literature

LoZ- Majora's Mask- Happy Mask Salesman's Story

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Business wasn't very fast at Hyrule. At first, people were always excited to enter the Happy Mask Shop and see the various goofy and unique masks. The Happy Mask Salesman just loved bringing happiness to others. But now he had been there for a few years and people rarely came in anymore, and the man could hardly blame them. With being confined to a shop he hardly had any time to travel and search for new masks; only a few local ones he could easily obtain. So, with a smile still plastered on his face, the Happy Mask Salesman sat alone with his masks in the quaint old shop hidden away in the corner of the market place. But as long as he had his masks, the man didn't feel lonely.

Then one day--an ordinary day--a young boy came in. He had yellow hair and was clothed in a green tunic with a similarly colored hat. The hilt of a sheathed sword was visible over his shoulder and a small fairy accompanied him. But even though he was still a child, the Happy Mask Salesman could sense an unusual air and look of maturity etched on the boy's face and also courage as he stood with his shoulders straightened and excellent posture.

With his usual smile, the Happy Mask Salesman decided to give the boy an offer. It disheartened him to see his masks grow dust on the shelves, for they had always brought smiles to people's faces. Not wanting to them to go to waste, he asked the boy to bring a little happiness around the land of Hyrule. The boy could wear the masks as long as he found someone else who loved them. He agreed and soon spread the Happy Mask Salesman's masks around. But, to his disappointment, it wasn’t long until the boy never returned...as if he had just disappeared.

Having no one else to look forward to regularly visiting his shop, the Mask Salesman thought of a new idea. He could pack up his shop and travel around the world, discovering new masks and sharing them with more people to spread happiness. And with his inventory now lighter thanks to a green clothed boy, his decision was made final.

The Happy Mask Salesman packed up with a (not-so-large-at-first) bag and left Hyrule. Having the freedom to go on longer trips he found more and more masks to further his collection.

Then one day he remembered an old legend he had heard, like a faint whisper in the back of his mind to uncover what had been lost. Little did he know that it was calling for him. A long since forgotten mask of ancient legend that yearned to be free to be able to wreak havoc on the world again.

   His grandfather had told the story to him long ago when he was just a boy. It was a myth about a powerful mask, and the tale was passed down through their family for generations and generations.

As he looked more into it, which wasn't an easy task considering the mask was said to not exist, he slowly uncovered the truth of the mask's ancient power. Legend has it that it was used by an ancient tribe in its hexing rituals, and whoever wore the mask was bestowed an evil and wicked power that would corrupt them. They had called it Majora's Mask. But the troubles it caused were so great, the ancient ones sealed the mask in shadow forever to prevent its misuse. Eventually the tribe vanished, the secret and knowledge of the mask lost with them. No one would accurately know the true nature of its power. But he could feel it. The Happy Mask Salesman was deeply intrigued and knew this mask would complete his collection. He was already treasuring it and he didn't even know if it still existed!

No, it couldn't have been destroyed, no, no--it was too powerful. Nothing could stop it. It was out there somewhere...

And he had to have it.

He forgot all other masks and began his quest for Majora's Mask. He searched everywhere, going off of every little hint, no matter how unlikely. It didn't matter if he spent the rest of his life searching for this one mask, he needed to find it. It became his life's goal. Just the thought of holding it made him full of joy as his eyes sparkled with anticipation.

Then finally, after years of relentless searching, he had found it. It was not easy--in fact, most would consider it impossible, but the Happy Mask Salesman did find it. With pride and fulfillment bubbling in him, he held the mask in out front of him and studied every inch of it.

He could sense the dark aura emanating from it. And it was powerful. All the descriptions in the stories could not compare to the object he clutched in his hands. It reached out and called for him with its unnerving and merciless orange eyes. They were alive. No one would ever fully know or comprehend its power and pure darkness. But he thought he did. All of the black, wicked power and destruction from within it. He could hear the tortured screams and wails, the inhuman chants, the angry and pained shrieks, the twisted laughter. He could feel the scorching fire, the pure hatred and greed, but most importantly: the raw power. It was without equal.

Finally satisfied, the Happy Mask Salesman continued his travels spreading happiness in the form of masks. But he always kept Majora's Mask close to him.

Then one day while he was strolling in the Lost Woods, he came across a skull kid accompanied by a yellow and purple fairies. The skull kid was only the size of a child with thin, wooden limbs and was dressed like a scarecrow. A large straw hat shadowed its round, wooden face, and its glowing orange eyes reminded him of the mask’s. The Happy Mask Salesman felt sorry for the skull kid, “You poor child with no face. How about I give you a mask so you can wear a face instead! You can pick any one from my collection--”

He pulled off his backpack and set it down, beginning to pull out several masks he thought the child would enjoy. He held them out to show the imp, “How about this one? Or these ones?”
It giggled, and looked back over to the pack. The Mask Salesman, now smiling wide, untied the main clasp and allowed skull kid to dig through it. But before too long the imp, with his head still in the bag, paused. Slowly it pulled out the Mask and just stared, mesmerized by it. After a few seconds, the skull kid grinned with a soft giggle. “Can I have this one?”

Only slightly startled, the man declined with an apology, “I truly apologize, but you have chosen the one out of all of them that I cannot give away.”

The imp began to beg for it, and the Mask Salesman was growing worried. He then realized how tightly the imp was gripping the purple mask. With a frown, he again declined and even pulled out a skull mask similar to one he had given a skull kid in the past. But the child refused. With a scowl it pushed the mask back into the man’s hands, causing its fairy companions chuckling beside it.

The Salesman by then was becoming irritated and lost his pity for the skull kid. “I am sorry but you cannot have that one.” He reached out for the heart-shaped mask, but the imp took a step back, almost cradling it. The Happy Mask Salesman was finally angry. “Give the mask back to me, right now. It is not yours.”

The skull kid finally gave in and handed the Majora’s Mask back, hanging his head.

The Happy Mask Salesman started packing all of his masks back up. “Once again, I am sorry but that is the only one I cannot part with. If you want any other one you may--” But the imp turned and defeatedly began walking away. The man felt sorry for the dejected child, but certainly not bad enough to hand over his precious mask. It was the imp’s choice to walk away, so the Salesman would do the same. The mask was his and no one else's; he needed it to complete his collection.

With a huff, the Happy Mask Salesman regained his trademark smile and got back on the path to continue his travels. He barely took a few steps until he felt something very solid collide with the side of his head. Pain exploded from the contact for a second before everything went black and the Mask Salesman knew no more.

He slowly awoke, the forest’s trees casting shadows from the sunset on him. It took him only a few moments to become aware of his surroundings before he remembered what had happened. He tried to sit up--only to be restricted by his backpack. He rolled over and somehow managed to get up, which was possible from years of experience (He refused to be like a turtle with his large pack). Once back on his feet, the Happy Mask Salesman checked in the special pocket of his bag, confirming his suspicions: The Majora’s Mask was gone.

He was then panicking and looked all around for signs of the skull kid. Who knew where that imp was now! The man had probably been knocked out for hours considering it was now sundown.
Not knowing where to start, the Happy Mask Salesman continued down the path on his search for the imp that had stolen his mask.



   Another day of searching. Another day of no signs of the skull kid. Another fruitless day void of hope.

   The Happy Mask Salesman sighed, looking around at the endless maze of tall trees around him. He hadn’t smiled in a while; there was no one around him to see. He hadn’t had any encounters with anyone for a long time, and he was tired. But never was he tempted to stop searching. That wasn’t an option, he had to find his mask.

   Then, interrupting the usual silence that accompanied him, the man heard something echo around in the trees. He stopped to listen closely and pick out the sound. It was almost like a child yelling. And soon enough, rhythmic galloping sounded in the distance. Now hopeful, the Salesman picked up his pace and headed toward the noise. After a minute, he stepped out from behind a tree and spotted something out of place from the unvarying, mundane backdrop of faded green woodland.

   A green clothed body was laying on the ground. And in the distance a child riding a red horse was running away out of view. The Mask Salesman recognized it had been a skull kid on the horse and suspected it was the imp he was looking for. He could even feel the raw power from the mask. He then ducked behind a tree and curiously watched the stranger who was groaning on the ground slowly get up.

It was a boy, and he looked panicked and mad. He also had some dirty, bloody scrapes on his arms and knees like he had just been dragged across the forest floor, but he paid no attention to them. The Happy Mask Salesman got a glimpse of the child’s face and processed it. The boy looked oddly familiar... Then he realized that it was the same, confident boy that had walked into his shop all those years ago. And he fit the description of the Hero of Time perfectly.

Throughout his journeys the man had heard a fair share of stories, and obviously he had heard the one about the hero who could travel in time with the Ocarina of Time and save Hyrule from the dark lord Ganon. If this was that same boy, he knew how much power the hero had. And the same skull kid the Salesman was looking for was involved with this boy; just his luck.

The Happy Mask Salesman’s large smile returned to his face.

The green boy started running in the direction the horse had disappeared to, the gallops growing faint in the distance. The Salesman immediately began following the chase, unable to contain his excitement and joy. He finally had the chance of getting his mask back.



The Salesman knew he wasn’t too far behind the boy, and wow had some big drama unfolded before him. There was no doubt that the Hero of Time was now mixed up in this skull kid mess, and the boy (who was in quite the predicament considering he wasn’t a “boy” anymore) could definitely help and assure that the the Mask Salesman would get his mask back.

Plus the yellow fairy that had been with the imp was travelling with the boy now which was quite intriguing. But all three of them; the boy, the fairy, and the Mask Salesman, needed something from the skull kid. Why not work together?

The Happy Mask Salesman reached the final step in the watermill and spotted the hero and his fairy about to exit through the two large wooden doors. He had to act fast since he realized that they were now in the Cursed Land. Termina, as it was better known, had been destined by an ancient legend to be destroyed. So he decided to finally make his presence known and make a deal.

   “You’ve met with a terrible fate, haven’t you?”



   AN: I love Majora's Mask for many reasons. It took a completely different turn from all the previous Zelda games with much darker undertones, new concepts, and characters (which is usually what we want in a game, right? ;)) Even though they used the same style from OoT (because of their deadline) and still had the subject of time, they twisted it to make it a entirely different game. I could go on and on and on about different points in MM, branching off into more things but it would become a never ending tree. Besides, my first ever deviation covered a lot of the theories and ideas... The thing that intrigues me the most is the main villain (or more fitting- monster), Majora's Mask.
   Previous main LoZ villains were usually people or even creatures but never just an object that was alive with the evil and corrupting power infused into it. Despite appearing as an inanimate object, the mask clearly has sentience. It is arguably the series' most depraved and bizarre villain. And it's very mysterious because they tell us barely anything about Majora's Mask, and what they do say is very vague (this is where all of the cool theories come into play). It has such a twisted and creepy story that you can't quite help feeling some chills here and there, especially when you stare at it. The game has a great message of healing, love, and friendship but the Mask is just plain scary. Aaaaand it doesn't help how involved the already weird Happy Mask Salesman is with this mask.
   I’ve researched just a little bit on wiki pages so some of this info may be wrong, but supposedly: The Japanese name for the mask is Mujura. It was created by Takaya Imamura, the designer of the mask and art director for the original game. He created the word by combining his last name 'Imamura' with 'Jumanji'. Apparently, Majora in Canto Japanese means devilish or demon, so Majora's Mask means 'Demon's mask'. In Latin, Majora means 'the larger'
   Also a major(a) theory *wink wink* is that the people who lived in the Ikana Kingdom are the same people who created and used Majora’s Mask, since is says that the Ikana Kingdom was populated by an ancient tribe whose history is said to be “stained with a history of darkness” and “drenched in blood”.
   Some people also think that the ancestors of the Twili tribe in Twilight Princess could be the ancient tribe because Majora’s Mask has similarities to the Fused Shadow (like powers and aesthetic similarities) Plus the Twili’s fighting style (shown by Zant) is similar to the Majora’s Wrath battle. So Majora’s Mask could be the Terminan version of the Fused Shadow or like a “prototype”. And if the Happy Mask Salesman said that he went to great lengths to get the mask, it could mean that he actually went into the Twilight Realm to get Majora’s Mask. Not to mention many are convinced that the Salesman is a descendant of the ancient tribe because the children in the moon have red hair like him, which would explain why he is so obsessed with the mask.
   Fun fact: During the battle with Majora’s Incarnation, it can be heard “singing” part of the Death Mountain theme from Legend of Zelda. And that’s another thing, the boss battle is Majora’s Mask is so unique, but similar to other Zelda final boss battles where there’s different forms of levels of the battle.
   Anyway, enough of that, thanks for reading! :)
This is just a little backstory thing to go along with my Majora's Mask story that follows the game. It's about how Skull Kid stole the mask from the Happy Mask Salesman, and how Link meets him. Nothing too special :shrug: and I included some theories at the bottom as well :D
Disclaimer- I do not own Legend of Zelda, this is just for fun little entertainment purposes

Part 1 of Majora's Mask story

Other MM theories

:iconhmsplz: :iconmajorasmaskplz:
© 2017 - 2024 RandomRadish7
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Johndennis4209's avatar
Wow I loved this! Also I didn't know that the mask would sing parts of Death Mountain from the original Zelda :D that's so cool!!