CHAPTER TEN: GORON
ISSUES
"So,
Talien, I assume that you're going to take Zelda up on her offer?" Amadeus
asked as they were leaving the throne room.
"Hm?"
"The
offer for you three to stay the night if you want," He answered.
"It's your choice."
Talien
thought for a second, and then answered. "Possibly... I'd rather we get
this over with as soon as possible."
"However,
it is getting late, after all." Amadeus added, "And it's not that
short a ride from here to Death Mountain."
Talien
considered for a moment before turning to Damodred and Rei. "Your
opinions?"
Damodred
shrugged. "Whatever," she said, "I don't care."
"And
you, Rei?" Talien asked him.
"Well...
I think he's right- it is getting late. And it's how many hours from here to
the mountain?"
Talien
nodded. "Too many. It'd be the middle of the night by the time that we got
there." Turning to Amadeus, he added, "I think we'll take you up on
that offer."
Amadeus
nodded, and shot him a smile. "I don't think you'll be disappointed with
our accommodations," he commented. "And besides," he added,
"People always fight better when they're fully rested."
"Good
point," Talien replied, "Good point."
***
Surprisingly,
Damodred was the first to turn in- she was barely shown her room by the time
that she was out. Talien took his leave of Rei very early, and went off to
discuss things with Amadeus for a while. This left Rei completely alone. Having
nothing to do and nobody to talk to (And to add to that, he was afraid of
breaking something and getting himself in deep doo-doo, so to speak), so he
went to his room with the initial intention of going to bed.
As with all
of the great plans of Mice and Men, Rei's attempt at getting a full night's
rest failed miserably. For the first hour or so, he was genuinely trying to
sleep, but after a while it became apparent that it was a failed endeavour. He
felt tired- more than tired, he felt like a zombie- but somehow he just
couldn't doze off. Even though it was too dark to see what time the clock said
on the wall, Rei had a perfect idea of what time it was. Such knowledge comes
only when experiencing severe insomnia. Rei knew when midnight turned to one
o'clock, and when that became two, instead. For a little while he was sure that
it had to do with the upcoming job- fighting off the self-proclaimed King of
the Wind- but it didn't take long for that thought to be permanently banished.
The fact was, he couldn't sleep. There were no ifs, ands, ors, or buts about
it. However, Rei was not about to give up.
The first
thing that he tried was blankly staring at the ceiling. It failed. His next
idea involved shifting around on the bed until he was lying perpendicular to
it. That one was even worse. On his third attempt to sleep, Rei Elanis took the
pillow and crammed it on his head, hoping that the lack of oxygen would make
him pass out. Although he succeeded in seeing blue elephants and realizing that
the one true meaning of life was the number 42, Rei was still perfectly wide
awake. Finally, seeing no other recourse left to him, Rei decided to get up and
walk around the halls of the palace for a little while in the hopes that he'd
eventually be ready to go to bed for real.
And so, Rei
got up. Realizing that it was probably at about three in the morning, he made a
silent, careful vow to remain completely silent as he went around. He also made
another vow not to wander off anywhere and cause anything that he couldn't
easily fix.
The problem
with large wooden doors is that in the later hours of the night, they gain a
life of their own. When opened slowly, wooden doors moan like the living dead,
and when opened quickly they shriek like wild banshees. There is absolutely no
way to win when trying to move from room to room at three in the morning.
With this
knowledge in hand, Rei carefully gripped the doorknob and turned it. So far, so
good. He began carefully edging the door open at an impossibly slow rate,
hoping and praying that it would keep silent and not betray his presence.
It went
about two inches before it started creaking. Loudly.
"Dang!'
Rei whispered as softly as he could before he stopped moving the door, and
waited a few seconds, breathless, before trying to open it again. The loud
creaking resumed. Rei Immediately stopped dead in his tracks. He thought for a
second. To keep opening this door slowly was to keep testing the waters of
fate. To simply hurl it open with wild abandon was to jump headlong into the
water and bash your head on a log. It seemed that he had no options left. But
then...was the doorway open enough for him to slide through it, without having
to open it any further? It was worth a shot...
Inching
onto the tips of his toes and drawing in all of his breath, Rei attempted to
slip through the narrow opening in the doorway. He made it about halfway before
his stomach caught the doorknob, his feet hit the doorjamb, and Rei went
tumbling down in a loud, crashing mess, with the door swinging and shrieking as
loudly as ten wild banshees behind him.
Surprisingly,
it didn't wake anybody up. Rei slowly and quietly picked himself up from the
floor, and then carefully closed the door again. This time, it didn't make a
single sound.
"There.
I win," he whispered to himself in a surprisingly Damodred-esque manner.
Rei turned around, glanced back and forth at the darkened hallways, and started
walking aimlessly.
During the
daytime, the extra-wide halls of Hyrule's royal palace were bustling with
activity, whether from residents, servants, or visitors. During the middle of
the night, not a single sound could be heard. All was silent, all was dark. All
was calm, all was peaceful. Passing by some of the rooms, Rei could hear either
a faint breathing or a snoring sound from inside.
Guests
of the Royal Palace, he thought to himself, Ambassadors, politicians,
soldiers... all sleeping peacefully.
It occurred
to him that in sleep all men were equal, regardless of stage or rank. Rei
stopped moving and blinked. That realization was roughly three and a half
levels deeper than his usual train of thought. He wondered about it for a moment,
and then went on. Still, he was awed by where he was at the moment. Even though
the original Hyrule Palace had been destroyed by Ganon some years earlier, he
was standing and walking around in a piece of history. This stone building was
where the royal family lived, and where they also made the most important
decisions in the entire kingdom. It was in these halls that matters of life and
death; prosperity and poverty; war and peace; happiness and misery; decisions
of all importance were made. However, at the same time, the most insignificant
things happened here. His visit, along with that of his comrades, merely served
only as a kindness done to temporarily hired help. His passing through the
palace meant nothing in the long run- and that was how Rei preferred it.
And so, he
walked back and forth throughout the most immediate hallways, making sure that
he didn't disturb anything or get lost. The only problem about it was that he
still wasn't feeling any more tired than before. It was at about his third walk
up the hallways that a semi-familiar voice spoke to him from behind.
"I see
that I'm not the only one having trouble sleeping tonight."
Rei started
and turned around quickly, his heart in his throat. He blinked a couple of
times, totally confused. Of all the people to run into at three in the
morning...
"My
Queen," Rei said, kneeling quickly, "I salute you."
"There's
no need for that," She said, waving a dismissive hand, "It's too late
at night for formalities right now."
Rei
carefully drew himself back up. "I couldn't sleep, My Queen, so I decided
to walk around for a little bit to see if that would help at all." he said
nervously.
"That's
funny," Zelda replied, "The same thing happened to me. My old
nurse-maid, Impa, always told me that little gnomes are what kept people from
sleeping most nights," she said in a reflective voice, "I guess
they're out in full force tonight."
Rei
suddenly realized that the Queen was being completely casual around him, and he
wondered about it for a second.
"You
don't have to be so nervous," She commented, "I'm not going to chop
off your head, or anything."
Rei visibly
relaxed, and although he still felt somewhat nervous at talking face-to-face
with the queen of Hyrule, he decided that if she told him to relax, it was in
his best interests.
"Yeah,
I guess the gnomes are, aren't they?"
She smiled
at him and shook her head. "Come on, I'll make you some herbal tea. It'll
help you sleep better, and it'll be refreshing to have someone to talk to for
once." She gestured to him, and started to walk down the hallway a bit.
Rei shrugged and followed her. They walked silently through the halls and
passageways of the palace, and it was about halfway through when Rei realized
the impact of his current situation. Here he was, the same old Rei Elanis, now
about to hold full conversations with the Queen of Hyrule. He felt awed.
Finally,
they reached one of the smaller dining alcoves, and Zelda set down the
candelabra that she had been using to light her way.
"Just
wait here," She said, "I will be back shortly." Rei nodded and
took a seat, and thought about things some more. He already felt completely
relaxed by the time that Zelda returned, bearing two cups full of tea.
"I was
already on my way here to make some," She commented, setting one of the
cups beside him, "This tea soothes the mind and allows sleep to come much
more quickly." Sitting down across from him, the Queen smiled slightly.
"So,
Amadeus said that he'd met you before, only not as a member of the
Sheikah?" She asked him.
Rei nodded.
"Yeah- he visited my hometown about a week before I joined."
"And
why did you join them?" She asked, sounding genuinely interested. Rei went
on talking.
"A
group of Stalfos attacked my village, and I was lost in the chaos. Talien and
Damodred- the two Sheikah who came in with me- found me, and offered to let me
join."
"Then
you're from Napouro?"
Rei nodded.
"Yeah, Napouro. Do you know if it's been rebuilt yet?"
Zelda
shrugged- she even shrugged gracefully. "I'm honestly not sure. I can
check, though, if you want."
Rei shook
his head. "No, don't worry about it. It would be too much trouble."
"As
you wish," She said, and sipped her tea. "Tell me- Rei, is it? Tell
me, Rei, do you miss your home and family at all?"
Rei
blinked. The question caught him somewhat off guard. "Well..." he
started, as he began to formulate his next sentence, "Sometimes I do miss
Napouro, but I never really had any family."
"I
envy you," She said quietly. Rei was now taken completely off guard.
"What?"
he asked.
"For
most of your life, you have had the privilege of living a quiet, normal life.
You have no idea what a treasure that is, Rei."
"It
is?"
She nodded.
"More than you'd think. My life here has its good points, but... there's a
complete lack of... of humanity, if you know what I'm saying."
Rei nodded.
She went on.
"I
have no real privacy, I never have. Everything that I say or do carries with it
the burden of an entire kingdom's fate. I never really knew my father, or my
mother. Impa was really the only family that I ever had, and Link was my only
true friend. Now... I'm simply a figurehead. I simply exist to represent the
kingdom. Amadeus is good company most of the time, but he's very
business-minded, and I can't exactly talk to him much of the time." She
smiled at him. "That is why I envy you, Rei. You're free."
Rei smiled
at her. "I'm not as free as you think. Nobody is. When you're just a
simple commoner, you feel powerless. Completely powerless. It's like nothing
that you do ever matters."
"You're
a member of the Sheikah," Zelda corrected him, "Everything that you
do matters."
"But
still... it's that feeling of abject helplessness... that there's nothing that
we can do to change the future."
"That's
where you're wrong," she intoned softly, "It's the people who change
things; who make history. Monarchs like me come and go; but the people remain.
If I didn't have the general population behind me, nothing that I ever said or
did would matter. Instead, I have their approval, and because of that I have a
larger influence."
Rei nodded,
taking everything in. "You make good tea," he commented, taking
another sip from his cup. She smiled at him.
"Thank
you," Zelda said. He smiled back at her, and a thought suddenly occurred
to him. Queen Zelda was a normal person, just a Hylian who was two years older
than him at the most. She was a vision of grace and beauty, but she was still
just as fallible as everyone else. Regardless of her office, she was just as
human as he. For once, Rei felt significant. They talked like old friends for
nearly half an hour, before they both felt tired and adjourned to their
individual rooms. This time, Rei slept soundly.
***
Rei woke up
to the sound of someone knocking on the door to his room. He groaned and shoved
the pillow over his head, having temporarily forgotten where he was and why he
was there. He did not want to think at all. After the second knock, Rei
realized that he was in Hyrule castle on a mission, and that getting up just might
be the best thing to do under the current circumstances.
"Come
in!" he thought he shouted (mumbled just loudly enough to be heard
outside), and the door slowly opened. Miyu, of all people, walked in. She started
speaking in an uninterested, professional manner before Rei could say anything.
"Good
morning, Rei. Your two companions are already up and eating breakfast, and one
of them asked me to check and see if you were up yet. You might want to hurry
if you plan on eating anything this morning. The shower is in room on the left,
and there should be towels around here for you. After you are done, talk to me.
I will be outside waiting."
She then
left the room. Rei blinked a few times, trying to absorb at least a third of
what she said. All that he got out of it was: "Morning… Breakfast... Shower...
Waiting outside."
And so, Rei
began his day by trying to figure out how the plumbing in the castle worked. He
had only just gotten used to showers as opposed to baths recently, and he was
still having trouble with the dials. However, he was starting to get the hang
of it, and it only took him five minutes this time to stop the water from
burning his skin off.
After
showering and getting dressed, Rei left his room and realized that he had
forgotten entirely that Miyu was planning to meet him there. She, on the other
hand, had remembered, and was patiently standing in the hallway. Now that he
was in his full mental capacity, Rei once again felt intimidated by her beauty
and regal bearing.
"There
you are," She said, giving him a warm, friendly grin. Rei tried to return
it, but feared that he simply looked like a nervous idiot.
"Since
you're obviously the last of your friends to get up," she said, starting
to walk down the hallway and motioning for him to follow, "I have been
instructed to make sure that you're completely cared for, and properly
equipped."
"Huh?"
he asked.
"I
need to make sure that you have everything you need before you rejoin the
others," she explained. "Firstly... do you have a weapon?"
"Yeah,"
Rei said, patting the sword girded at his hip.
"Oh?"
Miyu asked, before she reached down and took his sword out of the scabbard,
inspecting it.
"I
see," she commented, looking it over, "A basket-hilted rapier. Very
nice make... it resembles the one that your older friend has, and it's actually
a little similar to Ama's sword. Quite good." She put it back in its sheath,
leaving Rei completely startled. "And do you need any armour?"
Rei shook
his head. "I haven't been trained in wearing it yet," he said,
"It would just get in my way. And... Who's Ama?"
She nodded.
"I see. Ama... That would be Amadeus. I usually shorten his name when I
talk to or about him."
Rei nodded.
"You work for him, right?"
"I'm
his personal assistant," She said as they walked on. "I do basically
everything that he doesn't have time for himself."
"Ah, I
see."
"You're
going to like working with Talien," She commented as they walked on,
"We've dealt with him before."
Rei nodded
again. "And Damodred?"
Miyu
smirked. "Let's just say that you'll never have an excuse to be bored
again."
Rei
shrugged. "That's just about what Talien told me," He said. Miyu
laughed softly. Rei once again felt intimidated in her presence. She held
herself like a queen, regardless of her actual place in the kingdom. And, even
though she obviously wasn't getting any younger, Miyu's natural beauty alone
was enough to make Rei feel rather nervous around her. She was definitely more
personable than she looked, but Rei still felt intimidated by her presence.
Maybe part of it had to do with the fact that she was about six inches taller
than he was.
***
The thing
that amazed Rei beyond all means was that he made it to breakfast before either
Talien or Damodred were finished with theirs. He sat down next to Damodred and
across from Talien.
"Good
morning," Talien greeted him.
"Morning,"
Damodred added.
Rei nodded
and greeted them both in the same way. "Hey- you'll never believe what
happened to me last night," he started.
"We
heard already," Damodred commented, and kept on eating her breakfast.
Talien grinned at Rei and shook his head.
"Rei,
Rei," He said, chuckling, "Whatever are we going to do with you? Rubbing
shoulders with queens... Giving the Royal vizier a tour of your hometown... The
next thing we know, you'll be playing a good game of cards with Farore!"
The three
of them shared a good laugh before finishing breakfast and heading on their way
toward Death Mountain.
***
"So,
Talien... why is it called Death Mountain, if everything's peaceful around
it?" Rei asked while on the way there.
"It
used to be an active volcano before the Gorons moved in," Talien explained,
"The crater still has lava in it, and during Ganon's reign it still
erupted from time to time- it also caused a few landslides shortly before he
came into power, as well. The mountain used to be completely unsafe to travel
around, which is how it got its name."
"I
see... any reason why it's still called that?"
He
shrugged. "I have no idea whatsoever."
"Morons
draw all the maps," was Damodred's comment on the situation.
"Just
be glad that the Gorons don't have the option of renaming it," Talien
commented, "They'd probably call it "Boom plant mountain"
because of the bomb flowers that grow there."
"No,
that's too obvious," Damodred commented, "Big Hug' Mountain is more like
them."
"Big
Hug' mountain?" Rei asked. Both of them looked over at him.
"Goron
issues," they stated in unison. Rei decided not to pursue the matter any
further.
There was
silence for a few minutes.
Traveling
through Kakariko village was quite refreshing. The town had been completely
rebuilt and cleansed in the five years since Ganonondorf let a horde of demons
loose from its well, and the Skulltula family had been freed from their curse,
as well. Currently, the town was a bustling hubbub of activity. And at the
north end of that town was the start of the Death mountain trail. In front of
the trail was a gate with a customs officer standing guard.
"Wait
here for a sec," Damodred told both of them, "I'll get the customs
guy to clear us." She rode over to the gate and began talking to the
officer.
Talien
looked over at Rei and asked, "May I inquire what the name was of the
demon who possessed you and made you ask Damodred to train you?"
"Phunbaba
the Wretched," Rei answered, not skipping a beat. "Actually..."
he answered seriously, "I really don't know why I did it."
Talien
shook his head. "Well, your skill will improve at an incredible
rate. But still..."
"I
don't know," Rei interrupted, "Something about it just seemed right
at the time, as though it was choosing her or choosing nobody. I just don't
know!" he snapped.
"Rei...
calm down. Don't worry about it. You can stop training with her at any time if
you want."
"I
don't think that I will," was Rei's response.
Talien
nodded. "You can train with me as well," he offered, "Split it
up- Damodred gets the weapon training, but I'm a better teacher at everything
else. How does that sound?"
Rei smiled
at him. "I think it sounds good. Just like the last two weeks, eh?"
"Just
like the last two weeks," Talien commented as he noticed the guard waving
them on. They spurred their horses and caught up with Damodred part of the way
down the trail.
***
The king of
the Gorons was named Link. =He was named after the Hero of the Gorons, who had
slain the mighty Dodongo King seven years before he vanquished Volvagia the
dragon and freed Hyrule from Ganondorf's grasp. Darunia, the Goron king at the
time, had decided that Link was a good name for his son. Link was born and
named several years before Ganon actually took over, and Darunia had become a
sage after Ganondorf was defeated. And so, the Gorons had a twelve-year-old
king. One thing that must be noted about Gorons, however, is that they grow up
fast. They remain children for roughly eight years, and then they undergo a
growth spurt that finished the maturing process in six months. After that, they
just grow slowly through the years, until they reach their maximum height.
And so, at
age twelve, Link was a very good king, for a Goron. He tried to be just and fair,
and there were plenty of rocks and Goron-Hugs for everybody. Things were good.
That is, things were good until that mean, bad Wind-person took over King
Link's throne room and kept his people from enjoying their nice yummy crunchy
rocks! Hylians will help! Hylians are nice people, very nice. Hero Link was a
Hylian. Maybe the Queen will find a way to help the Gorons get back their
throne room and their nice yummy crunchy rocks!
And such
was the basic train of thought for Link, King of the Gorons.
***
Talien,
Damodred, and Rei stood on the floor in the lower level of Goron City. In front
of them was an extremely large stone door- the doorway to the throne room.
"Well,
this is it," Rei asked, "Does one of us go in first, or do we all
just sort of rush in there with our weapons drawn?"
"Neither,"
Talien answered.
"Neither?"
Talien
nodded. "Neither."
"Then...
what do we do?"
Talien
pointed at Rei. "I know a lot about the 'King of the Wind.' He's weak
enough that I think he'd be a perfect first test for you."
"What?"
Rei shouted, astonished.
"I
completely agree," Damodred commented, sending Rei a sly grin. "Rei,
I think that you can win this fight with absolutely no trouble at all."
"But...
but... guys...?" Rei stammered, his heart somewhere near the top of his
throat. Damodred sighed and put a hand on each of his shoulders. She looked him
in the eyes.
"It's
very simple, really." she said in a clear, calm voice. "All of life
is divided into three parts; a virtual trinity, if you will. It consists of
Good, Neutral, and Evil. Light, Shade, and Dark. Black, Grey, and White. Or,
better yet, Good, Bad, and Ugly. If you go in there, it might be a little bad,
but it will probably be good. If you stay out here, it will be very Bad,
because I will suddenly become very ugly." She grinned at him
again. "Got it?"
Rei nodded.
"Good,"
Damodred said, and took her hands off his shoulders. "Now it's time for
you to go in there and kick the Wind King's ass."
Rei nodded
again. He drew his sword, and walked up to the huge stone doorway. After he
pressed the switch that Link had told him to hit, the door began to slowly
open. Rei entered into the Throne Room, and into his first real test.
For the
first time in his training, life and death were at stake. Rei prayed to the
three goddesses that he'd make it out alive.
***