Veran

Veran is the antagonist of. She is the Sorceress of Shadows and has the ability to possess anybody she wishes. Although she appears to be the ultimate evil, Veran is actually a loyal servant to Twinrova, dedicated to bringing about the Dark Lord Ganon's revival by bringing sorrow to the hearts of everyone in Labrynna.

Biography
Veran first meets Link while controlling Impa and tricks him into moving a boulder that can only be moved by one who bears the sign of the Triforce. She then tricked him into getting close to Nayru, and then released Impa, so that she could possess Nayru. Quickly assuming control of Nayru's body, Veran immediately traveled back in time, to alter history to her liking.

As Nayru, Veran tricks Queen Ambi into trusting her and warping the purpose of the Black Tower, which was to be used to search for Ambi's lost love, convincing Ambi to order the town to build the Tower to the heavens. Veran also quickly dismissing anyone from the castle who may have brought Queen Ambi to her senses, leaving her grip on Ambi unopposed.

It soon came to Veran's attention that her bane grew deep within the woods outside of Lynna Village. In an attempt to rid herself of what might undermine her, Veran had Ambi offer a reward to anyone who could bring back the Mystery Seeds for her. Ironically, it was Link himself who would present the Seeds to Queen Ambi, unknowing of their advantage. Although it is never stated what Veran actually did with the seeds Link gave Ambi, it is mainly thought she had them destroyed. However, Veran remained unaware of the abundance of Mystery Seeds among others in the dungeons across Labrynna, as well as the Mystery Seed tree that grew on Rolling Ridge. Presumably, she was also unaware of the fast growth rate of Mystical Seeds.

Just before the Black Tower was completed, Link eventually came face-to-face with her, in Ambi's Palace, but Veran tells him that if he were to attack her, only Nayru would bear the damage. However, Link had found out about Veran's weakness to Mystery Seeds, and was prepared to take her down through their use. Following a short battle, Veran was driven from Nayru and posessed Queen Ambi herself. Taking full advantage of her situation, Veran was able to drive Link, Nayru and Ralph, who had burst into the palace at the same time as Link, away. However, Nayru rescued them all to the disappointment of Veran. As Link continued his quest, the Black Tower reached completion as the seventh Essence became his.

At this point, Veran had gained the power to control time to an extent, even without Nayru, freezing many in time as she cultivated her new power and restoring the chaos that Nayru's freedom had reversed. However, after Link obtained the eighth essence, another face confronted Veran before he could: Ralph.

Although Ralph knew that by killing his ancestor Queen Ambi and thus Veran, he would vanish, he cared only for the people of Labrynna, and so attempted to kill her, ultimately failing. However, due to Veran's 'generosity', Ralph lived on, and Veran moved on to face Link. After Link managed to free Ambi, he was only barely able to avoid possession himself. Continuing the battle, Link was eventually able to overcome Veran's final forms. However, Veran simply laughed, calling Link a fool as she died, her task complete. The revival of Ganon was simply closer to fruition.

Characteristics
Veran appears as a teal-skinned woman with a lightly-armored dress. Her abilities are very similar to that of a Wizzrobe, as she can teleport at will, create a flurry of fireballs, and summon spider-like creatures from the ceiling. One of her more terrifying abilities is to possess other beings, forcing them to do her bidding. Those under her possession gain her teal skin, but this never seems to be noticed by other characters. Veran can assume other shapes seemingly at will, her favored being her Evil Fairy form. With this she can spit fireballs and fly quickly, as well as produce at least four weak Shadow Links. If this fails, she can assume several animal forms. This is supposedly her last resort, as she decidedly finds these transformations to be utterly repulsive.

Veran is manipulative, cruel, and ambitious. She is also somewhat conceited, declaring her own beauty several times throughout the game. She does seem to be capable of granting mercy to a certain extent, as evidenced by her sparing Ralph's life, though this could also merely be a ploy to force Link not to attack her in order to protect Ralph, since she is in Ralph's ancestor's body. It is also somewhat interesting to note the vaguely Sheikah-like eye designs on her dress, and the symbol on her shoulder pads that she shares with General Onox.

Strategy
Veran has several different strategies, depending on which form she is in.

Possessed Nayru

 * ''See also: Possessed Nayru

Possessed Nayru's only attack consists of shooting fireballs in a radial pattern. The projectiles spread out the further they travel, and Link's shield can't block them, so it's best to walk in the gaps that form at a distance.

The only way to attack Veran herself is by shooting her with Mystery Seeds from Link's Seed Shooter, or simply sprinkling the seed on her. If hit, Veran will temporarily lose her possession, but she'll seep back into Nayru if Link is not fast enough. By switching places with her via the Switch Hook, she'll have a tougher time getting back to the body, and Link will have the opportunity to slash her at least once. Even so, Possessed Nayru will often hide behind pillars scattered across the room while she prepares an attack, making it harder to hit her with the Seed Shooter and Switch Hook fast enough to get an attack in. If the attack process is repeated three times, Veran will be temporarily defeated, and Naryu will be freed.

Possessed Ambi
The strategy for Ambi is little different than it was for Nayru. As Ambi, the only new ability Veran obtains is the ability to summon small spiders. Besides this, the strategy is still to use Mystery Seeds when she stops moving, then to use the Switch Hook to pull Veran out of Ambi.

True Form
Veran's true form is drastically different in appearance to the normal form she takes. Taking on the form of a demonic fairy, Veran is now accompanied by four Dark Links, which behave similarly to Arm-Mimics in that they copy Link's movements. The four Dark Links always yield one heart each upon their defeat.

Veran's attacks in this form changed little from her other form, her signature energy attack becoming much faster, she will also shoot small and large blue fire balls, and of course physical contact. To defeat this form, Link simply had to attack her with his sword whenever she came into range, taking care to dodge her attacks. By repeating this method, Veran appeared to be defeated. As Link, Ralph and Nayru exited the Black Tower, a sudden rumbling had Link push Ralph and Nayru away, as a Wallmaster carried Link back to the top.

Metamorphosis
As the Wallmaster released Link, a truly horrific side of Veran was revealed, as she appeared to Link in the forms she had wished to keep a secret from everybody. Now, with no other choice before her, Veran revealed her Metamorphosis state.

During this phase, Veran is prone to randomly changing between her three shapes. There is no order in which Veran will change shapes, with the exception that she will always start in beetle form. Although she will normally change back to beetle after assuming one of her other two forms, it is entirely possible for her to go from Spider to Bee and vice-versa.

Beetle
As little more than an oversized, grotesque beetle in this form, Link quickly realized that all Veran could do now was jump and land, creating a pool of acid underneath her when she landed. By attacking her face when she emerged with the sword, she would then transform into one of two forms.

Bee
Veran's bee form is much faster than the beetle form, she flies around the room at alarming speeds, occasionally summons a swarm of smaller bees that fly at Link, and can shoot a volley of stingers at Link, which slow his walking speed. Bee Veran is vulnerable to both the Seed Shooter and Sword. t

Spider
This form of Veran has no obvious weak point at first. Its attacks include high-speed charges and using web to pull itself onto the Tower roof, then slamming down in an attempt to crush Link. In this form, Veran can also catch Link in her web and slam him on the ground.

Out of all the weapons in Link's inventory, the only one which can reveal Veran's weak spot is one of his Bombs. By using a Bomb on this state, Veran would show her face for a few valuable seconds, allowing Link to attack her with his Sword. After Veran sustains enough damage, given her life, she will either revert to her beetle form or she will fall.

Oracle of Ages Manga
Veran plays much of the same role as she does in the game itself. She does, however, have a slightly altered storyline, performing various acts such as possessing Ralph. Also, in the final battle with Link, her only alternate form is a spider. The manga also briefly expands on her motivations for wanting to cause discord, as she believes that peace and prosperity are boring in Labrynna, and thus wants to allow for a world where fighting with permanent hatred would allow for excitement.

Trivia

 * The form that Veran takes when possessing people is strikingly similar to the form the Nightmare takes when between forms.
 * Veran may have served as the inspiration for Cia as both are attractive female villains who are being manipulated by a greater evil (Twinrova & Ganondorf respectively) and possess the ability to summon Dark Links. They also have similar titles as Cia is known as the both the Black Sorceress and Dark Sorceress.
 * Veran could be a member of, or at least the inspiration for the Twili race, since Veran has the teal skin, red eyes, and red colored hair common with the Twili people. Like how Zant is manipulated by Ganondorf, Veran is manipulated by Ganon and Twinrova. Similar to Midna, she has powerful dark magic and a headdress that covers her eye.

Etymology
Ver is an ancient Norse name element that means "fighter" and "warrior". Ran is also a Norse name, which was given to the Norse goddess of the dead. It means "theft" or "robbery".