Astor, the secondary antagonist of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, meets an untimely end as Calamity Ganon’s pawn, but could influence Breath of the Wild's sequel in some form or another. After his defeat at the hands of Link, Zelda, and the Champions, Astor is absorbed by Malice and used to incarcerate Calamity Ganon in a monstrous humanoid form. However, as Hyrule Warriors split the Zelda timeline and created another alternative future, it’s unclear whether or not this servant of Ganon will make another appearance in the franchise.
Not much is known about this mysterious villain’s origin or backstory, but he was chosen by Calamity Ganon through Harbinger Ganon, the evil counterpart of Age of Calamity's Terrako. Astor is a seer and fortune-teller from an unknown village in Hyrule, wielding magic through the use of a large orb that looks similar to a Giant Ancient Core. His title in-game is the Prophet of Doom as he prophesizes the return of Calamity Ganon and plays an instrumental role in its resurrection.
It’s incredibly likely that Astor is the fortune-teller who, in Breath of the Wild’s lore, gave King Rhoam the prophecy of Calamity Ganon’s return and caused the king to unearth BOTW's Divine Beasts. However, Astor is unaccounted for in Breath of the Wild, being absent both in the game as well as its flashbacks and memories. If he and the fortune-teller are, in fact, one and the same, it would make sense that he would be long gone in Breath of the Wild as its events unfold more than 100 years after this prophecy, but his crucial role and mysterious past make his absence the source of plenty of speculation.
Despite the fact that Astor is nowhere to be found in Breath of the Wild’s gameplay or lore aside from his possible role as the fortune-teller, he plays a crucial role in the splitting of Breath of the Wild’s timeline. The fact that his origins remain shrouded in mystery may imply that there’s more to discover about Astor, his past, and his ultimate fate with Calamity Ganon, which has led some fans to speculate that he will make another appearance in Breath of the Wild’s currently untitled sequel. Regardless of whether or not his apparent death will be the last time he’s seen in the franchise, Astor’s role in Age of Calamity sparks more questions about Breath of the Wild 2’s plot, the Legend of Zelda timeline more generally, and the true nature of Calamity Ganon's character as well.
The ending of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity sees Astor consumed by Harbinger Ganon, unleashing Calamity Ganon through Astor’s body. Calamity Ganon was then defeated by Link, Zelda, and Terrako, allowing Zelda to seal him away once more. While Astor himself was absorbed into the Calamity, its humanoid form bears Astor’s signature jewel on its head, indicating that Calamity Ganon didn’t just absorb Astor, but actually used his body in order to incarnate in this form.
Astor himself is given the ability to absorb souls through Harbinger Ganon’s power, as he did when he betrayed the Yiga Clan. With this power, Astor was able to revive the four Blights to fight Link in their final showdown. While Calamity Ganon’s power is sinister enough on its own, Astor’s actions in Age of Calamity confirm that Calamity Ganon grows stronger by absorbing the souls and bodies of others, even those of his own followers, and that strength extends to those who he chooses to house his power in.
This isn’t the first time in the series that Ganon has used this strategy to gain power. Most notably, and perhaps most relevant, is the case of Zant and the Twili, who Ganon used as minions in Twilight Princess by corrupting the otherwise peaceful people and turning them into shadow monsters. While an act like this is to be expected of the evil and power-hungry Ganon, it also points to a potential origin of Calamity Ganon, which remains unknown throughout Breath of the Wild.
Whether the corpse of Ganondorf in Breath of the Wild 2’s trailers is actually the same Ganondorf from a previous Zelda game or a new reincarnation in Breath of the Wild’s iteration of Hyrule is unclear. However, it’s likely that this incarnation of a mortal Ganondorf is somehow responsible for the Malice infecting the world, whether he transformed into Calamity Ganon or is merely projecting it from where he is sealed. In any case, it responds to his power when he is awakened, and he is able to control it, as is shown in the trailer.
While this may not seem relevant to Astor or his actions in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, Calamity Ganon’s soul-absorbing power is shown to be the source of its strength as absorbing the souls of the Yiga Clan and, inevitably, Astor allows Ganon’s Blights and Calamity Ganon himself to incarnate. As such, it’s possible that the mortal Ganondorf created Calamity Ganon more than 10,000 years prior, absorbing the souls of his followers in order to become an incarnation of hatred and malice that cannot be killed, but only sealed away.
With speculation about the ancient Zonai Tribe’s relevance in Breath of the Wild 2 as their architecture was featured prominently in the trailer, it’s possible that their mysterious disappearance was a result of Ganondorf’s thirst for power. Not much is known about this tribe, but judging by the Zonai-styled mural of a Gerudo Ganondorf riding into battle on the first trailer, as well as several pig carvings that are similar to the Zonai’s ruins depicting their Dragon god, it’s possible that this tribe followed an ancient Ganondorf.
If that is the case, then it’s very possible that Ganondorf absorbed the souls of Breath of the Wild's Zonai tribe in order to gain power and unleash the Calamity, his mortal body sealed away so that he could not be killed, but live on as the demonic Malice. This would account for the Zonai Tribe’s sudden vanishing, and it would provide an origin for Calamity Ganon’s appearance as well as a definitive connection to the Zelda timeline if this corpse is an incarnation of Ganondorf from another game.
Even though Breath of the Wild 2 has been announced as a direct sequel to Breath of the Wild, some fans speculate that its events may be set in the alternate timeline created by the events of Age of Calamity, making it possible for Astor to return. Age of Calamity introduces time travel to Breath of the Wild’s timeline, which could indicate time travel as a mechanic in BOTW2 as it was in Ocarina of Time and Skyward Sword. If that’s the case, this may be far from the last time Astor is seen as players jump between timelines or eras, and he may have yet another quintessential role to play in the events that unfold.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is available on Nintendo Switch.
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