Hero of Men

The Hero of Men is the name associated with a great Hero spoken of in the legends of the Picori Blade and the mythical Light Force in the land of Hyrule. He was the first owner of those two special gifts given to him by the Minish to assist him in his efforts to battle the many evil creatures plaguing the land of Hyrule long in its past. Using the two relics in unison, he was able to drive back the monsters that had driven Hyrule to the brink of disaster and locked them within the confines of a magical box known as the "Bound Chest", which he then sealed with the Picori Blade itself. What became of the magical Light Force following the end of the conflict remained a mystery for many ages to come even to the best of Hyrule's historians, who were left to guess its fate. The Hero of Men then passed on into legend, and songs and tales still spoke of his deeds in the present day at the time of The Minish Cap.

A World in Shadow
Long, long ago in the beautiful and magical land of Hyrule, the land knew a relative peace for some time. However, there came a day when many powerful beasts suddenly appeared and began to lay siege to the kingdom, turning Hyrule's once-peaceful atmosphere quite chaotic as a result. The beasts seemed to multiply and began to overrun the land, overpowering its citizens and casting the realm into shadow as they brought death and ruin wherever they went. It seemed that the kingdom of Hyrule would indeed fall into the hands of evil as the people had no apparent champion to rise up and beat back the beasts to halt their conquest of the kingdom. Just when all hope seemed lost however, there was one young man that came forward with the courage to confront the beasts and attempt to save the kingdom from destruction at the hands of the strong monsters that threatened the stability and security of the land of Hyrule.

The Hero of Men and the Coming of the Minish
This young man, whose courage acted as a great beacon of hope for Hyrule's salvation by its people, required the power to defeat the beasts and a weapon to combat them. It was here that the tiny Minish descended from the sky and brought this young man a magical sword and golden light. This sword, which possessed very powerful magic in its blade, came to be known as the Picori Blade by the Hylian race, while the golden light that was bestowed upon the young hero by the Minish came to be known as the Light Force, which took on the appearance of a golden triangle otherwise. The Light Force acted as a source of near-limitless magical power for its holder, and it would be of great use to the hero in his quest to conquer the evil beasts threatening Hyrule. Taking up the magical Picori Blade and now armed with the Light Force, the hero took up a campaign to rid Hyrule of these fell beasts and restore the light of peace to the realm.

The two gifts of the Minish (who would come to be known as the "Picori" by the Hylian race in ages to come) proved to be extremely valuable tools to the young hero in his effort to halt the invasion of Hyrule. They enabled him to drive back all of the dark creatures threatening the land and eventually capture them, at which time he was able to use the Light Force to confine them within a magical container that would come to be known in time as the "Bound Chest", which would be spoken of in Hylian lore for many years to come. The young hero then sealed the enchanted chest with the Picori Blade itself, locking all the realm's evil away within the confines of the chest and bringing calm to a chaotic Hyrule. This young man became a celebrated and revered hero amongst Hyrule's populace, and his status became one that would be immortalized in Hylian lore, eventually earning him the title of the "Hero of Men".

A Hero Becomes a Legend
The Hero of Men became a revered and celebrated figure amongst Hyrule's people, who would go on to immortalize him in later ages in the songs and tales speaking of the Bound Chesst. Such tales of the hero's deeds would be told at the annual Picori Festival now held yearly to honor the service of the Minish in the conflict and their assistance to the Hero of Men. His deeds were also detailed in a series of stained-glass windows within the magical Elemental Sanctuary that links Hyrule to the Minish Realm and is the location of a shrine built to house the mystical Four Elements. It was also within these stained-glass windows that served as the only source of information in regards to the fate of the second of the two gifts given by the Minish to the Hero of Men: the Light Force. After its role was fulfilled in assisting the Hero of Men in defeating the army of evil creatures, no one could have guessed that the Light Force was turned over to the Royal Family of Hyrule and magically sealed into Hyrule's princess and passed down to her heirs in succession thereafter, granting them many telepathic powers and abilities.

Possible Candidates
The true identity of the Hero of Men remains a mystery to the present day, as his identity was never officially confirmed within The Minish Cap or by Nintendo or associates. There have been theories to suggest his possible identity however listed below, each having evidence to support them but none of which has yet been confirmed by Nintendo authorities.

King Gustaf
King Gustaf was an ancient King of Hyrule countless ages before the events of The Minish Cap. His spirit returns during the events of The Minish Cap to provide Link with the Kinstone Piece that is necessary to access the Cloud Tops and thus reach the Palace of Winds where the Wind Element is kept. Gustaf was alive around the theorized time that the conflict involving the Hero of Men took place and thus is one of the few characters seen in The Minish Cap that would match a description of the Hero of Men, provided he is seen at all within the game beyond the stained glass windows in the Elemental Sanctuary. Evidence to support Gustaf's candidacy as the Hero of Men includes:


 * Gustaf was alive "countless ages ago", when the conflict between the evil creatures and the Hero of Men was theorized to have occurred.
 * He possessed the key Kinstone Piece necessary for one to retrieve the Wind Element from the Palace of Winds.
 * He was obviously well-respected and influential even in isolated groups such as the Wind Tribe.
 * He was featured prominently over all other former rulers of Hyrule in The Minish Cap.
 * King Daltus' figurine states that he (a descendant of Gustaf himself) was a great swordsman in his youth and even fought to a draw with Smith in the Picori Festival sword-fighting tournament; If swordsmanship runs in Daltus' line, then Gustaf was likely a competent swordsman as well, which the Hero of Men was noted to be.
 * Both of the Hero's tools used in the conflict were in one way or another in the possession of the Royal Family of Hyrule (the Picori Blade stuck in the Bound Chest and the Light Force residing in Hyrule's princess); Seeing that the Light Force originally belonged to the Hero of Men and was passed along the line of the Princesses of Hyrule thereafter, it would make sense that the Light Force got into the Princess' line through someone related to them.
 * It would be fitting that as a reward for the Hero's actions in the conflict that he was perhaps made ruler of the young land of Hyrule and thus both of his tools used in the war were passed down his family line, with the Light Force ending up in the line of Princesses.
 * It would mirror another instance in the series where a theorized former Hero returns from the grave to assist the new Hero in restoring peace to the land of Hyrule and defeating the same evil he himself fought, that other instance being the appearance of the Hero's Spirit (the theorized spirit of the Hero of Time) in Twilight Princess returning to help the new Hero defeat the same evil he himself fought (Ganondorf) provided the theory regarding the Hero's Spirit is true.

Swiftblade the First
Swiftblade the First was an ancient swordsman who appears as a ghost to train Link in the arts of the sword after learning seven new moves from the other Blade Brothers in The Minish Cap. Swiftblade also was alive in the past as was Gustaf, although there is no indicator of how long ago he lived, contrary to Gustaf who described his lifetime as taking place "countless ages ago." There doesn't seem to be as much evidence to support Swiftblade the First being the Hero of Men when compared to King Gustaf (who plays a more instrumental role in the story of The Minish Cap by helping Link advance in his quest for the Wind Element), although he remains a possible candidate for good reason.


 * Swiftblade the First did live in the past, although gamers are given no indicator of just how long ago it really was that he lived, making it difficult to determine if he was alive at the time of the conflict; Given that his brothers are still alive (if they are his actual brothers), it would make it seem unlikely that Swiftblade the First could have been alive nearly as long in the past as King Gustaf.
 * He is confirmed to be a highly skilled swordsman that lived in the past, starting the tradition of the Blade Brothers.
 * As stated before, his candidacy for being the Hero of Men would also mirror the instance of the Hero's Spirit and his training of the new Hero in Twilight Princess.

A Separate Incarnation of Link
It could also be that the Hero of Men is just some past version of Link that has yet to be revealed in a Zelda game to date. Evidence for this stems largely from the Hero's appearance in the stained glass windows largely mirroring Link's classical appearance: short blond hair, a green tunic, and even similar facial features to the Link featured in The Minish Cap.