Chapter 1: The true story-teller
The blue light of the moon lit up the many paths and streets running through the city, making it a perfect night to go outside and walk amongst the peace. There was no-one outside at this moment, though, as the wonderful moonlight was creeping around from the edge of heavy rain clouds, evidence of their visit still laying in the gutters.
There was one man outside in the streets, however. He had no coat or jacket to shield against the rain and no umbrella in sight. All he wore was a long sleeved purple shirt and a darker purple pair of trousers. He strolled through the house infested streets where his small purple plimsolls splashed into the small puddles of rain water causing thin trickles of water to flow into the cracks in the stone.
The man kept on walking until the winding alleyways led him out into a large market square where there were many shops and big stalls. Large potted plants were placed here and there and a large fountain of water in the centre where people could sit down and rest. The man smiled as he looked around at the familiar scenery and walked past all the shops taking in the feeling of having returned and allowing old memories to resurface and widen the grin on the man's face.
The first memory was outside a popular diner which served some of the most delicious pastries and cooked foods where he had gone many a time for a good meal. Another memory floated up outside the Bazaar where he himself taught the large owner how to barter and keep the customer under his control and over his price range. He slowed down near the potion shop where he had made some excellent business trading with the old but sharp women who ran the place, then he kept on going until another memory detached itself from the back of his mind and came up.
Unfortunately, this was not a good memory.
The man was standing outside one of the most sacred places of this land which was held in very high respect for one of the very few religions the people believed in. This sacred place was called the Temple of Time, and this brought back bad memories to him as he is one of the few who still remembers the time when darkness ruled.
Shaking this memory free and re-attaching itself to the dark depths of his mind, he walked on and came to a stop outside a dull looking shop that seemed to have been out of business for a long time, namely because it had.
Reaching into his pocket the man pulled out a bronze coloured key and placed it into the lock, opening the door to his shop closing and locking the door behind him so none could follow him inside. Walking up to the counter at the far end of the shop he looked around at the empty shelves lining the walls and allowed more, good memories to come back, letting him relish the times he once spent here.
From behind the desk he pulled out a chair to sit in, but before he did he reached behind his back to grab a strap on his shoulder, swinging it around until it lay dangling in his hand. He sat down on the chair to relax for a moment and as he did, he lowered the strap setting down a very big pack.
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The next day the blue moonlight had vanished along with the moon and had been replaced by a warm and loving sun bringing light to all who stand beneath it. The rain water of the streets had also vanished and replaced by many people going out and about doing their morning shopping or going off to work.
On this day, though, there is a particularly large crowd in one of the corners of the main market square. After one person saw the purple clad man through their window last night, word passed around quicker than the great plague and virtually everyone knew that the Happy Mask Man had returned and his shop was open for business once more.
The Happy Mask Man was the name given to him by the townspeople as nobody knew his real name. He accepted the name given to him and found it amusing in a way as it seemed to perfectly fit his profession. The Happy Mask Man, as the name implied was a man who loved masks of almost any kind. His shop is a place that sells and trades masks where he supposedly gets as much happiness trading the mask as the customer does using the mask.
There are many mysteries surrounding the Happy Mask man, one of which is that large pack that he carries around. With him standing at around 5'10" and weighing around 120lbs or so, people wonder how he can carry a pack that is about the same height and twice his weight.
The pack itself has masks coating the outside seemingly showing off his collection and what people think of as advertisement when he leaves his shop, but another mystery comes in here as the Happy Mask man rarely ever leaves save to go out on a journey to find more masks and bring them back to his shop where he trades them all away again.
Many rumours have been told of this man, rumours like his face is a mask that he always wears to hide his real face, and that he is possessed by some incredibly strong being that allows him to lift such a heavy pack. Oddly enough, that is one of the rumours that makes the most sense. The more accurate one, though, is that he can use magic, which is true.
While he can somehow carry such a massive bag, he is seemingly lacking in physical strength with the two thin arms he possesses. Fortunately for him, his magic helps him out in many situations, such as the odd case of someone trying to steal from him which unfortunately, for the thief, occurred on the re-opening day.
The thief knew that with such a big crowd he may not be seen escaping with the mask without paying, but what he did not know is that the Happy Mask man's magic prevents unpaid masks from leaving the building. When he tried to leave by breaking out into a run he instead fell right back into the store due to the mask refusing to leave and pushing the wearer back inside.
There were no more attempts at stealing a mask that day.
The Happy Mask shop – aptly named after the owner - always managed to muster a large crowd and lure them in as he would always return with many new masks of all different kinds for all types of people. Light, exotic masks for the higher-ups planning a large dinner party, lively colourful masks sometimes used by clowns or for practical jokes and every now and then the Happy Mask man would come back with one of the rare Sheikah masks said to have special powers. One of which was called the Mask of Truth said to be able to talk with the many gossip stones across the land; a big hit with mothers who loved to gossip.
Today was no exception as most of the square was gathering outside and inside his shop with every person having been in at least once. Some people say this is because the Happy Mask man uses a subtle spell that subconsciously hypnotises them into coming inside, but others look at it logically and say it is because he's nice and has very good masks up for offer.
Whatever the reason was, people were still flocking in and picking masks off the shelf to try them on. Now, if one looked inside the shop and saw the number of masks that could be shown, that person would think with so many people coming in all the masks would be gone in a day, but then there are many mysteries surrounding this particular person so logic did not always abide to the surroundings of the Happy Mask man.
As the day went on, the crowd began to die down as did the sun with people leaving with their new purchases while there was still some light to guide them home. As the store became less populated, the Happy Mask man thought about closing up early so he could rest, ready for the new rush the next day. He was always busy. As he thought that, though, the front door opened and a couple with their young son entered, the boy looking very excited and energetic. All it took was a simple nod and he was running back and forth looking at all the masks he could see.
Normally, the Happy Mask man was happy to go to his customer and have a brief talk with them, maybe pointing out a good mask or somehow managing to get more money out of them than they hoped to spend, without them realising it. Seeing as it was only himself and this small family, he decided this was no exception so he got up out of his chair and swung his pack back on now walking towards the parents.
"Good evening. I am the Happy Mask man, owner and founder of this shop. How can I help you?" He said with a friendly smile upon his face.
"Oh, well it's our son's birthday today and when he heard you had re-opened, we decided to get him a mask as a birthday present." The mother replied, startled slightly when she heard the Happy Mask man.
The Happy Mask man kept on smiling as the boy dashed right between them to the other side of the shop. "Well I'm sure he'll find something he likes. Perhaps I could interest you with something else in the meantime, sir. You seem like the kind of person who likes masks."
"You read me well" the father responded, a grin forming on his face. "I was a collector of masks at some point. I still have a few back at home. Perhaps I should bring them here some day and show you what I have."
"Yes, that would make me happy. For now, though, can I interest the two of you in a mask?"
"Heh heh, never give up on a deal, eh?" The father replied with a chuckle.
As the two men fell into a conversation, with the mother butting in every now and again, their son was still running around grabbing a mask, looking at it then placing it back up and running again. As he did, though, he stopped just behind the Happy Mask man where the young boy looked at some of the masks on his pack with awe.
There were two masks in particular that really caught his eye, a light blue one with a few white streaks and a dark purple one with red and yellow streaks. After staring at them for a couple of minutes, as if he were staring at something behind them, he snapped from his gaze and plucked the two masks off of the pack.
"Hey mister, what are these?" the boy asked, holding the two masks out for him to see.
The Happy Mask man turned to see beyond his massive pack to see two very familiar masks. He laughed lightly when he realised what this boy had chosen to ask about.
"This mask" he pointed to the left, purple one, "is the pride of my collection. I lost it a while ago but a young boy helped me and returned it to me, along with this one." He pointed to the right, sky blue one. "He gave that one to me as a gift for what I helped him discover on his journey."
The boy stared at the two masks fascinated by them and their somewhat eerie look. "What happened to the boy?" The young child asked.
The Happy Mask man glanced out through a window to get a look at what time it was, then he turned up to the parents who seemed to know a long story was coming and nodded in approval. He placed his pack on the ground and sat on it to be about the same height as the boy before he began.
"Well, I first met the boy in a far away land many miles away from here called Termina. I was on a journey to collect more masks to bring back and sell in my shop when I came across a small temple-like shrine on the southern side of the great forest. It is there that I found this mask." He said, pointing to the purple one.
The Happy Mask man continued to begin his story to the captivated audience of the small boy and his mother. The father had gone to light a gas lamp and set it down in the middle of the circle of people. He then took a seat on the floor next to his son and joined in with the rest of his family to hear the incredible tale of a young hero and the true story of the Majora's Mask.