Blizzaga Saga: Sorry for the long absence. This hasn't been the easiest fic to rewrite. So much has changed since I first made this, and reconciling my current writing style with my style back then has been tedious and time-consuming. For the sake of time and my sanity, I'm going to try not stressing so much about edits for the remaining chapters. Anyway, enjoy!


Chapter 7: "A Loving Soul"

Link resisted the urge to run and reminded himself that he was a better fighter than he used to be. Stan had said so. Over three feet tall, the Tektite he faced scuttled toward him with quick powerful legs, but instead of earning a meal, it earned a cut from his sword.

Its screech of pain startled him, giving it time to limp over rocks in search of something to hide under. Remembering what his father once said about Tektites being group-oriented, he slashed downward before the noise could attract company, and its legs buckled as its torso slammed into the ground. Two more stabs silenced it.

Link's long bangs failed to protect his eyes from the dust scattered by the scuffle. Once it settled, he scanned the rocks which made up the mountain trail and sighed, for there was no life for miles in any direction; he'd been in no danger of his retreating victim calling for help. He didn't feel like he had gained valuable battle experience or done anything of merit. He felt only disgust with himself. Worse, he couldn't rationalize his deed as hunting for food. Whoever heard of eating a Tektite? Imagining the giant spider corpse on a platter made him shudder.

Kakariko was two hours behind him when dusk fell. Thankfully no Stalchildren or Stalfos roamed here, but running, cold, and thirst drained him. The magic in the fairy fountain had filled his stomach, warmed him, and healed him, but now the cold of the dead season penetrated his clothes. Moisture leaked from his eyes, chilling him as it clung to his cheeks, and every minute or so he wiped his running nose on his sleeve. His teeth chattered around his dry tongue.

Hylians and Gorons had been on bad terms since the war which saw the extermination of the Gerudo when Link was a baby, so he had never been on this path. He had hoped to find a stream or pond, but as he progressed the area only became more barren. The trees thinned until just grass and then sterile earth remained. No plants obstructed his view. In the almost-dark he saw mountains straight ahead, the largest one extending upward as if to touch the heavens, but nowhere did he see a water source. Dampe was right: Hylians couldn't possibly live here. Still, there had to be water somewhere: he didn't know much about Gorons, Bomb Fruit, or Tektites, but he felt sure at least one of the groups needed water to survive.

He didn't find any by the time the first stars emerged, though, and the aching in his sides and the freezing air cutting his lungs made him stop. Leaning against a boulder, he chastised himself for being weak while he caught his breath and gathered the will to sprint the rest of the way to the volcano's base. Remembering his father's teachings, he quelled his rising frustration, and in his search for serenity his gaze traveled up. Nothing hindered his view of the sky, and as he marveled at how this place was even more open than Hyrule Field, it occurred to him that he wasn't in the Lost Woods anymore.

He hadn't been for almost two days, but it hadn't fully hit him until now. The forest canopy didn't allow stargazing, and vaguely he wondered if Saria would like it.

She had probably reacquainted herself with the Deku Sprout by now. In wondering what she would say if he told her he was trying to help save Hyrule, he decided she was one of the only people who wouldn't laugh at him. She had said he was her hero, after all. Just the memory of that sent a pleasant rush of blood to his head. Her faith in him, though misplaced, comforted him.

No more delay. With stubborn determination, the boy stretched and took off once more. As he began to understand the sheer size of the approaching mountain, he felt the same intimidation the Forest Temple had made him feel. As the sunlight left completely, he arrived at the base, stumbling over rocks due to the stars disappearing behind the mountain.

He needed to find a place to sleep where he wouldn't freeze, even if it meant climbing and fumbling in the dark until he reached the Gorons' home. Link concentrated, and an orb of fire appeared in his hand. Holding it out in front, he eyed what little of the scene became visible and stepped back, stunned at what immediately appeared before him: a cave. An enormous opening in the rock wall led far deeper than the light reached, and a sign stood to the right of the opening:

"Dodongo's Cavern."

Was this Goron City? Link remembered hearing that the entrance was very high above the ground. But he had also heard that Gorons were unintelligent monsters, and that was obviously false, given the Goron who had come to Hyrule Castle looking for a way to save his people. Besides, if this was the entrance, it would explain why the Goron had trusted him to get to the city on his own. In any case, he could at least ask for directions here. He hoped that Dodongo, whoever he or she was, didn't mind guests.

He noticed after the first turn that the cave was mercifully warmer than the outside. He moved forward cautiously, holding the flame in every direction.

"Dodongo?"

No one answered, but he stopped caring when he heard running water. A small stream appeared before him, and he took only a moment to inspect it before forgoing caution. Lying on his stomach, he let the flame fade and stuck his chin in the stream as total darkness filled the cavern. The water chilled his teeth, but he ignored the discomfort and took big gulps. Afterward he stood and let out a stream of his own against a wall away from the drinking water.

After reigniting a flame, he picked up a discarded torch on the ground and lit it, amazed at his luck. Shivering miserably in its warmth, Link took his leather gauntlets off, rubbed some feeling back into his ears and face, and reequipped them. When his front had bathed in the warmth for long enough, he set the torch down and rotated slowly like a rotisserie cuckoo to heat his whole being.

Some minutes later, Link's teeth stopped chattering and he sat, ignoring the frigid stone numbing his rear. This wouldn't be a bad place to sleep. The ground was hard and uneven, but at least he wouldn't freeze. His clothes chilled him a bit, though. Link examined his attire. Just earlier today, his tunic had been clean. It was supposed to represent a new era of his life. His loneliness in the Lost Woods made him realize his friends and family were what really mattered to him, and he had vowed to stay with them and help them through these dark times. But now that he had broken that vow, his tunic had tears from his trip to Kakariko and dust and grime. Perhaps he should not have left.

No. He didn't regret his decision. He would go back to Brittany and his father as soon as he had done everything in his power to make Hyrule safe for them. Certainly he was no Stan, but...

Despite his best intentions, he already sensed his inner fire fading and consciously pushed away the feelings of inadequacy that threatened to extinguish it. He kept beating into his head that he was not as weak as he used to be. He couldn't let negative thoughts weigh him down, no matter how true they were, or else he'd lose his purpose, the only part of this ridiculous quest that made sense.

Link wished he could stop and train. He wished he could forget about everything and focus on getting stronger like he had in the Lost Woods, like he always had in Kakariko, but he couldn't do that anymore after everything he'd seen. Dampe had said on the night Stan defeated the Poe that Link would need to grow up fast, and Link now realized just how correct that statement was. He needed to grow up so he could assume the role of hero he had temporarily chosen. He only wished he knew how.

"One cannot make sound judgment until he knows more about his situation," he remembered his father saying, and Link knew very little about the situation. But at least he could figure out one thing while he rested. He removed Dampe's glasses from his pouch, and the left lens sparkled in the firelight.

The Lens of Truth, he thought. The Hero of Time used this to save Hyrule. Humbled by the thought of holding such an incredible tool used by such an incredible person, he held it almost reverently. It didn't look any different from the right lens apart from a barely noticeable purple tint, so how did Dampe use it? The world took on a purple hue when he cautiously put them on. He felt silly, like a child playing dress-up, and he was thankful that the darkness protected against the eyes of others. Was he supposed to do something? The glasses weren't working by themselves, or at least he assumed they weren't. Perhaps if he just—

Link flinched at the sudden drain, but decided his concentration must have triggered it. His mana slowly decreased as he looked around, but everything appeared the same. He could not see through the darkness, as he had somewhat expected to, and nothing within his field of vision changed. Disappointed, he stopped and took them off, choosing to experiment with the Four Sword next.

Fire and ice arrows were currently his most effective weapons, but Link had a hunch his sword would be much more useful after what he had learned from Dampe. He didn't know exactly what power had awakened in him when he played the Elegy of Emptiness, but now seemed as good a time as any to find out.

Link gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, focusing in a different manner than before, not knowing where the knowledge for performing the spell came from. A being noiselessly materialized into existence in front of him, and Link stared into an exact replica of himself. The clothes and weapons were all the same, and the being's tunic had the same rips and dirty spots Link's did. It had a bit of dirt on its face, and Link touched his own face to discover he had dirt in the same spot.

They stared at each other briefly as they sat until the doppelganger averted his eyes. "You're not me," Link concluded.

"Yes I am," it said in a quiet voice Link almost didn't hear.

He raised his arm; it did not mimic the movement. "No, you're not."

"I'm part of you."

He noticed that it hugged itself and avoided eye contact, though it occasionally snuck a glance at him. And then, to his confusion, thoughts which would normally have stayed inside Link's head were given voice.

"I don't know what you mean." He froze. "Did I say that out loud? ...I just said that out loud too!" Link desperately employed all his willpower in trying to contain himself. He succeeded, but he was also aware that his control would slip with the slightest lapse of attention. He could not maintain such concentration for long, of course, and soon more words poured from his mouth, seemingly without his command. "What's going on?"

"You...um..." the being stuttered, looking even more insecure.

"What's wrong? Please talk to me. I need answers."

"I-I know, but...I'm not good at talking with other people."

"No one else is here. It's just me, since you say you're a part of me."

"I can never be comfortable around anyone, even myself."

"What does that mean? Ah!" Link winced and held his head. He felt stressed, like he had back when he only had one heart piece, like his mind was being pulled toward something, only this time it was toward a doppelganger instead of a heart piece. Then after a revelation, the pain lessened. "I get it. I'm controlling both of us. But that doesn't make any sense. How can I be doing that when I can't even control what I say?"

"I don't understand," it whimpered. "I don't understand any of what's going on, and I haven't done a single thing right so far!"

A tear escaped one of its eyes, and Link felt the odd sensation of his feelings of frustration and inadequacy being vented through a body other than his own.

"H-Hey, stop that! This isn't something I would cry about!" Link said.

It sniffled. "I'm not good for anything! I've already made so many mistakes. I should have thought to bring a blanket out here. I should have known there wouldn't be any food in a place called 'Death Mountain'. I should have worn warmer clothes, I should have asked Dampe how the Lens of Truth worked before I left, I should have—"

"Be quiet!" Link hissed, crushing his doubt as he had been doing internally just a moment ago. His self-control had completely eroded, and it seemed neither he nor his double did what he wanted.

"I'm so weak... I couldn't catch up to the Goron. I was stupid and spent too much time in the graveyard. I tried my best to reach him so I could take him back to the fairy fountain and heal him, but because I'm so useless he's probably really hurt somewhere. He's going through more pain than he has to."

"I know. I saw the drops of blood on the ground leading north from Kakariko," he snapped.

"It would be better for everyone if I never existed."

"Don't be such a dramatic wimp! What about Saria? Would she be better off? I helped her kill the monster that took over the Forest Temple, and because of me she can talk to the Deku Sprout again."

"But I hurt her feelings."

"I know, but it had to be done. I couldn't just let her keep thinking I was the boy she used to know."

"But—"

"Enough!" Link shouted in a very loud and uncharacteristic fashion. "This quest is already hard enough without you bringing me down! Go away!"

The doppelganger obeyed for once and vanished, and Link was alone once more. The stress left, and he felt normal again, save for confusion at the revelation that he had just had a mental battle outside of his head. Relaxing from the tense position he had taken during the argument, he leaned against the wall and breathed heavily, exhausted from the run and his experiment. Unsatisfied and no less baffled than he had been when he left the graveyard, he resolved to sleep so he'd have enough strength to leave as soon as day came.

Thoughts of whether the doppelganger was really a part of him stopped him before he blew out the torch. Was he really that pathetic? Was that how others saw him? He quickly shook the thought. The doppelganger was wrong. He wasn't useless—not completely.

It had been right about bringing a blanket, though. It was warmer in the cave, but still not hot enough to be comfortable, and he paused just a moment longer to revel in the heat of the torch. His arms relaxed, but when they brushed against something and an odd hollow sound reverberated, he withdrew his limbs. A quick glance at the source of the sound preceded his sharp gasp and his scrambling away.

He had wondered where the torch came from, and now he wished he didn't know: a Hylian skeleton lay to his left. After his quick movement, he heard sounds from deeper in the cavern, and at once a multitude of creatures became visible, rushing toward him in a swarm from deeper in the cave, and he knew the cause of the Hylian's death.

His earlier analysis was incorrect. Tektites were definitely group-oriented.

He turned to run, but was too tired to escape before the agile monsters surrounded him. Some crept toward him on the ground while some stuck to the walls or ceiling and approached from odd angles. Focusing what remained of his mana, he called forth his double, which trembled as it held a replica of the Four Sword.

"Guard my back!" Link ordered, though he didn't know why since he was technically in control of the fighter.

Though terrified, Link managed to keep his cool. His double, however, was too shaken to survive for long. It had no equipment other than the blade: it did not have a giant shield on its back like Link did and thus was especially vulnerable. The double screamed in fright, swinging wildly in a way that Link would have been ashamed to see if his own mortal peril didn't have his full attention. A Tektite quickly broke through its guard and bit it, and it disappeared as noiselessly as it had come into being.

Link felt his will being concentrated into just one body again and became frightened at the realization that he was alone against a horde of enemies. He didn't have enough mana to summon a double again, so he was light-headed, and he was still terribly fatigued from running. When one leapt at him to attack, he knew his reaction would be slow enough to give all the Tektites on the opposite side an opening.

It happened soon enough. He slammed one away with all his strength only to be brought down from the opposite side. A scream escaped his throat as countless masses fell upon him. The monsters competed for spots on top of him, knocking each other away and biting his arms, his legs, his hair and clothes. The din drowned out his pain-filled shrieks, but he still yelled and tried to shake them off. He thrashed about on the ground, kicking and rolling as violently as he could and losing his sword in the process, but escape from one enemy only meant an opportunity for another. He was aware that the wetness on his body was blood and not moisture from the stream, and within seconds he could not struggle any longer. They bit and tore into him unimpeded.

But just as his panic and pain reached a climax, a tremendous roar filled the cavern, loud enough that it seemed to shake the ground as it echoed. To his confusion and relief, the attackers noisily fled the way they came. Link lay on his stomach, too hurt to raise his head and turn to see the new beast that had claimed him. He shut his eyes tightly.

"You! Hylian! Are you all right?" a loud, deep voice asked, more aggressive than worried.

He opened his eyes only to shut them again as he winced in pain, rocks rubbing against his raw flesh. "I..."

"Damn it, why did you go in here? Didn't you see the sign? That skeleton over there belonged to another Hylian who thought he could survive in this place! Do you want that to happen to you?" He sighed. "Stay still. I'm getting you out of here." Link felt something lift him and was afraid until he figured out he was traveling on someone's shoulder. Somehow he still had the energy to remember he had lost his sword and weakly murmured something about it. "It's in my other hand. Don't worry."

Link's vision was failing, but he found his ride to be a Goron. Enormous hard muscles supported him, and he felt odd watching the ground from this high up. "Thank you. Are you...?" He let the question hang, not sure how to finish it and too concerned about the stickiness he felt all over to properly search for words.

"No, I am not the Goron who recruited you from Castle Town." He sounded annoyed. "You're the one my friend calls 'Sir Link', right?"

"Yes."

For some reason, this made the Goron very angry. Link saw a deep scowl on the dark brown face in the starlight as they left the cave. "That idiot. What was he thinking, bringing a little kid here?"

Link lacked the vigor to do anything but feel ashamed. "I-I'm sorry you had to rescue me...a-and for getting blood on you."

"Don't talk," the giant commanded. "I'm taking you to my home so you can rest. I will take care of you."

Link wished he could pass out from pain or embarrassment, but he endured, and his focus drifted in and out. He was aware of being carried, of being shifted from shoulder to shoulder occasionally, of being set down while his savior rested, and then of being passed to another Goron. It seemed like more than an hour passed as a relay team took him up a steep and dangerous path, though in his barely conscious state Link didn't have a clear perception of time. He barely noticed when his carriers almost dropped him at some of the more difficult climbing areas, and every step of the way, he saw was greeted with a vision of death in the form of how high they were.

Finally he was taken into another cave, this one far above the plain. He felt warmer again. More Gorons traded him off to each other, taking him deeper inside and cleaning his wounds before commanding him to sleep.


Moving proved difficult when Link woke due to bandages wrapped tightly around his wounds. On the hard cave floor with his equipment scattered haphazardly about, he took a moment to revel in the fact that he wasn't dead. He hurt all over from where small teeth had ripped his flesh, but that pain was only more evidence that he was alive. He questioned his health more seriously, however, at the sight of a great boulder shrinking and expanding in the light of the chamber's single torch. Link calmed when he heard light snoring, but wondered how something could sleep rolled into a ball like that. How did one even get into that position?

Following his startled movement, the snore broke, and Link watched in astonishment as the ball let out a deep groan and unraveled into a Goron. His size seemed to double as he came out of his sleeping position, and as Link nervously edged away he saw that the Goron had far fewer bandages than Link did but looked greatly fatigued. Despite this, when he saw Link he leapt to his feet with a speed which frightened the Hylian.

"Sir Link! Are you okay?"

"Sir Link" sat up and surveyed his companion. He looked...exactly the same as the one who had carried him up the mountain, but lacked the sour disposition. Link examined the spots covered by bandages and saw that they covered the very spots where his once-companion had been hit in Hyrule Field.

"Are you the one who helped me leave Castle Town?" he asked timidly, feeling horrible for not being able to distinguish between two Gorons.

He didn't seem to mind. "Yes. My name is Duram."

"I'm sorry I didn't learn your name before..."

"It doesn't matter. We have both made it back. Come on. We have to see—" Just as the two made to stand, another person entered. "—Big Brother!" Duram exclaimed in joy. "I'm so glad to see you! This is Sir Link."

"Big Brother" did not pay the Hylian so much as a glance. Link recognized the angry expression and suspected that this was the one who had carried him to Goron City.

"What were you thinking, leaving like that?" the leader asked in a severe tone. "You could have gotten killed. What if it had rained while you were in Hyrule Field? As it stands now, our search party will be one brother short until you recover."

"I'm sorry, but...I brought back someone who can help! Sir Link has ice powers, just like the Hero of Time!"

The leader regarded Link for the first time. "Is your name really 'Sir Link'?" he asked skeptically.

"It's just 'Link'. Nice to meet you, Big Brother."

"You're no brother of mine," he replied harshly. "Call me Darmani." Link winced. So much for trying to be respectful...

"Just 'Link'? Surely you have a title?" Duram looked like he was begging Link for a confirmation.

Having just awoken, he spoke before thinking. "No. Why would I?"

"You're a knight."

"No...I'm not."

There was a long pause. Duram looked shocked, while Darmani just sighed in annoyance and covered his face with a massive hand. "Why did you think he was a knight?"

Duram turned to Link. "But...you have to be a knight. You attacked me when the rest of your knights did. And you were the only one who managed to hurt me."

"He's not even grown yet!" Darmani's voice kept rising, and Link resisted the urge to cover his ears. Gorons could certainly project. In retrospect, it was no wonder the Tektites had fled from Big Brother. After a point, though, Darmani's volume returned to what Link guessed was normal, though it was still much louder and more abrasive than what he considered to be a suitable inside voice. "I guess it can't be helped. It's been fourteen years since we've had any real contact with the Hylians, so it's understandable that you would not be familiar with their customs." Another deep breath calmed him. "I'm sorry for yelling at you. Please forgive me."

"You need not ask," Duram said graciously.

"You must rest up now so you can help as soon as possible. Things have gotten worse since you left."

"You mean more people have been paralyzed?" At this, Link listened attentively.

"Yes. And after they recover, most of them are too wrapped in fear to be of any use." He turned to Link. "And what have you come for?"

"I-I..." Finding words was difficult with such a powerful presence bearing down on him. Darmani, Link noticed, was bigger than both Stan and Duram, but carried none of his brother's friendly aura. "Duram asked if I would come with him."

"Well I'm sorry, but I don't think there's anything someone of your size could help us with."

"He may not measure up physically, but he knows ice magic. That means he could be the hero's reincarnation."

"We have already found the hero's reincarnation." Link and Duram both gawked at him. "But that is not up for discussion as long as you are around," he said to Link. "I'd like to know what you were doing in Dodongo's Cavern. Despite the warning sign we put up, you still went in. What errand did you have there? Raising the dead, perhaps?"

"Are you implying that Link was the one who revived the dragon? I know all Hylians look alike, but surely you can tell the difference between this boy and the woman who threatened us."

"For all I know, he could be working with her."

"I just went in there to rest..."

"Maybe we should have changed the sign to 'Tektite's Cavern'. I haven't seen a single Dodongo there since the Tektite population began rising. He probably thought from the sign that the cave was full of slow Dodongos and figured he could outrun them if any attacked," Duram supplied. Link said nothing, feeling stupid for never having heard of a Dodongo.

"Regardless, I suppose he is our responsibility. You had better not do anything to raise our suspicions." Link nodded nervously. "Rest up, you two. I'll be back to check on you later." He exited, and the two recovering patients lay in silence for a time.

"Link, I'm sorry you're under suspicion."

"It's okay," he said quietly. "How are your injuries?"

"I couldn't make it up the mountain on my own last night. Two others had to carry me up from the base. I had no idea the problem in Hyrule Field had gotten this bad. I'm not as strong as Big Brother, but I'm no wimp. Even so, all those monsters tore me apart. I'll need to rest a while."

Link felt even worse about not catching up to Duram in time to take him to the fairy fountain and felt guilty just being in his presence. "I'm going to walk around a bit."

"Are you sure you're up for it? You must have incredible stamina."

"I'll be fine," he said a bit quickly. "I need some food and water."

As he left the room, he saw that the Tektites had ripped his outfit to pieces: it was more bandages than tunic now. The bite marks underneath burned as the bandages shrank and expanded with his movements. He quickly concluded that he was in much worse condition than Duram and had no business moving about. Before he stopped to rest, though, another Goron approached him carrying something.

"Oh. You're up," he noted matter-of-factly. "My name is Dodones. Are you well?" He didn't wait for an answer or for Link to introduce himself. "We're not really equipped to take care of Hylians: we don't have blankets or anything, and we don't have much experience bandaging wounds since our skin is very tough. As a result, I'm afraid all those bites will leave permanent scars. Luckily, your face was mostly untouched." He continued in the same neutral tone. "I know you can't eat rocks like we do, so here's some water and roasted Tektite."

Not wanting to seem ungrateful, Link smiled and took the offerings, but before he could thank him, he had already left. Link's lips settled into a queasy frown. The idea of eating a member of the species which had almost eaten him upset his stomach, but this was likely the only edible food he'd get here.

It was horrible, as he expected, and he washed it down quickly to keep from tasting more than he had to. The meat still had traces of hair on it, and Link forced the image of the Tektites' hairy legs away before he vomited. Again he recalled all the delicious food he had given up in Castle Town by choosing this fate.

Questions burned in his mind, refusing to let him rest. He asked a passing Goron where he could find the leader, taking special care to call him "Darmani" instead of "Big Brother". The Goron half-attentively pointed him in a direction and continued on his way.

He marveled at Goron City as he walked. It was incredibly dry, and Link noticed a white powder coating parts of his clothes from where he slept. Everything was so big, just like the Gorons themselves, but little crawlways too small for the mountain's inhabitants also decorated the uneven walls here and there. Some rooms were empty, some housed groups of Gorons, and some had vast quantities of boulders, presumably for consumption.

Link was a curious boy. Had this been a casual visit, he would have liked to stay around, take his time to explore this brand new place, perhaps squirm around in the crawlways and try to imagine how such a place came into being. But he couldn't. He had a goal to fulfill, and time was important with Castle Town the way it was. He descended a column of stair steps too tall to be meant for Hylians, each step downward a small hop. Each level of the city was a concentric ring, the size of each ring shrinking as he ventured further down. His legs almost gave at each landing due to all the activity they had been through lately.

As a child, he had heard one of his elders call the Gorons demons and refer to the floors of their home as "the nine circles of hell," and Link realized why as the air grew thicker and hotter. His determination wavered as he remembered that Death Mountain was a volcano and not just a mountain.

Farther and farther down he trekked. The heat became unbearable, but directions from more passersby at last led him to an elaborate stone door twice his height. Unsure of what to do—knocking on a stone seemed unproductive, and yelling seemed rude—he deliberated until it opened of its own accord and Darmani stepped out.

"Hm?" he asked, bending his neck downward and intimidating Link again with his size. "What do you want?"

"I-I...do you know where a man named 'Stan' is?"

An oddly mirthful expression came over the giant. "Yes, he arrived here a day before you did. Why? Do you know him?"

"I'm his page. I'm here to help him in any way I can."

The Goron laughed in a way that reminded him of Dampe. "Sorry, boy, but I doubt you'd be of much help to him where he is. You'd only get in his way."

The extreme heat and the way Darmani disregarded him tore at Link's patience. "There has to be something I can do. Duram told me ice magic helped defeat Volvagia before, and I thought—"

"You thought you could help slay the dragon? Ha! Even our strongest warriors are powerless against it."

"So what do you plan to do? Are you and the Gorons going to leave?"

"Leaving Death Mountain wouldn't be easy, but I shouldn't expect a Hylian to understand that. Your people have free reign: the goddesses blessed you with the ability to travel safely beyond your homes, but the other races are not so lucky. The Kokiri can't leave the forest or they will die. The Zora can't leave the rivers or lake or their damp domain for very long, and we Gorons can't survive long outside our dry, hot mountain. Going anywhere where it rained even occasionally would cripple us, and any diet without specific types of rocks like the ones here cannot sustain us. We have nowhere to go: if it suddenly started raining in Hyrule Field, the monsters there would easily overtake us, and I doubt there's any food we'd be able to eat in Castle Town. The Sheikah, Hylians, and Gerudo are the only races who ever held true freedom. Of course, based on your people's behavior fourteen years ago, I doubt you fully understand your gift."

The last sentence had clearly been meant to discourage any more questions, but Link persisted. "I was born around the time of the war. What happened that made us enemies? I've heard enough from the Hylian side. My father didn't fight in it—he was too old—but he said that the war started because of border disputes."

"I don't have time for this...but you look like you're having a hard time in this heat, so I'll humor you. Hylians, Gerudo, and Sheikah are the only ones who ever had freedom," he repeated. "The Sheikah chose to stay with the Hylians, acting as shadows to the Royal Family. The Hylians welcomed this, but they would not allow the Gerudo their goddess-given freedom. Whenever the Gerudo tried to leave their desert into the more forgiving parts of Hyrule, your people pushed them back. Finally the Gerudo had enough and migrated into your kingdom as a group, and when some fool Hylian knight tried to tell them to go away, they killed him. So while it's true that the Gerudo drew blood first in the war, the Hylians caused it by trying to keep them trapped in the desert. That is why we could not condone the war. For a while, there was talk here about actually joining the Gerudo's side. But that's enough. I've ranted too long. Excuse me, please. You can stay with us today if you like, but for right now I have business to take care of."

"Let me just ask you one more thing." Link's hands burned and he closed his eyes against the heat as he removed the half heart from his pouch and held it up high for Big Brother to see. "I'm looking for something called a heart piece." He stopped and swallowed, his mouth very dry. "There are four of them, and they come together to form a heart. I have two of them. Have you seen anything that looks like it might fit together with them?"

Darmani suddenly looked enraged. "You're just like that Hylian who demanded we help her find a mask. No, I've never seen anything like what you hold. Goodbye."

"W-Wait! Where is Stan?" But the Goron did not answer as he left. Link felt guilty, though he was not sure what he had done wrong.


The view from the promontory just outside the entrance to Goron City awed Link. Many flights of stairs above Darmani's room—he'd had to crawl up the last few— the platform overlooked all of Hyrule. He remembered always being able to see Death Mountain from Kakariko, and though he presently couldn't see Kakariko through the thick forest surrounding it, he spotted other landmarks. Lon Lon Ranch and Castle Town were tiny in the distance, and Link felt very small looking out over everything.

With no idea of what to do next, he sat on the edge and thought. As he peered at the rocks below, he was undaunted by the drop which might result from the smallest slip. Death. He found himself contemplating it more and more lately. Death was what everyone tried to avoid, but was there any hope of actually escaping it? It seemed inevitable. The monsters in Hyrule Field embodied it. Was Dampe right? Was this whole quest pointless?

The familiar feelings of inadequacy plagued him, and he stopped his train of thought before they could take over. He looked around and saw that he was alone. As usual. He might have liked the solitude before this madness all began, but now he had come to abhor loneliness. He loved his friends and family, few though they were, and hated being apart from them, yet he had willingly left them for this ridiculous quest. He asked himself yet again if coming here had been a mistake, but then he remembered Stan. Stan had chosen this path too, and Stan probably endured much worse than loneliness on a regular basis, so what right did he have to complain?

He looked around and again saw no one. None had visited him since he came here an hour ago, and it seemed unlikely that someone would suddenly come in the next few minutes. Link unsheathed the Four Sword and concentrated, and soon his double appeared. It averted its gaze to the setting sun while Link scrutinized it for any important details he might have missed during their first meeting. Finding none, he spoke.

"How do I fight as two people?"

"I just have to will it," it replied timidly.

Link held his sword in a ready pose. "Fight," he commanded, once again losing his ability to keep thoughts inside his head.

"B-But—"

"Ready, set, go!" Link ran forward and slashed through it. It didn't even try to defend itself, instead screaming and shutting its eyes. The moment his sword made contact, the double disappeared. Link concentrated, and with another drain on his mana, the double reappeared, looking sorry for itself. "I see. So any direct attack makes you disappear." He suddenly looked angry. "You have to defend yourself better! If you just cower like that, the Four Sword is useless!"

"B-But I'm scared."

"Stop stuttering!"

"Fear and insecurity will always be a part of me."

"Dad always said that I can't let fear or any other emotions get in the way! I've trained with him all my life! You can do it!"

"Well...maybe..."

"Let's try again. Are you ready?"

The double lifted its sword. "I think so..."

"Then here I come!" The clone blocked in a panic, but Link's next attack vanquished it. He repeated the pattern, recreating his clone and subsequently destroying it until he ran out of mana, but the clone never gained confidence. Link panted, frustrated with what little good came from the training session. He had pushed himself too hard and would need at least two hours to fully recover his mana. The sun had set and the stars were coming out, so he sheathed his blade and went back into the opening in the mountain.

A scream greeted him outside the room where he had left Duram. Link almost fell over, still not used to how loud Gorons could be, but another yell put him in motion. Gorons rushed to and from the scene.

"Get Big Brother!"

"Another victim!"

"Go! I'll stay with him!"

None of them acknowledged his existence as he squeezed through the crowd into the room he had woken up in, and he saw Duram lying on his back, stiff as a board but screaming in pain. Link for once didn't cover his ears and moved to approach him. "Duram!" he shouted worriedly.

"Big Brother is coming to help him," one said to Link. "He will be fine."

Within seconds it came to pass. Darmani arrived, and had mysteriously calmed down and could move again. He breathed heavily with wide eyes.

"What happened?" Darmani demanded of him with panic, concern, and an authoritative edge.

"It was her. It was the Hylian woman! She paralyzed me!"

Darmani knelt down beside him. "Did she plant a vision in your head?"

"Yes! I—I relived the most terrifying moment of my life, over and over again!"

"And yet you're fine..." He grabbed the smaller Goron's shoulders. "How did you recover so quickly? You are the first of us to brush off the spell in such a short time. Are you unharmed? I must know how you did it. You may hold the knowledge we need to overcome this."

"I—I don't know."

Darmani grit his teeth and desperately pleaded once more, but Duram had no information to give. "Where did she go?"

"She used some sort of magic to disappear."

Darmani turned to Link. "I'm afraid you can't sleep here in the medic's room tonight. We need to keep tonight's victims here and question them." Link nodded soberly, and Darmani paused. "Diacles. Desia." In an instant two Gorons stood at his side. "Take Link to the small room on the middle level. Once you've shown him there, see if you can't find some more food and water for him."

Link noticed a slight hesitation in the two Gorons. They seemed a bit surprised by the order, but didn't object. "Follow us, please."

Link followed and kept an eye on them. None spoke as they took the long path to the middle circle, providing ample time for the intensity of the last few minutes to fade. Still suspicious of his escorts, he remembered Dampe's words about the Lens of Truth being able to read people's emotions and put on the old man's glasses while his escorts' backs were turned. With a bit of concentration, he felt the last bit of his mana disappear. He peered around, but everything looked exactly the same. Nothing about the Gorons seemed to stand out and suggest that they were or were not trying to trick him, and again he wished he had asked Dampe how to use his new tool.

One of them turned to him. "What are those?"

"They're my glasses. My eyes aren't as good in this cave as yours are." Now they looked at him suspiciously. "S-So, um, do the men and women here live in separate areas?"

"We have no men or women. We are all the same gender."

"Then why do you call each other 'brother'?"

"We borrowed the term from Hylian and Zora cultures long ago. Given our deep voices, it seemed more appropriate than 'sister', and the Gerudo already use that term anyway." A pause, then, "I'm sure we all look the same to you, Hylian, but—"

The other Goron punched him roughly in the shoulder. "That was uncalled for, Goro." The one rubbing his shoulder muttered a reluctant apology, and no more words were spoken until they stopped at a room on the middle level.

"You can sleep here. Good night." For some reason, the two Gorons left in a hurry. Link looked around cautiously. The rocks in this chamber were smaller and looked different, and there were a lot more of them than there were in the other rooms. Link shook it off. He had more important things to focus on than slight color differences between groups of rocks.

Lying down, he stared up at the ceiling and tried to make sense of everything that had happened. Apparently, paralysis was a problem here too, not just in Castle Town. He thought back to his first meeting with Zelda and tried to remember what she had said about it. She saidva group of people were going around casting magic spells on others: an old man, a beautiful young woman, and a boy, if he recalled correctly. If what she said was accurate, then perhaps the Hylian woman the Gorons spoke of was also partly responsible for what was happening where Brittany and the others were.

How did Duram overcome the spell? Link thought back to his own experience with paralysis and visions in Castle Town. It had taken him a long time to get over the image of his father beating him: it plagued him inside the Forest Temple, and only during the last battle there did it vanish completely. It hadn't plagued him since he saved Saria from the giant Deku Baba. It didn't even bother him now, so how had he overcome it?

Unsurprisingly, he found no answer, and he let the thought slip away so he could sleep. He wished more than ever that he had brought a blanket. It was far from cold in Goron City, but he wasn't a Goron and he was used to sleeping with a blanket. The thought of Saria and him sharing a bed popped into his mind, teasing him with memories of how warm and comfortable he had been in those moments.

He missed her nightly embrace. Regardless of his efforts, Link could not shove this thought away like he had the others, and it kept him awake. He took out the ocarina she had given him and fumbled with it for a while, and about an hour later he was no closer to clearing his mind or falling asleep. His thoughts only became more centered on her. What was she doing right now? Was she happy?

Link tiredly stood and left for the promontory to clear his mind, but someone else was already there when he arrived. He recognized the bandages right away.

"Are you well enough to be out here?" Duram asked.

"I could ask the same of you." Duram stared at the sky as though looking for something. "Sorry," Link said sheepishly. "I didn't mean to intrude."

"Don't worry about it," he said in a light tone which relieved Link after all the angry voices and stares he had encountered here thus far.

"I just wanted to play my ocarina. I'll go somewhere else."

"Nonsense. I doubt you'll find better privacy anywhere inside. You might as well play here if you're going to do it."

"What are you doing out here?"

"I'm watching the sky. Death Mountain is the highest point in Hyrule and the sky is always clear here, so in a sense we are closer to the heavens than anyone else. Sometimes the goddesses leave signs of things to come in the stars, so usually at least one Goron is on lookout at night. It can't hurt to be careful in times like these; if the undead continue to roam, they could reach our home one day."

"Oh..." Uncomfortable but knowing he wouldn't be able to find a more private place, Link leaned against the rock wall adjacent to the city's entrance. The cold air sifted through his shredded clothing and he felt hollow, devoid of purpose and worth. To match the mood, he played the Elegy of Emptiness on the fairy ocarina. Even though he had only played it once, the notes came naturally. Perhaps he had improved more than he thought during his practices with Saria, or perhaps it was the song's magic properties.

"Do you think you could play something a little more cheerful? That song makes me very sad for some reason."

"Um, sure."

His mind drifted to Saria again, and he decided to play her special song. He closed his eyes and let the addictive tune soothe him, his fingers dancing playfully across the holes, but he didn't even complete the first verse before a force abruptly lifted him and pinned him against the wall.

Link's eyes shot open and he stared into Duram's face, unable to move. For the umpteenth time that day, he was reminded of how weak he was. Duram's voice, however, carried excitement, not rage.

"That song! Where did you learn it?" In his stupor, Link could only stutter out a "huh?" "We Gorons have passed it down for ages! How do you know it?"

"You...You know Saria's Song?"

"And you know its name, too!" Duram cheered.

"I don't understand. How do you know it?"

"The Hero of Time shared that song with our ancestors to keep their spirits high while he worked to save them from starvation. He claimed to have learned it from his best friend Saria, a Kokiri."

"I learned it from Saria a few days ago."

The Goron's large black eyes bulged. "You know her? And she's still alive? What's she like?" he asked excitedly. "There's something magical about that song, and we've always wanted to know more about the person who wrote it."

"Well...she's about my height. She's immortal, but she aged for a short time while the forest went through some problems and now she looks around my age with green hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. She's kind and honest and brave and—" He stopped himself before he said "beautiful," thinking he and Duram probably had differing opinions on beauty. "—and a great musician. She's an expert with the ocarina. She can instantly make a countermelody to anything thrown at her. Plus she's an archer, and she's really fun to be around."

"Wow, she sounds like a great friend."

"Yeah..." Link considered the truth of the Goron's statement. Many had come into Link's life without getting close to him. Only Orca, Brittany, and Stan had found their way into his heart. Yet Saria did so with ease.

Saria was the strongest person he had ever known, maybe even stronger than Stan if such a thing was possible. She had endured two years of total isolation on top of a hundred and thirty years of heartbreak, not knowing what had happened to her precious friend. And against the giant Deku Baba in the Forest Temple, her determination had inspired him. They were out of mana, but still she refused to give up; unlike him, she had fought for something other than herself. She fought for the forest, for what she loved, and she didn't let anything stop her, even if it scared her.

Where did that leave him? Link, the boy who had never fought for anyone other than himself, and maybe Brittany once or twice... He had to be more like Stan and Saria, which meant he had to take this chance to help someone.

"But...she's lonely too. All her friends disappeared a long time ago, and she's the only Kokiri left. Aside from the guardian of the forest, she's completely alone, and she has no idea what happened to the Hero of Time, or to any of her other friends. That's why I want to know more about the legends. Is there anything you can tell me about the Tragedy of Time that I don't already know?"

Duram hesitated. "The Gorons' account of the Tragedy of Time is meant for Goron ears only." Link's heart sank. "However..." Suddenly lowering his great voice, his nervous look morphed into a hopeful grin.

Link waited with less than his usual patience. "However...what?"

"You said Saria could instantly write an accompaniment to anything, right?" Link nodded. "Did she write other parts for Saria's Song? We only know the melody. We've tried composing our own arrangements, but it would be wonderful if we knew the true song."

Link thought back to when she had taught him. "Yes. In the forest, she played a different melody while I played the main one."

Duram's stare became intense as he delivered his ultimatum. "If you play that accompaniment for me, I'll tell you anything you want to know."

Link's eyes widened, and he searched his memory frantically. He didn't remember the exact tune—he'd only heard it once—but he was sure he could figure it out if someone else played the main melody. But who?

"Duram," he said uneasily.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm going to do something that will look a little strange. Please don't get frightened or attack me or anything."

"Very well."

Link unsheathed the Four Sword slowly. Duram stared questioningly, but then backed up in surprise as another Link appeared. "Don't be afraid!" Link said quickly. "In this way, I can play the melody and the accompaniment at the same time for you." He turned to his double. "Are you ready?"

The doppelganger hid behind Link from the Goron. "H-He looks very strong."

"Don't worry. All we have to do is play Saria's song for him."

"Okay," it said in a small voice only Link heard. It took Brittany's ocarina from Link's pocket and began playing the melody, unsurely at first but then more smoothly after it closed its eyes and forgot about the rest of the world. After a repetition, Link entered the song with Saria's ocarina, experimenting until he at last figured out his part a few repeats later.

A normally introverted boy, Link could not help but feel his emotions pouring from the ocarinas like the breath from his mouth. The cold night of the dead season didn't seem to matter as he let the song carry him away to the more carefree times of only days ago, when it had been just him and Saria training together, playing together, doing everything together. The song embodied her spirit, and while he played it he felt that they weren't so far apart.

He opened his eyes and found the Goron thrashing wildly. A shrill note blew as he thought his friend was fighting off a seizure, but his playing returned to normal as he realized that Duram was just dancing: Saria's Song had infected him with her playful nature.

The song ended. The cold wind bit his face again, and he no longer saw the exotic colors of the forest. Its work done, the doppelganger grinned sheepishly before returning Brittany's ocarina to Link and disappearing. The Goron continued dancing ridiculously several seconds after the tune ended, however. Link allowed himself a small grin

"Hey, why'd you stop?"

"Sorry," Link replied, hiding the fact that he had become lightheaded.

"That was incredible!" He picked Link up again in his excitement, at which point he tensed, but the boy relaxed once he was sure the larger one wasn't going to shove him against the wall again. "Only Saria could have composed something with so much energy, with so much...raw passion!" He babbled on excitedly, apparently forgetting all about the strange ability Link had just used. When he finished, Link reminded him of his promise. "Huh?" he asked, apparently having forgotten that as well. "Oh. Of course." He set Link down. "What do you want to know?"

"What can you tell me about the Tragedy of Time?"

"Well, I don't know what version Hylians tell, so I suppose I'll start from the beginning."

He began a long narrative, and at first Link was afraid he wouldn't learn anything new. It was the same version he had always heard, just in slightly different words. However, he interrupted when he heard something new.

"Sages? Who were they?"

"The Sages were casualties in the Tragedy of Time. The Hero of Time and Princess of Destiny needed their aid to defeat Ganondorf, the King of Evil. To awaken the Sages, the Hero purged the evil from five temples scattered throughout Hyrule."

"If these Sages were so important, why haven't I heard about them?"

"I don't know. The only one whose identity we know is Darunia. He was the leader of the Gorons 130 years ago before he awakened as the Fire Sage. Other than that, all we know is that one of them, the Sage of Forest, was a Kokiri."

Link immediately jumped on the information. "A Kokiri? I bet Saria knew who it was. Maybe reminding her of this will help return her memory. What did the Sages do? How did they help?"

"The Hero and Princess could not completely destroy the King of Evil, for he had the Triforce of Power. But with the Sages' help, they sealed him away in another realm. Like I said, the Sages were casualties, senseless casualties. They didn't actually die, but they sacrificed everything. They have dedicated themselves to spending eternity in that horrible realm, keeping the seal on Ganondorf strong. Even now, sentenced to total solitude in another plane of existence, they are protecting us from him, using their magic to keep Ganondorf trapped as they've been doing for 130 years and as they will continue to do by choice for all eternity. They are immortal in that realm, existing only in spirit. Even though they are doing it to keep our kingdom safe, I can scarcely imagine a worse fate. They are heroes, perhaps even more so than the Hero of Time himself."

Link finally sat down beside him. Two sets of legs dangled over the edge of the mountain, and their owners stared at the stars in the cloudless sky and contemplated in somber silence.

"...What happened to the Hero of Time?"

"No one knows." Another long silence followed, and Link found he was actually comfortable in Duram's company. He didn't mind sitting so close to him despite how scared and angry their fight in Castle Town had been. It might have just been because Link was shivering and Gorons seemed to give off more body heat than Hylians, but Link chose not to dwell. "Is there anything else you want to know?"

"No, but thank you. This means a lot to me. I know it will mean a lot to her too."

"I'm not just talking about the Tragedy of Time. I said you I'd tell you anything you wanted to know."

"Why would you tell me? For all you know, I could be helping the Hylian who cursed you."

"You didn't come here to doom my race. I can tell."

Link stared at him, not understanding why Duram was so trusting of him. "All right. Um...do all Goron names start with the letter 'D'? I've met you, Darmani, Dodones, Diacles, and Desia, and you just told me that the Fire Sage was named "Darunia"."

"Not all of them. There used to be a Goron who had your name. Darunia named his son after the Hero of Time."

"Do you know where Stan is? Darmani said he arrived here a day before I did."

"Yes, I know. I found out all about him from Big Brother not long ago. But you might want to brace yourself."

He stiffened. "Did something happen to him?"

"No, he's fine." Link relaxed and exhaled deeply. He should have known better than to suspect anything could hurt his brother. "But, well...are you aware of the trouble Goron City is in right now? A Hylian woman appeared in our domain not long ago. No one saw her coming until she suddenly appeared in Big Brother's chamber. She asked for the Gorons' help in finding a mask of some sort, which she suspected was in the Fire Temple deep in the center of the volcano, and when we told her we had no idea what she meant, she grew angry. She warned us that Volvagia would return and eat us one by one until we found it. We thought nothing of it at first, but shortly after she left it started actually happening. Worse still, the Hylian returns every so often and uses her witchcraft to paralyze us, no doubt to strike fear in us and force us into submission. That's why I went to Castle Town: the Hero of Time defeated Volvagia before, and I thought maybe the time spoken of in legend had come, the time when the Hero would be reincarnated to save Hyrule again. But it seems the Hero came to us while I was away."

The realization hit him hard. "Are you saying that Stan is...the Hero of Time?!"

"That's what Darmani thinks. The Hero of Time wore a special Goron-made tunic when he went through the Fire Temple. It gave him immunity to the extreme heat. When Volvagia returned, we made another tunic just like the one described in the old stories. When Stan arrived and offered to help us, we offered the tunic to him, but he's a giant among Hylians and the tunic didn't fit. So now he's wearing a larger one we made for him and he's in the Fire Temple with a team of Gorons. They're looking for the mask, but they're also looking for the legendary Megaton Hammer, the tool the past Hero used to kill the dragon."

"Duram," Link said gravely, "where is the tunic that was too small for Stan? And how do I get into the Fire Temple? Stan probably doesn't need my help, but there may be something I can do for him. And I'm looking for something else as well that's probably in there."

"The Temple entrance and the tunic are both in Big Brother's chamber. To claim the right to either, you'll have to get his approval. And I don't mean to offend you, but he doesn't seem to—" Duram sniffed loudly and groaned in disgust. "Sorry, but this has been bothering me since you came outside. What have you been doing? Why do you smell like poop?"

Link sniffed his person self-consciously. "I don't smell anything."

"I've heard that Goron and Hylian feces smell very different, so you may not know what to smell for. Where did Big Brother tell you to sleep tonight?"

"A floor on the middle level with—" Realization dawned on both their faces. Link recalled the way the rocks in that room looked and smelled slightly different from the rest of the city. He looked away in humiliation and slight anger, and the Goron sighed.

"Please don't be mad at him. He hasn't been kind to you, but he's under a lot of stress right now. He does not mean to belittle you."

"If you say so." Link carefully disguised his lack of conviction. His mind worked quickly, trying to figure out how he could gain approval from someone who thought he was fit to sleep in the city's waste. "I'm heading back inside." He spared Duram's bandages one last glance. "I'm sorry you got hurt because of me."

"It's not your fault."

"If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have had to cross Hyrule Field."

"I would have done it for my people anyway, even knowing my chances of finding someone to help us were almost nonexistent."

"Why?"

"Because I love them, and I would do anything for them." Link was silent, and Duram turned toward him. "Have you truly never done something dangerous to help someone you loved?"

Link thought back and realized he had. He had in fact done the exact same thing as Duram in traveling across Hyrule Field to get a blue potion for Brittany. Even so, he couldn't wrap his mind around what Duram was saying.

"I—yes, but I still don't understand. My father always told me to avoid the kind of thinking that allowed my emotions to control my actions."

"That doesn't sound like a very good lesson to me. Often a person's true power lies behind his emotions. I don't know how I got lucky enough to overcome the spell that was cast on me, but I have a feeling that it was some part of my emotions that allowed me to break it."

"Will you let me know if you ever figure out how you broke it?" The giant nodded. "Okay. I'm going back to bed. It was nice talking to you."

Back in the "poop room", he found that someone had left water and a new batch of burnt Tektite for him. With a groan, he ignored the unappetizing meal and prepared to sleep. However, Duram's words had affected him too deeply to allow him rest. The careful self-control his father had instilled in him had not gotten him anywhere thus far. It was time for drastic measures. Link feared the consequences of waiting any longer. It was time to do something...spontaneous.

Link knew nothing about this world—he couldn't even distinguish Goron feces from rocks—but that hadn't stopped him in the Lost Woods, and it wouldn't stop him here. He was ignorant, but hadn't Dampe said that learning must begin with the realization of ignorance?

He summoned his double. "I need your help."

Its gaze fell to the floor, and it looked removed of all passion. "I won't be able to force my way into the Fire Temple... How could someone like me earn the respect of the Gorons? I'm not as strong as Stan, and I never will be."

Link got right to the point. "I know I've already messed up a lot, but there's no use dwelling on that. Right now all that matters is what I do next. I have to get to where Stan is."

"But without his strength—"

"—I have to use my other abilities," he finished. "I'm Link of Kakariko Village, student of the unbeatable Stan and the once unbeatable Orca. I may not have had the talent of my teachers, but I have something else: stealth. Our quiet nature will come in handy for what I have in mind."

"Yes." The clone smiled. "Saria herself said we were sneaky."

"I've even snuck into Hyrule Castle! It was only into the shed outside, but I still avoided the eyes of every knight guarding the area."

"I don't know how much of a chance I have, but...I'll do what I can when the time comes."

It disappeared, and Link devoured the food and water. The cold meat was even more awful than his last helping, but he willed his stomach to be strong and not expel it. Still hurting from his encounter with the Tektites, he knew he would need all the strength available to him for what he did next.

He checked himself only once before leaving, making sure he had all his gear: Four Sword, Lens of Truth, two ocarinas, Hero's Bow, full quiver, two heart pieces, and the large unwieldy Mirror Shield. Link grimaced one last time at the state of his tunic, thankful that in a few minutes he would have a new one.


He felt like he might catch fire in Darmani's Chamber, but he waited patiently in his hiding spot. He had been extremely lucky to find the stone door open and the room empty when he arrived, but shortly after locating the Goron Tunic and throwing it over his clothes, Big Brother and several others came through another entrance which he judged from the hot blasts of air to be the Fire Temple. He managed to hide in time, but now he needed a new plan.

"Have you been able to verify the Hylian's claim?" questioned Darmani.

"Not yet. The sky shows none of the signs that were present when the King of Evil first appeared 130 years ago."

"Have the goddesses turned their backs on us?"

"No. Other signs remain. We received a message from them that may or may not relate to the King of Evil. I and several others independently came to the same conclusion: events have been set in motion which will result in the destruction of at least one of the races in Hyrule."

"...Oh Din..." Darmani sounded weary. "Are you sure?"

"Like I said, several others can attest to the sign."

"130 years ago, our people predicted that a King of Evil would arise to take over Hyrule. They saw the message in the stars several days before it happened, and if not for their foresight, the Goron race might not even exist anymore. We have learned from our ancestors' mistakes—we've weaned ourselves off the gourmet rocks in Dodongo's Cavern, and we've paid closer attention to the stars—but that alone isn't enough. We must pray that our race survives this trial and continue the search for the legendary hammer." Link heard a thud and guessed that the leader had pounded his fist against something. "The Goron race will not fall while I am alive."

"I know you will do everything you can, but if what she says is true—if Ganondorf really has come back—that means the Triforce has returned to Hyrule as well, which means there is a very real possibility that our fate will be taken out of our hands. And if he has returned, it would explain Volvagia and the undead in Hyrule Field. He would certainly have the power to raise the dead."

"Yes, but we must not jump to conclusions until we know more."

"Unfortunately, we haven't learned very much. I haven't found anything in our history or folklore about the mask she wants us to find."

"And I still can't make sense of why she expects us to know about a mask that depicts the face of a Hylian. Or why—" he paused. "Hold everything. Where did the red tunic go?" Silence. "Search for it. We might need it later." Before anyone moved, Link stepped out from behind his hiding place, dressed in a red tunic and hat that were just barely too big for him. "Link? What are you doing? Why have you taken our tunic?"

Link didn't look too brave as he stood before the group. "I...I have to go in there."

"You were planning to sneak in? Don't be a fool, boy. You haven't seen the dragon. If you had, you certainly wouldn't be trying to chase it. Trust me, you don't want to go in there."

"You've already accepted help from one Hylian. Why not another?"

"Stan is the only worthy Hylian I have ever met. Though young, he is strong and brave, and he's the first of your kind to show any concern for us. He has a pure heart and cares about all people regardless of their race. Can you say the same about yourself? You didn't even bother to learn the name of the one you met at Castle Town until after you both made it here."

The Hylian's legs shook slightly. He had to become more than Link from Kakariko Village. Link was weak and cowardly, and he was deathly afraid of being around other people. A bit of the red faded from his face as he spoke seriously.

"I know I've already messed up a lot, but I can't leave. I won't, because...deciding to come here and help is the one thing I don't regret."

He ran forward as if he planned to somehow plow through the colossal Gorons who blocked his way. Darmani laughed and opened his arms to intercept the boy, but when he grabbed him with his massive arm, the Hylian suddenly disappeared. The Goron's hand snatched empty air, and before anyone could process what happened, the real Link appeared, sprinting in a red blur from his hiding place. He passed them with a speed only he had, making it through the opening just before one of the Gorons turned around and shouted a "Hey!" after him.

Link didn't stop. For once he felt like he was running toward something instead of away from it.


Blizzaga Saga: Link is now a one-man band, which is the first application for the Four Sword that came to my mind when I played through Minish Cap. I admit to being insanely jealous. I feel like this chapter gives the reader a lot to think about, which in my mind is a good thing.