Hello, again, folks! It's Scrap here. Ready for another chapter? Hope so. This one is about Darunia, the third sage, and one of my favorites. And oh boy, is it a doozy. Nearly five thousand words! Hey, but you don't have to read it all in one sitting! Hopefully they'll just get longer from here on out. As always, tell me how I did with a review or PM. See you next time.

Darunia, Sage of Fire

"Good luck, Brother! Haha!" The massive Goron watched with pride as the hero who had rescued him faded out and away from the chamber. He owed quite a bit to that man. He had just saved the Goron Tribe for the second time in his life, even succeeding where he, the chief, Darunia, could not. Death Mountain was now safe from the ancient dragon Volvagia, all thanks to his kinsman Link. If Darunia himself had not already claimed the title, he knew Link would make an excellent chief. He watched the young man go with a wave and a smile.

Darunia wiped the sweat from his brow and sighed deeply. Only moments before, he had been trapped in the heart of the volcano, waiting for his doom at the hands of the ancient Goron eater. Now he was here, in the quiet sanctity of the Chamber of Sages. Not once in his long life had he been to this sacred place, but he was completely familiar with it from the moment he arrived. That knowledge had come to him the moment he awakened as the Sage of Fire.

What a story for the tribe back home, he thought. Already a chief, now a sage! Was there no end to the great titles this Goron would achieve for himself? He smiled smugly with self-satisfaction. Probably not, he mused. Maybe when he got back home, he would become King of Hyrule. Or the next Hero of Time. Or perhaps he would mull it over after a hot meal and a bath. The possibilities filled his mind.

He looked down at himself. He didn't look too bad, for a Goron nearly devoured. A scratch there, a dent here, a burn somewhere on the rump. It was rare for a Goron to have a burn anywhere. He scratched at it thoughtfully. It was a new sensation for him.

Looking over, he saw a small girl and an old, decrepit man. The young one stared at Darunia with fascination, but the older one did not look so impressed. He knew he was not the first one to arrive here, but to see two others come before him? There were six sages, and three of them had already awakened. Link had been busy, he thought to himself. He turned and smiled at his new found company, waving his hand at them. The young girl backed away from the sudden approach, as if it were a threat.

"What? I got burned! It hurts!" He stopped waving and simply held his palm out. "Don't worry, I'm clean. Other than some dirt. And ash." Looking down at his hand, he noticed it was quite dirty. He wiped his massive palm on his rough stomach, smearing soot down the length of his belly. This did not bother him in the least, however. He cared little for his appearances. A true Goron knew to judge a person by their heart, not by their face. After all, most Gorons looked quite similar anyway!

"Name's Darunia. Big Brother to all Gorons, chief of their tribe, Sage of Fire!" He laughed deeply. His voice boomed through the air like an erupting volcano. "Not bad for some Goron on the mountain, eh? I just keep gettin' bigger." He gave the thumbs up and reveled in his self-worth. His long list of accomplishments did not give him a swollen ego, but he was proud enough to boast about them.

He grinned stupidly and offered a hand in friendship. He knew these two were other sages, just like him. Sure, they didn't look like much to Darunia, but they were sages alright. He expected someone a bit stouter or thicker, but he didn't make the rules. If he was a sage, and they were sages, then Darunia supposed they were meant to meet. Probably to become close allies, as well! Darunia liked that thought. He continued to hold out a hand for them.

But neither took it. At least not immediately. The girl just looked intimidated, the man was barely paying attention. He had been lost in thought since Darunia arrived, not ten minutes before. The Goron found it a bit inconsiderate that neither had introduced themselves first. In fact, they hadn't spoken a word! Darunia was growing impatient, his smiled began to fade. He grunted and cleared his throat. That caught the older man's attention.

He looked over to Darunia, and within a moment, snapped to attention. His eyes widened as he practically leapt off his pedestal and over to Darunia. He took the Goron's massive hand and shook it vigorously. That was what Darunia was waiting for! Darunia closed his palm and gave a hearty Goron shake.

The man, shaken about by Darunia's massive handshake, introduced himself as Rauru, Sage of Light.

"Sage of Light? Yeah, I can tell! Look at you! I could scoop you up with a pinky finger! Haha!" He patted Rauru on the back, sending him stumbling forward. Rauru laughed meekly at the joke, brushed himself off, and returned to his pedestal. Still quiet as ever, Darunia noticed.

"Saria," Rauru turned to the young girl with a serious gaze. "When someone offers their hand, especially a Goron, it is rude not to take it." The young girl and he old man met eyes. Darunia knew the look the young girl was giving the man. He had seen it before on the faces of visitors to his domain. She didn't see a man or a sage when she looked at a Goron. She saw a big, beastly monster. He sighed.

It was customary for a Goron to accept friendship when it was offered, no matter the history between the two parties. And the same was true in reverse. If a Goron offered kinship, it was an honor, and it was to be accepted. To refuse was to spit on the entire Goron people. And that was precisely what this girl in green was doing.

Normally, Darunia would see this insult and crush whoever had rebuked his offer. He would pick them up and dump them down a hole or give them a good old fashioned straight punch. He crossed his arms and tried to be angry at this green little twerp, but he could not. Where anger should have welled up, he found only sadness. Was he really so monstrous?

The young girl turned back to Darunia and nearly stuck out her hand, but did not, seeing that the Goron had taken back his offer. Darunia stomped on his pedestal, sat, and curled into a ball. He looked like a massive boulder that someone had gently displayed inside the sacred chamber. He meant this as a sign of his having taken offense, but he was sure he just looked silly. Still, when he was depressed or angry, this was what he did. It helped, sometimes, to disconnect from the world and simply sit as a stone would.

"Some wise sage you turned out to be, little one." He grumbled lowly. "Why waste my time with fools? I get enough foolishness leading my tribe." He remained very still on his chosen platform. There was no need to say anything more to her. Darunia had made his point plainly.

He heard Rauru step off his pedestal and over to the green little girl. He spoke softly, so Darunia couldn't make out his words. This irritated Darunia further. He would not be the topic of idle gossip. He sat up to glare coldly at them, when he saw Rauru step gently forward.

"Forgive her, mighty Goron, she knows very little of-" Rauru began to explain, when Darunia jumped to his feet.

"Knows very little of what? Hyrule? The world? What, has she been living under a rock her whole life? No, I don't think so! And I would know, because I live under a rock, and trust me, that's not the look of one that lives under a rock!" Darunia stomped angrily and bellowed. He refused to accept that this girl truly did not know not to fear Gorons.

"Well, if you'd please-" Rauru pleaded, but he was silenced before he could finish his plea. Darunia refused to speak to the girl through someone else! He would talk to this impudent child directly. He pounded his fist onto the ground and came to his feet. The mere impact of his ascent shook the room, and sent the girl stumbling off her platform.

"You!" He pointed a thick finger at her and thrashed angrily over to where she stood. "What do you see when you look at me, hm? Perhaps I am 'scary' to you? Is that it? Well, if you think I'm frightening now, you ought to wait until I'm really angry! I..." His words fell apart at the sight of the little girl. She had tears in her eyes. The Goron swallowed his words and seemed to shrink on the inside. He took a step back as guilt washed over him like a tsunami.

"No, stop that, that's... That's cruel, you can't just... Um..." He scratched the back of his head. Was this his attempt to appear less frightening? Was he truly trying to show this girl how friendly he could be? Clearly, he was doing a poor job of it. He turned to Rauru, but the old sage only stared back coldly. Here he was, trying to make a case for how she had nothing to fear from him, by screaming like an ape. He cursed his own thickness.

"She is a forest child. She has never seen, much less met, a Goron. I doubt if she even knew what they looked like." Rauru stated as he shook his head, a look of disappointment plastered on his face. Darunia looked down at the small girl, trembling like a leaf in the wind. Her eyes were wide in total fright.

A girl who had never seen a Goron. That was an odd thing indeed. The young girl must have been scared to bits from the moment he showed up in the chamber. And here he was, making things worse. Darunia blamed that on his Goron blood. They weren't a very subtle people. To understand emotions and read in between the lines were two things he never found himself capable of. He lowered himself down to his hands and knees, so that he was on level with the girl. Maybe he couldn't understand the thinking of a child, but he could certainly try.

"You were scared of me, huh?" He asked rhetorically. She nervously nodded in confirmation and Darunia laughed. "I don't blame ya, kid! Sometimes I look at myself and I get scared too!" He laid a hand on his round stomach. "You see this? That's what scares me! How'd I get so dang fat, eatin' rocks all day?" Darunia laughed at his attempt to settle the girl down with some humor. To him, that was premium comedy. She just looked confused.

"Uh… Because, Gorons eat rocks. I guess you didn't know that, huh? Hm." The young girl stared nervously at him, and didn't say a word. She wasn't running away, so Darunia took it as a good sign.

"Listen, though. You have nothing to fear from a Goron. Especially not me! I wouldn't hurt a fly." He paused to consider all the different Gorons he had wrestled and thrown about in his life. "Well, okay, that's not exactly true. But I definitely wouldn't hurt you. I only fight bad guys." That was also a fib, but Darunia excused himself.

She looked unmoved. He was getting desperate now. "Look, I'm... I'm sorry for yelling at ya. I'm no monster, but right then, I don't think I made it easy to tell." He lowered himself down to her level. "Can you forgive me?" He looked straight into her eyes. This level of sincerity wasn't typical of a Goron. His people rarely apologized, and it was especially rare for an apology to be so formal. He reached out a hand to her hesitantly. If it didn't work this time, there would be no friendship between the two.

"Look, I'm on my hands and knees here! You got a Goron, no, the Chief of Gorons, to beg ya, so can't ya just forgive an old man like me? It would mean the world to me if we could start this whole mess over." The giant pleaded. He was glad none of his kinsmen were here to see him in such a state. He certainly never envisioned himself in such a position.

Several moments passed in silence before a small, shaky hand slowly took his. Her fingers were barely big enough to wrap around his rocky index finger. She took his hand and shook it shyly. Darunia barely felt the motion. But the meaning behind it was understood.

"Haha!" He took her hand and boosted her up above his head, so she was taller than even old Rauru. He carried her as he ran in circles around the chamber, laughing the whole time. In one fell swoop, he proved once again that his people were not subtle or gentle. "Maybe you ought to be the Sage of Light! Haha! You're lighter than my son!"

Darunia could hardly contain his excitement. Not only had he succeeded in winning a second chance, but had defended the image of the Goron people. More or less, anyway. Perhaps he went about it in a nontraditional fashion, but he did what he felt he had to do in order to achieve his lofty goal. After all, what good were sages if they were divided?

At first, the young girl, taken off guard, did nothing but scream. But as the stone man stomped about the chamber, she began to calm down, and even laugh. By the time Darunia came to a stop, she was hysterical. He lowered her so he was sitting on his massive shoulder quite comfortably. Then he raised his other arm up to her.

"Darunia, Sage of Fire!"

She took his hand and shook it wildly. "Saria, Sage of the Forest!"

"Great! Saria, it's nice to meet you."

"You too, Darunia."

They looked over to Rauru, who had retreated to his designated spot on the circle. He looked a bit shaken with the sudden movement from Darunia. He closed his eyes and twirled the end of his mustache. "If all that excitement is settled, I-"

"Rauru, right?" Darunia asked, once again cutting him off.

"...Correct." Rauru leered at him in annoyance.

"Right, right, I remember." He looked up at Saria on his shoulder, who beamed brightly. "Hey, get over here, Rauru." Darunia insisted. It seemed an awful shame to leave the old man out of the fun.

The old man took a step back hesitantly and shook his head. "No, no, I think I'm much too old for whatever it is you have planned over there. Perhaps I'll sit and watch for the moment."

"Oh, don't be such a grump, Rauru!" Saria shouted from high atop her new friend's shoulder. Darunia found himself nodding in agreement. He took a large step toward Rauru, an almost malicious grin stretched across his face.

"Now, now, I'm much too old to partake in the revelries I once enjoyed. You two tire yourselves out and I shall watch. The, when you are both done, I will lecture you on the importance of professionalism in times of crisis." Rauru nodded. Darunia looked thoroughly unimpressed, and, looking up at Saria, his next course of action was clear.

Within seconds, there was another step, a cry of protest, and Rauru was lifted up on to the giant's other shoulder. Darunia barely noticed the weight of the other two sages as he resumed his romp around the circle. There were laughs from Saria and cries of protest from Rauru and for the first time in eons, the Chamber of Sages didn't seem so quiet.

Later, the three sages settled and return to their pedestals. Darunia was feeling quite at home, Saria felt very pleased with her new friends, and Rauru felt especially sore. It was all in good fun, of course, but Darunia did receive a lecture on how the Chamber was not a place for 'child's play'. The Goron agreed, but only halfheartedly. He hadn't really been paying much attention.

"That said," Rauru added as he finished his tirade, "It was not entirely unenjoyable." Darunia laughed at his stern expression as the words left Rauru's lips. The Goron gave him a smile and a nod, but received no response.

Now the three sat at peace, discussing the world outside as it changed in their absence. Saria informed the Goron that it had only been five days, give or take, since she arrived. This brought a look of amazement to Darunia's face.

"Hah! I tell you, that Link sure knows his stuff!" Darunia cheerily exclaimed. "You should've seen him in the volcano! When I looked at him, I saw a man with the will to move mountains. He's something else." Darunia happily reflected on the events that had brought him to this point. He felt as though the whole thing had been quite an adventure.

"Do tell, Darunia, what exactly transpired on Death Mountain?" Darunia inquired. "Before I woke Link, I could see the black clouds spewing from the peak. They were anything but natural, of this I am certain."

Darunia bowed his head to Rauru. Link's seven year slumber had been explained to him moments before, and the Goron still couldn't quite wrap his head around the situation. Maybe his confusion came from the concept of Link being too small to do something. He had no experience being 'small' like Saria or Link, and so it had never presented itself as a problem for him.

"Well, Darunia? Come on, I'd like to hear as well!" Saria looked up at him expectantly. Darunia had seen that same look on his own son's face when story time came. It brought a gentle, warm feeling to the Goron.

"Well, we Gorons... We're not violent by nature. We just like to be left alone, mostly." He twiddled his thumbs as he thought of his next words. "When Ganondorf found that out, he figured he could make an example out of us, and we wouldn't fight back! The nerve of some people! He brought an old ancient beast, a dragon, actually, back to life and began to feed my people to it!" Darunia pounded his fists together in rage. "Guess he thought that would keep the other races in line. You know, scare 'em into obedience."

Rauru closed his eyes and nodded with a sigh. "That certainly sounds like the work of the King of Evil. I suppose that explains the source of the black clouds. Link came must have come along and put a stop to that, then."

Saria looked distressed. "That's awful! You didn't just let him do that, did you? You must have had some plan, correct?"

"What do I look like, a chump?" He gave her a sarcastic look. "Yeah, I had a plan, alright!" Darunia beat his chest furiously. "I ventured deep into the volcano to find an old family heirloom, ya see. Real ancient artifact that my great, great, great, great grandfather used to slay the beast the first time! Oh, I was going to find that hammer, and smash that dragon in to cinders!" He pause to find that he had stood up and stomped to the other side of the chamber absentmindedly. He cleared his throat, returned to his seat, and continued.

"I uh... Well, I suppose I got caught off guard or took a wrong turn or something, because I ran straight into Volvagia without any weapons. I... Didn't last long." He shook his head in shame. "Link found the hammer and swept the floor with that damned beast! And I… I sat uselessly on the sidelines."

This cast Darunia into a spiral of self-doubt. This being the first time he had thought about the events that occurred on Death Mountain, he had not considered how poorly he had performed. He had failed to protect his people in their most dire hour. Without Link, he and all the men of his tribe would have perished alone on the mountain. If he could not protect his tribe, he didn't know how he could continue to call himself their leader. Truly, what good was he? His ancestors long before him had been men of action, but Darunia had found himself waiting for others to take the lead these days. He wondered if perhaps he was losing his touch.

"That's the second time that I have been saved by Link. The second time I was unable to assist. The second time I had to watch as my tribe suffered before me. And I call myself the chief? Ha! In my hot blooded youth, I was a mighty volcano, vast, untamable, and unstoppable! Now I am old. I have been reduced to a mere pebble." Darunia hung his head. He was no chief. He was a sham. "My people need a new Chief. I am no longer fit to lead them."

"Knock that off!" Saria shrieked. Her shrill voice echoed sharply through the room. It caught the others off guard and made them jump. Darunia looked at her, shocked at the sudden outburst.

"I know little of Gorons, Darunia. And even less about their politics. But in these short hours, I have learned a lot about you. Enough to know that the Goron I'm looking at now is not you!" She crossed her arms in disappointment. "If your tribe could see this sight, I'm sure they'd be shocked!"

"Yeah, you're right." Darunia sighed. "But what can I do? I'm no Goron hero that much is true." His spirits remained low as he curled into a ball and rested on his pedestal. This was the position he always found himself returning to. It seemed most appropriate for him to resemble a large, useless stone.

"No, Darunia, you're no Goron Hero. You're a Goron Chief! You're far more powerful than a hero! You're strong, and you must be strong now, as well! Not only for your tribe, but for Link, and for us! Get up! Stomp! Do something!" Saria pleaded as she tried to coax the resting giant out of his depression. She ran to him, pounded on his back, attempted to pull him to his feet, but to no avail. Darunia remained still as the rock that he was.

"Saria, your efforts are futile." Rauru interjected, finally breaking his silence. "The poor man is far too troubled to be helped. I suggest we give him what he needs: Time."

Saria looked to Rauru, then back at Darunia. She huffed, red in the face, and gave Darunia one last smack before stomping away. "Fine. Mope if you must."

So Darunia moped. He sat there, thinking on his own inadequacy, for what felt like hours. There was no helping him. He knew nothing that could motivate him now. He decided that he would retire as chief once he returned to his people.

It would be better that way. His young son, strong in his own right, could lead in Darunia's stead. After all, he was named after the hero who had rescued the Gorons twice before. Perhaps that would inspire him to become a great leader, just like his namesake. Maybe he was a bit small, but he had the heart of a Goron Chief, just as Darunia had long ago. The massive stone simpleton knew his son would do the tribe proud.

He wondered how he would break the news to the rest of the tribe. It was unheard of for a Goron chief to retire early. Traditionally, death was all that could end a chiefdom in his tribe. His people would be disappointed in him for breaking this tradition so selfishly, but what was one last disappointment after a litany of failures?

Hours seemed to pass without any sound in the chamber. Darunia sat curled up on his station. Rauru stood with his eyes closed, stroking his mustache, thoughts of the outside world no doubt filling his mind. Saria sat with her back turned to the rest of them, staring out into the dark, inky distance. No one spoke, and the chamber seemed to fall deathly silent once again.

Until Darunia heard a familiar tune. An energetic melody that he had only heard once before, seven years ago. He looked up to find the sound was coming from Saria, still sitting in the same place she had been just moments before. She held a small instrument in her hands, one that Darunia recognized as an ocarina.

Rauru gave an exuberant sigh. "Playing the song once again, Saria?" He did not receive a response, Saria simply continued playing. He turned to Darunia when he noticed the Goron's look of fascination. "She plays her ocarina when she misses home. I wish I had been wise enough to bring something along to do as well." Rauru shrugged and returned to his neutral, silent state.

Darunia stood without a word, a solemn look on his face. The music filled him from head to toe. He felt its rhythm pound through the air. The music woke something in him. A primal need. The need to dance.

"Yeah!" Darunia exclaimed as he broke out into a wild dance. He stomped the ground, he flailed his limbs, he wildly hollered along with the sound. The commotion shook the ground and took Saria off guard. She stopped playing and looked at him, a look of startled confusion across her face.

"No, no, keep playing! That song! It's amazing!" Darunia demanded. Saria shrugged and resumed playing as Darunia swung back into his jovial dance.

Darunia knew he must have looked absurd, but it did not matter. He hadn't felt this way in seven years, and he would not be denied this pleasure now.

Saria played her music happily, and Darunia danced. The third in their company, Rauru, stood stock still, taking in the sight of the mighty mountain man and his festive dance. And for the first time since he arrived in the sacred realm, he began to laugh. This took the other two by such surprise they nearly stopped what they were doing. He gave a low, slow guffaw, a sign that, at last, he was having fun.

"Hm! Who taught you to dance, Darunia? You look as though you've stubbed your toe the way you hop around like a mad man!" Rauru laughed at his own joke, then stepped toward the Goron with a challenge. "Let me show you just how refined he art of dancing can be!"

With that, the two fresh acquaintances danced away their worries. Darunia, the larger, a tribal, rhythmic dance filled with the strength and energy of the Goron. Rauru, the elder, a much older, calmer dance, one that a gentleman at a ball might do. Together they looked truly ridiculous. Darunia could see it took all that Saria had to hold in her laughter as she played her joyful instrument.

"Did Link teach you that song?" Darunia asked as he sat and caught his breath. He didn't know how long it had been since they started dancing, but it felt like ages. Rauru looked as though he was going to faint from exhaustion, and even Saria seemed lethargic after her constant playing.

"Of course not! I taught Link. That's my song, you know. I made it up!" She explained happily. Darunia was quite surprise with that, but didn't ask for further clarification. He would learn more about the two of them another day. He collapsed on to his back. It had been a long day.

"Seven years ago, Link played that song for me. I was in a tragic state. That song... It really fired me up. Got my Goron blood pumping." He sighed. He hadn't felt such energy in quite a while. Any thoughts of his own inadequacy melted away when he danced. His depression lifted like a veil, and he was more than back to his old self.

Or, at least, he would be. Right now, he was too tired to think of Gorons and music and the world outside their realm. He took one last look to Saria and Rauru, to new friends who had already helped him with so much. They looked just as ready to sleep as he was, but they smiled at him none-the-less.

"Thank you for that." He said cheerily, "I think I needed that." Saria nodded at him with a lazy smile, and Rauru grunted in agreement. He was already back to his old, grumpy self.

The three of them made a silent agreement in that moment, as they laid their heads down to rest on the hard ground, to cherish their time in the sacred realm, and more importantly, their time together.