Riju

Lady Makeela Riju is a major character in the Era of the Wilds saga within The Legend of Zelda franchise, which consists of the 2017 action-adventure video game , its 2023 sequel , and their 2020 hack-and-slash spin-off . 
She is the current chief of Gerudo Town who had been forced into leadership when her mother, the previous chief, died unexpectedly. 
She first appears in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild where she serves the purpose of pursuing Divine Beast Vah Naboris, which was corrupted by Calamity Ganon while trying her best to be a good leader to her people.
She is voiced by Elizabeth Maxwell in the English version, who also voiced Urbosa, Midnight in My Hero Academia, Ymir in Attack on Titan, Caulifla and Kefla in Dragon Ball Super, Arisa Uotani in Fruits Basket, Winter Schnee in RWBY, Nikki in Camp Camp, Skout in Nomad of Nowhere, Phoebe in Battleborn, Sae Niijima in Persona 5, Motoko Kusanagi in Ghost in the Shell: Arise, Shakuyaku in One Piece, Nagato in Kantai Collection, Bishamonten in Noragami, and Belial in Seven Mortal Sins.
==Personality ==
Riju is a caring ruler of Gerudo Town, and she is very wise and dignified in the presence of other people, and she is aware that many Gerudo doubt her leadership due to her youth and she is determined to prove them wrong. Unlike most members of her kind, Riju is more tolerant of voe (man) being in Gerudo Town and allows Link to stick around as long as he remains disguised as a Hylian Vai (woman), out of respect for his Champion status and his friendship with Urbosa, who was a Gerudo Chief a century earlier, but she will still uphold the law if Link changes clothing while in town and will have him promptly kicked out. While she is willing to bend the rules, she isn't willing to repeal the law that forbids any male from entering the town. 
Due to her mother's death and being foisted on the throne at a young age, long before she was fully prepared to take on the responsibility as the Gerudo Chief, Riju does happen to have an inferiority complex and often doubts about her qualification as chief, and the fact that Divine Beast Vah Naboris's rampage in the desert and the Thunder Helm being stolen by the Yiga Clan while she and Buliara are away made things worse for her. When she meets Link, she saw a light of hope of being able to do something and first requests that he retrieves the Thunder Helm as it is not only a family heirloom, but she also needs it to resist Naboris's lightning attacks and create a field for Link to shelter in during the battle against the Divine Beast and she isn't a seasoned fighter. After getting back the Thunder Helm and disabling Naboris where Link is able to calm it and the spirit of Urbosa relocating to take aim at Hyrule Castle, it eases Riju's stress and that of her people were under.
While Riju has a mature air about her, she is still very young and happens to own sand seal plushies and manages her time performing her duties during the day and playing with her sand seal plushies at sundown to nightfall, indicating that she is also trying to live out her childhood as much as she could. She also cherishes her sand seal, Patricia as it was a gift from her mother, and she is very close to her and is also noted to enjoy sand seal surfing when she is off duty.
In Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, Riju is bolder and braver when heading into battle, such as her and Patricia promptly traveling back in time to save Urbosa from Thunderblight and is surprisingly skilled for a youngster. She still has moments of insecurity such as when she felt foolish for thinking she was strong enough to protect the Gerudo Champion and happens again when she saw the sheer numbers of monsters and Guardians swarming Fort Hateno. In both cases, Urbosa acted as a mother figure to Riju as she did with Princess Zelda, and often reassured her and brings her spirits back up and reminds her that she wouldn't have lived if she hadn't come; eventually, when Urbosa herself was getting frustrated by the reinforcements, her encouraging words eventually enticed Riju, and it was her turn to tell her to stay focused and gradually grows confident by the time Ganon was defeated. 
== Biography==
===Breath of the Wild===
Riju was given the title of Gerudo Chief at a young age after losing her mother to unknown circumstances, with Buliara as her advisor and bodyguard to her, and has domesticated a Sand Seal named Patricia, a gift from her late mother. Due to her lack of experience of leadership and young age when given the title, most of her people are doubtful of her ability to rule as well as her ancestors, which makes Riju stuck in worry and doubt in her abilities as Chief. One day, she went to investigate the first appearance of Divine Beast Vah Naboris, but suffered a terrible accident, which had Buliara blaming herself for not protecting Riju and subsequently never left her side to avoid a repeat of past events, becoming a loyal bodyguard to the young chieftain. Riju's doubts worsen over the fact that due to their absence, the Thunder Helm, which was the heirloom in the line of Gerudo Chiefs, was stolen by Master Kohga and the Yiga Clan.
Link is able to enter Gerudo town disguised as a woman as men are prohibited from ever entering the city, where he would meet with Riju to assist with dealing with Divine Beast Vah Naboris, which was creating sandstorms and attacking anyone with lightning if they drew near. Riju and Buliara learn Link's identity as a man but allows him to be in town due to his connection to Lady Urbosa, the former chief of Gerudo Town, and only as long as he maintains the disguise. Riju wanted to help, but she couldn't be due to the Thunder Helm being stolen by the Yiga Clan and Vah Naboris's lethal lightning powers, and asks Link to help them get it back, which he agrees to do.
After Link retrieves the Thunder Helm, with the consequences of the (supposed) death of Master Kohga being steep, Riju thanks Link for returning it to her and puts it on, asking how it looks on her. This triggered Link's memory of Urbosa, leaving Riju to think he was just staring into space and admits that the helm doesn't fit her well as it's a little too big and often slides to the side of her head. Later, Link meets with Riju at the outskirts of Gerudo Desert to devise a plan to stop Vah Naboris's rampage. The Gerudo Chief activates the Thunder Helm, and they use Sand Seals to enter the danger zone. Link must stay in the forcefield as much as he could to avoid getting struck by lightning while shooting Bomb Arrows at Naboris's feet to put an end to the vicious lightning sandstorms it creates. Link then boards the Divine Beast while Riju says good-bye to him, wishing him luck.
After Thunderblight Ganon is obliterated and Urbosa's spirit is freed, she has Divine Beast Vah Naboris move to a higher ground to take aim at Hyrule Castle. Riju, Buliara and the Gerudos are relieved to see that the threat has ended and continue with their normal lives in peace.
===The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom===
Several years after the events with Calamity Ganon, Riju continued to lead the Gerudo as their chieftain, but decided to cut her hair and begin training to hone her skills as Urbosa's successor with her control over lightning, equipping herself with two Scimitars of the Seven to do so.
After the Upheaval, a monster called the Queen Gibdo caused a sandstorm which caused the other Gerudo to hide underground while some went to investigate the cause, only to be attacked by the queen's spawn. In that time Riju continued to train her ability to control lightning. Meanwhile, Link came looking for her and helped her master her powers by using his arrows to help her focus her lightning. When a Gerudo guard, Faundi, warned them about an attack from the Gibdos, the wasted no time and came back as fast as they could and defended her home. Riju and Link decided they were going to the source of the storm and stop it once and for all, but before they could, they had to defend Gerudo Town form the incoming Gibdos. They managed to survive this attack, but as she heard a voice before, she led Link to a mural, giving a location to the source. By solving a riddle, the location was able to reveal itself. There, they encountered the Queen Gibdo, the source of the storm. They managed to fight back, only for it to flee into the temple. They found it again and managed to defeat it, revealing the Secret Stone of Lightning, awakening Riju as the Sage of Lightning.
As a result, with her new destiny as the Sage of Lightning to aid Link against the scourge of the Gerudo in the Demon King Ganondorf, when Link arrives at the entrance to Ganondorf's subterranean lair, Riju arrives with Sidon, Yunobo, Tulin, and Mineru to aid him in taking down Ganondorf's Gloom-empowered forces to destroy the gate blocking their way, before Link goes on ahead while they fight off more of the monsters. After Link is able to wear down Ganondorf in his normal Gerudo form, he transforms into his Demon King form to finish Link off with several copies of himself, but Riju and the other Sages arrive to assist Link in taking down the copies and focus their attention on Ganondorf himself, with Riju showing her former brethren the penalty for his treason against their race. However, Ganondorf soon knocks Riju and the other Sages out to face Link solo, but is soundly overpowered by the restored Master Sword. Refusing to surrender until he sees his dream come to fruition, Ganondorf does the unthinkable, and swallows Sonia's corrupted Secret Stone he took from her as his own, giving up his physical body and mind to become a Demon Dragon to finish off Link, snatching him up in his jaws as he breaks for the surface, as a recovered Riju and the other Sages watch in horror. However, by the time they make it back up to the surface themselves, Link, aided by Zelda in her Light Dragon form, was able to destroy Ganondorf's Secret Stone, leading to his destruction as well. As a final gift for having destroyed Ganondorf for good, Rauru and Sonia use the last of their power to restore Link's arm back to full health, and also restore Zelda back to her Hylian form, before they depart to ascend to the afterlife to join Urbosa, King Rhoam, and the other Champions.
Some time later, Riju joins Zelda, Link, the other Sages, and Purah as they say goodbye to Mineru before she passes on to join Rauru and Sonia. After an exchange of words, Riju and the other Sages/new Champions make a pledge to loyally serve Zelda and help her ensure a peaceful future for Hyrule. Afterwards, Mineru passes on, and Riju and the others look out over the kingdom as they prepare to ensure that the last wishes of Rauru, Sonia, and Mineru come to fruition.
===Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity===
Riju reappears in this game when she is summoned from the Breath of the Wild timeline by Terrako, a small Guardian who time-traveled back to before the Great Calamity to change Hyrule's fate for the better. When Urbosa is struggling against Thunderblight Ganon inside Divine Beast Vah Naboris, just as the Shard of Calamity Ganon moves in for the kill, it is smacked away by Riju and Patricia appearing and hitting it from the flank. Urbosa is shocked to see Riju, as well as that the younger Gerudo Chieftain uses a formal introduction by calling her "Lady Urbosa", Riju reminds her to focus on the battle at hand. However, sometime later, it is clear Thunderblight Ganon is too powerful for the two Gerudo Chieftains and Riju's sand seal to handle. As Riju fears she's failed Urbosa with wanting to protect her, Urbosa assures her that she bought them enough time for help to arrive as she points out the arrival of Link, Princess Zelda, Impa, and Terrako, who help to take down Thunderblight Ganon for good, keeping Vah Naboris under Urbosa's control and saving Urbosa's life in the process. Riju then aids with clearing the way for Link to reach Vah Medoh to help Revali and Teba against Windblight Ganon as Urbosa was still too fatigued to assist herself. Though Windblight Ganon escapes for the moment to be dealt with by Revali and Teba later, Urbosa thanks Riju for her help as she quite possibly saved Urbosa's life. Riju assures her it was a team effort before Urbosa asks Zelda about what happened back at Hyrule Castle.
In the Guardian of Remembrance DLC, Urbosa and Riju took their Gerudo to defend the Science Academy and Sheikah there from attack by Ganon's monsters. After the monsters are routed, while the Gerudo regroup with the Hyrulean Army soldiers they aided, Urbosa commends Riju on how she's gotten so experienced with using the Thunder Helm lately. As Riju puts it on again and attempts to explain her duties as Gerudo Chief regarding it, she's interrupted when Master Kohga steals the Thunder Helm right off her head before she or Urbosa could intervene, taking a moment to hang around and taunt them that with the Thunder Helm now in his possession, he was immune to their lightning. However, Urbosa gives Kohga a good zap of lightning with a snap of her fingers while he's still taunting them to prove his claim was false, causing it to fly off his head and be recovered by Riju. As Kohga wonders why it didn't protect him, Urbosa snarls that it would take him 100 years to fully master the Thunder Helm as Riju also glares angrily at him for thinking he could steal the sacred Gerudo artifact that easily. Throwing a short temper tantrum, Kohga vows that, even if it does take him 100 years, the Thunder Helm would be his, before retreating via a Yiga ninja smoke vanish, allowing Riju and Urbosa a chance to relax.
Taking Vah Naboris to defend Fort Hateno from Calamity Ganon's forces while Mipha and Daruk, joined by Sidon and Yunobo, take Vah Ruta and Vah Rudania to defend Akkala Citadel, upon seeing the huge force before them, Riju begins to show doubt they can handle all of them, but a pep talk from Urbosa convinces her they can handle it before taking Vah Naboris into battle. After taking out the first wave, they are shocked to see them resurrect as skeletal Stal versions of themselves with another fresh wave coming in. Though Urbosa starts to show fatigue and annoyance by it, a pep talk from the young Riju leaves Urbosa impressed to see a young Gerudo vai after her own heart by encouraging her to keep fighting, before they get some much-needed assistance from the other Divine Beasts, leaving Urbosa and Riju to laugh at what kept them.
With Fort Hateno finally safe from capitulation alongside Akkala Citadel, Riju and Urbosa are summoned by Purah to join the allied coalition of Hyrule's various races to take back Hyrule Castle from Ganon. Seeing the huge number of Rito, Gorons, Zoras, and their Gerudo vai, along with a reformed Master Kohga and his Yiga Clan rejoining Impa and the Sheikah, and the Divine Beasts, Urbosa speaks for herself and Riju with awaiting Zelda's orders as, with her father King Rhoam's blessing and support, Zelda rallies the united races for their final assault on Hyrule Castle.
Despite his forces being far and few, even resorting to a Blood Moon to revive them as it allows his power to reach its zenith, Ganon is severely weakened by the Divine Beasts before Link, Zelda, King Rhoam, Kohga, Impa and the Champions of both present and future reach the courtyard, only to be met by the dark seer Astor and Harbinger Ganon, the Terrako of that timeline corrupted by Malice that followed the future Terrako into the past. After defeating the two of them, Astor, pushed to a total psychotic breakdown, orders Calamity Ganon to devour the heroes, but Ganon decides that Astor has outlived his usefulness, and uses him and Harbinger Ganon to create a perfected body for itself. After corrupting the future Terrako and forcing Link into fighting and critically damaging it, Zelda decides Ganon's terror ends now.
Fighting through to the inner citadel, Calamity Ganon proves invulnerable to any of their attacks. Only when Zelda uses her holy power to try and block one of Ganon's attacks, with the power reviving Terrako, who in turn, uses the last of its strength to kamikaze Calamity Ganon, does his defense break, rendering him vulnerable. After Link cleaves Ganon in two with the Master Sword, Zelda uses her power granted to her by the Triforce and Hylia to seal Calamity Ganon away once more, freeing Hyrule from his threat.
With Hyrule safe 100 years sooner than in Breath of the Wild, as the Champions gather on the castle balcony to overlook a free Hyrule, the ancient screw that was left over following Terrako's kamikaze attack reveals to still have some residual energy, and prepares to send the future Champions back to the Breath of the Wild timeline. Riju exchanges parting words with Urbosa, hoping to put the lessons she learned with the older Gerudo Chieftain to good use back in her time, before she and Patricia, along with Teba, Yunobo, and the older Prince Sidon, are returned to the Breath of the Wild timeline, their memories from fighting alongside the Champions of the past in saving the Hyrule of an alternate timeline staying with them as they are returned home.
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