Name: Gulbodat Race: Goron Age: 27 Gender: Male. Place of Origin: Nabooru (Refugee of the Goron Slums) PWC: 2/3/3 Instrument Bongos Treasures and Rupees: Racial Perks; Stone Skin (Innate), Bomb Bag, Power Lift, Business Treasures; Sapling's Song 20r: Over the years as a florist, Gulbodat has learned a song that seems to accelerate the growth of plants for a small time period. At first he found no trade in it; he didn't wish to fool customers into thinking his flowers were bigger than they were. However, when a young man approached him looking for a large bouquet for his girlfriend, he found a use for the song; playing the song, the bouquet grew and grew. Gulbodat instructed the young man to run to his girlfriend, for the flowers would lose their growth in an hour. The young man later returned to tell him his lover had loved the flowers and hadn't noticed their shrinking. Now, the young man is married to his wife...and is a regular customer at Gulbodat's shop. Leaf Puppet 40r: Gulbodat sought desperately for a way to avoid the violence that had plagued him all of his life. After a meeting with a Skull Kid while in the forests, hunting for flowers, Gulbodat told him of his plight and the Skull Kid decided to help him. Gulbodat paid the young child to teach him the secret of the Leaf Puppet, and the Skull Kid taught Gulbodat to harness what little magic he had and create a puppet, summoned through a single leaf. Gulbodat has the puppet carved and kept in a closet of his shop, in case of a unruly visitor. Rupees: 15 Profession: Florist (Level 3) Equipment: Gardening equipment, several bags, regular furnishings for a house and a florist's shop. House/Shop located in Nabooru. Pet: None. Appearance: Gulbodat is a very large Goron, standing at 7'2", considerably taller than your average Goron. His head is bald except for the ordinary patch of rocks on the tip of his scalp and a small goatee of rock underneath his bottom lip. His lips are wide and his face is plump, and his eyes always possess a look of kindness and pleasantry, while retaining a slightly scared look at all times. His stomach is round, with a tattoo of the Goron's symbol, the "Red Stone" (Goron's Ruby) around his belly button. His legs are stubby but thick, and his arms are massive, almost reaching down to his feet as a mixture of his warrior heritage and mineral imbalances as a bud. His back is an ordinary cluster of rocks. His muscles are in good shape and very large. Personality: Gulbodat is a calm, peace-loving soul, with an abhorrence to violence and clanging metal. He is timid, relying on his natural intimidation due to his size and his muscles to avoid conflict that he would otherwise back down from. He is careful and gentle in all of his actions, knowing his strength and his size could otherwise cause destruction, and prefers to be around gentler, fragile things as a sort of temperance. He prefers the company of the innocent and the benign, with little tolerance for those with evil or concealed intentions. He's extremely kind and caring, especially to children and his friends, but is very slow to trust adults or his peers. Gulbodat possesses an extreme case of racism towards Darknuts for the death of his father, and his both mortally terrified and enraged by them. When exposed to violence or the clanging of metal against metal or rock, both act as triggers that activate a sort of PTSD, sending him either into a terrified or enraged state, where he relives his father's last moments and either cowers or tries desperately to fight at whatever causes the noise, often causing extreme unwarranted destruction. Background: Gulbodat was born in 9 B.G., into a clan of elite warrior Goron tasked with protecting the Goron City during war. From birth he exhibited a sort of distaste for the tradition Goron way of combat, and seemed to shun all of the violence of his father's clan. It was expected by everyone that he would apply to a different clan when he came of age, and several argued not even to train or rear him sufficiently due to his unwillingness to follow the clan's way. His father argued for him, and with his giant arms and Power Lifting abilities, he seemed to be an exemplary prospect for the clan, and they hoped he would eventually attempt to join them, if at least to honor the traditions. Eager to please his caring and nurturing father, Gulbodat did his best to ignore his own feelings and embrace the violent way of life his clan offered. He trained to be a warrior for his first 9 years before the Siege of Ganon, doing his best to follow in his father's steps as a proficient warrior, his strength and size lending themselves to his task. He seemed to be the perfect recruit, respected by his comrades and masters while shunning his own interests back into the recesses of his mind. Everything looked well for the young Goron's future, until the Siege of Ganon made its vile way into Hyrule. As Ganon began his warfare in Southern Hyrule, Goron warriors began to be dolled out all over the country as protection. Gulbodat's clan took precedence in the protection of the city, and Gulbodat's training was sped up significantly. The stress of his clan's job began to get to him, but he continued to shoulder it and continue to prepare to defend the city if necessary. His father metamorphosed from a gentle and caring father to a Goron plagued by stress and affairs of not only his clan, but the entire city as well, and every inhabitant inside it. The same stress transferred to Gulbodat as he grew older and realized the weight of his ponderous responsibilities, which only worsened his already conflicted mental state of repressed feelings. By 2 A.G., when Ganon finished having his way with Southern Hyrule and turned his dark gaze to the belt of mountains that bridled the country, the Gorons were ready for his warcraft. Though a competent warrior by that point and a well respected child of the clan, Gulbodat was still only 12 years old, and wasn't old enough to fight by his clan, no matter his strength or standing. He continued to train during the siege, but was restricted to training on his own during his free time, due to a lack of available clan members to escalate his training. His other hours were consumed with doing tasks for the other members, fetching them supplies and rations as they fought the monsters at the Goron Iron gates. During his time fetching and caring for the clan warriors that fought on the walls, in 5 A.G. Gulbodat found a bomb flower just beginning to grow on the walls of the city, in a patch of dirt where a tile had once been, broken by the stray spear of a Lizalfos or Aeralfos. Keeping the fighting warriors away from it, he scooped it up and transferred it to a pot of soil. He watered it with water from his own rations and, despite the ongoing warfare surrounding him, began to nurture life in the barracks of a desperate city. He cared for the flower continuously, and by the third year of the Goron Siege, it had bore its first Bomb Flower fruit. During the third year, the Gorons were completely surrounded by Ganon's forces, and the supplies began to run low. Gulbodat's clan abandoned the walls and retreated with the other's into the inner city, Gulbodat clutching his Bomb Flower and what little supplies they had left. As his unofficial Goron brothers began to die keeping monsters out of the gates of the city, Gulbodat prayed desperately for a savior to come. Several times he held one of his dying clanmates, assuring them everything would be okay as they passed on. Most of them called him Brother in their final moments, several trying desperately with their last breaths to make him feel welcome in their hearts. Finally, word reached that a Hero had arisen, and the Goron vanguard was chosen to break through the northern lines and provide distraction while the Hero battled the great Death, Volvagia, on another mountain. The few remnants of Gulbodat's honored and prideful clan each volunteered, including the 15 year old Gulbodat. Though his father at first instructed him to remain inside while his clan fought, his father couldn't let the young Goron stay behind while everyone he knew gave their lives for their people. Instructing his son that this would be his final test, and that he was as of that moment, officially a member of his clan. Tearfully calling his father "Brother", Gulbodat left with his clanmates to secure their place among the other members of the advance guard. Clutching his Bomb Flower pot in his bag, Gulbodat waited for his chance to fight alongside his Brothers and fellow Gorons at the North Gate. Just before they were to begin fighting, they heard word that the Hero had successfully defeated Volvagia, and was on his way to take on the King of Evil approaching from the South. With no dragon to stop them, the Goron refugees fled from the city, Gulbodat and his Brothers taking their places to hold back the enemies and let the Gorons flee. As his people rushed out behind him, Gulbodat and his father fought side by side against Lizalfos and Darknuts, his large arms crushing Darknuts' helmets and twisting Lizalfos' necks. The sheer carnage and warfare seeped into his brain and as he fought, tears began to stream down his face. Onward he fought as Goron bodies brushed against his back, rushing up down the mountainside as the warriors contained the forces of evil to their contained path. Finally, the last of the refugees had streamed from the city, and the warriors began to head towards the mountain path, balling up and rolling down the mountainside where the heavily armored foes couldn't follow. As they prepared to leave and join the others, Gulbodat's attention was stolen by the shrieking sound of metal against rock, the sparks of grinding stone flying into his sight, and the scream of his father. He turned to see a Darknut bash his father's head with his shield, disorientating him long enough for the hulking suit of dark armor to pull its gargantuan sword out of his father's back. His father blindly charged forward, arms out, pushing the enemies forward as the Darknut once again plunged its sword into his father's back in a unmistakably mortal blow, the horrible screech of metal against rock ringing in Gulbodat's ears. The Darknut withdrew its sword, clanged it against its shield in a menacing manner, and kicked aside Gulbodat's father's body to advance on the next Goron in line. Gulbodat stepped back towards the ridge, seeing the remaining warriors fall one by one down the line as others escaped, rolling down the mountainside. From beyond the tides of enemies, he could see the beginnings of the greatest heroes of the Goron's, getting ready to meet the hero and escort him through the city. He stepped back once more and, feeling his bag brush against his belly, remembered the delicate Bomb Flower in his bag. Pulling it from the sack, he tearfully plucked the the bomb from its patch, igniting it with the pluck and tossing it above the heads of the warriors and into the heart of the enemies. Those closest panicked and tried to run, but were pinned in by the metal Darknuts battling the Gorons. With a blast it exploded, throwing enemies away and allowing the Goron warriors to roll down the mountain as the Hero's Guard fought at the entrance. Gulbodat joined his Brothers and rolled down the mountain, after taking one last look at his father's fallen corpse, the sound of the blade against rock and shield still ringing in his ears. Down the mountain Gulbodat rolled, the sounds of battle dying down in is ears as he joined the exodus of Gorons. They rolled in a swarm towards Castle Town, the home of their long allies the Hylians, while others began to branch off towards the forest town of Nabooru. Struggling with sensory overload from the battle, his father's death, and a sudden mental onslaught brought on by years of exposure to violence, he picked the route that less people were taking, and headed to Nabooru. Supported by the Gorons that knew him for his martial prowess, his clan heritage, or his feats of valor, he staggered into town, taking refuge in one of the recently vacated houses. While not being quite prepared for a Goron, it provided ample space for the young Goron to recover and deal with his ongoing mental battle. His Goron brethren, aware that something was happening in his head, set out to help him as best they could, preparing the arrangements and furniture to be fit for a Goron. One pulled the remnants of the shattered pot and Bomb Flower from his bag and, not knowing what to do with it, set it outside so it could possibly grow back. A few days later, Gulbodat staggered out of his house, and was given a very warm warrior's welcome by his clanmates and fellow Gorons. Though they knew he must be in mourning due to the death of his father, they commended him on his bravery and their liberation, and despite his massive size, hoisted him onto their shoulders to a waiting breakfast of fine rock from Castle Town. As he looked around to see which of his friends and Brothers had survived, he spied the Bomb Flower plant on the ground outside his house, dead from an overexposure to sunlight. Many a day after that, Gulbodat would wander out into the meadows and forests surrounding the town; no one was soon to charge him with the defense of the town after his service. He wandered into the meadows and gazed at the flowers that grew there, picking them and bringing them back to his house to set in vases and pots. He bought books on floristry, and botany, and how to care for flowers with what little money he brought with him from the fallen city, and soon, flowers began to bloom and flourish under his command. He became known as the resident gentle giant, playing with the children of the village and giving the women and little girls beautiful bouquets of flowers. He became loved by the community, and people began to buy his flowers from him; he was an honest, slightly unknowing businessman, and soon Gulbodat's Flowers was beginning to pay the bills. He never had a lot of money, but he had enough to support himself and the occasional Brother who needed a place to stay, and his home was always full of beautiful flowers, so, he was happy. In 16 A.G., Hyrule froze over. The flowers in the meadow died, and the flowers in Gulbodat's shop lost some color and began to wilt. The people in town began to notice that he stopped leaving his house and talking to people, and no one, even his Brothers, would see him more than every once in a while. Unbeknownst to his friends and neighbors, the onset of the year long Winter and the death of his comforting flowers sent Gulbodat spiraling back into a fight with his mental demons. Balled up in his house, Gulbodat constantly relived his father's last moments and his failure to do anything, blaming himself for his father's death. His mind was plagued with "what-if" scenarios, his failure to rescue his father's body, every moment he spent that he could have been with his father. He spent a year like this, rarely eating or moving, and hardly spoke to anyone. His father's shadow loomed over him, and he couldn't see any light through it. In 17 A.G., a few weeks after the thaw of Hyrule, there was a knock on his door. Gulbodat slowly opened the door to find a shoddily made bouquet of dandelions from the meadow on his porch. He sat down with a thump, shaking the house, and stared at the flowers for a long time. People stopped and patted him, others told him how good it was to see him, children hugged him and greeted him, but all the while he just stared at the bouquet. At dusk, he got up, and retreated back into his house, bouquet in hand. The next day, when the lumberjacks and workers were getting up, Gulbodat slowly shuffled out of his house, lumbering off with the lumberjacks into the forests and meadows. He returned several times throughout the day, each time clutching armfuls of flowers. He seemed to be returned to normal, and the townspeople treated him as so from that point on, stopping by to chat with him and buy flowers from his shop. He seemed as if he'd never shut down during that year long winter, and soon enough he was the beloved florist again. Halfway through 17 A.G., there was an accident. Gulbodat was in one of the forest meadows, picking flowers as usual, when a lumberjack had an accident. As the wood-chopper swung his ax at a tree, it missed and the heavy blade fell downwards onto a rock. The grinding sound of metal against rock rang out through the forest and meadow, swiftly followed by a shriek from Gulbodat. The hulking giant dropped his flowers and covered his earholes, stumbling around and screaming. In his mind, he saw the Darknut hovering above him, it's massive blade glinting with the blood of his father. He screamed, eyes closed, throwing his massive arms out desperately, tearing up flowers and knocking over trees in his blind panic. Other Gorons rushed from the surrounding areas, trying to calm him down and tell him where he was. They restrained him and showed him where he was, told him what he had, and soon his eyes cleared and his breathing slowed. After the meadow incident, people treated Gulbodat carefully. New lumberjacks were warned to be wary with their swings, and though people still treated the gentle florist with respect and kindness, there was always a modicum of fear present in their interactions, a feeling of unease when they saw his massive arms. He still lives in Nabooru to this day, but the stigma of his mental disease weighs heavily on his heart, and there are time when he wonders if he should move somewhere else. Nonetheless, he continues to take care of his flowers that support him, and finds his joy in it.
