Cole

Chancellor Cole is a government official in Hyrule during Spirit Tracks and a servant of Princess Zelda, the country's matriarch. He is 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.

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.

Cole is later seen again after Link defeats Byrne at the top of the Tower of Spirits. Byrne struggles out to the altar where Cole is reviving Malladus with Zelda's body. Cole scolds Byrne for losing to Link and Zelda, even after having a "century to train." As Link and Zelda arrive, Malladus' resurrection in Zelda's body finishes, and Cole congratulates the Demon King on his revival. Byrne, believing that he will finally gain the power that he wishes for, implores the Demon King to grant him power, as he was the one who made his resurrection possible. Malladus instead attacks Byrne, leaving him near death. Cole taunts Byrne, saying that he'd known all along that, with Byrne having once served the Spirits of Good, Malladus would never grant him power. Cole then notices that Malladus has not gotten used to his new body yet, and the two depart on the Demon Train to the Dark Realm.

Finally, when Link and Zelda have stopped the Demon Train in the Dark Realm, they climb on top, only to see Cole standing at the top. Filled with rage toward the two, he summons Malladus to battle with the two on the Demon Train. He then accompanies Malladus during the battle, aiding him by attempting to control Zelda like a puppet with some sort of spiritual energy made to look like a rat, the thing Zelda fears the most. When Zelda grabs Malladus, Cole floats around nearby, watching in horror as the Demon King is hit with a Light Arrow. As the Demon Train begins to explode, Cole flies off in fear, only to reappear shortly after where Link and Zelda find themselves. He advises Malladus, telling him to get back into Zelda's body, and rejoices after Malladus destroys Byrne when the Lokomo prevents just that. He then tells Malladus to destroy Link and take Zelda's body, but Malladus, in need of a body, has slightly-different plans. Swallowing a terrified Cole, Malladus possesses his loyal servant's body, warping it into a large, beast-like form resembling Dark Beast Ganon from Twilight Princess. He notes that Cole's spirit is attempting to drive him out of the body that they now share, and he does not have much time left before he is forced out, but he will destroy the world nonetheless. After Link and Zelda force the Lokomo Sword into Malladus' head in the final battle, he is destroyed, taking the chancellor and his body with him, and ending the pair's plans to destroy Hyrule.

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 which is burned to power the trains that have become Hyrule's most widely-used, if not the only, mode of transportation by the time of Spirit Tracks. This makes him the only non-Lokomo character to have a train-related name pun. 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.

His name in Spain, Makivelo, is a reference to Niccolò Machiavelli, a politician from sixteenth-century Florence. Macchiavelli was infamous for his ruthless and unscrupulous governing style. The modern term "Machiavellian" is used to describe politicians with a cunning and deceitful approach to politics.