Cole

Chancellor Cole is a government official in Hyrule during Spirit Tracks and a servant of Princess Zelda, the country's matriarch. He appears to be a small man dressed in green attire befitting a member of Hyrule's government and is revealed to wear two green tophats on top of his head (which are later revealed to hide two devilish horns). The Chancellor appears to be an advisor of sorts to the princess and seems to act as a sort of guardian to her as well (not too unlike Minister Potho in The Minish Cap), as it is revealed that he does not like her leaving Hyrule Castle unattended. This creates problems when Zelda wishes to leave the castle for reasons she does not want the Chancellor to know about, necessitating a stealthy escape from the castle should the occasion arise.

In recent interviews with the game developers concerning Spirit Tracks, it is revealed that the Chancellor does not give off a very trustworthy impression. Indeed, Princess Zelda becomes suspicious of Cole when the Spirit Tracks begin to disappear, causing her to slip a note to Link requesting his presence so they may investigate this conspiracy together.

Spirit Tracks
Chancellor Cole makes his first appearance within the Zelda series in Spirit Tracks. In the re-established land of Hyrule founded by the Hero of Winds, Tetra and the Pirates, Cole functions as the kingdom's Chancellor, a position that gives him great political power as personal advisor to and guardian of Princess Zelda herself. In this position, Cole apparently runs the show in the administration of Hyrule's day-to-day activities in service to the Princess of Hyrule and controls the overall functioning of Hyrule Castle on the princess's behalf. He is revealed to not be supportive of Princess Zelda going out of the castle unescorted by someone approved of by him, making access to Zelda and her ability to travel very difficult when she doesn't want the Chancellor to be aware of her dealings. He apparently does not take a liking to Link, Zelda's friend and recently named Royal Engineer, as he does not approve of her leaving the castle with him.

When the story of Spirit Tracks begins, Princess Zelda has grown worried by the recent disappearance of several portions of the Spirit Tracks that hold the evil Malladus in his prison deep underground. Due to his less-than-trustworthy nature and questionable motives, Zelda comes to suspect that Cole is involved in a plot to completely destroy the Spirit Tracks as well as the Tower of Spirits that marks where the tracks converge. To this end, she hopes to slip out of Hyrule Castle unnoticed and investigate the state of the Tower of Spirits without Cole's consent or knowledge. Thus, when her friend Link comes to the castle to receive his certificate to officially become a Royal Engineer, Zelda secretly passes a note to Link with instructions to come to her private quarters within the castle. The pair of them then sneak out of Hyrule Castle, evading the guards and meeting up with Link's master and teacher, Alfonzo, who takes the two of them secretly aboard his train and heads for the Tower of Spirits.

Once in range of the tower, the portion of the Spirit Tracks that the group is traveling on suddenly disappears, causing the train to crash. An injured Alfonzo as well as Link and Zelda then look toward the Tower of Spirits as dark clouds and lightning begin to circle it. Suddenly, the tower shatters into four fragments that are swept away while an evil presence suddenly escapes from the destruction resembling a demonic train. At that moment, the group is surprised by Chancellor Cole himself, who has dropped his guise of a mild-mannered politician and reveals the two devilish horns he has concealed beneath his pair of tophats. The Chancellor orders Byrne, his henchman, to knock Link and Alfonzo out and strikes Princess Zelda with a kind of dark magic that causes her to fall to the ground lifeless. Cole has her body recovered and taken to the top of the Tower of Spirits, where he reveals his plan to use the body of Hyrule's princess to restore Malladus to his former strength. Upon reinfiltrating Hyrule Castle, Link comes into contact with Zelda's spirit, which only he can see, and finds himself forced to go on a quest to restore the Spirit Tracks and the Tower of Spirits in order to recover Zelda's body, restore her spirit to it, and ultimately stop Chancellor Cole's plot to return the Malladus to power.

Personality
According to the game creators of Spirit Tracks, Chancellor Cole seems to be the embodiment of the so-called "crooked politician" stereotype. He appears to do things for the greater good that really are only being pursued to further his own personal agenda. For example, he does not approve of Princess Zelda leaving Hyrule Castle unattended by one of his approved subordinates under the guise of it being for the princess's protection, when in reality he simply wants to make sure he is aware of where she is and what she is doing at any particular moment. He is also not beyond betraying those whom he publicly serves if it means furthering his own ambitions for power, as exemplified when he betrays and attacks Zelda in order to use her body to restore Malladus to full power.

Name Etymology
The Chancellor's latter name Cole is thought to perhaps be a play on the word "coal", the fuel necessary to power the trains that have become Hyrule's most common mode of transportation by the time of Spirit Tracks. It has also been noted that the word "Cole" is an old English term describing someone with dark features, which is a fitting description of the Chancellor's true nature.