" of himself. The identity of the real Agahnim can easily be disclosed by checking which one is the least transparent Agahnim. Strangely, in this final battle, he does not use his lightning bolt attack.

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The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past manga
In the manga based on A Link to the Past, Agahnim was a friend of Link's father. While his friend wanted to be a swordsman, Agahnim wanted to be a magician. They both supported each other in their goals. However, when Link's father told Agahnim about how the Triforce can grant one's deepest desires, Agahnim, though thinking it was a myth, couldn't resist its lure, and studied darker magic and learned how to break the Seal of the Sages, being recruited to Ganon's services during his practices. With that, Agahnim spiraled down into corruption. When confronted by his friend, who told him to destroy the research for being evil, Agahnim kills him and his wife.

After that, Agahnim proceeded to cease the despair of Hyrule and earned the King's trust. Agahnim acted elegantly and noble, and the King gave him a high position within the kingdom, believing Agahnim to be a reincarnation of the seven maidens. While everyone else in the castle admired and worshiped the wizard, Zelda, however, saw greed and darkness in his eyes. After Agahnim's rise to power, he changed completely, and began ordering people around, acting as though he was the King himself, which led to the real King asking him to leave. Instead, Agahnim killed him right in front of Zelda's eyes and took over the entire kingdom.

During the night when Zelda telepathically summoned the hero for help, Link, while hiding in the corridors, saw his uncle being stabbed to death by Agahnim.

Agahnim also tried to kill Link when the latter was poisoned by a scorpion during his quest for the Pendants of Virtue in the Desert Palace, but was stopped by Ganty, an original character of the manga. Regardless, Agahnim managed to steal the Book of Mudora from Link, and was able to complete the spell to sacrifice Zelda to break the Seal of the Sages. Prior to sending her to the Dark World, he noted that he always wanted her as a slave. He then sent her and Link to the Dark World.

Near the final confrontation between the hero and the wizard, Agahnim captured Ganty and transformed her into Trinexx, and tried to use her to force Link's heart to fall prey to the darkness of the Dark World. However, all his efforts ultimately failed, and after being defeated by Link, Agahnim lost all of his magic powers. In a desperate attempt, Agahnim tried to beg Ganon to share a piece of the Triforce's power with him as a reward for his loyalty. Ganon instead killed him as he was deemed to have outlived his usefulness. Prior to his demise, Agahnim managed to mutter Zelda's name. His body was then subsequently melted by Ganon's corrosive blood.

Another difference is that in the manga, Agahnim was performing a ritual to resurrect Ganon, who was standing behind the altar like a gigantic statue, while in the games, Ganon has possessed Agahnim as a host until the wizard's defeat.

Symbol
The eye symbol seen on Agahnim's robes in the game's official artwork is supposedly the emblem of Agahnim. In the game, this symbol can be seen on the floor near the the sealed entrance to Hyrule Castle Tower and in the final room just before Link battles Agahnim in Ganon's Tower. This symbol is strangely reminiscent of the Sheikah Emblem. Also in the manga, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time-Part 2, Sheik mentions how the Sheikah symbol was originally just an eye and the tear was added after one of the royal families betrayed the Sheikah, this could mean that Agahnim's symbol is the original symbol of the Sheikahs. However, as the game was released before The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, it could be merely coincidence that the two symbols share similarities. However, in the Temple of Fire in The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, the symbol appears on the floor of the boss chamber and in the room outside, implying a connection.