The Beasts Forged by Fire
The boy was supposed to save Death Mountain. He just didn't know it yet.
Darunia and his wife Tuba decided to take the child in. He stayed with the couple in their homestead near the bottom of Goron City, living in a fairly new room Darunia had just built. The Chieftain was surprised that his wife agreed to letting the boy stay there. Perhaps the situation and the child's possible identity caused her to overlook her own needs and thoughts. Either way, the two went out of their way to make the boy comfortable. Darunia received bedding for his young guest, knowing the young human wouldn't be comfortable with sleeping on solid ground.
A Goron merchant named Maleek traveled often to Hyrule Castletown, bartering his goods in exchange for new items. Two days after being found, Maleek presented the boy with a sleeveless tunic made from brown sackcloth. He provided a strand of rope to use as a belt and two maroon shoes with black laces.
"It's dee best dat I could find in bartering circles," Maleek said, scratching the top of his dreadlocked hair. "Dem Hylians, mon, day drive dee hard bargains."
The boy didn't seem to care about bargains. He rushed to his room to replace the toga Tuba gave him on the day he arrived. After showing off his new outfit with a big grin, the boy went off to his room for good, thanking Maleek as he jogged away.
"Say Darunia," Maleek asked as the boy left. "Do you think he's actually one of dee chosen? By dee gods and goddesses?"
Darunia nodded. "The way he was found, what else could he be? Didn't you see the mark on his shoulder? It's exactly where our own Goron marks are supposed to be."
Maleek shrugged. "I know, I know…and I want ta believe ya, Darunia, I do...but dee elders are super strict, mon. Day not gonna like you bringing in strangers like dis. Especially after what happened with dee mon in black, ya know? He made all of us so uneasy..."
Darunia knew Maleek had a point. Outsiders weren't easily welcome. As a matter of fact, they were one of two things; unreliable or dangerous. When it came to the boy, Darunia hoped he was neither. Unfortunately, until the boy could prove himself, he'd be seen as an oddity taking up space.
Over time, the boy grew used to his surroundings by exploring them every day.
Goron City was a redstone citadel spiraling down into the heart of Death Mountain. It had three different levels, each one rife with tunnels. Torches were mounted on the tunnel walls, their flickering flames lighting every corridor from end to end. At the very top of the city, the sun shined down on a round platform that seemed to float. Four ropes were attached to it, extending from the edge of a stone pathway encircling it. The ropes were often used by the Gorons for climbing and walking across. The boy never saw the platform up close without Darunia.
An altar was built on the platform's surface. It had strange unreadable words carved into the rock, along with a shining stone. The stone was a brilliant red and gleamed brighter than even the sun sometimes, especially at the start of a sunset. No form of dusk matched the rouge and gold brightness of the treasure above the city. Jerome couldn't help but stare at the stone from a distance.
The boy grew used to how everyone looked as well. All Gorons had barreled bodies, wide hands and oversized feet. The men wore togas or sackcloth shorts. Some even donned hats on their heads. Women wrapped themselves in patterned dresses that were usually red in color while wearing polished stone necklaces.
The Goron women painted their own patterns onto their clothes. They'd take out clay vases filled with paint and sit along wall at the very bottom of Goron City. They dipped small brushes into whichever color dye they chose and crafted symbols on their cloths. A number of the women chose to make the mark everyone wore on their left shoulders. It was the same image the boy somehow had himself, making him wonder exactly where he came from.
The symbol fascinated the boy. It was a diamond shaped paw with three claws lined up along the top. When the boy saw this symbol on Gorons, he pointed and asked what the image meant. Instead of answering, one Goron simply said "Don't you know, little Maruka, that you have it too? Why ask us about the things you already own?" Then, they would move on.
The word Maruka started floating around wherever the boy went. Gorons looked him in the eye and would always call him by that word, as if the entire city named him without his knowledge.
"Who's Maruka?" the boy asked an old Goron woman one day.
"It's who we're hoping you'll be," the Goron woman said before moving on herself.
The boy asked the same question when he had supper with his guardians. Darunia and Tuba sat on the other side of a round adobe rock table. The Goron Chieftain scratched his wild, straw-like beard and smirked at the boy.
"One of fire," he said. "It's a newer word, one we've made sure to remember."
"Why did you want to remember it?"
"Without the help of someone who had that name, we wouldn't be here."
"Maruka was a person?"
"Yes."
"A Goron?"
Darunia shook his head. "No, someone…different. Someone different."
"Like me."
"Yes, like you."
"Then I want to be Maruka." The boy stood up from his chair at the table. "My name is Maruka from here on out."
Darunia smiled, as if he were waiting for the boy to say this his entire life. Maybe, in a way, he was. After all, the city seemed to hope so much would happen with the child.
A ring of white smoke encircled Death Mountain's summit. Maruka heard tales about how the ring would change its look if trouble were to ever arise in the Goron's sacred land. There were other legends he heard, legends told as he climbed different peaks with Darunia during his stay. Each one was kept in his mind and heart like a secret, like something you couldn't utter outside of this place.
Darunia and Maruka headed towards the summit and Maruka wondered if that was where they were supposed to be. However, before they walked any further on the long stretch of a rocky road that would have led them to the top, they met another Goron along the way and stopped. This Goron wore goggles with dark lenses, along with a white jacket that barely fit his barreled torso. He looked down at Maruka with curiosity.
"Is this the boy with skills we need to test?" the spectacled Goron asked.
"Absolutely," said Darunia. "Did you secure the torch, Dominic?"
"But of course."
Dominic pointed towards a lit torch sitting within a shell carved from wood. Though a decent wind blew across the mountainside, the fire was safe in its shelter.
"If he's who we think he is," said Dominic. "Then the boy won't have much trouble moving the fire."
"You've done well, Dominic."
Darunia turned to face Maruka, kneeling down to his eye-level. He firmly palmed the boy's shoulders.
"Maruka," said Darunia. "I need you to do something for me. The flame in the wooden shell behind me needs to be moved."
"I need to hold the torch?" Maruka asked, wondering what he would have to do with it.
"No. I need you to only take the fire. From a distance. With your mind."
The boy's eyes felt himself shrink at Darunia's instructions. "I don't know if I can."
"I believe in you. Don't be afraid. Try your best to make it happen. I…know it will. Just…have faith. Have faith…"
Darunia moved away from Maruka, leaving him mere paces away from the torch in the shell. The flame flickered as if it were alive. Other Gorons flocked to the mountainside trail, watching from a distance that made Maruka feel even more alone. Maruka's stomach flipped as he
"I don't know how to start," Maruka admitted.
"Think of the flame moving away from the torch," Darunia exclaimed from a distance. "Make it rise and fly away from the shell. Have it swirl in the air and bring it into the palm of your hand. I know you can do it."
After a long wait, Maruka reached out to the shell. His hand covered his sight of the flame. It didn't take long for Maruka's right arm to tremble. He waited for something to happen, for the fire to come out of the shell and do just as Darunia said. People were waiting for him. Goron City's citizens waited. The elders were probably amongst them, waiting as well. Maruka knew that Darunia waited too, and it made him all the more nervous.
When everything remained still, the crowd slowly went away. Murmurs rose from the crowd, but they never grew louder. Instead, the voices faded as the Gorons went down the mountainside. Maruka sensed Dominic shifting uneasily from where he stood. Maruka was frozen until he felt Darunia's hand on his shoulder once more. Maruka looked up at the Chieftain and saw the sadness in his smile.
"It's just not time yet," said Darunia. "I'm sure of it. You're just…needing to concentrate more. Or perhaps you're trying too hard. We'll figure it out, you and I both."
Maruka didn't believe it. He didn't shed any tears in front of Darunia, but found a hallway in Goron City where he could crouch and shrink into a lonely ball. He bawled into his knees, wetting the skin. Maruka wiped his tears with the collar of his sackcloth shirt, ignoring the gritty feeling that came from grating it against his flesh. Maruka knew it was just the beginning of his issues. He would spend days staring at a flame in a wooden shell, trying to take something he couldn't control. He'd spend far more hours of his days thinking about where he came from, and he knew the answer was just as far away as anything else.
"Perhaps we should have given the ruby to the desert king after all."
There was another meeting in the council chambers. Like the day before, silence defined the gathering summoned by Elder Xin. Darunia always made sure to respect those who preceded him in life. Xin was one of three elders who served with Darunia's father Honolaga. Honolaga deferred to them when he was still alive and Darunia was keen on following his father's example.
"I always wish to heed your words," said Darunia. "But this Ganondorf has sinister intentions."
"We are not the only ones holding a Spiritual Stone," said another elder. "As a matter of fact, since the Triforce was last sealed, we do not even know the location of the others, or even how many others there are. His quest for the golden power could have still been fruitless and we would be saved."
"We don't know that, Elder Yoa."
"Nor do we know our fate, Darunia. Even your father would have been more practical. Would it have been so difficult to submit to a request for the better of our people? Consider Tuba, Darunia. She's pregnant with your child. What if it's a boy? That's a future Chieftain, waiting to be in this world. Wouldn't you want to at least feed him?"
"I'd be out of my mind to not take care of my child."
"Then why didn't you think of the greater good?"
Darunia had his reasons. Ganondorf appeared right as the famine began. The desert king approached Death Mountain on the day after Dodongo's Cavern was mysteriously sealed. He was clad in black armor while donning a skull mask with devilish horns protruded from the top. A dark crimson cape flowed in the wind, flapping high above his back and shoulders.
"You need food," Ganondorf declared to Darunia, who stood at a distance with a group of mining Gorons.
"You're observant," said Darunia. "Good for you."
Ganondorf scoffed as he removed his skull mask, revealing a smug swarthy face. "I also know you won't leave Death Mountain for the sake of survival. It goes against your divine mandate." He grinned, as if his knowledge were a triumph.
"That is correct."
"Then perhaps we can negotiate a way for me to help you." Ganondorf held out a gloved hand. "Give me the Goron Ruby. Then, I can break the seal and you can live on the stones that Din made with her own hands. Remember, my people's goddess is the same as yours. Our homes were forged by her fire, as well as the flame of her brother."
Darunia's fury on that day had to be contained. "We will not give up a part of our identity to save our lives," he said. "We'd rather die."
Ganondorf scowled. "That's a foolish proclamation."
"About as foolish as the trade you just offered."
"No...it was practical. You're going to die on your mountain, Chieftain. And the people will blame you."
"Then so be it."
Darunia always wondered if it was the desert king's first visit to the mountain. After all, the boulder blocking entry into Dodongo's Cavern proved to be very suspicious.
"Darunia," said Xin. "You wouldn't enlist the help of a man who surely could have saved us, but you have faith in a boy who is just as big a stranger as he was. Why is this? He hasn't mastered fire at all!"
"But he will," Darunia insisted. "Give him time. Everything else about him fits."
"It's the only reason why he's still welcome," said Elder Qiang, "Perhaps he is chosen. Maybe he is the Maruka, but he must make haste to realize his destiny or else ours will be sealed."
"I agree," said Elder Xin. "Can the boy handle such pressure?"
"We'll soon see," said Darunia.
"When?"
Darunia had no answer.
"Time is running out." Elder Xin stood, followed by Elder Yoa and Elder Qiang. "Let's hope we're not seeing our final days on Death Mountain. It'd be quite...saddening to leave. Fate can't wait, Darunia...and neither can we."
Darunia was left alone in the chambers. He wished his father were alive in the moment, so he could tell him what to do. In trying times, his father locked himself away and fasted, praying for answers from the divine. His solutions were always practical and wise. Words of wisdom often flowed into Darunia's ears, but when he tried to listen for anything resembling his father's spirit, there was nothing. There was only silence and the crackle of flames.
"You'll stay until the flame moves."
Maruka's couldn't believe Darunia's command. His entire body almost shook as badly as his first time before the flame. He opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't utter a word.
"You understood what I said," said Darunia. "Right? Did you hear me? Focus on the fire."
Maruka's vision already blurred before he faced the shell. Once again, Dominic was off to the side. He crossed his arms over his chest while wearing a frown. Darunia loomed over Maruka, though he seemed to move a distance away in the part of the mountainside trail behind the boy. No one else was around to witness the struggle this time around. It had been that way for two days running.
Minutes passed and nothing happened. Maruka kept trying to make the flame move, but it only flickered in place, safe in the shell's shadow. An hour passed and the boy's tears ran down his face. He looked back at Darunia, hoping the Chieftain would see his misery. Darunia glared with both arms crossed over his chest. He didn't have the warm smile anymore. All Darunia seemed to carry nowadays was a scowl.
"I can't," Maruka finally said. "I don't I can do it."
"Yes you can." Darunia looked unmoved as he said this. "You just don't believe in your destiny."
Maruka dropped his arm. "No…I want to but…I would have done something by now."
"Put your arm back up."
"Darunia, please."
"Our people will die if you don't make your powers awaken. I will not be responsible for our suffering!"
Dominic stepped between the boy and the Chieftain, facing his leader. "Darunia, perhaps Maruka has a point. He might be weary. There are other ways for us to try and break the seal on the cavern—"
"I'll have your silence!" Darunia shouted, forcing Dominic to seal his lips shut. "Maruka, try again."
Maruka shook his head. "I can't."
"You will obey me."
"BUT I KNOW I CAN'T!" Maruka's voice echoed as it turned into a growl. "I CAN'T MOVE FIRE! I CAN'T BE A HERO FOR THE MOUNTAIN! I CAN'T EVEN REMEMBER MY OWN NAME OR WHERE I COME FROM! I TRY, BUT I CAN'T! I CAN'T! I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!"
A brilliant amber pillar rose from behind Maruka. It caused Dominic to cover his face from the light, as if the pillar was about to engulf everything. The burst lasted for a few mere seconds before settling down. It left much of the shell crumbled and charred. The torch itself was a grey mound of ashes that was soon picked up by another gust of wind. Each speck of dust scattered towards the mountain's valley, to village Maruka could see from many cliffsides.
All three were all silent. Dominic stood still until he chose to gather the remains. Darunia walked up and placed a hand on Maruka's shoulder. Maruka did nothing at all. He stared at the spot where the torch stood. He looked down at the palm of his hand and suddenly remembered a dream he had. In it, he heard a voice as the brilliant amber flame roared in his clutch, telling him that was able to do anything his mind imagined.
"I must stay in the chambers."
This was typical of Goron Chieftains. Spiritual escapades into the chamber happened during times of crisis. Darunia's father passed away on the eve of the Hyrulean Civil War, having succumbed to old age and distress from the conflict that ensued. Days before his death, Honolaga sat in the council chambers, eating nothing and drinking very little water. As he emerged, the old Chieftain went up to his only son and said "I believe the future will belong to you…that is what I've come to realize, my dear son."
Then, he died in Darunia's arms.
Darunia put a hand on his wife's womb. His son was growing and was now in full movement. He kicked against his father's touch, as if to play a man he was yet to meet. Darunia smiled and wiped a tear from his wife's worried face.
"I'll emerge before the precipice," he said. "I won't abandon our people."
"I know," said Tuba, whose mouth trembled. "I know…it's a crisis. You're not abandoning us. You're consulting the divine. I hope you find your answers, my love."
"Take care of the boys…both of them."
"The hero and the future leader."
"The lost child…and our child."
"I love you, Darunia."
"I love you as well."
Darunia kissed his wife before taking the Goron Ruby in tow. He passed by the Elders, who still had stern looks on their faces. When they heard of Maruka's outburst followed by the fire he compelled to move, awe filled those same visages. However, doubt returned to them when Darunia went to the platform high above the city and removed the Spiritual Stone of Fire.
"I hope the gods give you what you need," said Qiang.
"I'll take that as a vote of confidence," said Darunia.
"We want to wish you the best of luck," said Yoa. "Especially after the development with the child. May he continue to train until he can harness the power at will."
"You should have left the ruby with us," said Xin. "In case…things went dire."
"They won't be dire," said Darunia.
Xin shook his head. "They are now."
"Then let's hope I get the answers I need," said Darunia. "I won't come out until the gods deliver a revelation to me or a messenger from the royal family arrives with news on how to help us. Until then…" Darunia gestured towards Maruka, who stood from a distance. The boy walked up to him, standing tall so he could appear brave before the Gorons' leader.
"Maruka," said Darunia. "You are the hero of these people. What you saw on the path to the summit…it's the beginning of things to come. When I emerge, I want to see you become the master of fire. Remember your name…remember that you're chosen. Do you hear me, my boy?"
Maruka nodded. Darunia placed a hand on the boy's head and smiled. The rest of the Gorons were gathered at the bottom of the city, watching their leader go into the council chambers. They were all filled with worry and rumors floated around that many of them packed their bags in anticipation of migrating from Death Mountain.
"We are the Gorons!" said Darunia. "We were forged by the fire god, Mafuiti! Our mountain is made with Din's own hand! Look up at the summit and you'll see a wonderful sight; a peaceful ring of smoke. Only our hearts are at war, and it is with ourselves and our faith! Don't doubt in the darkest times! Believe instead! I believe in the Gorons. I believe in our elders! And I believe in this boy, a chosen one. But believe in one another…and we will do everything our minds imagine. Who are we?"
"THE BEASTS FORGED BY FIRE!"
"So it shall remain."
Darunia went inside the council chambers with the ruby. A door was closed over the chamber's entry way, sealing itself with a resonant thud. The echo stretched across the city's air, rising up the spiraling citadel to an open sky. Maruka's heart thrashed until he remembered Darunia's words. The Gorons were beasts forged by fire. They had a power in their spirits. Maruka was chosen. When his mind imagined it, there was nothing he couldn't do.
