Daruk/Synopsis

The Synopsis of Daruk from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity.
==Background==
Daruk lived in Goron City in the Eldin Canyon region of Hyrule, where he is considered to most powerful member of his race, because of his great offensive skills and his weapon the Boulder Breaker. He was once a timid awkward kid (similar to Yunobo). At some point in time, he accidentally stepped on a dog's tail and its reaction to the pain and chasing Daruk around had caused the Goron to fear dogs and even the sight of them is enough to make him cower in fear which would carry over into adulthood. 
When Daruk became a full-grown adult, Daruk makes use of the Boulder Breaker to establish a valley at Gortram's Cliff within a single night, to help his fellow Gorons with access to the Rock Roasts. There were rumors that Daruk would sometimes use the Boulder Breaker to fan himself.
He trained under the art of swordplay throughout his lifetime and grew to be a brave Goron warrior he became by the time his life would change forever and has a knack for a simple lifestyle that he's very accustomed to and many of his journal entries involve more simple activities such as his enjoyment of his meals and he preferred to not call his journal a diary. 
He later met with some Hylians who mostly talk about Calamity Ganon and recalls the time the Sheikah had excavated the Divine Beasts, one of them being Divine Beast Vah Rudania and according to the Hylians, the beasts require someone to control them, and would later have a Prime Rock Roast for dinner. 
Sometime later, while looking for lunch rocks, Daruk spotted a certain Hylian knight fighting some monsters and went to help him out and by the time he arrived, the knight had already taken them out, leaving Daruk amazed at such strength for a human and was almost attacked himself when Link took it down. Embarrassed about himself, the mighty Goron warrior, saved by a Hylian smaller than him and sincerely hoped that this person didn't notice the awkward look on his face. 
He learned that the name of the knight he met was Link and he, similar to Daruk, has an appetite for every edible food, which the Goron warrior didn't understand that Hylians eat different kinds of food rather than rocks and offered him a Grade A Rock Roast and states that he enjoyed it leading to him misconceiving that Hylians eat rocks. Regardless, Daruk took a liking to Link for sharing the same characteristics as him, including appetite and swordsmanship, believing he's the guy who has their back. He would dub Link his sworn brother.
===The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild===
Princess Zelda came to visit Daruk at Goron City to ask for his help in driving back Ganon and Daruk immediately accepts as he would never turn down a sincere request and is willing to make the sacrifice to ensure Hyrule's safety, to the princess's gratitude. He then told her that more monsters have been appearing and she shouldn't leave Hyrule Castle without a horde of Gorons to watch her back, and Zelda replies that he sounds like her father and adds that he is assigning a knight who would accompany her wherever she went and when she states that the knight is the most accomplished of all the swordsman that the Hyrulean army has, Daruk deduced that she is referring to Link, but before he could reply, they see a horde of Bokoblins rushing to a certain spot and realized that someone is being attacked. Readying his Boulder Breaker, he tells the Princess to stay back while he deals with them before charging at the monsters and single-handedly dispatches them with a mighty swing, calling them spineless little Cuccos as they fled in terror, declaring that no monster stands a chance against him before letting out a triumphant laugh. Zelda notices the victim of the Bokoblins and beckons it to come over. To Daruk's dread, what he had saved was one of his worst childhood nightmares; a Hylian Retriever which Zelda puts and hugs as it licks her face, and she notices Daruk trembling and a single bark from the dog made Daruk jump and projects a forcefield around him. As the dog leaves in gratitude, Daruk bids it good-bye and apologized to Zelda for seeing his fearful side and explained his bad experience with being chased by dogs as a child. Zelda, in all honesty, had not imagined that the mighty Goron would have a known fear. Daruk then asks Zelda if Calamity Ganon is a kind of dog monster, and they end up chuckling. He is told that there will be four Champions piloting a Divine Beast and Link will be the one to face him and Zelda would need to awaken her power to seal him away. Daruk was confident that having six heroes taking on Ganon and offered her a Rock Roast and Princess Zelda casually thanked him. Daruk noticed that she grimaced and figured that something in her mind was bothering her. 
Daruk is required to undergo three trials to prove himself worthy of taming Vah Rudania; which consists of him battling an Igneo Talus Titan, passing through the glowing rings on his way down Death Mountain, and jumping into the glowing ring at Darb Pond. Daruk managed to pass the test.
Daruk attends the inauguration ceremony with the other Champions and were given blue cloths in recognition of their roles. Daruk removes his left shoulder chain and puts the new sash on in its place and was chosen to pilot Divine Beast Vah Rudania. After the ceremony, the Champions take a break and hang out in the yard with Daruk relieved to have it behind him as Revali, Mipha, and Urbosa take interest in Princess Zelda's Sheikah Slate and when the Zora Princess learns that the Sheikah Slate can take photos, he asked the princess a favor. Soon the Champions gathered for a photo shoot where Purah instructs them to get into position and tells them to smile, and just before she snaps the photo, Daruk suddenly pulls everyone in for a group hug with the photo with comedic results. Daruk heard tales of a Guardian suddenly going berserk and Link used a Pot Lid to parry its lasers into its weak point, which his resourcefulness was one of the reasons Link would be chosen by King Rhoam to guard Princess Zelda.
 
Daruk decides to hold a personal ceremony for Link for this occasion with only the Champions attending, but he wasn't expecting Princess Zelda's speech to sound so depressing and comments that she sounded like they've already lost. Revali retorts that it was his idea for coming up with the ceremony while agreeing to its low tone and feels he's on the same page regarding Link, and Urbosa tells him to drop it and gives her account that Princess Zelda sees Link as a reminder of her failure. According to Zelda's Research Notes, Daruk initially struggled to control his Divine Beast and was the only one who had a hard time while the others managed just fine. He turns to Link for help, but he pushes Daruk onto Rudania so he can explore aimlessly. With Link's help, Daruk got better at it and learns that experience is the best teacher. He states that Link tells the Champions that they "better eat their gravel if they wanna keep up with Daruk". Daruk goes on to admire the scenery and comments on the rocks that he finds delicious and while he has no knowledge on Calamity Ganon but promises to defend Hyrule to his death and slaps Link's back, making him jump forward due to Daruk's strength. 
 
He then congratulates Link on becoming Zelda's personal knight and it's an honor to protect a member of the Royal Family and restrains himself from adding too much pressure than Link could handle and adds that Zelda has a strong personality and has a problem seeing the range beyond the peaks. They are cut off by the ground shaking and a giant boulder rolls in their direction, but luckily Daruk stands his ground and projects his barrier to protect himself and Link from the impact. He tries to get back to their conversation but noticed something about the earthquakes and Death Mountain being so quiet in decades and wonders about its recent activity being able to send down rocks that size, but he brushes it off telling Link to forget he said anything as he looked on, concerned. Daruk learns that Link and Zelda are bonding when they started opening up to their personal problems, in spite of their rough start, while researching with her in their journey and Daruk thought it was over their food preferences when she said, "I guess we're the same, you and I." 
Daruk, Mipha, Revali, and Urbosa await at the foot of Mt. Lanayru for Zelda to return from her training. When they do, Daruk tells her to not keep them in suspense and the Champions are distressed as Revali asks for clarification that she did not feel any power and Zelda confirms so. Urbosa tells her that pitying herself won't help much and that anything can bring it out. Mipha attempts to give the princess her advice in regard to her own healing power but is interrupted by a loud rumbling. Revali immediately flies up to see what's going on before rejoining them and Daruk realized that this is it. He then takes control of the situation and rallying the Champions to head to their Divine Beast to launch a counterstrike and has Link go to Hyrule Castle. Urbosa urges Zelda to go to a safe place but the princess refuses and states that she must do something whether she has her power or not. 
After that, Daruk and the other Champions are not seen again; Daruk's route to Divine Beast Vah Rudania has him passing through the Lanayru Wetlands as well as roll his way through Ternio Trail and Mountain Road all the way up Death Mountain. By the time he arrived, Daruk saw that Vah Rudania had already been taken over by Fireblight Ganon and was sealed inside. He fought as hard as he could, though he eventually succumbed as the other Champions have. After Princess Zelda's power finally awakens, she has the Sheikah soldiers take the mortally wounded Link to the Shrine of Resurrection and takes the Master Sword and places it in the pedestal at Korok Forest for the Great Deku Tree to watch over until Link returns and makes other preparations before facing Ganon alone and seals both herself and Ganon for a time. The Gorons are bereaved over the loss of their leader and a monument of him on the mountain was made as a memorial to Daruk.
A century passes and as Ganon's power began to regain strength as Link's awaking arrives, it took remote control of the Divine Beasts once again to disrupt the lives of their kindred, with Vah Rudania causing eruptions that prevented the Gorons from working on the Northern Mines. Link arrived to assist them and with Yunobo's help, he appeases Rudania and boards it. Daruk is happy to see Link again and the fact that he's going to take back Vah Rudania from Ganon's grasp. He directs Link to the Guidance Stone where he can obtain a map of Vah Rudania's interiors, so that he can find the five terminals that will fire up the Main Control Unit. Once Link does all that, Daruk tells him to start it up to take back control of the Divine Beast and cautions him to stay focused. When Link tries to do so, Fireblight Ganon emerges as Daruk explains that it was the perpetrator who ended his life and rallies him to take it out. After Fireblight is destroyed, Link is able to activate the Main Control Unit without further interrupions. Daruk appears to Link to thank him for his deeds. He apologizes that his death had resulted in Hyrule's ruined state, but with Rudania back under his control, he can take it to the top so he can get an angle at Ganon and open fire when the opportunity arrives. Daruk gives the Hylian Daruk's Protection in the form of a red orb as a token of gratitude. He tells Link that his power now rests within him and as Link leaves, Daruk wishes Link good luck and to give his regards to the princess. 
With Vah Rudania back under his command, Daruk relocates it to a spot atop of the mountain to take aim at Calamity Ganon. He is happy with the position and waited for the moment Ganon returns which he will then open fire. He takes a moment to enjoy the scenery of Hyrule, stating that it looks good after a hundred years and wonders how his tribe is doing and upon seeing Yunobo staring at him from below, Daruk is overjoyed at how they're still thriving, and Yunobo happily waved to him. 
Once EX Daruk's Song is completed, Daruk happily enhances Daruk's Protection by reducing its recharge time and tells Link to pass a message to it from him, "Good riddance, bacon breath!". If Link defeats Fireblight again and his ability already being upgraded, Daruk will tell Link whatever he has on his mind. In the first line of dialogue, Daruk asks Link to tell Yunobo that he was once like him when he was younger, quiet and meek. He tells him that he should work hard, help his fellow Gorons, and eat plenty of sirloin rocks and he might just become like Daruk himself while imploring him to pass it along. In the second line of dialogue, Daruk will remember the day when he and Link first met, and he was surprised to see a Hylian that strong and recalled that dopey look he made at the time, and while he still doesn't know if Link saw it or not, he tells him that he's better off not remembering that part. In the third line of dialogue, Daruk urges Link to keep this subject a secret as he tells him of the day that he met a monster he couldn't beat, and he made various dog impressions and facing fears isn't as easy as it looks. In the fourth line of dialogue, Daruk believes that Link's memory is still hazy and offers a suggestion of finding his training journal and deduces that it's still around. He is surprised that Link didn't know that Daruk kept a journal and encourages him to find it if he's curious. In the fifth and final dialogue, Daruk acknowledges Link's fighting skills and assures him that with the strength he gained, defeating Calamity Ganon should be a piece of slate.
After Ganon breaks free from Zelda's containment, Daruk was later seen rallying Link and telling Ganon to open up wide as he fired his Divine Beast's laser at Hyrule Castle which crippled Ganon. Once Link frees Princess Zelda during the battle, she seals Ganon away for good. Daruk, the Champions and King Rhoam are seen above Hyrule Castle bidding farewell as they depart for the afterlife, having finally fulfilled their duties and Link and Zelda are left to help with Hyrule's restoration. 
===The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom===
While Daruk and the other Champions do not make a physical appearance, he, alongside them, do make a cameo appearance in the form of the Picture of the Champions, if the player has a completed The Champions' Ballad in their save file.
===Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity===
In Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, which takes place 100 years before the events in Breath of the Wild when Link awakens from his rejuvenation sleep to heal his fatal injuries and finds Hyrule in ruins, just before Calamity Ganon launched his attack, a small Guardian named Terrako traveled into the past to warn the past versions of Zelda, Link, and the Champions of Calamity Ganon's impending attack and give them time to muster their forces for when he arrives. Daruk is more than happy to lend his support against Calamity Ganon when Link, Impa, and Zelda come to see him in Goron City on Death Mountain to gain his help, but he first needed to climb Death Mountain to where Vah Rudania was still in dormancy in the volcano's crater. However, the path was full of monsters, and some even appeared from behind to threaten the Gorons' mining operations in the Southern Mine, so the mine had to be protected and secured before it was sure the mine would not be attacked again by more monsters while heading up to the summit and dealing with the Igneo Talus that stood guard at the peak. Once Vah Rudania is up and running again, easily tearing through the waves of monsters as it comes down the volcano's side and wiping out the large group of Igneo Talus that were the final obstacle in the way as the Divine Beast climbed down Death Mountain, Daruk agrees to use it against Calamity Ganon. Though, before he returns to Castle Town with Impa, Link, and Zelda, he offers Link his favorite meal, Prime Rock Roast, to chow down on in case he was starving, which initially causes some confusion and shock with Zelda, Impa, and Terrako, though Daruk apologizes for not bringing enough for everyone and promises to bring enough next time to an uneasy Zelda's gratitude. 
Once the Champions are all gathered, Daruk and the Zora Champion, Crown Princess Mipha, develop a sort of big brother-little sister relationship as she asks Daruk to help her train to better defend herself, though their first fight together is against the Yiga Clan when they ambush Zelda, Link, and a contingent of Hyrulean Soldiers in Castle Town under Sooga's command with some of Ganon's monsters. Though Link takes Zelda and withdraws while the Champions manage to fight them off, including a large Hinox serving as a boss enemy, it was a trap, a decoy ruse to lure them away from Castle Town and give Sooga a clear shot to assassinate Zelda, but is stopped by Link, forcing him to call a retreat. 
After that, Daruk joins Link and Zelda with the other Champions as they head into the Korok Forest to retrieve the Master Sword, helping out the giant Korok Hestu with getting past the monsters now infesting the forest, including some of Calamity Ganon's Malice that should not be there yet as he was still dormant at the time, only for Astor, the Prophet of Doom, to attack Link and Zelda with Malice-born clones of Daruk and the other Champions, known as Hollows, in the grove of the Master Sword, with Link being slammed hard by the Daruk Hollow's sword after having his own broken by the Mipha Hollow, sending him reeling into the Master Sword's pedestal. Before they can kill Zelda on Astor's order, the Master Sword senses their intent, along with Link's will to protect Zelda, and destroys them, before Link draws the sacred blade, becoming its wielder against Calamity Ganon, using the Blade of Evil's Bane to slay the Hollows and force Astor into retreat, realizing he's outmatched by the Master Sword's power. Meeting up with the Great Deku Tree, he assures Zelda, Link, and the Champions that they have all they need to face the Great Calamity and that Hyrule's fate lies in their hands before returning to his deep slumber.
On the way back to Castle Town, the group are attacked by more of Ganon's monsters, but fight them off, and Link enjoys chowing down on some more edibles as Daruk and the Hyrulean Soldiers cheer him on as Zelda and Urbosa watch. Once back at Castle Town, Daruk is officially given his Champion of Hyrule attire, replacing one of the chains he wore across his torso with the scarf denoting his Champion status with Vah Rudania on it, before agreeing to help Mipha with some more training before he returns to Death Mountain to prepare for the inevitable, while King Rhoam orders the civilians to evacuate Castle Town and other communities to protect them from the Great Calamity. The soldiers evacuated with the civilians are transferred to Akkala Citadel and Fort Hateno to reinforce the garrisons there as if those two bases are lost, Hyrule will capitulate shortly thereafter.
Soon, Calamity Ganon arrives as planned, starting with the Yiga Clan ambushing Robbie and Purah in their lab with their Sheikah staff by disguising themselves as members of the staff, but Purah gives the Sheikah Slate to Terrako to take to Zelda, escaping the Yiga, before the seal ruptures and Calamity Ganon engulfs Hyrule Castle, beginning to spawn countless corrupted Guardians to lay siege to the castle. Daruk arrives back at the Sheikah tower at Death Mountain, but as he's considering where to deploy Vah Rudania to for the impending attack, he's horrified to see Hyrule Castle engulfed and realizes it is really happening before the tower is deactivated, cutting him off from the other Champions, leaving him to fend for himself. King Rhoam and his Royal Knights are forced to stay behind and be presumably killed by the corrupted Guardians as Link and Impa grab Zelda and flee for their lives. 
 
Meanwhile, Daruk is attacked inside Vah Rudania by Fireblight Ganon. He does his best to fight back and use his Protection to shield him from the Blight Ganon's attacks, but the Blight Ganon proves too powerful, shattering Daruk's Protection and sending him reeling, before firing a jet of flames towards him, with Daruk's steeling himself for his potential death, remaining defiant to the end, despite knowing he's done for. 
However, before he is slain like in the original timeline, Terrako, through Zelda's grief and guilt, is able to summon Yunobo from 100 years in the future in Breath of the Wild to arrive just in time to save Daruk from Fireblight Ganon using Daruk's Protection he inherited, buying time until Link arrives to destroy Fireblight Ganon for good, keeping Vah Rudania under Daruk's control and saving his life in the process. 
With Daruk and Yunobo piloting Vah Rudania together, they move to defend the Hyrulean Army's defensive line until they can destroy the bridges and cut off enemy reinforcements before taking out the enemy's main stronghold to stem the flow of attacks on the defensive line, especially from the corrupted Guardians. 
In the Guardian of Remembrance DLC, Daruk and Yunobo took Vah Rudania to defend Kakariko Village from attack by Calamity Ganon's monsters and the Yiga Clan. After they succeed, as the Sheikah cheer for their rescuers, Yunobo suddenly notices Daruk looking at him like he's a hero, and panics, before explaining how much of a coward he was back in the Breath of the Wild timeline before his meeting with Link allowed him to find his inner courage and become a stronger Goron as a result. Nevertheless, Daruk holds up Yunobo's hand, earning another round of cheers from the Sheikah, before Daruk commends Yunobo and voices how proud he is of Yunobo as both the future Champion and his descendant. Yunobo appreciates the proud words from his ancestor and feels much better after that.
Eventually, they move to assist Mipha and Sidon with protecting Akkala Citadel as Vah Ruta was starting to lose steam on protecting the fortress from the siege by Ganon's forces as Mipha healed the wounded and Sidon maintained the Divine Beast's weaponry. With Daruk and Yunobo's help, the line is held until the Citadel destroys the bridge serving as the only access to the fortress, ensuring its survival with Ganon's forces cut off from further assault. Joined by the other Champions and their future counterparts in the other Divine Beasts, they move on to protect Fort Hateno from the corrupted Guardians and monsters, saving both vital points for the Hyrulean Army, especially after Purah activates a failsafe that causes many of the corrupted Guardian automatons to be destroyed, wiping out a considerable part of Calamity Ganon's army that was responsible for razing Hyrule in the Breath of the Wild timeline, leaving only a handful left to reinforce Ganon's monsters, giving Hyrule a much needed advantage, especially as, with the Divine Beasts still under their command, they have some deadly firepower that Ganon cannot use against them and keep the various races under threat over the next century.
With the Citadel and Fort safe, Daruk and Yunobo then turn their attention to supporting Urbosa and Riju with clearing Hyrule Field of Ganon's minions to carve a path straight to Hyrule Castle using the Divine Beasts to do so. Following the awakening of her powers granted to her by the Triforce and Hylia, Zelda musters the surviving forces under her command to defend the Great Plateau, supported by a reformed Master Kohga and his Yiga Clan, where they find King Rhoam and his Royal Knights still alive thanks to the Ancient Guardian Shield that Zelda had given him earlier, giving the troops a much-needed morale boost on seeing their king still alive. With Purah's help working the Sheikah towers' teleportation ability, they are able to soon unite the Gerudo, Rito, Zora, Gorons, and Yiga Clan Sheikah together as a single allied coalition, and under Zelda's leadership with a still-living King Rhoam and his Hyrulean Soldiers joining their cause, they launch the full-scale assault to take back Hyrule Castle from Calamity Ganon. Though Ganon summons powerful Malice-infused monsters to defend its barrier it summons to protect itself, Zelda disperses the barrier so Daruk and the other Champions can barrage Ganon with their Divine Beasts' main weapons. However, the Blood Moon chooses that moment to rise, allowing Ganon's power to reach its zenith and revive his monsters to resume their defense of him until the allied Hyrule forces finally break through and head for the inner citadel, encountering Astor and Harbinger Ganon. 
 
After defeating his Harbinger in that timeline's Terrako that had been corrupted by Calamity Ganon's Malice when it followed the future Terrako back in time, Calamity Ganon uses Astor as his conduit to assume a physical, and more human-like, form to fight the Champions, Zelda, and Link with. This also results in Terrako being infected with Malice, forcing Link to critically damage it to purge the Malice from it, and Zelda being devastated over Terrako's condition as she finally remembers its name. Daruk joins everyone in sharing a moment of mourning for Terrako before Zelda, filled with hatred and rage towards Ganon, vows his threat ends here and now. In the end, Terrako sacrifices himself to weaken Calamity Ganon enough for Link to deliver the finishing blow with the Master Sword and allow Zelda to seal Calamity Ganon away once and for all. With Calamity Ganon gone, Yunobo and the other future Champions are returned to their time period by the residual energy from the ancient screw left from Terrako's sacrifice, and with himself and the other Champions still alive, Daruk and the others are happy to see their future looking bright, especially after they are able to rebuild Terrako and reunite him with Zelda once more.
Eventually, Daruk and Yunobo sit and share a Prime Rock Roast together and is then seen talking with the other present and future Champions and are entertained by Terrako. Later, Daruk is seen with the other Champions, all back into their regular attire before taking up arms earlier as Impa asks Zelda if she is okay with going through this, which she confirms before jumping off and floats on a paraglider with Terrako joining her, taking in the beauty of the land that they helped preserve and how much it was worth saving. 
Category:Synopsis