What is happiness?
Trine, king of Hyrule, lord of Delabor, and Possessor of Calatia- undeniably the most powerful ruler the Seven Lands had ever seen- sat upon his throne, listless and quiet.
He was thinking.
What is happiness? What is it to be happy? If one is happy, would he know it?
These thought streamed through Trine's young mind as he pondered his life and his actions, especially those taken in the past few months.
Idly, the young king played with a small crystal in his hands. Just on the surface, this object was nothing more than a piece of pretty glass, but it was what was held beneath that surface that made the thing so valuable: there was magic.
The crystal was actually a communications device, powered by magic and used by great commanders to give orders over long distances to troops and envoys. This simple piece of white rock was possibly the most valuable piece of logistical device in the entire world, and it was useless in its master's hands.
Its sibling crystal had been placed in the hands of the servant who, by all reasoning, should have been the most loyal of all servants.
But something had gone wrong.
The faithful golem of the king had destroyed his crystal in a rage- so enraged by the demands of his lord, the servant had severed his only link to his master.
The faithful servant was no longer faithful. He had rebelled.
This above all other things bothered Trine. The spells woven into young Auldric's mind should have been strong enough to keep the boy under a firm grip for the rest of his life, yet it had only lasted a few months. This meant either there was something stronger than the magic, or that the magic just was not good enough. Either way, magic was not enough to maintain control, thus the magic-wielder cannot be relied upon too much, despite all of the faithful aid he had given to his liege.
Which led the boy-king back to his original question: What is happiness?
By all accounts, Trine should have been ecstatic. He had risen from an obscure prince of a backwater nation to the emperor of the most powerful empire ever in a frighteningly short time; he had disposed of all who had stood in his way, including his father, mother, uncle and aunt, and even his own cousin who may have one day become his wife. But such was the way of great men- they are hailed as great after their deaths, and their lives may be nothing more than one stroke of luck after another during what otherwise was nothing more than a dull and pointless life.
The great can touch the lives of thousands and change the course of nations, yet they can do nothing to help themselves.
What was it he wanted? Power? He was ruler of millions. He had power. Riches? The treasuries were full of some of the most beautiful and marvellous treasures in history. He had riches. Company? He could have his pick from any number of the thousands of subjects within the empire. He could have company- should he ever choose it.
No. Trine wanted none of those- he wanted something more. Perhaps love? Ashir the wizard had suggested this, once. By killing his entire family, Trine had effectively cut himself off from all who had any reason to love him. He had no family, no friends, no love. But was that what he wanted? Would love make him happy?
If only he had a clear idea of just what it was that was happiness, then he could combat these troubling feeling of emptiness within him.
After consulting with his many ready aids and philosophers, it was still no clearer.
Some had said that happiness was just satisfying his own personal pleasures: eat, sleep, and be merry. But Trine was king, surely he could do what he wanted? He had everything at his fingertips and yet he was still unhappy, so that could not be true.
Others had said that happiness lied in not only satisfying personal pleasure, but also the collective pleasure- that of everyone. Certainly he could do much to achieve this goal, but was it worth it? He had no desire to help others, so was happiness against desire? Are wanting and being happy totally opposite thoughts, neither able to satisfy the other?
Still others said happiness was through the gods. To do as the gods will and devote one's life to them is to attain happiness. Again, that did not seem true. If one devoted one's life solely to the gods and lived for the paradise after death, then what was the point? If living meant nothing but a respite before heaven, then happiness meant nothing and it was happiness that Trine craved for.
There was something else, there had to be- another factor in the equation, one that was missing thus far. Something was missing from Trine's life, but he had no idea what it was he needed.
The wizard had tried everything, but even his skill was lacking and his craft useless. If Trine was to find happiness he needed to do it alone, yet for the past few days he had done nothing but meditate, trying to find this lost puzzle piece to his emotion.
This the boy had thought over again and again. It was only when his mind had turned to the crystal that he knew how to gain his lost happiness: the Triforce.
With the very power of the gods, the Triforce would grant him any wish he desired, provided he could get to it. The problem lay there- the Triforce was hidden away in another land, hidden and sealed from mortal eyes. The only entrance to this land lay on Death Mountain to the North of Hyrule, and the key to this closed door was in the hands of the turncoat golem, Auldric- the Master Sword.
It was only through the use of the Master Sword that the gates could be opened to the Golden Land where the Triforce rested, and right now, that sword was half a continent away in hostile and unsteady hands- possibly cold, dead hands- somewhere in the great forests of Forhas, unreachable by any hands other than those of Fate and luck.
So it was that Trine had reached his depressing conclusion: happiness lay in the Triforce, accessible only through the Master Sword which was, barring any miracle, lost to him.
And so, then, was happiness.
The boy-king sighed deeply and dropped the crystal, catching it beneath his boot and promptly grinding it to powder.
So much for being happy, he thought sadly.