The Legend of Zelda:
Sheik's Legacy
Based on The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the Nintendo64
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to The Legend of Zelda, however…(I was going to make some witty comment here, but thought against it) Yeah, I don't own the rights to Zelda, the world of Hyrule, or its people…so let's just leave it at that.
Chapter Three: Death Mountain and the Wrath of Volvagia
Hyrule Field filled Mido with terror and fear, but Saria quickly learned to like the open sunlight of the grassy plain. She followed Sheik closely, persistently asking him questions about Hyrule and Ganondorf. Sheik gladly answered all of the Kokiri girl's questions on their way to Kakariko Village, at the foot of Death Mountain.
Twice they had to stop in Hyrule Field and replenish Mido with a fairy. Saria, however, felt fine the whole journey after only a few uncomfortable minutes away from the forest in the beginning.
"It's your spirit," Sheik said, when Saria asked why she was faring so much better than Mido. "If Mido wasn't such a pessimist, he would be doing fine."
Saria smiled, pleased with herself for outdoing Mido. It wasn't the first time, and definitely not the last, but every time Saria did something better than Mido, she felt like she was doing it for Link to get Mido back after his years of making fun of him.
"Saria! Wait up!" Mido yelled, struggling to catch up with her and Sheik.
"Slow down." Sheik said, and they all stopped moving. Mido caught up to them.
"Thanks. I didn't think that you'd bother with me," he said, dropping his tough guy attitude.
"It's not that," Sheik said. "Be quiet. It's almost nighttime."
It was true. They had been traveling for most of the day. Hyrule Field was a much larger place than it seemed. The sun was almost gone below the horizon, and the moon was just rising. The concurrent sunset and moonrise looked so beautiful to the Kokiri, who had never seen anything like it before.
Off in the distance, a wolf howled at the rising of the moon.
"That symbolizes the beginning of pure night." Sheik said, and drew the chain from his waist. "And in the dead of night, the stalchildren come out to attack."
"Stalchildren?" Saria asked, her fear of Hyrule Field returning slightly.
Sheik nodded, "You will see soon enough."
"Can't we just get to the village before they show up?" Mido asked hopefully.
"It would be easier to stay and fight them until night is over," Sheik responded. "They may look scary, but they're not very tough."
* * *
Darunia, the Goron leader, was known as the 'big brother Goron.' He was tall and very strong, and he possessed one of the most intelligent minds of the entire Goron race. He was honest and had a good sense of justice, and he always took responsibility when needed. He was a serious leader, but knew when to cut loose and have a good time. He had all the qualities of a good leader.
And he was playing with his son.
"Hmmm…," He wound up his huge muscular arm, ready to toss a fast one to the young Goron child.
"I'm ready!" Link said from the top of Death Mountain. Darunia smiled and tossed the boulder up to where his son stood in front of the Great Fairy's fountain.
Link braced himself, and when the massive rock was in his field of vision, outstretched his own muscular arms to catch it. He was very young, only about a year old, but Gorons grow quickly, and he was very strong. He caught it, and after a second of regaining his balance, yelled back down to his dad. "Good throw!"
"Good catch!" Darunia yelled back from the area in front of Goron city. Playing with Link brought back memories of another Link, the one who his son was named after.
Darunia thought of the time he had first met Link. The Kokiri boy was only a ten year old kid then, but Darunia knew that Link must have grown up over six and a half years. Link had arrived for the spiritual stone of fire, the Gorons' Ruby. Unfortunately, he had come at a bad time for the leader of the Gorons. The dodongos, a type of volcanic fire-breathing dragon, had overrun the cavern where the Gorons had usually gotten their supply of the best tasting rocks. Link had played a wonderful, energetic song that lifted Darunia's spirits. After a joyous dance, Darunia gave Link the Gorons' Bracelet, allowing Link to pick bomb flowers and fight off the dodongos in the cavern. Link unblocked the opening to the cavern and had defeated the monstrous King Dodongo. In return for Link's bravery, Darunia had given him the Gorons' Ruby, and had made Link his honorary sworn brother, giving Link the freedom to stay in the Goron City as long as he wanted.
"I wonder where Link is now?" Darunia thought, and effortlessly tossed the gigantic stone back up to his son.
"Aaagh!" Goron Link yelled as the stone Darunia had carelessly tossed flew up toward him at a blinding speed. Darunia knew that he couldn't make it in time to catch it, and Link was too small to attempt it.
A booming yawn was heard as a giant hand carelessly smacked it away. The boulder tumbled around Death Mountain and into a channel of rock, where it rolled down over Dodongos' Cavern and smashed into a wall, breaking into thousands of tiny harmless pebbles.
"Why did yyyyyyyyyyou wake me frrrrrrrrrrom my sleep?" The huge voice of Biggoron echoed throughout Hyrule as he stood up. Biggoron was the biggest Goron of them all. He was ten times larger than Hot Rodder Goron, and five times the size of his brother Medigoron, who was too big to fit in a room and had to lay on the floor in a specially-designed area for him in Goron City. Biggoron was too big to fit in the city at all, and he rarely moved from his post on the peak of Death Mountain. He was a very kind and well-respected person, as he was also the best swords-craftsmen in all of Hyrule. However, he did tend to sleep quite a lot.
"Sorry Biggoron," Darunia called. "We were just playing a game of Boulder Ball. We didn't mean to wake you. Should we go play somewhere else?"
"No, don't worrrrrrrrrry about it." Biggoron said in his distinctive way of speaking. "Do yyyyyyyyou mind if I playyyyyyy?"
"Of course not, you can help me!" Link yelled happily. Biggoron was a good friend of his and his father's, and he had moved from his mountainside home just to be there when Link was born. Biggoron was Link's greatest role model, other than his father.
"Sorry, kids. Not today." A voice called to Link and Biggoron from next to Darunia. The voice was feminine, however, it contained the distinguishing Goron rumble.
"Awww, mom!" Link said. He waved to Biggoron and started down the cliff, but Biggoron cupped his massive hands around the Goron boy and lifted him safely down next to his mother.
As a female Goron, Link's mom was shorter and more slender than the men. Like all Gorons, she had very muscular arms and legs, and two small round eyes in a big round head. Her body, however, was not a shapeless boulder like most of the men. Female Gorons had bodies more like those of Hylians, however, they still had the distinctive bulk and muscle of the Goron race.
"Link," She said. "It's getting very late. Come back inside. You too, Darunia." She waved goodbye to Biggoron as her son and husband trudged behind her back to the city.
* * *
Saria easily held her own against the stalchildren. Sheik had been right. They did look scary, but they weren't tough at all. The most threatening thing about them was their numbers. They burst out of the ground two at a time, and there were three of them to each person. Saria's dagger bit into stalchild bone, and it took only a few hits to destroy one. But for every one defeated, another rose in its place.
Sheik took them out three at a time. His feet and hands were lethal. He had long since dropped the chain, preferring the quicker reflexes of his own body. He spun in a graceful circle of high kicks and low punches. He was able to take out three stalchildren per roundhouse, but barely had time to recover before three more burst from the grassy ground of Hyrule field.
Mido, on the other had, was having a terrible time. He was lashing out blindly with his own dagger, but he usually missed the stalchildren. His attacks weren't useless, though. He managed to keep the skeletal zombies at bay. Every few minutes or so, a stalchild got brave and entered Mido's attack range. Mido managed to hit these stalchildren, however they usually just stepped aside and shook off the minor damage.
The battle ended just as it had begun. A rooster far away crowed and the sun rose. As the moon sunk in the sky, the stalchildren did the same in the ground. All became calm again and Sheik calmly picked up his chain. Fastening it to his waist belt, he turned to Mido. "Are you all right?"
Mido confidently nodded his head. He stood up next to Saria. Sheik turned around and looked toward the vague figure of Death Mountain in the distance. His small smile was easily hidden by the cloth that covered the lower part of his face. "Mido's getting better. After that battle, I was sure he was going to need a fairy. I guess he's growing faster than he expected."
"C'mon. Let's get going." Sheik began heading towards the bridge to Kakariko village. Saria and Mido followed him.
* * *
The book of dark spells and sorceries proved quite useful to Ganondorf. There were two spells in it that he especially liked. One, was the Phantom Spirit Spell, which allowed him to make a phantom version of himself using energy from an alternate realm.
The other, which he found very appealing, was the spell of bringing the evil out of a pure-hearted person. With this, all he needed to do was find a person with a lot of good in his or her heart, and taking the light energy of that person, he could transform it into a dark energy, ultimately creating a entity of pure darkness in the form of whomever the energy originally belonged to. The dark entity would be powerful enough to rival the light one, but it wouldn't have the disadvantages of life or emotion.
Ganondorf decided to save the dark entity for later. It was a very powerful and dangerous spell, and there were hundreds of ways it might go wrong. Ganondorf was a confident man, but he wasn't quite sure if a being of pure evil could stay under his control for long. Nobody was pure evil. Even Ganondorf himself had a good side.
"I will create the phantom first." Ganondorf thought to himself. "It will take a while, but it will be worth it."
* * *
Sheik was welcomed by everyone in Kakariko village. All of the Hylian soldiers and residents of the town greeted him kindly. Everyone except his mother, Impa.
"Sheik, we must hurry. I can sense Ganondorf's power rising." She said quickly as soon as she met Sheik. She nodded to show she acknowledged the Kokiri.
Sheik nodded at his mother's hurried words. Together, the four of them left the villagers and soldiers and made their way to the foot of Death mountain. A lone soldier stood in front of the gate to Death Mountain Trail. He silently moved aside and cleared the way as he saw Sheik and Impa approaching. He nodded to them as they walked past, and ignored the 'children' walking with them.
* * *
Darmara held her hammer in front of her beautiful beady Goron eyes. As a warrior, her weapon was very important to her. It was a durable, heavy hammer, the preferred weapon of the Goron people. Medigoron had crafted it for her. Though his blade work was not as good as his brother's, Medigoron was the best hammer craftsmen in Hyrule.
"It's a beautiful weapon," Darmara thought, seeing her reflection in the shiny metal of the hammer's head. "But it is nowhere near the legendary Megaton Hammer."
"Darmara!" The loud low rumble of Darunia echoed throughout her room. "You are needed!"
Darmara stood up and went to the door of her home, where the Goron leader awaited her. "Darmara, there are some Hylians here. They claim to be looking for a Goron warrior to assist them against Ganondorf."
"Ganondorf? I'll be right there."
Darunia left to visit the Hylians as Darmara stayed in her house to get ready. Darunia walked along the many intricate stone pathways that made up Goron city. He thought of the last time a Hylian had visited the city. He remembered again for the second time that day the song Link had played for him. He-
His thoughts were interrupted by a loud booming laughter that echoed throughout the city. The laughter was followed by the screaming of Gorons and a thunderous roar.
Darunia turned toward the source of the sound and saw a huge jet of flame burst from one of the tunnels in the wall of the city. Gorons, curled up into heat-resistant balls, rolled from the fire at top speed, propelled by the pressure of the heat. After the Gorons came another dark laugh and then the massive head of a red dragon poked out of the tunnel.
Darunia knew the dragon at once from the Goron legends. "Volvagia…"
* * *
Impa paced around Darunia's chamber, going over battle tactics. Apparently the war against Ganondorf was going to take place sometime soon, and it was going to be huge. Saria and Mido began to feel that they had gotten into something too deep for a few simple Kokiri. The young Goron Link sat in his father's chair, not quite sure what was going on.
Suddenly a massive boulder rolled into the cave and uncurled itself into the familiar form of Darunia. "You must get out of here quickly!" He shouted, heading them towards the statue that concealed a hidden passage to Death Mountain crater.
"Daddy?" Link asked.
"What is going on?" Impa asked without moving from her spot.
"The dragon Volvagi-"
Darunia's sentence was cut short by a loud roar and a sudden burst of heat. Volvagia was just outside the room, in the main area of the city. Sheik nodded to Saria and Mido and they took the signal, following Darunia and Link through the tunnel to Death Mountain crater. Impa looked at Sheik. There was a moment's pause, and Sheik rushed out to fight Volvagia. Impa ran after him to help.
The sight in the center of the city was horrible. Gorons lay everywhere, many wounded, two dead, and most of them lay on the floor, their rock-hard backs protecting them from the dragon's heat and sharp claws. The dragon itself was a long red snake with claws that curled around the giant three-sided Goron statue in the center of the city. The worst part of all, however, was the man standing calmly a few levels up. His dark features and red hair were unmistakable. Ganondorf was the one behind all this chaos.
Sheik glared at the Gerudo king and he glared back. The powerful eyes of Sheik knew Ganondorf well, however, this was the first time Ganondorf had seen the Sheikah warrior. But Ganondorf knew that Sheik was an enemy. He memorized Sheik's face, or at least what he could see of it, knowing that his path would cross Sheik's again in the near future. When Sheik's darts flew at him, Ganondorf easily dodged by teleporting away, to his castle far away.
Sheik stared in pure hatred at the place where Ganondorf had stood. He remembered his childhood. The childhood he had spent in the castle. The castle which now belonged to Ganondorf. Sheik was broken out of his memories by the sharp sting of flame on his back. He turned to see Volvagia facing him. Impa was lying on the floor behind Volvagia, clutching at a wound in her side.
Sheik jumped in a graceful arc over Volvagia's next surge of flame. Before he had landed, there were five darts in Sheik's right hand. He sidestepped one of Volvagia's metallic claws and flung the darts toward the dragon's eye. Volvagia roared and struck Sheik with one of his massive claws.
A Goron battle cry broke out and a young female Goron wearing traditional Goron clothing ran out to Volvagia. She held a magnificent hammer with both hands, and she brought it down with full Goron strength on the crest on Volvagia's forehead.
The dragon let out a monstrous bellow and tried to clutch at his weak spot with his claws. The short arms couldn't reach and he turned around to escape. Volvagia took to the air and flew out of the city, where he continued climbing into the sky, until he was directly over Death Mountain crater, then he dove down into the sea of red lava, to his home, the Fire Temple.
"Thank you," Sheik said to the Goroness warrior.
"Do not thank me," Darmara replied. "This is my home and I was just doing my part in protecting it. My name is Darmara, and you must be the Hylian searching for help against Ganondorf."
Sheik nodded at her words. "Yes, but I am a Sheikah, not a Hylian." A painful groan caught Sheik's attention. "Impa!"
Sheik and Darmara ran to Impa's side. Impa was hurt badly. A large burn took up most of the left side of her body, and she was bleeding from her head. "Sheik…" Impa managed to cough out the words. "This wound is fatal…I will die unless…take me to the Great fairy here on Death Mountain. She…she should be able to help me."
Sheik nodded and Darmara picked up Impa's limp body. They ran to Darunia's chamber, where Darunia, Link, Saria and Mido had just returned from the volcanic crater.
"We must go to the Great Fairy." Sheik said simply. Darunia looked at Impa and nodded.
* * *
A giant fish, the lord and god of the Zora people, moved significantly for the first time in many years. Jabu-Jabu dove deep beneath the still waters of the Zora fountain, and it's giant scaly belly scraped the rupees on the bottom as it tried to escape the wrath of a dark man.
Phantom Ganon hovered behind Ganondorf, learning of Ganondorf's evil ways.
"The more time it spends with me, the more like me it will become. The more evil it will become," Ganondorf thought, and the helpless Jabu- Jabu died instantly as Ganondorf dove in the water and touched its skin. The body disappeared, dissolved into the water it had dwelled in for thousands of years.
Sheik's Legacy
Based on The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the Nintendo64
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to The Legend of Zelda, however…(I was going to make some witty comment here, but thought against it) Yeah, I don't own the rights to Zelda, the world of Hyrule, or its people…so let's just leave it at that.
Chapter Three: Death Mountain and the Wrath of Volvagia
Hyrule Field filled Mido with terror and fear, but Saria quickly learned to like the open sunlight of the grassy plain. She followed Sheik closely, persistently asking him questions about Hyrule and Ganondorf. Sheik gladly answered all of the Kokiri girl's questions on their way to Kakariko Village, at the foot of Death Mountain.
Twice they had to stop in Hyrule Field and replenish Mido with a fairy. Saria, however, felt fine the whole journey after only a few uncomfortable minutes away from the forest in the beginning.
"It's your spirit," Sheik said, when Saria asked why she was faring so much better than Mido. "If Mido wasn't such a pessimist, he would be doing fine."
Saria smiled, pleased with herself for outdoing Mido. It wasn't the first time, and definitely not the last, but every time Saria did something better than Mido, she felt like she was doing it for Link to get Mido back after his years of making fun of him.
"Saria! Wait up!" Mido yelled, struggling to catch up with her and Sheik.
"Slow down." Sheik said, and they all stopped moving. Mido caught up to them.
"Thanks. I didn't think that you'd bother with me," he said, dropping his tough guy attitude.
"It's not that," Sheik said. "Be quiet. It's almost nighttime."
It was true. They had been traveling for most of the day. Hyrule Field was a much larger place than it seemed. The sun was almost gone below the horizon, and the moon was just rising. The concurrent sunset and moonrise looked so beautiful to the Kokiri, who had never seen anything like it before.
Off in the distance, a wolf howled at the rising of the moon.
"That symbolizes the beginning of pure night." Sheik said, and drew the chain from his waist. "And in the dead of night, the stalchildren come out to attack."
"Stalchildren?" Saria asked, her fear of Hyrule Field returning slightly.
Sheik nodded, "You will see soon enough."
"Can't we just get to the village before they show up?" Mido asked hopefully.
"It would be easier to stay and fight them until night is over," Sheik responded. "They may look scary, but they're not very tough."
* * *
Darunia, the Goron leader, was known as the 'big brother Goron.' He was tall and very strong, and he possessed one of the most intelligent minds of the entire Goron race. He was honest and had a good sense of justice, and he always took responsibility when needed. He was a serious leader, but knew when to cut loose and have a good time. He had all the qualities of a good leader.
And he was playing with his son.
"Hmmm…," He wound up his huge muscular arm, ready to toss a fast one to the young Goron child.
"I'm ready!" Link said from the top of Death Mountain. Darunia smiled and tossed the boulder up to where his son stood in front of the Great Fairy's fountain.
Link braced himself, and when the massive rock was in his field of vision, outstretched his own muscular arms to catch it. He was very young, only about a year old, but Gorons grow quickly, and he was very strong. He caught it, and after a second of regaining his balance, yelled back down to his dad. "Good throw!"
"Good catch!" Darunia yelled back from the area in front of Goron city. Playing with Link brought back memories of another Link, the one who his son was named after.
Darunia thought of the time he had first met Link. The Kokiri boy was only a ten year old kid then, but Darunia knew that Link must have grown up over six and a half years. Link had arrived for the spiritual stone of fire, the Gorons' Ruby. Unfortunately, he had come at a bad time for the leader of the Gorons. The dodongos, a type of volcanic fire-breathing dragon, had overrun the cavern where the Gorons had usually gotten their supply of the best tasting rocks. Link had played a wonderful, energetic song that lifted Darunia's spirits. After a joyous dance, Darunia gave Link the Gorons' Bracelet, allowing Link to pick bomb flowers and fight off the dodongos in the cavern. Link unblocked the opening to the cavern and had defeated the monstrous King Dodongo. In return for Link's bravery, Darunia had given him the Gorons' Ruby, and had made Link his honorary sworn brother, giving Link the freedom to stay in the Goron City as long as he wanted.
"I wonder where Link is now?" Darunia thought, and effortlessly tossed the gigantic stone back up to his son.
"Aaagh!" Goron Link yelled as the stone Darunia had carelessly tossed flew up toward him at a blinding speed. Darunia knew that he couldn't make it in time to catch it, and Link was too small to attempt it.
A booming yawn was heard as a giant hand carelessly smacked it away. The boulder tumbled around Death Mountain and into a channel of rock, where it rolled down over Dodongos' Cavern and smashed into a wall, breaking into thousands of tiny harmless pebbles.
"Why did yyyyyyyyyyou wake me frrrrrrrrrrom my sleep?" The huge voice of Biggoron echoed throughout Hyrule as he stood up. Biggoron was the biggest Goron of them all. He was ten times larger than Hot Rodder Goron, and five times the size of his brother Medigoron, who was too big to fit in a room and had to lay on the floor in a specially-designed area for him in Goron City. Biggoron was too big to fit in the city at all, and he rarely moved from his post on the peak of Death Mountain. He was a very kind and well-respected person, as he was also the best swords-craftsmen in all of Hyrule. However, he did tend to sleep quite a lot.
"Sorry Biggoron," Darunia called. "We were just playing a game of Boulder Ball. We didn't mean to wake you. Should we go play somewhere else?"
"No, don't worrrrrrrrrry about it." Biggoron said in his distinctive way of speaking. "Do yyyyyyyyou mind if I playyyyyyy?"
"Of course not, you can help me!" Link yelled happily. Biggoron was a good friend of his and his father's, and he had moved from his mountainside home just to be there when Link was born. Biggoron was Link's greatest role model, other than his father.
"Sorry, kids. Not today." A voice called to Link and Biggoron from next to Darunia. The voice was feminine, however, it contained the distinguishing Goron rumble.
"Awww, mom!" Link said. He waved to Biggoron and started down the cliff, but Biggoron cupped his massive hands around the Goron boy and lifted him safely down next to his mother.
As a female Goron, Link's mom was shorter and more slender than the men. Like all Gorons, she had very muscular arms and legs, and two small round eyes in a big round head. Her body, however, was not a shapeless boulder like most of the men. Female Gorons had bodies more like those of Hylians, however, they still had the distinctive bulk and muscle of the Goron race.
"Link," She said. "It's getting very late. Come back inside. You too, Darunia." She waved goodbye to Biggoron as her son and husband trudged behind her back to the city.
* * *
Saria easily held her own against the stalchildren. Sheik had been right. They did look scary, but they weren't tough at all. The most threatening thing about them was their numbers. They burst out of the ground two at a time, and there were three of them to each person. Saria's dagger bit into stalchild bone, and it took only a few hits to destroy one. But for every one defeated, another rose in its place.
Sheik took them out three at a time. His feet and hands were lethal. He had long since dropped the chain, preferring the quicker reflexes of his own body. He spun in a graceful circle of high kicks and low punches. He was able to take out three stalchildren per roundhouse, but barely had time to recover before three more burst from the grassy ground of Hyrule field.
Mido, on the other had, was having a terrible time. He was lashing out blindly with his own dagger, but he usually missed the stalchildren. His attacks weren't useless, though. He managed to keep the skeletal zombies at bay. Every few minutes or so, a stalchild got brave and entered Mido's attack range. Mido managed to hit these stalchildren, however they usually just stepped aside and shook off the minor damage.
The battle ended just as it had begun. A rooster far away crowed and the sun rose. As the moon sunk in the sky, the stalchildren did the same in the ground. All became calm again and Sheik calmly picked up his chain. Fastening it to his waist belt, he turned to Mido. "Are you all right?"
Mido confidently nodded his head. He stood up next to Saria. Sheik turned around and looked toward the vague figure of Death Mountain in the distance. His small smile was easily hidden by the cloth that covered the lower part of his face. "Mido's getting better. After that battle, I was sure he was going to need a fairy. I guess he's growing faster than he expected."
"C'mon. Let's get going." Sheik began heading towards the bridge to Kakariko village. Saria and Mido followed him.
* * *
The book of dark spells and sorceries proved quite useful to Ganondorf. There were two spells in it that he especially liked. One, was the Phantom Spirit Spell, which allowed him to make a phantom version of himself using energy from an alternate realm.
The other, which he found very appealing, was the spell of bringing the evil out of a pure-hearted person. With this, all he needed to do was find a person with a lot of good in his or her heart, and taking the light energy of that person, he could transform it into a dark energy, ultimately creating a entity of pure darkness in the form of whomever the energy originally belonged to. The dark entity would be powerful enough to rival the light one, but it wouldn't have the disadvantages of life or emotion.
Ganondorf decided to save the dark entity for later. It was a very powerful and dangerous spell, and there were hundreds of ways it might go wrong. Ganondorf was a confident man, but he wasn't quite sure if a being of pure evil could stay under his control for long. Nobody was pure evil. Even Ganondorf himself had a good side.
"I will create the phantom first." Ganondorf thought to himself. "It will take a while, but it will be worth it."
* * *
Sheik was welcomed by everyone in Kakariko village. All of the Hylian soldiers and residents of the town greeted him kindly. Everyone except his mother, Impa.
"Sheik, we must hurry. I can sense Ganondorf's power rising." She said quickly as soon as she met Sheik. She nodded to show she acknowledged the Kokiri.
Sheik nodded at his mother's hurried words. Together, the four of them left the villagers and soldiers and made their way to the foot of Death mountain. A lone soldier stood in front of the gate to Death Mountain Trail. He silently moved aside and cleared the way as he saw Sheik and Impa approaching. He nodded to them as they walked past, and ignored the 'children' walking with them.
* * *
Darmara held her hammer in front of her beautiful beady Goron eyes. As a warrior, her weapon was very important to her. It was a durable, heavy hammer, the preferred weapon of the Goron people. Medigoron had crafted it for her. Though his blade work was not as good as his brother's, Medigoron was the best hammer craftsmen in Hyrule.
"It's a beautiful weapon," Darmara thought, seeing her reflection in the shiny metal of the hammer's head. "But it is nowhere near the legendary Megaton Hammer."
"Darmara!" The loud low rumble of Darunia echoed throughout her room. "You are needed!"
Darmara stood up and went to the door of her home, where the Goron leader awaited her. "Darmara, there are some Hylians here. They claim to be looking for a Goron warrior to assist them against Ganondorf."
"Ganondorf? I'll be right there."
Darunia left to visit the Hylians as Darmara stayed in her house to get ready. Darunia walked along the many intricate stone pathways that made up Goron city. He thought of the last time a Hylian had visited the city. He remembered again for the second time that day the song Link had played for him. He-
His thoughts were interrupted by a loud booming laughter that echoed throughout the city. The laughter was followed by the screaming of Gorons and a thunderous roar.
Darunia turned toward the source of the sound and saw a huge jet of flame burst from one of the tunnels in the wall of the city. Gorons, curled up into heat-resistant balls, rolled from the fire at top speed, propelled by the pressure of the heat. After the Gorons came another dark laugh and then the massive head of a red dragon poked out of the tunnel.
Darunia knew the dragon at once from the Goron legends. "Volvagia…"
* * *
Impa paced around Darunia's chamber, going over battle tactics. Apparently the war against Ganondorf was going to take place sometime soon, and it was going to be huge. Saria and Mido began to feel that they had gotten into something too deep for a few simple Kokiri. The young Goron Link sat in his father's chair, not quite sure what was going on.
Suddenly a massive boulder rolled into the cave and uncurled itself into the familiar form of Darunia. "You must get out of here quickly!" He shouted, heading them towards the statue that concealed a hidden passage to Death Mountain crater.
"Daddy?" Link asked.
"What is going on?" Impa asked without moving from her spot.
"The dragon Volvagi-"
Darunia's sentence was cut short by a loud roar and a sudden burst of heat. Volvagia was just outside the room, in the main area of the city. Sheik nodded to Saria and Mido and they took the signal, following Darunia and Link through the tunnel to Death Mountain crater. Impa looked at Sheik. There was a moment's pause, and Sheik rushed out to fight Volvagia. Impa ran after him to help.
The sight in the center of the city was horrible. Gorons lay everywhere, many wounded, two dead, and most of them lay on the floor, their rock-hard backs protecting them from the dragon's heat and sharp claws. The dragon itself was a long red snake with claws that curled around the giant three-sided Goron statue in the center of the city. The worst part of all, however, was the man standing calmly a few levels up. His dark features and red hair were unmistakable. Ganondorf was the one behind all this chaos.
Sheik glared at the Gerudo king and he glared back. The powerful eyes of Sheik knew Ganondorf well, however, this was the first time Ganondorf had seen the Sheikah warrior. But Ganondorf knew that Sheik was an enemy. He memorized Sheik's face, or at least what he could see of it, knowing that his path would cross Sheik's again in the near future. When Sheik's darts flew at him, Ganondorf easily dodged by teleporting away, to his castle far away.
Sheik stared in pure hatred at the place where Ganondorf had stood. He remembered his childhood. The childhood he had spent in the castle. The castle which now belonged to Ganondorf. Sheik was broken out of his memories by the sharp sting of flame on his back. He turned to see Volvagia facing him. Impa was lying on the floor behind Volvagia, clutching at a wound in her side.
Sheik jumped in a graceful arc over Volvagia's next surge of flame. Before he had landed, there were five darts in Sheik's right hand. He sidestepped one of Volvagia's metallic claws and flung the darts toward the dragon's eye. Volvagia roared and struck Sheik with one of his massive claws.
A Goron battle cry broke out and a young female Goron wearing traditional Goron clothing ran out to Volvagia. She held a magnificent hammer with both hands, and she brought it down with full Goron strength on the crest on Volvagia's forehead.
The dragon let out a monstrous bellow and tried to clutch at his weak spot with his claws. The short arms couldn't reach and he turned around to escape. Volvagia took to the air and flew out of the city, where he continued climbing into the sky, until he was directly over Death Mountain crater, then he dove down into the sea of red lava, to his home, the Fire Temple.
"Thank you," Sheik said to the Goroness warrior.
"Do not thank me," Darmara replied. "This is my home and I was just doing my part in protecting it. My name is Darmara, and you must be the Hylian searching for help against Ganondorf."
Sheik nodded at her words. "Yes, but I am a Sheikah, not a Hylian." A painful groan caught Sheik's attention. "Impa!"
Sheik and Darmara ran to Impa's side. Impa was hurt badly. A large burn took up most of the left side of her body, and she was bleeding from her head. "Sheik…" Impa managed to cough out the words. "This wound is fatal…I will die unless…take me to the Great fairy here on Death Mountain. She…she should be able to help me."
Sheik nodded and Darmara picked up Impa's limp body. They ran to Darunia's chamber, where Darunia, Link, Saria and Mido had just returned from the volcanic crater.
"We must go to the Great Fairy." Sheik said simply. Darunia looked at Impa and nodded.
* * *
A giant fish, the lord and god of the Zora people, moved significantly for the first time in many years. Jabu-Jabu dove deep beneath the still waters of the Zora fountain, and it's giant scaly belly scraped the rupees on the bottom as it tried to escape the wrath of a dark man.
Phantom Ganon hovered behind Ganondorf, learning of Ganondorf's evil ways.
"The more time it spends with me, the more like me it will become. The more evil it will become," Ganondorf thought, and the helpless Jabu- Jabu died instantly as Ganondorf dove in the water and touched its skin. The body disappeared, dissolved into the water it had dwelled in for thousands of years.
