Ezlo

Ezlo in hat form.
Ezlo
Species	Minish
Hair color	White
Eye color	Black
Debut	The Minish Cap

Ezlo is a skilled Minish craftsman and sorcerer who was featured as Link's travelling companion in The Minish Cap.

Background

Ezlo was a wise yet cantankerous Minish who was renowned among his people for his great inventions. He was also a powerful magician, as he could change between Minish and human size with the help of objects that were charged with magical Minish energy. He eventually took a young boy named Vaati in as his apprentice and worked on an especially powerful invention, a mage's cap that was capable of granting any wish. The time soon came for when the portal from the Minish world and Hyrule would temporarily open. But as that day neared, Vaati stole the powerful cap that his master had made and used it to take on a sinister-looking human form. Ezlo could not stop Vaati in time, and with his new power, Vaati cursed Ezlo by turning him into into a talking green hat with a bird-like face.

Soon the portal between worlds opened, and Ezlo wandered Hyrule in search of a way to break this curse. He was soon attacked by Octoroks in the Minish Woods and was saved by Link, a young hero. Link was just starting his adventure to fix the Picori Blade so that he could use it to save Hyrule from Vaati. Ezlo realized that helping this child to beat Vaati might be the only way to restore him to normal, so the bird-hat hitched a ride on Link's head. Ezlo served as a guide throughout Link's quest, dispensing advice mixed with complaints. He also retained his shrinking and growing magic. He used this to ability shrink himself and Link down to Minish size, not only for easier communication with the Minish that they came across, but also to solve several puzzles they encountered throughout their quest. He was even shown to be capable of acting as a parachute for Link when the situation called for it.

Ezlo's path crossed with Vaati's several times during the quest, and during those encounters, Vaati would usually taunt the hat and then sic monsters on him. Eventually, the time came for the final showdown with Vaati. With the teamwork between Link and Ezlo, Vaati was destroyed for the time being and left behind the sorcerer's hat. Ezlo, now restored to his original form, apologized for all the trouble he caused by creating the mage's cap, but he proceeded to think of a solution to the problem. He gave the mage's cap to Princess Zelda, and with her good heart, she used the hat's power to fix the damage that Vaati had caused. Ezlo saw that the gateway to the Minish world was closing. So he shared a heartfelt farewell with Link and Zelda and left Link with the gift of an ordinary green hat, before he entered the portal and returned to the Minish world.

Trivia

• The game's title of The Minish Cap could refer to both Ezlo in his hat form and to his mage's cap that Vaati uses to drive the plot of the game.
• It is possible that Ezlo is the creator of the Gnat Hats which appear in Four Swords. They allow the wearer to shrink, much like Ezlo's magic, and they physically resemble the hat Vaati stole in The Minish Cap.
• Ezlo's existence seems to have been intended as the historical origin of the green hat in Link's wardrobe, as even the Link seen in the backstory of the The Minish Cap did not wear a hat. However, much like Ocarina of Time's attempt to explain Link's wardrobe through the Kokiri, this was ultimately retconned with the release of Skyward Sword, which is set earlier and features a Link who already wears a green hat.
• A sticker of Ezlo appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.