Cole

Chancellor Cole is a government official in Hyrule and one of the antagonists of Spirit Tracks. He is also 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 top-hats on top of his head (which are later revealed to hide two horns). The Chancellor appears to be an adviser 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.

Appearances
Cole has only made one appearance thus far in the series, in Spirit Tracks, where he serves as Hyrule's Chancellor.

Spirit Tracks
By the beginning of the story of Spirit Tracks, Cole, Chancellor of the Kingdom of Hyrule, has secretly been causing the Spirit Tracks to vanish all across Hyrule. His devilish nature causes Princess Zelda to distrust him and question his intentions. Zelda secretly slips Link a note with directions to her private quarters and warning him to beware of Cole. In her quarters, Zelda confides her suspicions of Cole in Link and requests that he take her in secret to the Tower of Spirits to investigate the disappearance of the Spirit Tracks. The two escape the castle and go with Link's mentor, Alfonzo, aboard his train toward the Tower of Spirits with Link conducting. On their way there, the Spirit Tracks vanish beneath them, causing the train to come to a screeching halt in the field separating Hyrule Castle from the tower. The trio then witnesses the fragmentation of the Tower of Spirits by dark magic before being confronted by the mastermind behind this: Cole himself, accompanied by Byrne. Cole reveals he is a monster masquerading as a human and speaks of how difficult it was to keep up his guise while decrying his position as Chancellor as being nothing more than a "royal babysitter". He then reveals his true plan: to resurrect the Demon King Malladus, with the unwilling help of Princess Zelda herself. Cole has Byrne knock Link and Alfonzo out cold before using his dark magic to separate Zelda's spirit from her body and having Byrne carry the princess's vacant body to the Tower of Spirits. At the top of the fragmented tower, at the Altar of the Demon King, Cole plans to use Zelda's sacred body as a vessel for Malladus to inhabit. He remains here for much of the early part of the game while Link and Zelda's spirit go to restore the four temples to restore the Spirit Tracks and stop the Chancellor's evil plot.

Eventually, the duo succeeds in restoring the tracks and the tower and ascend the tower to reach the top and stop Cole. They confront Byrne in battle and best him before following him to the altar at the top of the tower, where Cole is found to be performing the ritual to resurrect Malladus. They arrive just moments too late to stop Cole, and Malladus is infused into Zelda's vacant body. With a blatant betrayal and taunting of Byrne, Cole flees with Malladus aboard the Demon Train back to the Dark Realm, warning of the darkness Malladus will unleash upon the land once he gets used to Zelda's body. Following these transgressions, Cole is not seen again until Link and Zelda retrieve the Bow of Light and the Compass of Light and pursue the Chancellor and the Demon King into the Dark Realm, where they damage the demonic train just enough to where they can climb aboard and confront the villains. Cole berates the efforts of Link and Zelda while requesting that the Demon King use his power to destroy the two.

The Chancellor floats around the moving train's roof as Link tries to help Zelda reach her possessed body at the head of the train, sending demonic rats to try to attack Zelda so he can take control of her Phantom body like an evil puppeteer. Eventually, Zelda is able to reach the head of the train and seizes Malladus. Link shoots the Demon King with an arrow from the Bow of Light, ending the battle and causing the Demon Train to crash back in Hyrule. Once Zelda reclaims her body, her gain becomes Cole's loss as Malladus chooses to take possession of Cole's body, transforming him into a gigantic, boar-like beast. Although Cole's body rejects Malladus's spirit due to his own spirit still being present, Malladus threatens to use Cole's body to reduce the world to ruin in the little time he still has to control Cole. Link and Zelda ultimately prevail however, thrusting the Lokomo Sword into the crystal on the possessed Cole's head and shattering it, killing both Cole and Malladus for good and restoring peace to 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.

Name Etymology
The Chancellor's latter name Cole is thought to perhaps be a play on the word "coal".

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.

Trivia

 * Cole's true race is heavily debated amongst fans of the series, as he makes clear that he is not human when revealing the true reason for his two top-hats. Though he does have a humanoid body, the horns he sports atop his head and his own admission make it clear he is of another race entirely, though just what race this is presently is not clear. Some believe that Cole may be a demon himself, as he addresses the Demon King as "Your Majesty", a title typically used by a monarch's subjects.