Parax (Legend of Zelda)

Parax is a mysterious entity who has appeared throughout the Legend of Zelda series. He appears as a dark-clothed traveler, hunting for rare or otherwise interesting objects, such as Poe Souls and Treasure Spheres. Very little is known about him, besides his interest in such unusual items and apparently long lifespan; his frequent appearances in the games and apparent knowledge of Hyrule's most ancient and forgotten history would make him at least several thousand years old. However, he does not elaborate on his age, usually preferring to keep his conversations professional.

He seems to favor seclusion over being close to other people, as shown by his choice of residence throughout the games; he lives mainly in forested regions, claiming them to be helpful for things such as potion brewing and crafting the various items he sells. How he manages to make the vast sums of money he has in such isolated areas is unknown. He is very bizarre, as he constantly asks Link to bring him body parts of monsters for "collection".

The Minish Cap
Parax's first appearance is in The Minish Cap, in which he is more humanoid than in later games. He does not interact often with humans, preferring to reside in various Minish-sized homes throughout Hyrule. He is first seen in the barrel house in the Forest Minish village, where he is cultivating Pico Blooms with the other Minish. He seemingly understands human language; after Link consumes the Jabber Nut and is thus able to speak the language of the Minish, Parax claims that he simply refused to speak in Hylian in order to mess with the hero. Though initially annoyed that Link ate what he referred to as an experiment, Parax is willing to buy and sell various items, though Link's rather limited inventory at this time makes most of Parax's stock inaccessible for a while.

Parax later appears in the attic of Mama's Cafe alongside the various Minish. Here, they express a certain unease with the traveler, confused by his ability to see and speak to them despite his adult-like appearance. Parax will start out at the table directly across from the staircase to the attic, but will later be found at one closer to the bridge between Mama's Cafe and Stockwell's shop after Link first visits the attic of the latter. If spoken to, he will claim to be a different person from the Parax found in the Forest Minish village, but they are clearly the same. Like in the forest, Parax will sell items to Link, such as Picolyte, arrows, and even mysterious shells. He will also request that Link bring him body parts from various monsters, starting out with smaller ones such as Pestos and Moldorms and eventually asking for larger ones such as Moblins and Ropes. For each part, Parax will reward Link with 50 Rupees, and a Piece of Heart for every completed "set"&mdash;that is, enough parts from one particular creature to build a replica. These pieces&mdash;and the models once completed&mdash; can be found in his tree home in the southern area of Royal Valley.

Parax's next appearance is in Melari's Mine, where he once again insists that he is not the same person Link met in Minish Woods and Mama's Cafe. He can be found in the forge area of the mine, where he appears to be hoarding Kinstones from the residents. Unlike the Town Picori, Melari's Minish are perfectly fine with living with Parax, whose unusual but friendly nature and ability to find vast amounts of Kinstones make him somewhat of a role model to the others. Like in the other areas, Parax sells items to Link, though his only products in the mine consist of mysterious shells and bombs.

His fourth location is in Royal Valley, where he can be found in one of the dead trees in the southwest section of the region. The building has a rather eerie feel to it, having been decorated with various Minish-sized skulls, dimly-lit candles, and replicas of various monsters in the game. He also has what seems to be a copy of the Black Knight's armor, albeit Minish-sized due to the form Parax takes at this point. When Link first speaks to him in his home after completing one of the models, he apparently confronts him about them; Parax quickly claims that his cousin sent the body parts to him. Several cauldrons of different potion types can be found on the left side of the room; if all the replicas have been built, Parax will allow Link one free sample of each potion per day, or twenty-four minutes straight of playing the game.

Even after he is encountered in the other areas, Parax will continue to appear in all four locations, likely trying to keep up his charade. How he manages to get to these places before Link is unknown.

Ocarina of Time
Parax's location alternates with the time of day in Ocarina of Time. During the day in Link's childhood, he can be found in Castle Town, where he disguises himself with an eerie red and black skull mask. He wanders around the place to sell his goods to the citizens; these items consist of bombs, Deku Nuts, and red potions. At night, he appears in a wood hut, which can be found by going into the Lost Woods, heading over to the sector north of the circular pool, and entering the area opposite of the sector with the Gold Skulltula. Here, he sells Bombchu, red, green, and blue potions, Deku Sticks, and fairies. Like in The Minish Cap, Parax requests the pieces of Deku Babas, Bari, Dodongos, and Skulltulas, again stating that he needs them for his collection; as with the previous game, he will reward Link with Rupees and Heart Pieces in exchange for the parts. His home retains its eerie appearance, though with several additions; a set of black and gold Iron Knuckle armor can be found on display, as well as an aquarium containing Octoroks. Differently colored Poe Souls light the building up as they drift around the area; if they are Z-targeted, Parax will claim that they feel at home and thus remain with him. Two crystal weapons&mdash;one blue, one red&mdash;are mounted on the wall behind Parax; he remarks that out of everything else in his home, they are his most prized possessions. A doorway located in between the aquarium and Iron Knuckle armor leads into another room. In here are several pedestals for the monster replicas; the ones from The Minish Cap can be found here.

In the future, Parax remains in his home at night as usual, though arrows are now products that can be bought from him for low prices. He appears to be undaunted by the Lost Woods being overrun by monsters, stating that he took down several Moblins personally in order to frighten the rest into leaving him alone. In the day, he visits Kakariko Village to sell his merchandise due to Castle Town being overrun and abandoned. He is seemingly aware of Link's quest at this point, offering him advice on the various temples and somehow carrying memories of the hero's adult accomplishments into the past. If he is visited after Zelda is kidnapped by Ganondorf, Parax will give Link access to his "Grand Potion"&mdash;a bright magenta-colored mixture that doubles his attack damage and gives him unlimited magic power until he is hit. Like the rest of the characters, Parax is seen celebrating Ganondorf's defeat and Hyrule's liberation in Hyrule Field.

Majora's Mask
In Majora's Mask, Parax returns to a very minor role; his home looks the exact same as in Ocarina of Time, albeit appearing in the top left sector of the Woods of Mystery. The empty pedestals that originally couldn't be filled in the previous game now have labels: Gibdo, Stalchild, Insect of Odolwa, Mad Scrub, Dinolfos, Garo, and Takkuri. His shop also adapts to the land of Termina, now buying and selling gold dust, Chateau Romani, and powder kegs. In addition, he relays rumors to Link, indirectly giving him hints on completing his goals. He appears to recognize Link and references the boy's accomplishments in both his childhood and adulthood in Ocarina of Time, suggesting he is the same person as the Parax from the previous game. The building is seemingly unaffected by the Song of Time; when Link reverts to the first day, Parax will retain his memories and the replicas will remain unchanged.

Twilight Princess
Like in The Minish Cap and Majora's Mask, Parax appears to be little more than a mysterious, erratic collector and salesman in Twilight Princess. He once again takes on the life of a Hermit, residing in North Faron Woods; Link can reach him by making his way through the poisonous fog in the area and going up to the northern area of the region while remaining in the middle. From there, Parax's wood hut can be located on the top of a slope. Parax himself stands outside the building's door, where he will greet Link upon being approached. After briefly commenting on Link's great courage and power&mdash;which he admits to sensing&mdash;Parax will unlock the door to his hut and walk behind a counter; a young Kargarok will fly down and perch on his shoulder when he is positioned. When spoken to again, he will seemingly forget having met Link before opening up his shop. The hut is similar to the one from the previous 3D games, containing models of monsters, an aquarium with a Water Toadpoli, floating flames with ghostly expressions&mdash;most likely Poe Souls&mdash;potion cauldrons, and his crystal swords. Something to note about the monster replicas is that he has one of a Shadow Beast; how he acquired this is unknown, considering that the creatures dissipate upon death. In addition, most of the models appear to resemble their forms from previous games, such as his Octorok and Skulltula ones.

Here, he sells all three types of bombs&mdash;though he only updates to each type when Link acquires their respective bags&mdash;potions of all kinds (albeit in cauldrons alongside a pot of lantern oil), arrows, fairies, and even Great Fairy Tears. Like in his previous appearances, Parax requests that Link acquire pieces of various monsters&mdash;specifically, a Baba Serpents, Bulblins, Lizalfos, Helmasaurs, Stalfos, Stalhounds, and even Darknuts. Again, he will reward Link with Rupees or Heart Pieces for each body part or completed model, respectively.

Parax appears to be in league with the Resistance; he is seen conversing with Rusl sometime after Link begins his search for the shards of the Twilight Mirror and Auru near the end. Though he refuses to enlighten Link on what the discussions were about, the hero can speak to each Resistance member following the discussions for trivial information; as it turns out, Parax supplies the Resistance with weaponry for the cause, stating that Ganondorf and Zant's reign over Hyrule has been bad for his business and collecting activities.

The Wind Waker
In The Wind Waker, Parax is first seen on Windfall Island; he retains his appearance from previous games, albeit as a dark-haired, light-skinned human with a dark blue and gold diagonal sash. He wanders around the market of the town, commenting on Zunari's business requiring assistance. He also expresses interest in becoming a trade partner of Zunari's if it shows improvement. If spoken to enough times, Parax will will remark that Link reminds him of previous "trading partners" he's had in the past, and requests that he bring him the body parts of a Bokoblin. Other than that, he cares little for anything else happening on Windfall Island.

Parax can be seen at the Forest Haven when Link first arrives there, but he can only be reached through the use of a Hyoi Pear-controlled seagull. He appears to be observing Link, as his head shifts to look wherever Link is at the time. After Link departs from the Forest Haven, Parax will be gone, having returned to Windfall Island.

When Link returns to Outset Isle, Parax appears yet again to be watching him. He can be found near the top of the island, sitting on one of the rocks in the Miniblin-infested zone. When spoken to, he comments on the whirlpool and stone wall keeping Link from getting to Jabun, stating that it's pointless to try getting through without bombs. Once Link has destroyed the wall and spoken to Jabun, Parax will have vanished.

As soon as Link is able to freely explore the Great Sea, he can find a submarine one block south and three blocks west of the Tower of the Gods. It should be noted that it does not appear on the Submarine Chart. Inside, Parax will be seen roaming the place, admiring his collection of models and exotic objects. He will also be carrying a Treasure Sphere around, looking for a pedestal to put it. If the item is destroyed by Link, Parax will go berserk&mdash;commenting that he just got it&mdash;and demand one thousand Rupees as compensation; failure to comply will result in being attacked by Parax and his pet Kargaroc until he leaves. On the other hand, if Link speaks to him, he will reveal his true form and explain why: he is aware of Link's identity and quest, and hopes to be able to help him in the future. After this, Link can buy various items from Parax, such as arrows, bombs, potions of all sorts, and every kind of spoil. Link can sell these items as well, but Parax will only pay half the price of what his charges&mdash;unless Link receives a discount.

Just like his previous appearances, Parax will request parts of the monsters throughout the Great Sea, including but not limited to ReDeads, Boko Babas, Mothulas, and Magtails. With each completed model, Parax will give Link a slight discount and Rupees or a Piece of Heart; if every model is completed, he will translate Link's Triforce Charts for a little less than Tingle's prices. With each translation, he will wish Link luck on his journey.

Parax can be encountered in the Forsaken Fortress after Link's second visit; he will be on the central platform, examining the place and congratulating Link on his work. When Link unlocks the portal linking the Forsaken Fortress to Ganon's Tower, Parax will be pleased to know that the hero's journey is going well. He will then proceed to reward Link with a Silver Rupee every three days and a single Heart Container. If Link has an empty bottle, Parax will also give him a Grand Potion. Afterwards, he will state that he plans to move into the Forsaken Fortress as soon as he clears the wreckage of Ganondorf's quarters.