Riju

Riju
Species	Gerudo
Hair color	Red
Eye color	Green
Age	12
Relatives	Urbosa (ancestor)
Voiced by	Elizabeth Maxwell
Debut	The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Riju (referred to in her diary as Makeela Riju, which may be her full name) is a young Gerudo chief who was featured as a supporting character in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. With her sand seal Patricia, she also appeared as a playable fighter in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity.

Background

Riju was descended from the royal line of Gerudo chiefs who presided over Gerudo Town, including the deceased Gerudo Champion Urbosa. She had a love of sand seals and owned her own sand seal named Patricia, which she rode around often. Riju's mother died when she was still a child, and she was appointed the new chief despite her youth. Riju was saddened by the loss of her mother and noticed that everyone around town was acting nicer to her, but she still sometimes saw that they were worried as well. Riju began to feel inscure about her ability as a chief compared to her mother.

When Vah Naboris awoke, Riju attempted to investigate with Patricia. However, she was driven back by the sandstorm and the lightning blasts generated by the Divine Beast, and Riju was knocked out when Patricia was startled by a monster. They were saved by Buliara, the captain of the guard, who kept a vigilant watch on her afterwards. In addition to that, the royal family's valuable heirloom, the Thunder Helm had been stolen by their enemies in the Yiga Clan. With Van Naboris ravaging the desert and the valuable heirloom missing, Riju continued to doubt her abilities as a chief, and she prayed to her mother and Lady Urbosa for guidance.

Riju and Buliara were later conftroned by a mysterious traveler named Link. As they questioned him, Riju recognized that he had a Sheikah relic, and they came to realize that he was the ancient Hylian Champion was well as being a man disguised as a woman. Because Link was a Champion and a former friend of Urbosa's, Riju excused him from the law against men entering Gerudo Town. She was ready to entrust him with the task of liberating Vah Naboris, but Buliara instead convinced her to assign him to retrieve the Thunder Helm as a test of his ability. Link was successful in retrieving the Thunder Helm, and she decided to use it to strike at Vah Naboris. She donned the Thunder Helm (despite it being too large for her head) and rode Patricia with Link out in pursuit of Vah Naboris. She provided Link with Bomb Arrows and information on how to battle Naboris. She called upon Urbosa and her other ancestors for power and protection during this task, and she later claimed to have heard Urbosa's voice.

Vah Naboris was ultimately liberated by Link and reclaimed by Urbosa's spirit. Riju returned to Gerudo Town and thanked Link by offering him some of Urbosa's old equipment, which were considered priceless treasures by the Gerudo. Specifically, it was the Scimatar of the Seven and the Daybreaker shield. Riju also kept the GThunder Helm nearby and contemplated giving that to Link as well. However, she would only do so if Link gained the trust of her people, due to the helm being considered to be a cultural treasure. After Link solved the problems of various Gerudo around the town in the form of side quests, Riju thanked him for helping her people to feel happy again. She entrusted the Thunder Helm to him and considered him to be a true friend of the Gerudo.

She also played a role during the "The Champions' Ballad" DLC sidequests. The remnants of the Yiga Clan had struck again and stolen an Ancient Orb. Once again, Link was able to help them in retrieving it.

Age of Calamity

In Age of Calamity, Terrako traveled through the time to the time period leading up to Calamity Ganon's return, which created an alternate timeline. During the attack on the Champions in Chapter 6, Terrako created additional portals within each of the Divine Beasts to pull each Champion's respective successor from the future to save them. Riju was pulled through the portal in Vah Naboris, with Patricia in tow. She arrived in time to save Urbosa from being killed by Thunderblight Ganon. With the help of one of the other warriors, they were able to successfully slay Thunderblight Ganon. Riju and Urbosa later piloted Vah Naboris together to eliminate monsters in Chapter 6.

Ultimately, everyone's combined forces was enough to defeat Calamity Ganon and avert the tragedies of the other timeline. Riju and the others were then returned to their original time, but there was enough time to say a farewell to Urbosa. Urbosa expressed her faith in Riju as a leader of the Gerudo people.

Trivia

• Her name seems to be a play on her Japanese name, which translates to "Rouge", which is French for the color red.
• She has a diary located in her bedroom, referred to as the Chief's Diary.
• Patricia was a gift from Riju's late mother, and apparently was the only gift that she gave her before dying.
• At night, she could be seen excitedly talking to the stuffed animals in the room. She then becomes embarrassed and complains to Link when noticing him.