War of the Bound Chest

The War of the Bound Chest was a conflict that is believed to have occurred shortly after the foundation of a New Hyrule by the Hero of Winds and Tetra (Princess Zelda), the reason for this being that the monsters appear as they did on the Great Sea and the similarities between the hero and princess to Link and Tetra. Although the Dark Lord Ganondorf had been defeated, leaving the forces of evil without a leader, the Army of Evil that consisted of every known monster throughout the world followed the pair to the new land they discovered and sought to take their revenge upon the pair for the destruction of their dark master.

The world was on the verge of being swallowed by shadow, until the Minish (also known as the Picori) came from the sky to bring the current Hero of the land, the Hero of Men, a sword known as the Picori Blade and the magical Light Force, a golden triangle resembling one of the three golden triangles that make up the Triforce. The Light Force was a source of limitless magical power, and combining its power with that of the Picori Blade, the Hero of Men was able to drive the Army of Evil back and lock all of its members within an enchanted chest, binding the chest with the Picori Blade itself.

This chest, kept locked by the Picori Blade, came to be known in Hylian lore as the Bound Chest, and thus, the conflict came to be known as the War of the Bound Chest. As a result, peace was restored to Hyrule, and the new kingdom of Hyrule was allowed to continue to grow and prosper. The Light Force was then magically sealed within Hyrule's princess and magically passed down to her heirs in succession, a secret that not even the best historians in Hyrule knew.

The secret of the Light Force was only depicted in one place, in a series of stained glass windows within the Elemental Sanctuary that links the Minish World to the realm of Hyrule. Here was depicted the War of the Bound Chest, the coming of the Minish, the triumph of the Hero of Men, and the sealing of the Light Force within Hyrule's princess. It is unknown who the Hero of Men or the current Princess of Hyrule were at the time, but they bear a striking resemblence to the Hero of Winds and Tetra themselves. It is possible that the Hero of Winds took on the name of the "Hero of Men" upon the creation of a new civilization for the race of men and that the hero and princess depicted in the Elemental Sanctuary's windows were in fact Link and Tetra themselves. It is also possible that they were descendants of the Hero of Winds and Tetra, but the only certain thing is that they do indeed look very much like the Hero of Winds and Tetra in her regal attire.

The War of the Bound Chest was spoken of in The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap.

Theories Surrounding the War
It is debateable exactly when the war occurred, but it can be deduced from careful observation of the games about when it did. Some believe the war occurred before Ocarina of Time, although this has been refuted by Shigeru Miyamoto himself as he said that Ocarina of Time marked the beginning of the series' continuity. It remains a possiblity, but not the most likely option of all due to this and other observations. The more likely scenario is that it occurred after The Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass for a number of reasons, which include:


 * The identical appearance of the monsters in the war to those seen in The Wind Waker.
 * The identical appearance of the Hero of Men and the Princess of Hyrule depicted in the windows to the Hero of Winds and Tetra in her regal attire, as seen in The Wind Waker.
 * The implication that a new civilization had been established for the race of men, hence the name "Hero of Men."
 * The vast differences between Hyrule's Ocarina of Time and The Minish Cap incarnations
 * The absence of the Bound Chest and the Picori Blade in Ocarina of Time
 * The Hyrulean Civil War was implied to have occurred roughly ten years before Ocarina of Time, marking the beginning of the Hyrulean nation; the War of the Bound Chest and the Hyrulean Civil War could not have occurred at the same time.
 * King Gustaf's spirit states in The Minish Cap that he ruled Hyrule "countless ages ago," prior to game's events. This makes it impossible for The Minish Cap to precede Ocarina of Time because gamers learn in Ocarina of Time that the nation had just been formed roughly ten years earlier at the end of the Hyrulean Civil War.
 * Shigeru Miyamoto's statement that Ocarina of Time marks the beginning of the series.