(I decided to continue this fic, in the POV of every sage and several other characters. Sure,it's been done before, but I wrote it because I wanted to. :P)

Disclaimer: I own nothing. So don't sue me!

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Chapter 2: Darunia

The sun beat down on the summits of Death Mountain, radiating its wonderful gentle heat. There were only a few wispy clouds in the sky, and down at the foot of the mountain, the village seemed peaceful.

How could things go so terribly wrong in such a wonderful setting?!

It was the question that all us Gorons were pondering. Just days ago, a man from the desert had paid us a visit. I knew right away that he did not come in peace. He was dressed mostly in black, and the greedy fire in his beady brown eyes was so great it seemed to be reflected in the flaming red hair on his head. He had asked about our treasure, the beautiful Goron's Ruby, and had asked me if he could take it.

I told him no. This stone had special meaning to all us Gorons, we could not possibly let the man take it. He said that was fine. He'd just wait until we were all gone and then take it for himself. I questioned him on what he meant. "You'll see," was all he said. You'll see. What kind of an answer is that?!

Well, soon enough, we DID see. That man blocked Dodongo's Cavern with a giant rock. The cavern! The best source of those delicious rocks!! We'd starve without the cavern!! The monster!!

I had been brooding on this for several days, when he appeared The young one who would save us all

I was in my room, thinking and sulking, as usual, when I heard the song of the Royal Family's song being played outside my door. The Royal Family's song!! The king had finally sent someone to help us!

King Harkinian and I were Sworn Brothers. We were close friends, and promised to help each other in our times of need. I had been there when the king's wife died, years ago, just after the birth of their adorable little daughter, Princess Zelda. Ever since the queen's death, however, the king had just never been the same. He rarely visited. Princess Zelda did once in a while, with her caretaker, some frightening-looking Sheikah woman whose name I can't remember. But the king was rarely with them.

I hastily opened the door, ready to welcome my Sworn Brother or the one sent by him. Instead, there stood a young boy dressed in green!!

"What?!" I exclaimed. "Who on earth are you?"

"My name's Link," the boy said. "I, um, I come from Princess Zelda, who is asking for the Goron's Ruby"

I frowned. "Sorry. I don't believe you, Link. That Gerudo man was just in here a few days ago. He's been causing bad problems. I can't let you take the ruby."

Link's eyes went wide. "A Gerudo man? The scary-looking man with black armor?"

I nodded. "He sealed up the entrance to Dodongo's Cavern! Without the nutritious rocks from the cave, we Gorons are doomed to die of starvation. It's just a matter of time now Go away, kid, there's nothing you can do." I turned away.

I'm not sure what drove the boy to do what he did next. The fact that I seemed to depressed and badly needed cheering up? Or was it something else? He pulled an ocarina out of his pocket and started to play a very upbeat song. I loved it! I couldn't help but dance around some. Just like that, my depression was cured!

Once he was done with the song, I laughed. A real, actual laugh. Something I hadn't been able to pull off for days. "Say, kid," I commented, "That's a nice song you've got there."

"Thanks," he said, "My best friend, Saria, made it up."

"Anything else I can do for you?" I asked.

"Well what's wrong with the cavern? I can try to go there and fix it for you if you want me to," he told me.

My eyes went wide. This kid?! Re-open Dodongo's Cavern?! It didn't seem possible "Sorry, Link, I don't think I can let you do that. It's too dangerous for a child."

But Link shook his head. "I've already had to find the treasured sword of the forest," motioning to the sword attached to the sheath on his back, "and I've also had to defeat monsters inside a giant tree, including this one HUGE spider-looking thingy, and I sneaked into the castle to see Princess ZeldaI think I can help you out too!" he boasted.

"Really?" I raised an eyebrow. "You're up to that?"

"Yeah, of course!"

I gave him a pat on the back, which nearly knocked the little boy down. "Go for it! And I promise," I added, "If you can unseal the cave and defeat the King Dodongo, I will give you the Goron's Ruby. Oh, take this," I handed him a golden bracelet, "This bracelet will let you handle the Goron's special crop'."

"Special crop?" the boy asked, putting it on.

"Bomb flowers," I told him. "Once you pick one up, it will ignite."

Link's eyes widened in awe. "Really?! Cool! That should be useful!"

I smiled. "Be on your way, boy," I told him. "Oh, by the way, you introduced yourself, but I forgot to tell you my name, didn't I? I'm Darunia, the leader of the Gorons."

"Pleased to meet you." Link stuck out his hand, and I shook it. I noted that the little boy winced. Oops. I was probably grasping his hand a little too tightly

Link left for Dodongo's Cavern. I waited outdoors, wondering if that little boy could really defeat King Dodongo or not. He had no trouble breaking the boulder in front of the cavern with our special crop'. Of course!! Why hadn't I thought of that?!

Soon after, the volcano erupted. Not a big eruption, mind you. Just enough to replace the sickly-looking clouds around Death Mountain with healthier, more attractive clouds.

That meant

That kid had defeated King Dodongo!

Sure enough, a few minutes later, Link wandered out of the cavern, beginning his ascent up the mountain, back to our city. I grabbed the Goron's Ruby and jumped down behind him. "Well done, Link!" I exclaimed, slapping on the back. Not only did that knock him down, I think it knocked the wind right out of him too. Oops. I guess I need to be a little more careful in my dealings with young Hylians

I helped him up. "Sorry about that," I apologized. "We Gorons don't really know our own strength"

"No problem," Link mumbled, rubbing his back. "It's worth it to know I helped you guys out."

"Yes, indeed, we shall be forever grateful to you for saving our race. Take this!" I handed him the Goron's Ruby. "It's the least I can do for you now, brother! Speaking of which How would you like to be my Sworn Brother?!"

Link blinked. I had a feeling that he didn't know what I was talking about. But still, he accepted. I invited him to stay at Goron City for awhile, but he declined. Said he needed to rush back to the castle and talk to the princess, though he promised he'd come back later.

Later, ha He wasn't kidding!!

The kid took so long, trouble started brewing around our fair city again

The evil Gerudo man decided to pick on our race. I don't know why. For some reason I think he doesn't like the Gorons too much First he tried to starve us to death, now he was going to feed us to the legendary fire dragon, Volvagia!

The evil king and his group of women (all women, no other men at all, yipes!!) raided Goron City, taking more and more captives each time. He took all the captives to the Fire Temple, Volvagia's hideout.

During one of the raids, he took a Goron couple but left their young, unnamed son behind. I took him in to raise as my own, and gave him the only worthy name I could think of Link!

One day, I just couldn't take it any more. Goron City was almost completely empty. I told Link to stay behind while I went in search of the legendary treasure, the Megaton Hammer, to defeat Volvagia.

I hadn't been in the temple long, when I noted that someone had followed me. It was a young man dressed in a red Goron Tunic. The man was tall, handsome, with longish blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. I could have recognized him by those features alone, but the style of his tunic and his cap were what really gave him away

It was Link!!

"Brother!" I exclaimed. "Glad to see you're here!"

Link nodded in response. "I went to Goron City and met your son," he said. "Where is the Megaton Hammer located?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "I'm looking for it."

"I'll search too," Link promised.

Naturally, Link was the one who found it, and also was the one to defeat Volvagia. That boy!! He was a true hero, through and through!

After he defeated Volvagia, we hastened back to Goron City. Everyone was back, safe and sound. Still, though, Link didn't look too satisfied.

"Anything I can do for you?" I asked the Hylian lad.

"I actually came here to look for the sage of fire," he explained. "But I don't know"

"who it is," I finished for him. "I'm sorry, brother. I don't know, either."

We spoke for a little while longer. I noticed that Link was looking intently around my room. I was about to ask him if he wanted something, when his eyes locked onto the medallion I kept in a stand on top of a statue of one of my ancestors. "Darunia," he asked, pointing to the medallion, "Where did you get that red medallion from?"

"I don't know," I answered. "I've had it Well, I've had it as long as I can remember."

"May I see it?"

"Certainly." I took the medallion down and handed it to him. Link studied it.

"It's yours, right?" Link asked again. I nodded. "Darunia, brother This medallion has the same symbol as the platform outside the Temple of Fire. It means that you, brother, are the Sage of Fire!!"

I gaped, open-mouthed, at the medallion in Link's hands. "Me?! For real? Wow, I wasn't expecting that!"

"We need to the Chamber of the Sages, where you will meet some others. The Sage of Light and the Sage of the Forest."

"I thought there were more sages than that"

"There are," Link mumbled, "I just haven't found them yet."

"Oh."

Link took me to the Chamber of the Sages, where I waited, along with the other two there, for the remaining three to arrive.

It felt good, waiting. We were going to defeat that scum, the king of the Gerudo, who had tried to kill off all the Gorons twice.

Evil will never prevail!