The Triforce
The Legend Behind the Triforce
The Triforce is a golden relic that represents the elementary powers of the three goddesses who created Hyrule. The Triforce is composed of three parts; the Triforce of Power, the Triforce of Courage, and the Triforce of Wisdom.
The goddesses decended upon Hyrule from the heavens, each adding an element to the land (refer to Creation of Hyrule). Where the goddesses departed from Hyrule laid the golden Triforce.
The Triforce lays in the Sacred Realm, also known as the Golden Land. It is said that anyone who touches it will have their inner most wishes and desires come true, whether it be good or evil. The triforce will reflect that which is in the heart of the beholder.
It is said that if a person with an unbalanced heart touches the triforce, the triforce will seperate into their elemental pieces. This was seen in The Ocarina of Time. The Prince of Darkness, Ganondorf, entered the Sacred Realm and split the triforce upon touching it, with a piece going to the Princess Zelda (Wisdom), a piece to Link (Courage), and a piece to Ganondorf (Power).
Many believe the triforce is an inanimate object that cannot distinguish between good and evil. At the end of A Link to the Past, dialog representing the triforce made it appear that the Triforce was 'speaking' with Link, meaning it wasn't inanimate. This however, is the only evidence offering the Triforce has the ability to communicate and interact with people at our level.
8 Pieces of the Triforce
Years ago, Hyrule was amidst chaotic times. As Ganon kidnapped the Princess Zelda, she had seperated the Triforce into 8 pieces and spread them across Hyrule to keep the evil Ganon from gaining possession of the holy relic. She sent her caretaker, Impa, to find a young Hero powerful enough to wield a blade to retrive the pieces and defeat Ganon, saving the land from war and rescuing the Princess. These are the events of the Legend of Zelda.
In the events of the Wind Waker, the Triforce of Courage was seperated into 8 pieces and scattered beneath the waters of the Great Sea. Link was sail the Great Sea to retrieve each piece, once agian making it complete.
Common Mysteries and Triforce Theories
Alot of people believe in a missing fourth piece of the Triforce, which would fit directly in the center of the Triforce, making it completely whole. This theory has never been proven true, and there is no evidence to support this theory.
A big problem with this theory is in the name of the relic, Triforce. Breaking down our words to basic latin root, we have "tri" and "force". Tri, or Tria in latin, is a numeral prefix meaning three. Tri is the prefix of our base word "Force". If there were four pieces to the Triforce, our Triforce would most likely become a quadriforce.
If this isn't enough of an arguement against the fourth Triforce piece theory, we can always break it down to the fact that we have never seen a forth piece in the Legend of Zelda series, nor has it ever been officially confirmed by Nintendo or in any of the Legend of Zelda games.
