Picori Festival

Picori Festival
Figurine of the Picori Festival
First appearance	The Minish Cap (2005)
Country	Hyrule
Region	Hyrule Town
Occurrence	Annually
Purpose	Honoring the Picori
Characteristics	Picori Festival Tournament, Various festivities

"Long, long ago, evil spirits descended on the land of Hyrule. Just when it seemed that the world was to be cast into the darkest of shadows, the tiny Picori appeared from the sky, bringing the hero of men a sword and a golden light. This bravest of men used his wisdom and courage, his golden light, and his sword to fight off the demons and restore peace to the world."

— The Minish Cap opening cinematics

The Picori Festival is an annual celebration held in Hyrule in The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap.

History

The Hero of Men receiving the gifts of the Picori

The Festival is held once a year in Hyrule Town to commemorate the Picori (Minish) for their legendary actions many years in the past. They are fabled to have helped the Hero of Men in his quest to seal away an evil army that had been invading Hyrule.

This war, unofficially named the War of the Bound Chest, began with the attacks of various, organized monsters upon the innocent citizens of Hyrule. They appeared to have had no distinguishable leader, but little is known about the evil army. Just as the war appeared to be turning to the favor of the monsters, though, the Picori dropped from high above and armed the bravest knight of the Hylian Army with a hand-made sword and strange triangle resembling a piece of the Triforce.

With both new gifts in hand, the Hero of Men single-handedly captured all of the monsters in the opposing army within a chest. By then stabbing the Picori Blade into it, he locked away the creatures and saved Hyrule. This is how the legend goes.

Traditions

Although the festival is held every year, a special event occurs every centennial celebration. The year that the festival has been around for another hundred years, it is said that a magical doorway that links the Picori realm to Hyrule opens. With this, the Picori or, as they like to call themselves, the Minish, can freely cross between the worlds.

However, since many, possibly even hundreds of, years have passed since the War of the Bound Chest, the Minish have fallen into a mere legend. Along with this is the fact that adults like to change up the tale to make their children behave better. It is said that only good children can see a Picori on the hundredth festival, babying the ancient legend to a mere fairy-tale among most citizens of Hyrule. Whether or not this is true, though, nobody can tell. But only the Royal Family of Hyrule knows for certain that the Picori are real, at least at the time of The Minish Cap's events.

Activities

The citizens of Hyrule love to keep an ongoing interest and sense of fun in the festival. They do so by getting everyone involved, from getting help from the youth to inviting foreigners.

One of the first things one will notice upon entering the festival is the decorations. With hundreds of multi-colored flags, lights, and objects hanging from atop roofs and walls, the entire town is quickly brightened. It can't be told if everyone closes their shops, for people often stand in the ways of the entrances, but the owners of the various stores are not to be found. This seems odd, for the celebration could bring publicity and money to each shop. However, it also doesn't seem right for them to work on a national holiday.

The elders of the town often become some of the most popular, often because of their wise story-telling. They bring joy to little kids' faces with their tales and entertain the older, more mature population. A competition of theirs might be the various contests, though. One man in particular, a fruit salesman, likes to auction off rare prizes. Only three have been seen, however. They are: a large Rupee, a Heart Container, and the small shield that is won by Princess Zelda in The Minish Cap.

For those who can't find any interest in the city's events, there is also a sword-fighting tournament up north at the Hyrule Castle. The winner is always rewarded a fine sword, crafted by Smith, blacksmith to the Royal Family and the honor of touching the legendary Picori Sword, still stuck within the chest.

In The Minish Cap

Princess Zelda invites Link to the festival at the beginning of The Minish Cap. After checking out all the sights, Zelda seems to remember that Link had promised to bring his grandfather's sword to the Castle. Heading there immediately, they barely arrive as the champion, Vaati receives his rewards for winning the sword competition. Being relatively unknown in Hyrule, both heroes seem to wonder about him as he rises to touch the Picori Sword. However, suddenly turning against the soldiers and shooting them down with powerful magic, he laughs manically and breaks the blade in half. Doing so causes the chest to unlock and releases all of the monsters within out into the world. Expecting to find the Light Force, Vaati is disappointed. Zelda immediately retorts against the traitor, but is turned to stone by his powerful magic. Link is also knocked out, thus beginning the events of The Minish Cap.