Charles of Moria

Charles of Moria, also known as Sir Charles, is one of the main characters featured in The Shadow Prince. As his name suggests, he is a knight from the far-away land of Moria who traveled to the land of Hyrule in order to do good-deeds, which are a requirement to become the king of Moria. Link becomes suspicious of Charles and his behavior from the moment he meets him, and sure enough, it is later discovered that Charles is actually Ganon in disguise, who was trying to steal the Triforce of Wisdom from North Castle.

In order to diguise himself as Charles, Ganon is required to wear a strange necklace at all times, for if he takes it off, his power will instantly vanish and soon after die.

Due to the nature of the book, if Link makes the wrong choices throughout his adventure, he will meet his death at the hands of Charles, who will succeed in his plan of taking the Triforce of Wisdom with him.

Story

 * See also: A flowchart of all possible paths in The Shadow Prince

Charles is first introduced after Link and Princess Zelda are about to be killed by an ambush of Moblins. Just then, Charles appears and scares the Moblin away. Zelda thanks him for his help and invites him to North Castle to meet her father, the King of Hyrule. Although Link hesitates in taking a total strange to the castle, they eventually arrive and introduce Charles to the king. The king then notices Charles's necklace and asks if he may see it, but Charles tells him he rather did not, using the excuse that it is part of Morian lore that he cannot take it off until he becomes king. Before the knight can continue, Dowser, the court hound, runs in and licks both Link's and Zelda's face, but growls at Charles and then lunges for Charles's throat. Zelda pulls the dog back and Link begins to wonder why Dowser, who is always nice to new people, does not like Charles.

During dinner, Charles brags with tales of his travels, saying he defeated twenty Octorocks with a swing of his axe, to which Link remarks that Octorocks are easy to kill and is not impressed. When the meal is over, Link suggests to the King to have an indoor archery match in order to "teach [Charles] a thing or two." During the match, Charles manages to make a perfect bullseye, winning first place. Impa then warns to Link that charles is in possession of strong magic, to which the young hero agrees but is unsure if his magic is good or evil.

The king congratulates Charles for his victory and asks Zelda if it would be too premature to show the knight of Moria the Triforce. Zelda hesitates, stating that they cannot afford to lose the Triforce of Wisdom to Ganon. The shocked king asks Zelda if she believes that Charles is linked to Ganon and goes on to tell Charles that he wishes to show him the Triforce, leading the group, along with Link, to the Triforce Room. Here, he explains to Charles that they cannot afford to lose the Triforce of Wisdom to Ganon, for if that were to happen, Hyrule would be doomed since Ganon is already in possession of the Triforce of Power. Charles swears to protect the Triforce, and the king dubs him a knight of Triforce, which infuriates Link since the king is trusting the Triforce to a stranger.

Later on in the book, the king, fearing the safety of the Triforce of Wisdom, decides to relocate the Triforce to the Fifth Castle of Ancient Hyrule. When Zelda asks who will deliver the Triforce of Wisdom there, the king mentions he has two heroes in mind: Link and Charles. Anxiously, Link awaits the king's decision, but it is soon revealed that Charles will be the one to take the Triforce to the Fifth Castle. Link furiously reminds the king of all the brave deeds he has done and claims that Charles can not be trusted because he is evil. The king raises his hand and silences Link, saying he better have proof to back up the serious charge he has raised against Charles.

If Link uses the Mirror of Truth and holds it up to Charles. Instead of showing Charles's face, the mirror shows the image of Ganon himself. Charles then grabs Zelda and holds a dagger to her throat and warns Link to stay back, using this opportunity to take the Triforce of Wisdom and escape into the Midoro Swamp. The young hero follows him there, where he quickly defeats Charles by slashing his necklace in two. This causes Charles to fall on his knees and expose Ganon, who is weaking. Before disappearing into thin air, he claims to Link that he will defeat him, and all that is left is a pile of Charles's clothing. The Moblins run away after they see Ganon vanish, and Link then takes the Triforce of Wisdom safely back to North Castle, bringing peace to Hyrule once again.

Trivia
Interestingly, the cover of the book shows Charles to be right-handed; however, on page 7, it shows Charles holding his sword on his left hand.