Gorons Gorons




Gorons

The Gorons are a proud race of stony creatures. They are usually only a little more massive than a Hylian but among them are giants, like Biggoron, who are several hundred feet larger. They are mostly made of stone but still have some kind of rough, usually dusty brown, skin. Many people are surprised to see that Gorons have veins; odds are their bodies operate on hydraulic rather than muscular action. All have their race's symbol painted on both arms. Their eyes are black, with blue reflexes. Occasionally, older Gorons may decide to wear a toga, but it's not very common for them to dress besides (and not always) a loincloth. They eat rocks for the most part, and their teeth are consequently flat and hard; some metals are also edible to Gorons. Some Gorons have hair, but it's stiff and brittle. When Gorons curl themselves into a ball, which they do to rest or move faster by rolling, they look like ordinary boulders. In Termina, during spring, some of them even hold races to see who is the fastest, often giving gold dust in prize. When they really want to rest (or hide) undisturbed though, Gorons will not just curl up but also bury themselves in the ground, and it will take a massive pounding to get them out.
Gorons are obviously very heavy, so they can't swim and simply sink like the rocks they are. However, they can surprisingly breath underwater, so if the walls are not too steep or the Zoras help them out, a pond won't necessarily become their grave. Sensitive to cold, they prefer to live underground in very hot places. They don't really mind heat, in fact a Goron can walk through a shallow puddle of lava without being burned. They can even drink lava and this is a known remedy for colds (to which Gorons are surprisingly sensible).
Also because of this, the Gorons are amazing blacksmiths. Among their works are the Megaton Hammer, Biggoron's Sword and Giant's Knife. They cultivate Bomb Flowers whose fruit can be used just as the item it is named after; but digging through mountains it sometimes doesn't suffice and so they've come up with their powder keg which has much greater power. Furthermore, the Gorons have unbelievable ingenuity when it comes to creating devices to dig, and while their punches and bombs will normally be more than adequate, when they really want to get serious on mining minerals, Gorons can construct machinery way ahead of the standards for their time (such as automated cranes, magnets, elevators and piping). But, again, only when it comes to mining.
The Gorons also make special tunics that allow Hylians (or eventually others) to stay unharmed in hot places; even in the lava for a short time. Gibdo and ReDeads ignore Gorons, perhaps because they lack meat.
The Gorons may be rather simple minded, but they are also a proud race and hold courageous and kind people in high respect. Darunia (whose ancestor slew the evil dragon, Volvagia) became sworn brother to the king of Hyrule who ended the civil war and shared the same bond with the Hero of Time Link, after whom he even named his son, because as a boy Link had retaken Dodongo's Cavern for them. They were keepers of the Goron Ruby (one of the keys used by the ancient sages to seal the Sacred Realm) until Darunia prized Link with it. At the same time, their pride can also make Gorons unreasonably violent and very protective of their privacy to the point of denying their help to people in mortal danger if they are facing an embarrassing problem of their own.
Dancing has (amazingly as to others they are rather lacking in grace) an important place in the Gorons' culture; also family is clearly important to them, although they are very reserved about it and it is difficult even for one of them to tell other not really familiar Gorons apart as they for the most part very much alike. Gorons consider all the others as brothers and their leader, the patriarch (who is occasionally assisted by a group of elders), is sometimes called "Big Brother" (or chieftain).
After the Hyrulean Civil War, most Gorons became very picky eaters, feasting only on rocks from a place called Dodongo's Cavern. Even the Gorons in Termina know about this particular type of rocks. Sometimes, they sculpt the rocks into the shape of real human food before they eat them and consider it a delicacy. Particulary appreciated is also metal worked into objects like shields.
The stone men are powerful fighters, a human cannot hope to match their strength unless cheating in some way (and Gorons hate cheaters with a passion). If they slam into the ground while they're curled up, they can shake the earth around them; not to mention their rock hard punches.
Gorons are also found in Holodrum (where lies Goron mountain) and Labrynna, it is in that land that a kid saved their elder with a bomb flower, introducing the explosive crop to the Gorons who cultivated it since then. In Hyrule they founded Goron City. After the war, Darunia, who would later become the Sage of Fire, and the king of the Hylians became (as said) sworn brothers; but later on, as Death Mountain became an increasingly dangerous place they left.

In the new timeline, the Gorons were forced to take the sea in a desperate search for new lands (remember: they can't swim). However some of them did grow so used to sailing that they took on the profession of sea merchants and a few of these eventually made it back to the Great Sea above Hyrule to trade their goods.
Link met Gorons on a larger than average island far from Hyrule (enough that there was a seabed below). They were very isolationist, it was hard to gain their trust (one was to prove they have observed their way of life with sufficient dedication) and they thought it folly or unreasonable at best to ever leave the island. There Gorons were ruled by a lone Elder, but he seemed as youthful as the patriarch elders normally assist. They also found that it is very nutritious for them to eat the wood of a very peculiar fast growing plant native to the island that they call the Wooden Heart (inside of which various items can be found, possibly placed by Minish), perhaps the source of Goron Amber, which they consider a delicacy. However, it is possible that in this adventure during which Link found this island he was actually exploring a different world, so it is unknown if these really were the Gorons that left Hyrule after the flood.


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