Great War of Ikana

Great War of Ikana
First appearance	Majora's Mask (2000)
Country	Termina
Region	Ikana
Occurrence	Once
Purpose	Taking control of Ikana
Characteristics	War between Ikana army and the Enemy Nation

"Convey my words to my men, who, even in death, remain loyal to me. Tell them the war has ended..."

— Captain Keeta

The Great War of Ikana is an event from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. Happening prior to the events of the game, the war is one of the most ambiguous and mysterious aspects of the Legend of Zelda series. The war is never spoken of in depth, but rather, hinted at several times during Link's time in Ikana.

From what can be gathered, it would appear that the Ikana Royal Family was forced to defend the land of Ikana from an Enemy Nation. Pamela's Father reveals that the Garo were the spies of a foreign nation sent to investigate Ikana's defenses. From this it is presumed they were found out, and the Great War broke out. Captain Keeta was placed in charge of the Ikana army by the king, Igos du Ikana. Captain Keeta eventually lost a great battle, however, as he tells Link: "Since being shamed by loss in a battle within my kingdom... I have waited here for one to come and awaken my soul." This likely explains the reasoning behind him and his men being found in Ikana Graveyard. From here, the Garo may have usurped control of the kingdom, as Igos comments: "The kingdom being ruined and us left in this state... Isn't it petty, little battles like this that have caused it?". However, Pamela's Father tells Link "[the Garo] have been unable to forget their living days. Even now their spirits--emptiness cloaked in darkness--continue to spy.", revealing that the Garo are in fact undead, as well as the stalfos-like Ikanians. The fact that they are spying even beyond death implies that they did not achieve a complete victory; as does Igos' continued control of the Ancient Castle of Ikana.

This does not fully explain however, why the land of Ikana is an undead wasteland. The answer to this likely revolves around Stone Tower Temple. The temple is often spoken of as a cursed place, and when the "masked one" opened the doors to the temple, evils were unleashed into the world. Igos asks Link to seal the doors in order to return true light to the kingdom. Many believe the "masked one" refers to the Skull Kid, but this is up for debate. Ikana seems to have been cursed for ages, and the Skull Kid just recently entered Termina with Majora's Mask. Dampé even comments that his father once told him about the origin of Captain Keeta's remains, implying that the war ended in the distant past. With this in mind, it seems the "masked one" may refer to the Garo Master who is found within the temple, and therefore may have opened it. Were the Garo Master responsible for the curse on Ikana, he would have been bringing it down upon his own people as well as their enemies, perhaps unintentionally.