Chapter 28: Sworn Brothers

Swaddled in flames, it came gliding and flexing
and racing towards its fate.

~Beowulf

Volvagia, spawn of earth and fire, roared as his serpent-like body coiled in flight, surrounding his intended prey. Unlike the other Gorons, this one had sustained its resistance for hours, throwing great boulders, punching and throttling with its arms, and foiling every attempt to corner it. But such constant activity came at a price, and at last the creature was failing.

"I'm sorry, Brother."

The dragon's coils pressed against Darunia's body, squeezing the breath of life from his lungs. The flames that danced on the dragon's hide licked at the edges of his face, and overhead, the shadow of the dragon's mouth closed in. He could feel its hot breath on his neck and hear its saliva hiss as it ran down his chest.

Darunia chuckled, but the sound came out as a gasp. Here he was, in his last moments, when he might have been thinking of his family or his people. Instead, he dreamt he heard the voice of a fairy. He dreamt he heard the sound of a heavy weight cleaving the air. He dreamt that weight broke the dragon's hold on his body.

He dreamt.

Despite the hole it left in his defenses, Link carried the hammer with both hands, as it would have been impossible to carry otherwise. He reached the dragon's lair with little incident, finding it just beyond the cavern where he had met Darunia.

The lair consisted of a flat island of rock surrounded by great gashes in the earth that boiled with lava. Every few minutes, a stalactite broke loose from the ceiling and crashed onto the island.

Though well aware of the dangers, Link jumped across an eight-foot gap to the island of rock and dashed forward. The dragon blinked its bulbous eyes at him, and a blast of superheated air spewed from its mouth. Rather than heed the warning, Link spun around in a complete circle to gather momentum before hurling the hammer at the dragon's head.

With its coils firmly pressed against Darunia's body, the dragon could hardly have evaded the stroke. The hammer's head struck it a sound blow on the muzzle, cracking bone and cartilage. When the dragon roared, several stalactites broke at once, crashing down on the island near Link and making it difficult to retrieve the hammer.

"Watch out, Brother!"

Link swerved away at the last possible moment, saving himself from a jet of flame discharged by a wounded and very angry Volvagia. In turning its attention on him, the dragon had loosened its grip on Darunia, allowing the King just enough oxygen to use his voice.

Link scooped up the hammer, but before he could land another blow, Volvagia soared into the air, barreling towards the wall of the cavern. The thought that the dragon might actually be trying to escape—that it might have recognized the hammer—gave him pause.

Without considering just what he intended to do, he leapt and caught the dragon's tail. Climbing onto the scaly back, he clamped his legs against its sides for balance and raised the hammer above his head. The dragon growled and began to spin in midair.

The heat became unbearable. Knowing he would never be able to hold on, Link relaxed his muscles and prepared to slide off while the dragon still hovered over the island.

Something glinted at the corner of his vision. He looked up, startled by his own reflection in Volvagia's eyes, but the surprise turned to wonder when he saw the reflection behind his.

"Hey, listen!"

Navi smacked into Volvagia's left eye with the speed of a Deku Seed hurled from a slingshot. The dragon writhed and flung Link off awkwardly, so that instead of landing on his feet, he crashed onto the island back first.

Good idea, Navi, but your timing could have been better. He tried to sit up, but nausea kept him rooted to the rock.

That was when he realized he had lost the hammer.

"It's just you and me again, hell-breather," he heard someone say behind him. Forcing himself to rise, he turned to see a sight worthy of a myth or a bard's tale. Darunia, wielding the hammer of his forebear, glared defiance at the dragon as it honed in on him, sailing down from above with its fiery mane trailing behind it.

The dragon had opened its mouth to devour, but the King of the Gorons simply stood there, waiting. Finally, when the dragon was within a few feet and the first hint of a flame had begun to show at the back of its throat, Darunia dashed forward, braving the threat of its jaws, and shattered its lower teeth with the hammer.

"Go," Navi said. "He needs your help!"

"I doubt it," Link said. Nevertheless, he drew his sword and charged.

The glow at the back of the dragon's throat continued to grow brighter. Darunia ignored it. Link jumped onto the head and stabbed through the back of the dragon's neck, penetrating the windpipe so that the flames, instead of engulfing Darunia, passed on either side of him, parted by the Master Sword.

Darunia's first swing crumpled the dragon's nose. He followed up with a shot between the eyes, then he paused. "I am Darunia, big boss of the Gorons, descendant of heroes, and I say, you will kill my people no more!"

An unmistakable crack marked the success of his aim. Link saw the dragon's brutish expression give way, almost immediately, to an eerie sadness that remained even after the life had departed its body.

The fight had ended so abruptly that the three of them—Darunia, Link, and Navi—were silent for a long time.

"Do you think it was really evil," said Navi at last, hovering over the dragon's head, "or did Ganondorf make it hurt the Gorons?"

Darunia scowled. "Volvagia has been a scourge on our race since before Ganondorf was thought of."

Link carefully extracted his sword from the dragon's body. "You said everyone thought Volvagia was dead. Maybe he was, but that means someone had to bring him back. Who do you think would have the power to do something like that?"

Darunia's scowl deepened. "The same person who closed up Dodongo's Cavern…"

Somehow, I find my way to the Sacred Realm again—or more specifically, to the Chamber of Sages. Did we really kill Volvagia? For a moment, I wonder if I imagined the battle in the Fire Temple. It's the same feeling I get every time I come here, as if something is just a little out of place.

Rauru and Saria are nowhere to be found. I'm alone with Navi and my Sworn Brother, Darunia.

"I want to thank you, Brother, on behalf of the entire Goron race. That's twice you've saved us." Darunia grins, something I would have found frightening as a child. "I wondered what it would be like, the day we met again. You turned out to be a real man, just as I thought you would."

"Ahem," Navi says.

"I haven't forgotten you, fairy. You deserve our thanks for watching over him."

"It wasn't easy."

I smile. "You were the one who knew how to use the hammer."

Darunia chuckles. "To think that when we first met, I could only greet you with anger. Now, thanks to your efforts, my people can live in peace. Of course, that peace won't last long unless we defeat Ganondorf."

I'm sure my confusion is showing on my face. "We?"

Darunia's chuckle becomes a roar of laughter. "Yes, we, Brother. It turns out I'm one of the Six Sages: the Sage of Fire, no less!"

I nod. "That does seem to fit you pretty well."

"That's true. It does mean that I'll be away from Goron City for a while, but Barough can take care of things while I'm gone, assuming he survives." The King grunts. "Meantime, his sons will represent him."

"I never told you he had been wounded."

"I'm a Sage now. That means I know almost everything going on in my realm."

This makes my thoughts turn to what lies ahead. Rauru, Saria, Darunia. Three more Sages have to be wakened. Who are they? And where is Zelda? Why is it so dangerous for me to know where she is?

Darunia's voice returns me to the present. "Take this!" I feel something drop into my outstretched palms. It's a red Medallion with the image of a three-tongue flame.

Darunia continues. "It contains the power of the fire spirits, but more importantly, it contains my friendship. Use it wisely."

There are other things I want to ask him, other things I want to say, but I feel the haze of this dream, if it is a dream, begin to fade as I gaze at the Medallion. Scattered images of my life in Hyrule flit in and out of my brain, out of control.

"Don't forget," someone says, but the voice is faint and fading fast. "You and I are now true brothers."

Afternoon had aged into evening by the time Link wandered back into Kakariko Village from the Death Mountain trail. Thankfully, Impa had left him with enough food to last another day, but cold ham, hard bread, and water couldn't tell him which way to go from Goron City.

Navi perched on his shoulder as they entered the village square. "Sheik would know."

"Sheik's not here." Link rolled his eyes.

"Well, how am I supposed to know where the next temple is? I'm not a goddess."

"You don't have to tell me that."

"And you don't have to be rude about it."

Link opened his mouth as if to say something else, but he stopped. A flash of overalls in the crowd and a fat face had triggered several memories from his childhood. He turned to watch as the man passed.

Navi perked up. "Hey. Isn't that…"

A name rose to the tip of Link's tongue. "Talon."

The man glanced around nervously as if he had heard them. His eyes were red and his mustache unkempt. Though still heavyset, he appeared to have lost some weight. Nothing of the jolly exterior remained. If it hadn't been for the face and the clothing, Link would scarcely have recognized him.

"Maybe we should follow him," Navi said.

"Why?" Link shrugged.

"He looks upset. Maybe he's in trouble."

"We don't have time."

"You have any better ideas? Sheik seems to be able to find us when he wants to."

Link sighed and continued to watch as Talon slipped through the crowd, moving towards a dingy building at the edge of the square. A sign hanging from a chain above the door marked it as the Golden Rupee.

"I remember that place." Link waited until Talon had closed the door of the tavern behind him before he followed. "It's where we saw Ingo."

"That man who worked for him."

"Yeah." Link turned the handle on the door and entered the common room of the tavern. Immediately, the smell of sweat, ale, and smoke from cheap oil lamps hammered his nostrils. He looked for Talon among the sea of grizzled faces.

It wasn't hard to find him. Climbing onto a table in the middle of the room, Talon shouted at the top of his lungs. "He's got her, I tell you. He's got my baby cooped up in the stables with the horses while he sleeps in the house. He feeds her bread and a little bit of milk when she's lucky, and he makes her do all the work. He—"

Navi whispered to Link. "What's he talking about?"

"His baby?" Link shook his head. "Maybe he means his daughter, Malon." He noted that a majority of the other patrons paid more mind to their drinks and their conversations than they paid to Talon, as if they had heard it all before.

A young man seated at a table near Talon tossed a half-chewed chicken leg in his direction. "Ah, shut up, will you? If you're so worried about her, why don't you go get her yourself?"

Talon moaned and covered his face with his hands. "I told you, I told you. He's got the place covered by those Gerudos day and night. It'd take a posse to bring Malon out of there."

Link raised his voice above the clamor. "Who's got the place covered by Gerudos?"

Talon spoke without looking at him. "It's Ingo! Doesn't anyone listen to what I've been trying to get across the last…how long has it been now? Oh, Malon!"

Navi hovered behind Link, keeping out of sight. "Why don't they help him?"

Link bit his lip. "The Gerudos destroyed Hyrule Castle Town. No one wants to make them angry."

A barrel-chested man, probably the innkeeper, helped Talon down to the floor. "Come on. I'll take you to Eudora's."

Link closed his eyes. "Navi, do you remember what happened the night we stayed at the ranch?"

"Ingo tried to run away with a horse," Navi said. "We thought he might have been helping the Gerudos."

"It looks like we were right. We should have said something to Talon."

"It's not your fault. The Gerudos could have taken over the ranch without Ingo's help."

"Maybe." Link clenched his fists. "All I know is, someone has to help Malon…"