Disclaimers are in Ch. 1. Many thanks to the people who have stuck with me in the shaky beginning of this. You should see the romance starting in the next few chapters. A new warning, also. This fic is gonna be long, of its own accord. I'm forseeing many chapters, and new characters, along with baddies and maybe big battles. If you are a light reader, or just can't stand epics, back off. But if you want to stick around and see this thing through with me, g'wan and help yourself. As always, I'd like to hear what you think of the plot, characters, storyline, writing, etc. Email me, or review.
All right, on to the tale.
Ch. 9
To-night I stay at the Summit Temple.
Here I could pluck the stars with my hand,
I dare not speak aloud in the silence,
For fear of disturbing the dwellers of heaven.
-Li Po
Though Link had become impatient to find answers, he allowed himself to be pampered and entertained by the Gorons, who were a friendly people by nature. Dinner was something else, as Gorons truly did eat certain rocks they found to be nutritious or delicious. Link was provided with an assortment of food they had gathered from Kakariko village on their last trade day.
The little Goron who had played with Link earlier that day now came to clamber up into a high chair beside Link, and watched in childish curiosity as he ate. Eventually, the people coaxed him into playing the ocarina, and he did so only slightly grudgingly. He played several Hylian songs, and eventually Zelda's and Malon's songs, to the Goron's delight. They also in turn taught him a few Goron songs, which were hard to play on the ocarina, as they were originally for drums. Link was finally beginning to enjoy himself despite all, and he relaxed that night to sleep on the soft bed they had provided him. Rocko had come by to tell him that his sword was being worked on, and Link lay back to sleep, content that he was finally going to find some of the answers that had been eluding him for so long.
*************
Darunia the Second was sitting on the floor in the center of his room when Link slipped in very early that next morning. On the tables around him there lay several pots, each exuding a faint wisp of strong incense that was already filling the room. At the Goron Leader's feet there was an ornamental stone pipe that had brilliant carvings down its length.
Darunia looked up at him when Link came to stand in front of him and blinked blearily, coming out of a trance-like state.
"Greetings," He said. "It is not in the Gorons nature to brood so, but I have often been called an exception to the rule." He smiled, and patted the floor. "Come, sit, little warrior, and let us talk of things."
Link did so, sitting in front of him with his legs akimbo and hands on knees. Darunia lifted the pipe and lit it with a match-stick from one of the incense holders. From the pipe came a stronger, richer smell of earthiness, and Link swayed slightly at the heady feeling it gave him. Darunia breathed deeply of the ceremonial pipe several times, before setting it aside, and turning to Link. His eyes were more focused, and intent, than Link had seen him before, and he straightened up in response.
"Now," Darunia said, "Tell me of your troubles."
*************
Link told him everything he had encountered before he had come, from the dreams and thieves at Lon Lon, to the Princess, her castles guards, and the ocarina returned to him in the fields. It took some time, but Link finally told everything, and with only a slight hesitation, spoke of the weeping.
When he was finished, Darunia nodded slowly. "I saw you pause at the statement of the weeping... It shows you have told no one else of this, and it lets me know you trust me, and for that I thank you."
Link nodded, and waited.
"Link," He finally began. "You are suppressing something deep inside, something perhaps you are afraid of, that has been blocked I believe. By either you, or some greater force. It has become stronger, as your visions and dreams have increased, and it is good that you are here now. I cannot say what could have happened if you had continued on like before, but it could not have been good."
Link leaned forward, his eyebrows furrowed. "Do you think its something bad?"
"Not bad," Darunia said, "Only strong, by the way you suffer from it. Now, let me tell you a story, so that you can relax your stubborn warrior's mind."
Link made a small sound of denial, but fell silent to listen.
"My father, Darunia the Great, was a powerful warrior and leader. He protected his people greatly, and lead them justly. One day, though, he found the mountain awry with monsters, and went to do battle with the fire dragon that resided in the Death Mountain's depths. This monster had awoken after eons as its temporary seal had become weaker, and my father, the descendant of a great fighter before him, took the legendary Goron Hammer, and suppressed the dragon, destroying it in the process." He paused here to rest his chin on one great paw-like hand for a moment, deep in thought, before continuing. "Although he had slain the monster, he had suffered great wounds, and standing upon a large cliff in the Mountain, lay his mighty hammer aside and fell back, in death, into the burning lava, deep below us now. Although the people and myself wept in grief, Darunia came back to me in a vision, and told me that I was not to pursue the path that our ancestors had always taken. He told me I was a leader of wisdom, that I should rule in wisdom, and so I did."
The incense and pipe's powerful fumes had tipped Link into a state between dreaming and awareness, and he could see in his mind's eye the Great Darunia, battling a fire breathing dragon that twisted and turned in the air like a gigantic red serpent. Darunia the Second's voice sounded on in his mind, and he listened to the depth of it.
"In turning to wisdom, I acquired much knowledge, Link, knowledge of our land, its people, and its secrets. I hold no magic in me, as my people are not a magic race, but I do hold reason, and accountability, and steadfastness, and now, we are going to speak of you, Link."
Link nodded slowly, opening one eye. "Is this stuff harmful?"
He heard the Chief Goron chuckle.
"No, it is of the earth, and is only used to clear the mind's eye. I can see that you are not easily relaxed, but I will continue, as this is the best I believe I will get."
Link nodded again, and closed his eyes.
"What interests me are the things that you feel, now, deep inside. Is it there, Link, this strange power, can you find it?"
"I...think..." He concentrated hard, and tried to visualize reaching deep inside of himself to understand. "I..." It was suddenly too much, and he fell back in a tired faint. He came around quickly, though, as Darunia hauled him up with a smile.
"I forgot," He apologized, "Warriors are all the same. You do not see inside of yourselves as well as you should, so focused you are on the outside."
The spell was broken, and Link found himself able to focus fully on the Goron before him.
"I do not have the true answer to what it is you seek, Link," Darunia said regretfully. "It is something in you, fighting to get out. Much like the want of knowledge that once fought inside of me to get out. It has started to awaken, in you, Link. Tell me, when did you start having these dreams?"
Link thought back. "A month or so ago, I suppose. They started only faintly and didn't become nightmares until much later."
Darunia nodded to himself. "My advice to you, Link, is to not fight it so much-"
"But I-"
"And to start fighting for it," He continued. "For only when you open yourself to it, will you be at peace."
"The princess lied to me," Link said impatiently, "She knows something, or she's done something..."
"Young Zelda is not your enemy, young Hylian. For her it is also hard. In this time in her life she is leaving her childhood to embrace her destiny that will someday be the Queen of Hyrule. It is a heavy burden for any person."
"But she knows something," Link persisted.
"Perhaps she keeps it from you to protect you, Link. As you have told me, I think she did not mean to hurt you."
"Well she did," Link murmured angrily. "And she's making it worse by keeping it from me."
"True," Darunia said thoughtfully. He then rose to his full height, and retreated to one of the farthest desks, where he picked up a heavy scroll and brought it back.
"This is something I was studying earlier this morning. It seems to hold a legend of the Triforce, something to do with a force called 'The Six Sages of-'". He halted his speech after he had unrolled the scroll. Link had looked up into the Golden Triforce, and then to the six brightly colored shapes encircling it, and then had tipped back, as if under the incense burner's smoke again, and all the world faded to black.
*************
"You passed out," Came the faint voice.
"I...did?" He murmured through cracked lips, trying to open his eyes. The air was cool around him, and it was silent, aside from the almost inaudible breathing above him. His head hurt, and his body ached.
"I'm...okay now..." He said, "Just... I was climbing to get...um..." He wanted to feel around for something he'd dropped, but could not remember what.
"Flowers..." The voice was becoming even fainter. "For...me?"
"Um," He was embarrassed and confused, and tried opening his eyes. His whole body jerked as the world exploded like a sunburst, and light invaded his widened pupils, forcing him to squeeze his eyelids shut tightly and to turn away.
"Link! Don't..." It faded to darkness, though, and he felt himself drifting away into emptiness, the only comfort to him the faint rustling of the wind around his suspended body...
*************
"Link...Link! Awaken now, young Hylian. It is time to return to the world of waking!"
He was dimly aware of being shaken repeatedly, and it increased until he opened his eyes and remembered where he was.
"I..." He said weakly, standing up carefully to look fully at Darunia. "I...had another dream."
Darunia was frowning in worry, but nodded. Link picked up the scroll he had dropped, and unrolled it to see the symbols again. Around the edges of the parchment were burnt a pitch-black, and the rest was worn and tattered.
"Where did you get this?" Link asked after a time of studying the shapes.
"From my father," Darunia said quietly. "When he returned. I always thought of it as a final story of his to keep, but now I see it does have some greater meaning. It represents the Triforce, the three Goddesses, and the Sages of the Land."
He sighed. "I have read it many times, and know it by heart. And in my heart, and not my mind, do I believe that my father was telling me something, and now I know."
Link dragged his eyes away from the scroll. "What is it?"
Darunia touched a symbol on the scroll gently. "That my father is now one of those Sages."
*************
Later in the afternoon, Link made his way up the rest of the mountain path, led by Rocko again, to the place where the sword-maker, called Biggoron, lived. Link tipped his head back to see the sheer size of the rock wall in front of him.
"What am I supposed to do?" He asked in surprise.
"Climb," Rocko grinned. "We cannot take this route, but Hylians can."
"And he lives up here alone?" Link asked.
"Of course!" Rocko said, "Who else could?"
Link looked back in confusion, but Rocko had already excused himself, and had rolled away after a pack of Goron's his age to go hang out at the mountain base. Link shrugged to himself, and looked up the steep wall.
"Well," He muttered, "here goes nothing."
*************
The mountain side had grooves carved into it for the sole purpose of climbing, and he scaled it without a lot of trouble. It wasn't long before he was scrabbling over the side, and up onto the peak of Danger Mountain.
He almost let go, though, upon seeing Biggoron.
"Oh..." He mouthed weakly.
Biggoron's name was an understatement. He was immense! High, high above he towered over Link, his upper body showing above the mountain side. He blinked down at Link, his enormous eyes the size of the wheels on a wagon. Link finally recovered as best as he could for the moment, and dragged himself over the edge. He stood to dust off his tunic, and then tipped his head straight up to see Biggoron. The Goron grinned at him, showing enormous teeth and a mouth that really could have swallowed him in one bite. Biggoron, however, only brought out an enormous paw-like hand.
"Heyyyyyyyy," He boomed. Link placed a hand over his hood in pure wonder.
"Hello!" Link called upwards, stepping fully up on the slope to get a better look at the sword-smith.
"Yoooooou'll be wanting yourrrrrr sworrrrrrrrd," Biggoron thundered. "It was verrrrrrrry plain, and ssssssso I made a fewwwww adjustments. Itsssss not finished yyyyyyet, though."
Link looked surprised. "Adjustments? Oh...okay. Um... when do you think it will be finished?"
"Ssssssssoon," The giant Goron called down in his massive voice. "Beeeeeee patient!"
Link's shoulders sagged, and he realized what Darunia had meant by the sword-smiths tendency to tamper. He bade the sword-smith goodbye, and climbed back down the rock face and headed down the trail aimlessly, thinking. He thought of Epona, who he had left with a friendly villager, and wondered how she was doing. He thought of his friends at Lon Lon Ranch, and worried about how Rascal was behaving and if Malon had managed to tame him. He thought of Zelda and wondered how she felt about the destiny she had been born into. And lastly, in an afterthought, he thought of himself. What had become of him? He had been a ranch hand not so long ago, working with the horses and helping Talon with his special cuckoos. Now so much had changed. He never thought he would be here, where he was now, doing the things he was doing.
Was Darunia right? Was he suppressing something? All of his life there had been something... something out of place, but it had never been a serious want, and he had never desired anything more than the humble home that he had made among friends at the ranch. Only around a month ago did he start to dream, and to see things... Had something awakened in him? Was it magic? A spell? ...A curse?
Link frowned, and sat down on a rock jutting from the mountain wall. He rested his elbows on his knees, and suddenly felt like he was being watched. He looked up and around himself.
...Nothing.
Had he been expecting something to be there?
Or someone?
His thoughts drifted to the Kokiri, and their fairies, who followed them everywhere. Had he been thinking about fairies again? It had been a long time since he'd let himself brood on things so far in the past. Link sighed, stretching his tired arms out, and reached to his side, behind the empty scabbard, to pull out his ocarina. The instrument was slightly dusty from the days work, and he brushed it off gently.
He put it to his lips, and tried a note. The chord quavered in the sun-warmed air, and then died away. He fixed his fingers on it, and began to play.
After the initial warm-up, the notes came easily to him, and he played them, running through all of the songs he knew, the songs he had learned, and songs yet to be made. He let the notes go, trickling out into the air on the breeze, and echoing down the rocky path below him. Link paid no attention to the time, nor where he was, and let himself play until the his grip laxed, his breathing slowed, and he slumped forward in sleep. The day had been long and trying, and he did not wake as he slipped forward off the stoop, nor did he stir when he was caught in the arms of a dark, hooded figure, and gently lowered to the ground.
*************
That night, curled up on the sun-warmed rocky trail, Link dreamed a disturbing dream in which he was trying to fend off a headless serpent-like dragon from Darunia, and in the distance, Gorons were one-by-one drowning themselves in a lake of raging fire.
*************
He rose with the sun, and stretched the kinks out of his stiff body out, looking around with mild curiosity at where he had fallen asleep. At this point, Link was beyond caring about where he slept, and he took it in stride, turning to head back towards Goron City where he wondered if he could find some palatable breakfast.
Several Gorons spotted him and bade him good-morning, and he waved back with a slight grin. It was strange to spend so long in such a populated place. Sitting in the mess area on the bottom city floor, he looked up to see Darunia enter, and look around for a moment. The Goron Chief spotted him, and ambled over to him to take a seat.
"Good morning, young Link. Did you find a good spot to sleep last night?"
The wise Ruler was gone, and in his place once again was the gentle and thoughtful leader who led the Gorons. Darunia's dark eyes twinkled with humor, and Link grinned back.
"I was tired," He explained. "I guess I just... fell asleep."
Darunia nodded, and helped himself to some rocks piled on a platter. Link watched in bemused silence as he chomped on them with enjoyment. The Goron looked at him and winked.
"Best stuff here, young fighter. Makes you big and strong. I noticed you didn't come back with your sword... Any troubles?"
Link sipped from a mug of mountain cider and hid his grin. "You were right about that sword-maker. When he puts his mind to something, there's nothing that stops him."
Darunia nodded. "I still haven't gotten my ceremonial throne chair back!"
*************
After breakfast, Link followed Darunia and several of the older Goron's up to the top of the mountain again to watch the young Gorons race.
"How often do you hold these races?" Link asked, looking around at the young racer getting ready. Each had a numbered cloth rapped around his or her middle, and they were lining up now in order.
"Every chance we get," One young racer called out to Link, grinning. Darunia nodded, "Its usually a yearly event, but the weather is right today, and the young ones are anxious to show off." He took a seat with the older Gorons to watch the race. Several children who were too young yet to enter the races came up to Link, and started to tug playfully on his tunic.
"Whassat?" One small one squeaked, tugging on the thick green material. Link grinned. "It's my tunic, I have to wear it."
The little Goron looked up in puzzlement. "Why?"
"Because..." Link shrugged. "Thats just what Hylians do. Pretty weird sounding to you I bet."
The little Goron giggled, and lost its balance, falling back into a roll. Another young Goron came up, though he was older than the first.
"Hey! I heard you had a sword!"
"That's right," Link said. "Biggoron's working on it now."
"Wow," the young one said, "Are you a warrior?"
"Sure," Link responded, not wanting to disappoint him.
The Goron child grinned, and looked around, its eyes suddenly lighting up. "Hey! Why don't you join in the races!" There was a sudden whoop from several young Gorons, and even some racers, at the idea. They were delighted, and began a cheer.
"Link, Link, Link!"
He looked around helplessly for a way out, and found Darunia grinning at him from his perch.
"I believe you've put your foot into it, young Link." He said, with a shrug.
"Wait, I-"
"Don't worry!" Darunia called, as the racers caught hold of him. "It should not be dangerous! Just follow the racers on the trail!"
"But-" Link called back as they herded him to the line. "I can't roll!"
"You look tough enough," One cocky young racer about Link's age said. "Just try to keep up." He grinned at Link, and Link frowned, feeling his competitive spirit start to rise. He allowed two young Goron girls to wrap a cloth around him with the last number on it, and looked around to try and psyche himself up. I'm a Hylian ranch hand who's about to try his roll in a Goron Race, he thought without elation. Several racers came by to pat him enthusiastically on the back, and he gave Darunia a long-suffering look, which was greeted with a smile.
"Remember, Link," He called out. "When the power comes, do not fight it! Become one with it, embrace it!"
Link tried to say something over the stamping of the excited racers' feet, but could not be heard. Instead, he removed his scabbard and ocarina, and gave them to a young Goron nearby.
"Hold these!" He yelled to be heard, and the young Goron nodded, stepping back. Link turned and rolled his shoulders, forcefully pushing back his disbelief of what he was about to do. Down the line, the arrogant racer from before leaned down, and peered over at him.
"Get ready to eat dirt!" The surly Goron said, to most of the other Gorons' consternation. They were not an arrogant race by nature. Link ignored him, and concentrated on the path ahead of him. When the echo of the gong sounded in his ears, he stooped into a shaky lunge, and was off in the start of the race.