Brace yourself; if not remembering his whole life wasn't bad enough, now Link has to deal with a foe. But please don't get me wrong, these aren't your typical baddies. I like to do things differently (if you haven't already guessed.)
As always, disclaimers are in Ch. 1. Now go and enjoy.
Ch. 8
It is the Vague and Elusive.
Meet it and you will not see its head.
Follow it and you will not see its back.
-Lao-tzu
The blades of Domination and Command clashed together, creating an illusion of a dying star, suddenly bursting into hundreds of thousands of specs of light. The wielders of the blades leapt back, and then in again, to create the same effect, oblivious to the heavy power that whirred around them. A dozen times the blades met, sometimes in an arc, sometimes in a thrust. Always they met though, some parrying and some blocking, and sometimes they came together with a force so great it seemed for a moment that they had fused together to become one blade.
The wielders did not see this, for in them was the fire to clash, and clash they did. They whirled about, ducking and weaving, and threw heavy and sometimes quick moves at the other's blade, seeking to meet again and again. It was a dance, with a deep, burning rhythm that cannot be explained by words or thoughts even, but by only the deepest emotions alone. On and on did this continue, and there was no limit, for there was no time, and neither would fall in exhaust while the other still stood. Finally, after forever and nothing, there came a pounding, a dull thudding, that was not rhythmic, nor beautiful, and the wielders were forced to halt their dance. Around them, the black nothingness finally faded, and a room came into focus, with a chamber door that was being pounded on by a large, insistent fist.
Together, the wielders halted their blades, and walked to the door. It opened before either could reach for it, and a caped man ducked his tall frame in. He was wicked looking, with the long, narrow features that come to the faces of the evilest of men only. His eyes were yellow, and sharp, and he gazed down his nose at the two boys who had been following the dance waltz of the weapon. Behind him, the door slammed shut with a furious tone, and both boys stepped back in something close to wariness. The man stepped forward, and swished his cape to the side, revealing a long, cruel sword without scabbard. For surely no scabbard could hold the jagged edges of the blade, made for rending flesh to tattered shreds. The blade was an ugly red, tinted from some black magic, and three blood channels ran its length. The serpent-skin hilt was double-handed with a smooth jade stone bound in the pommel.
One boy of pitch black hair and rodent-like eyes stepped forward. His face was lean and dark with the look that makes men wary, and his smile was cold and damning. He admired the blade openly, but in a casual, uninterested way. His own blade was not as jagged as this man's, but was a long saber, with a serrated edge and double serpent heads at the hilt. It was Command.
The other boy, who held back slightly, was like the day to the first boy's night. His hair was a shaggy blonde, and his eyes were wide and the color of a clear afternoon's sky. His face was slightly rounded, and his features were soft. He carried a shorter blade than either of the two, but it was a wider cut, and with a heavier metal. The pommel was large and flat to accommodate the greater weight of the blade, but he held it easily in one hand. This was Domination.
The cloaked man saw all of this, and smiled a twisted and hateful grimace. His lips pulled back as he did to reveal sharp and cruel fangs. The boys both winced involuntarily at the madness in his yellow rat eyes, and neither moved to speak first.
It did not matter. "You are the sons of Majora!"
Neither spoke, but nodded slowly at the statement.
The man's grin became even wider, until it looked as if his face would split in half.
"Good!" He drew out the word gleefully. "I have a task for you!"
The dark boy crossed his arms over his chest.
"Our services do not come cheaply, old fool." He said, eyeing the man up and down in obvious contempt. His brother had made no move to step up, but kept his wide blue eyes on the evil features.
"Of course." The man said, "Everything has its price! And I offer you a great reward for serving me!" Saying so, he ripped his cloak back, and removed the right arm he'd kept tucked inside. His arm was long and braided with leathery muscles and hazily shining trinkets clasped up and down its length. But what was most fascinating was the insignia stamped on his hand. Though the skin was old and blackish green, a golden symbol shown on it so brightly that both boys had to momentarily glance away. It was a powerful symbol of magic. Three triangles were built up in the shape of a pyramid, and each glowed as fiercely as the next.
"What is it?" The lighter boy said, voice high with awe. He stepped forward, and reached out to touch it. The man jerked hand back into the cloak, and gave him an ugly look of disgust .
"It is the greatest power you or your blood could ever know!" He snarled maliciously. "But never, never touch me!" This was said in a roar, and the boy flinched, and stepped back. The darker boy was unfazed, and he gave the man an equally ugly look. "And? What are you offering, old cur? Hurry, and spit it out."
The man seethed, but did not respond to the insult. Instead, he unfolded his arm again, and removed a map from his belt. Unrolling it, he spread it out for both to see, and two pairs of eyes widened at the contents of the map.
"How would you both like to be kings..." He said in a quiet, dangerous voice. His eyes shown eerily with the madness of demons that danced just below the surface. Both boys peered at the map, running their eyes over the forests, mountains, lakes, and castles.
"Not too shabby," Said the dark boy, and he leaned back, casually crossing his arms again. "But why would we want a worthless piece of dirt such as this?"
"Because," Now the voice was deep and vicious, "It is a land that holds powers like this symbol you see on my hand... and for the right price, it can all be yours."
The lighter boy timidly reached out, and touched the map, running his fingers over the landmarks along its plain.
"What do we have to do?" He finally asked, in a light, shaky voice.
The baneful looking man smiled in triumph, and let the tattered map fall from his clawed hands. It floated down to the cold, stone floor, and its worn material unrolled, showing the faded, but still visible hand-written title of the map: Hyrule.
*************
Link paused to look at the sign thoughtfully, and wondered what direction to turn now. North, where he had just come from, was the Castle. To the farther northern land, a place he had only heard of, there were the mountains where the Gorons lived. Closer south of here was the Ranch, and then eventually Lake Hylia. East was the forest, and farther east was the village of the Kokiri. Exactly what was in the west Link was not sure, though he had heard there was an endless desert.
On a whim, he turned east for Kakariko village. Kakariko was the largest village in Hyrule, and was the home of the famous Carpenter Brothers, and the Cuckoo Lady, who bred rare and exotic kinds of cuckoos for sale. Link had been there once when he was very young, but had not traveled that way since. If there was anyone who could help him, surely he would find out here. He steered Epona in that direction, and they made a good day's journey to the village, located at the base of Death Mountain, a mountain inaptly named, since not a lot of people died or even went there. There, under the village sign, they met the Clock Soldier of Kakariko.
He was the last remaining guard of the Village where once the great Sheikah had lived in the village with a dozen soldiers to protect it. Those days were long gone, though, and Kakariko village had felt no threats to its well being in a long time. Link walked toward the guard carefully, ready to turn and go if he recognized him. However, the soldier merely gave him a grin, and sang out:
"Ding dong , ding dong! The current time is 15:28!"
Link blinked at him, but recovered quickly, and greeted the soldier.
"Thanks for the time. Hey, do you know much about this village?" Link chanced.
"Do I know much about this village!" The soldier boomed. "This is my village. Why, I was here when the great Impa watched over the people of Kakariko, and bounced me on her knee when I was only a little Hylian!"
"Oh," Link balked under the enthusiasm. "Then... I was wondering if you could help me. I'm looking for someone of great wisdom...sort of like..." He thought of the Great Deku Tree in the forest. "A knowledgeable leader... I'm questing for answers."
The soldier thumped his spear two times on the ground, and produced an even brighter smile.
"Nope, can't say there is!" He said cheerfully.
Link made an exasperated sound, and turned to leave.
"Wait just a moment!" The soldier called. "I said there wasn't one, but I didn't mean there wasn't one!"
"What?" Link said, turning around in disbelief at the statement. He was getting a irritated.
"Up, far up, in the very heart of Death Mountain!" The soldier began dramatically. This was obviously one of his favorite stories. "There is what some people call the wisest of all the leaders of Hyrule! Maybe even more knowledgeable than the King himself! His name is Darunia the Second, and he is the Chief and leader of the Gorons! The great people of the mountains!" He ended the statement in a flourish, and Link felt a spark of hope at the idea that was forming in his mind.
"Have you met him?" He asked.
"Of course I haven't!" The guard chortled. "No one ever sees him! Some say he is only a myth, others, a ghost of the monster that once lived in the mountain. I say, he is what he is! No one here has actually met him, but I hear he's been to Hyrule Castle several times. Maybe you could go there and-"
"No," Link said quickly. "I'll take your word for it."
"Great!" The soldier said. "And if you do meet him, see if you can get his autograph for me, okay?"
Link said that he would try, and entered the village. Despite being an active center of community, the village of Kakariko retained some of its quaintness of younger days, and gave a traveler the feeling of peace and hominess. He passed by several loose cuckoos who hopped about searching for bugs, and ducked around a harried young carpenter being chased by an angry looking old man. On the next rise, there was a large windmill which drew water up from the depths of an old haunted well. It was supposedly built over the place where an erratic man made his house long ago. Now it was merely a tourist attraction. Link took in the wonders of the village slowly, interweaving his way through the cozy little houses. These Hylians were nothing like the townsfolk in Hyrule Castle Town. Here they were a friendlier breed, ready to talk about the weather and how the day was going, and ready to help lost travelers, if that was what was needed.
The villagers greeted him enthusiastically as he passed the houses, and several offered him in for food or a rest. He declined as graciously as possible, and kept moving until he came to the foot of the mountain trail. Here, there was another guard, who, though not as fervent about his post as his counterpart, was friendly enough, and offered Link some advice.
"Stay to the trail," He warned. "There's all kinds of monsters up the farther you get, and there's a lot of climbing to do also. My idiot brother at the Time Post probably spouted off some nonsense about a lot of mythical stuff, so let me give you the scoop. The Goron people aren't the wisest and the most mysterious people in all of Hyrule, but they are sharp, and they know their stuff. Darunia the Second, I've never met, but if there's any that could help a man in his troubles up there, then he's probably the one."'
This advice was very sound to Link, and he thanked the guard, before starting up the mountain trail and into the unknown.
Since Link had never taken this trail before, he moved carefully. It seemed the terrain was completely untamed, and he found many places where he had to climb up rock debris to stay on the trail. Several times he was confronted by skulluta-like monsters who scrabbled along the trail, but at seeing his intimidating size, most of them scurried away quickly. Mostly he was usually relieved at this, but on some occasions, he felt a quiet disappointment. Something in him was itching to use the sword he'd taken with him. Keeping his eye on the narrow trail ahead of him as much as possible, he pulled the sword from the scabbard, and tried handling it. The strange feeling from before did not return, but he decided he liked how it felt in his hands, and stopped to practice with it.
It wasn't as heavy as Talon's old sword, but it was more complicated in his grip, and he took several seconds just to get a good hold of it. As he was preparing for a couple of practice swings, there was suddenly a roaring sound, and he looked up in startlement to see a boulder hurling down the path towards him. For a moment, he stared blankly at the sight, but then some instinct kicked in, and he ducked low, flattening his palms against the cool earth, and gathering strength in his legs until it was almost upon him. Then, suddenly, he unleashed the energy from his coiled legs and sprung up and slightly to the side, clearing the boulder by less than a hairsbreadth. It flew under and past him down the trail, and Link hit the ground in a tangle of limbs.
"Oof!" He wheezed, dragging himself up to look down from where he had come. To his utter amazement, the boulder suddenly stopped in its headlong roll, and unfolded to produce a hulking form of something moving. Link pulled himself up and reached for the sword. The blade had been snapped in half by the creature's rolling, and he picked up the pieces with a frown. Guess I'm never going to get a chance to practice, he thought unhappily. Down the trail, the creature had finally risen, and turned to face Link. The features made him drop the blade, and straighten up in surprise.
The Goron, for this was what it was, was at least his own height, and had a rounded, sand colored body, obviously ideal for rolling around like a rock. It's large, wet eyes blinked up at Link, and it then began to run uphill towards him.
Now, to see a Goron roll is an awesome sight, for they are made to move like the wind and to be unstoppable. But, on two legs is a different matter. They prefer not to do this much, and it is with good reason. A Goron's arms and legs are not normally its greatest tools and can often become burdensome in their small size compared to the heavier, larger body. The Goron ran up the trail in a peculiar amble that made Link immediately forget his anger in face of such a comical sight. It stopped in front of him, and reached out its arms to dust him off with paw-like hands. Link was too surprised to object, and let the Goron dust him off and straighten his tunic.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" It moaned, in a deep, but surprisingly gentle voice. "I did not see you there, good Hylian." It's eyes found Link's broken blade, and it then became even more fretful. "Oh no! Your blade! I've broken it!"
"No, no, its fine," Link tried to say, but was drowned out.
"You must come with me, as a guest. I will take you to our great city, where the finest sword-maker will fix it for you!" It grabbed Link's hand with a strong grip, and proceeded to drag him up the trail.
Link contented himself with not arguing, as this was where he was headed anyway. Along the way, they saw many more Gorons, some rolling about, and some merely sitting and talking. Soon, a massive cavern came into view, and Link had to halt and stare at its yawning entrance that receded into the dark.
"Is that..."
"Oh no," The Goron said, though there was pride in its voice. "That is Dodongo Cave! Where we harvest our best rocks!" That said, he dragged Link onward, and moreso uphill, until they were far above the village, and Link could peer down off the narrow trail to see it far below. Link was glad he was not afraid of heights. But even so, the sheer distance he was traveling up could have made the bravest swoon. He kept his eyes in front of him on his guide to keep from looking down.
*************
Finally, the Goron led him into a much shorter cave, where it extended into a mountain cavern. This was Goron City, and Link had to stop at the incredible sight.
The city was composed of many different layers of floors, the first floor being the market and the leader's home. Above, on at least three more floors, were the homes of the Gorons. Several were rolling around the floor walkways, and Link had to jump back to dodge one that came flying by. His guide shook his head at the retreating form, and turned back to Link.
"I am very sorry," He apologized again. "We are not used to such... smaller creatures. Hylians do not come to visit much."
Link shrugged weakly, and followed him again. Each house or room was a cave in the walls of the cavern, and they passed many before the Goron led him into one that turned out to be carved stone stairs downwards. They followed it down and down until they stepped out and onto the bottom floor. Here, there were more Gorons, mostly milling about and buying things, and one or two providing entertainment through songs or tricks.
Link stopped and stood about for a bit to enjoy the sights, and the guide left him to go and speak to the Leader. A very small Goron, rolled tightly into a small stone shape, rolled towards Link, and bumped into his leg. Link started, and then looked down to see the shape unroll the present him with a baby Goron. It's large dark eyes blinked up at him, and then it smiled, making little growling sounds at him.
Link smiled down at it, and knelt to come to its level. Several Goron watched curiously as the Hylian reached out a hand and let the Goron baby grasp it with tiny paws. It tugged on his hand, and he tugged back gently, until it tipped over and rolled into a ball again. Link had never really been around a child so young, and he laughed as it rolled about again and tried its balance. The Gorons watching relaxed, and went on with their business, trusting that the child was safe with him.
Shortly, his guide came back, though Link was hard-pressed to recognize him until he came right up to him.
"Link," Link introduced, at his uncertain look. The Goron nodded back.
"Come, Link, Great Darunia the Second wants to speak with you. I will take the sword now and see that it is put in the hands of the greatest of our sword-smiths."
Link reluctantly handed the broken parts over, and watched as the Goron ran several feet before it fell forward and into its roll again.
He turned to look at the ornately flourished doorway. There was a plush, Hylian carpet laid out in front of the door, and two wooden torches on either side.
He sighed. "Well, here goes nothing." And walked through the door.
*************
Darunia the Second was not the largest of the Gorons, nor perhaps the strongest, but no Goron could argue that he was the wisest. His father, Darunia, had been a warrior, but Darunia the Second had not followed in his footsteps, and instead had becoming a thinking leader. His room, though of a good size, was sparse aside from some plush carpets like the one in the front door, a few desks, a chair, and a large stone statue in the back, featuring a fearsome looking Goron warrior.
Darunia the Second greeted Link warmly, and offered him the chair.
"Greetings! I hope you haven't been offended by your young guide. Rocko can be very enthusiastic sometimes."
"Not at all," Link said, perching on the edge of the large chair self-consciously.
"Now," Darunia the Second said, "I don't believe in skirting subjects, so let us get right down to it, Link."
At his surprised look, Darunia laughed loudly. "Ho ho ho! Do not look so surprised, young one. I have dreamt that a Hylian boy would come looking for his manhood, and here you are! Your name has only come up now as I was listening at the door while you told it to Rocko."
Link was impressed by the logic, and relaxed slightly.
"I'm here to find some answers... And I hoped you could help me."
Darunia nodded, and crossed his arms over his massive chest. "I could see it in the way you carry yourself that you are lost. Rocko took the blade that you had to our sword-smith. Tell me, where did you get that blade?"
"It's a Hylian soldier blade, I... stole it from their armory." Link said, feeling slightly embarrassed at the admission. "It isn't that valuable, I don't think..."
Darunia shrugged, "Then our sword-smith will make it valuable. He cannot stand to leave anything alone. Always improving on things! Mind you, I'm not complaining, but one would like ones belongings back every once in a while," He looked at the door in irritation as if expecting the culprit to be there, before turning back to Link.
"I did not foresee a sword in my dream, but you were there, and here you are! Tell me, do you really want the blade back?"
"Yes," Link said with a determination that surprised even him. "I... its mine." He said simply, with a shrug. Darunia nodded.
"My own father was the same way with his weapon, nobody dared to handle it, not even the sword-smith!"
"I don't think..." Link trailed off.
"That you are a warrior?" Darunia said shrewdly. "You are, believe me, it is in your eyes. You were born to fight."
Link felt the faint echoing of something deep inside, and shook his head suddenly to disband the odd feeling.
Darunia watched him intently, and nodded in approval.
"You are the one," He said simply.
Link looked up at him. "From your dream?"
"And much more," The leader said. "I believe you have a great burden in you, Link, as any warrior must feel at one point in his great life. It is not a coincidence that you have come here."
Just then, there was a knocking on the door, and it was opened to reveal a young Goron.
"Leader Darunia," He called out, "Dinner is ready!"
Darunia turned to Link. "We will speak more of this tomorrow, Link. For now, let us eat, and then I will have someone show you to a place to stay for the night."