Light Force

Light Force
Princess Zelda, holder of the Light Force
First appearance	The Minish Cap (2005)
Use	Grants near-limitless magical power to the holder

"The second [item]... Well, you call it light force, but it is a source of limitless magical power. If Vaati were to get it now, it would be devastating."

— Ezlo

The Light Force is a powerful energy source that dwells inside Princess Zelda in The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap. Vaati drains most of the Light Force from her, thus turning himself into a powerful being. In appearance, the Light Force looks similar to one of the three component golden triangles that make up the omnipotent relic known as the Triforce. How the Light Force is related to the Triforce, and how they compare in power, is currently unknown.

According to the Hyrule Historia, the Light Force is actually a huge amount of the force that dwells within all beings.

History

Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.

Origins

According to legend, when evil threatened Hyrule's existence during a great war, the world was on the verge of being swallowed by shadow. Then, when all hope seemed lost against the Army of Evil, the tiny Minish race appeared from the sky, bringing the Hero of Men, a sword known as the Picori Blade, and a golden light known as the Light Force. The Hero of Men combined the power of the Picori Blade with the power of the Light Force to bind the entire Army of Evil within the Bound Chest spoken of in Hylian lore. After the war was won, the Hero of Men sealed the Bound Chest with the Picori Blade itself, keeping all evil locked away within the depths of the chest. However, the fate of the Light Force was never ascertained, and not even Hyrule's best historians could be sure of what happened to it.

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

When the evil Vaati comes to Hyrule to search for the Light Force centuries later, he believes the Light Force has been hidden within the chest itself, only to find his theory to be incorrect when he shatters the Picori Blade and opens the chest, releasing the Army of Evil that had long been imprisoned within. Shortly thereafter, he turns Princess Zelda to stone, believing she would be an obstacle in his search for the Light Force. The petrified Princess is then placed in Hyrule Castle's Throne Room until the Picori Blade can be restored and used to break Vaati's curse.

Eventually, Vaati incapacitates the King of Hyrule and impersonates him in order to use the castle soldiers to search the land for the Light Force. After weeks of no success, he learns of the Elemental Sanctuary's existence and learned that when the Picori Blade is infused with the power of the Elements, the way to the Light Force will open. Knowing Link was searching for the elements, he decides to wait for Link to infuse the blade with all four elements and use him to discover the Light Force's true resting place. This plan succeeds when Link returns from the Palace of Winds with the Wind Element and infuses its power into the blade to restore the Four Sword. Just then a door is opened, leading to a chamber where the history of the Light Force is depicted on stained glass windows; it is revealed to have been sealed away inside Princess Zelda after the end of the the war, and passed down through her lineage.

Just then, Vaati appears, and finally discovers the location of the Light Force. Using the power of Ezlo's Magic Cap, Vaati petrifies everyone located in the castle at that time, and transforms it into Dark Hyrule Castle; he brings the petrified Princess Zelda to the roof of the castle, planning to drain the Light Force from her body in order to obtain its power. He is nevertheless confronted by Link, and is not able to drain it fully; believing himself to possess enough power to defeat him regardless, he engages Link in battle, but is ultimately defeated. It is unknown whether the Light Force that Vaati drained is returned to Zelda, but Ezlo remarks that she still has at least some of it left inside of her. Using the Magic Cap, combined with the power of Light Force, Zelda undoes all of Vaati's evil deeds.

Spoiler warning: Spoilers end here.

Theories

Theory warning: This section contains theoretical information based on the research of one or several other users. It has not been officially verified by Nintendo and its factual accuracy is disputed.

Some believe that the Minish created the Light Force to fit in the center of the Triforce. Together the Triforce and Light Force would grant unlimited power. However, aside for being represented by triangles and containing the word "force" in their names, there is no known connection between the two powers. This has been dismissed by the creators however.

As written above, according to the Hyrule Historia, the Light Force contains a large amount of the life force found in living beings, similar to the explanation of Force Gems' origin in Phantom Hourglass. From this, it is possible that at the end of The Minish Cap the Light Force dispersed into Force Gems. Alternatively, the Light Force itself may have formed from a concentration of Force Gems. This also supported by how it has the same name in Japanese as the Light Force and the Life Force. Both of these would explain the similar origins of Force Gems and the Light Force, though no further evidence suggests either theory is necessarily true. As the story in Phantom Hourglass mostly takes place in the World of the Ocean King, that could explain the Force Gem's presence there. It should be noted however, that the Force Gems also appear in Spirit Tracks, which implies it actually is a thing in Link's world (and not just the land of Hyrule) as the game itself took place in New Hyrule. Since Carben stated that a Force Gem can be created when someone feels powerful emotions, this further disproves that the Light Force and Force Gems are the same.

Another thing to note, is that Zelda still has at least a portion of the Light Force, which was noted by Ezlo himself. It was also hinted by Ezlo (in the Japanese version) that the amount Zelda has was the reason (along with her kindness) for the miracle the Minish Cap created towards the end. The Light Force is also theorized as the reason for Zelda's natural mystical powers, which is heavily hinted to be hereditary in nature.

Theory warning: Theories end here.

See Also

• Sacred Power of the Spirits