Blood Moon: A Story Before the Calamity

Chapter 4

     2 days later, Link and Zelda visited Goron City, the home of the mighty Daruk. Again, silence reigned in the trip, neither quite willing to completely trust the other yet.

    Link had met Daruk before, just a few months ago. He was riding near Death Mountain when he was ambushed by some monsters. It was no big deal to take them out, but apparently, it was something that wasn't usual, something that demanded attention from the greatest warrior of the Goron. Link had managed to shock Daruk when they didn't even know each other's names, somehow. But for once, Link was glad of attention. It gained him a friend, a word that he had almost forgotten the meaning of.

     Daruk was like a walking sun, shedding radiance on everyone he comes across. He was probably the only person in Hyrule capable of coaxing a smile out of Link.

     A few days after they met, Daruk and Link were already very good friends. Something about them just... clicked. They explored Death Mountain to the every nook and cranny, finding secrets even Daruk didn't notice before. They raced around the volcano, Daruk almost always winning because be could curl up into a fearsome ball of death.

     But the moment where they truly earned each other's complete and utter trust was when they were milling around in Goron City. Link was speaking with an elder when suddenly, a monster troop attacked Goron City. 

     It was chaos. Goron soldiers were caught unprepared and residents were all over the place, screaming and trying to get to safety with futile effects. Daruk was trying to restore calm while trying to fight at the same time, which was nearly impossible. 

     Link took a split second to analyze the situation. It was too crowded in Goron City, too messy to be able to fight openly without risking injuries to the Goron. There were no reinforcements on the offensive nor defensive side, as Daruk was needed to protect his own people and act as the chief. The Goron soldiers were lost in the crowd, unable to land a single blow in the thick of the people.

     It was down to Link. He would have to lead the monsters away with temptations and distractions, get the majority of the monsters following him and not causing harm to the Gorons, then deal with them on his own.

     Link unsheathed his sword, glinting sharply in the fierce light of the lava. He then shone that light in the eyes of the biggest moblin there that would be the leader, distracting it from the Goron he was assaulting. The moblin snarled at him, aggravated, and Link snarled right back. Slowly shuffling backwards, Link held the attention of the moblin, looking at it straight in the eye, a silent challenge.

     It worked. The moblin finally broke away from the crowd, and the others followed it like a submissive troop follows the general.

     There were more enemies than he had anticipated. A sea of common monsters of every size and type, genetically enhanced to withstand the heat, every glowing green eye fixated on him. 

     One. One against hundreds.

     The lead moblin charged. Link met its sword, metal against metal echoing around the battle field. Dodgin a stray blade with a side step, his shield met another weapon that was about the hit his chest. However, he left his side undefended, and a searing pain exploded through his system. Gritting his teeth, he attacked the lead moblin again, but the moblin ducked his sword and counterattacked swiftly, barely missing Link as he dodged at the last second. Feeling time slow down, he darted forwards and, ignoring the pain, hit the moblin right in the chest. It roared as it died, staring at Link with the final traces of malice that was fading away quickly. 

     The rest of the battle wasn't difficult strategically, but it caused many wounds, too many. Without a leader, the attacks were unorganized, sloppy, and therefore desperate. Desperate attacks were more dangerous than well planned out ones. When Daruk finally found Link, he was standing in an ocean of bodies, hand numbly pressed against his side, eyes unfocused. Blood was pouring out of him and he made no attempt to stop it.

     The rest of the day passed in a blur. Link faded in and out of fever, sometimes mumbling incoherent phrases as blood loss continued to worsen. Daruk was a hero in combat, but he was hopeless in medical situations. However, he refused to leave Link's side.

     Thinking back on it, Link was convinced that he trusted Daruk so much because he shared a vulnerable moment with him and he stayed. He didn't leave Link because he glimpsed pain, weakness, in a soldier where such things shouldn't be shown. He understood the trials of battle from firsthand experience and accepted Link as a human being just like everyone else, bleeding when cut, falling when pushed. 

     That's why he was so glad to have Daruk fighting by his side.

     Zelda, however, had never met Daruk before. She heard that he was one of the elite fighters of Hyrule. One such elite fighter she met two days ago, one was following her silently at that moment, making her spine tingle. She didn't have much hope about Daruk.

     How wrong she was.

     Daruk was easygoing and warm, message-in-caps "FEEL SAFE WITH ME" type of person. He laughed more on that day than Zelda remembered ever hearing, raised in the imposing Hyrule Castle. Their conversation was like one between 2 old friends, not a pair who met a few minutes ago. Daruk, like Revali, accepted his role of Champion with confidence, but without the arrogance that came with it. He was competent in battle, and possessed a unique power that granted limitless protection, leaving him nearly unscathed throughout the thickest of battles, as long as he didn't leave it up for too long, otherwise it would weaken him, suck all of his strength, and leave him defenseless for too long, so he had to calculate these periods of protection carefully.

     He explained all of these cheerfully, even the part about vulnerability, which was fresh for Zelda. This was a man who knew his weaknesses and strengths, and instead of hiding them, displayed them openly and lived with them. Zelda admired this true type of strength, more real and more human than faceless toughness. 

     Even the part where he was scared of dogs! The Great Daruk wouldn't flinch in front of a full-sized Lynel, but puppies with their waggy tails sends him into panic! Zelda couldn't help but chuckle even as she thought back to it, it was just so unexpected. However, everyone had a weakness, however hard they tried to hide it. Everyone had a soft side. 

     Daruk had also met Link before, she could tell. He talked about Link a little, between Champion stuff and food. Zelda was shocked at the way Daruk described Link, with a fond tone and a grin, like old friends. But their course of conversation changed too fast for Zelda to hear more.

     Zelda left Goron City feeling warm in her chest, not just because of the heat. Daruk was one of those charismatic people that you can't help but love. His fearless, heroic side. His embarrassed, dog-fearing side. His surprisingly soft, soft enough to befriend someone like Link, side.

    What an asset to the army. What an asset to Zelda's life. She found that she was actually looking forward to fight with him on the battle field, that is, if she can harness this stupid power...

     Zelda returned to Hyrule Castle the next morning with Link. She was tempted to ask Link about Daruk, try to pry him open, but she knew before trying that if was futile. Zelda wasn't anything like Daruk, and this strained, tense relationship didn't need more pressure. Besides, what if she didn't want to know him? What if knowing him would make it harder for her to be around him? No, this silence was easier. There was really no absolute need for this risk. 

     But Zelda found herself starting to doubt her decisions in life in general lately, and what if Link was just another one of her many mistakes?