The story of King's Quest

Once, in a kingdom called Daventry, there lived a King named Edward. Daventry was a very old kingdom, and it had had its share of kings, both good and bad, over the thousands of years. King Edward was a very good King, but he was also very old, and without children. Disorder ruled the land since the loss of the Three Great Treasures. King Edward feared that disorder might degenerate further once he died. Besides, he knw (as did his people) that, without an heir to the throne, the kingdom would be in dire straits indeed. Thus, King Edward sent for his favourite knight, Sir Graham.
"You are the bravest and most trustworthy of my knights, quick of wit and stout of heart. I have chosen you to succeed me as king, but first you must prove yourself worthy of my crown. Far beyond the walls of this castle lie shrouded the Three Great Treasures." Thus the story begins and adventure shall rule all! You have been warned.
The first is the Chest of Gold, which, no matter how much is taken from it, is always brimming with golden coins. The second is Merlin's Mirror -- it is a magic mirror, and can show the future. The last is the Shield of Achilles. Legend says that the bearer of this shield would be invincible and his army always victorious. The Chest was stolen by a witch masquerading as a beautiful princess. The Mirror was claimed by a sorcerer who tricked the then King and Queen into giving it to him in return for the promise that the Queen would conceive a child. She did not. Finally, the Shield was taken by a dwarf, who claimed to have a cure for the Queen, who had been stricken by the dreaded plague. The root the dwarf gave the Queen did not work -- she worsened and died and the King vowed revenge on the dwarf. Unfortunately, it was too late to save the Shield -- the dwarf took it underground.
"This kingdom will not be restored to its former glory and prosperity until these Great Treasures are returned to their rightful hearth. Succeed in this, my request, and the crown shall become yours upon my death. Fail, and our once beautiful kingdom will fall into the hands of evil forces who will use the powerful magic of the Three Great Treasures against us." Thus Sir Graham ventured where most humankind dared not tread, and returned home victorious with the cherished Treasures of Daventry -- and as was promised, he was proclaimed King of Daventry upon Edward's death shortly thereafter. Daventry prospered under his rule, and he was loved by his people.
Now Graham ruled over the land, with the aid of the Mirror that foretold the future, the bottomless Treasure Chest and the invincible Shield. The people of Daventry prospered under the reign of the kindly monarch. Just one year after returning from his victorious quest, King Graham arose and looked into the Magic Mirror as he was wont to do daily. Much to his astonishment, he beheld the face of Edward. King Edward spoke. "Graham, your kingdom is strong now, thanks to the recovery of the three treasures and to your wise leadership. But it will soon grow weak again, if you do not provide an heir to the throne. Marry, my son, and give your people a prince that will make their future secure."
The vision faded. King Graham pondered how he might find a bride fit to reign over Daventry. He consulted with Gervain, his wise prime minister.
"She must be good, and kind, so that she will love my people and they will love her," said Graham. "She must have the wisdom to counsel me in my daily problems, and a loving heart to bring me comfort. I wish my queen to glow with an inner beauty of spirit as well as beauty of face and form." Gervain suggested that Graham host a celebration, and invite all the maidens of marriageable age from his whole kingdom. He could then observe and converse with the likely candidates and see if any one of them fit his idea of a queen. The invitations were sent out, and the whole kingdom turned out for the celebration. From every corner of Daventry the maidens came. Short and tall, slender and plump, fair and dark, pretty and plain. There were maidens from all stations in life, from dukes' and earls' daughters to the village goose girl and the scullery maid from the castle kitchens. They all had but one thing in common: they greatly admired the handsome King, and were eager to catch his eye. Word had spread that the King was looking for a bride, and they were all thrilled at the prospect of marrying the charming Graham.
For two days the celebrations wore on, and though he tried to be cheerful, Graham gradually became somber. None of the maidens he had met quickened his pulse. One maid squinted, another tripped over everything in sight. Another was too coy, and the one after her giggled constantly. They all had some fault, however small. It was with great relief that Graham saw his guests ride away at the end of the celebration. He retired to his room to reflect gloomily.
"My kingdom is home to hundreds of lovely maidens," he mourned, "Why is there not one among them who touches my heart and my dreams?" As he asked the question, King Graham was standing near the Magic Mirror. He glanced toward it, and noticed that the glass had grown inexplicably cloudy. The mist cleared. All at once, King Graham beheld the most beautiful maiden he had ever seen. She had hair of glowing auburn, and eyes of midnight blue. Her skin was the colour of rich cream, but alas, no roses bloomed in her cheeks and the corners of her pretty mouth drooped in sorrow. She was standing at a window, motionless except for the stray breeze that stirred her hair. A tear fell from one eye, and sparkled on her cheek like a diamond on velvet. She put up one hand to brush it away, and Graham was struck by the grace of her movement. The King's heart was suddenly enveloped in a strange fever. He knew that this was the maiden for whom he longed -- this was the woman who must be his queen. He wanted to find her and bring a smile to her lovely face. He wanted to take her in his arms and protect her from trouble forevermore. Eagerly he consulted the Magic Mirror.
"Oh, Mirror wise," said Graham. "I have vowed to make this maiden my bride. Where may I find her?" The Mirror clouded again, and a voice was heard.
"This is the maiden Valanice. She is from the kingdom of Kolyma, and is known for her goodness no less than her beauty. The jealous crone Hagatha whisked Valanice away to an enchanted land, and imprisoned her in a quartz tower guarded by a ferocious wild beast."
"I must rescue her or die in the attempt," declared King Graham. "How may I find this enchanted land?"
"You must travel to the kingdom of Kolyma," said the Mirror. "There you may search for the keys which unlock the three doors to the enchanted land ... " The voice faded and the Mirror cleared. Graham stared at his own reflection. Vainly did he call for its return, to give him more clues to the whereabouts of the magic keys. He then shouldered his provisions and set out on his quest of love. Eventually, he did rescue the lovely Valanice.
King Graham married the beautiful girl he had rescued, and two years later, the young Queen Valanice gave birth to twins, a girl and a boy. Alexander bore a striking resemblance to his father, and likewise Rosella to her mother. The family lived a very happy and peaceful life ... at least for a while. From deep within the forests came rumblings of a terrible beast who was ravaging a bloody trail towards Daventry. Sightings of dragons had been rare in these tranquil times, and never before in the kingdom of Daventry had anyone witnessed such a beast as the terrible three-headed dragon. As the years crept by, the notoriety of the beast grew as great as the destruction is wrought. Soon the whole population of Daventry tremored with the news of the dragon's approach, and each homestead dwelt in terror. Did anyone have the courage to stand up to such a beast and free Daventry from it?
Meanwhile, in the land of Llewdor, far away, lived the malevolent wizard Manannan. Manannan kept a watchful eye upon the kingdoms of the world. With a sardonic grin, he watched as the three-headed dragon rampaged its way towards Daventry. Manannan's hatred of mankind had intensified with his great age, and his coal-black eyes burned a strange reflection upon the glass of the crystal as he mirthfully watched another human swallowed whole by the vicious beast. Preferring his solitude, the powerful Manannan only allowed himself to be observed by one servant-boy, who maintained his house and performed all of his menial chores. Of course, Manannan could have conjured up spirits to do his dirty work, but he much preferred to see the strain and toil of a young mortal suffering under his thrall. So Manannan apprenticed a very young boy to do his bidding. He took the boy when he was only a year or so old, so that he would have no memories to tug at him in the years to come. Unfortunately for Manannan, boys grow up and become adventurous. As his young slave grew in stature and in strength, Manannan was irritated to find him poking around in areas of the house where he didn't belong. Or he would climb down the narrow path leading to Manannan's mountaintop retreat to explore the surrounding countryside. Even punishment did not stop him for long. One day, when his slave was 18 years of age, the wizard found him practicing magic spells. This was the last straw!
"YOU!" Manannan screamed. "You have read my books of spells and plundered my supplies of powders and potions. You have even ventured into Llewdor again, against my expressed command, for nowhere else could you have gathered some of these ingredients! You think you will win your freedom with these tricks?" the wizard sneered. "You shall see your mistake! You have earned only your own demise!" And with that, Manannan raised his hands menacingly. Suddenly the earth began to shake and his slave was no more. Only a small pile of ashes remained where he had stood.
"Next time, I won't make the same mistake." Manannan snarled. "I'll never let any of my slaves reach manhood. I'll have no more accidents."
And so the years passed. Manannan went out and found another small boy to be his slave. He stole him from a country some distance from Llewdor, to direct suspicion away from himself. Manannan was more careful with this child, and watched him closely. The wizard punished the boy severely when he caught him away from the house. And he made sure the boy didn't get his hands on even any ordinary items that might be transformed into magic charms or potions. On the whole, Manannan didn't have much trouble with him, but still, on the lad's 18th birthday, the wizard zapped him out of existence.
"It's a nuisance, having to train a slave all over again," he mumbled complainingly. "But it's better than having trouble like last time." And so he went on, every 17 years kidnapping a small boy from his loving parents, then slaying him on the 18th anniversary of his birth. (Occasionally the cycle was shortened when he unfortunately chose a precocious child that learned too much before his 18th year.) Most would call it depravity, but it was fear that fuelled Manannan's hatred of humanity, a fear instilled by a vision from his prophetic crystal ball. For within its walls of quartz had Manannan seen his own hideous destruction at the hands of a conquering hero. The last child Manannan had chosen had been from the land of Daventry, far away. He gave the lad the name Gwydion.
Time has wrought many changes, and with them much sorrow. The kingdom of Daventry was ravaged by the deplorable dragon, and the young Princess Rosella was abducted. The entire kingdom was overcome by the brutal onslaught of the beast, and though forewarned, found themselves helpless to defend against its supernatural strength. Much weeping and wailing was heard throughout the land. Even with its power of prophecy, the Magic Mirror could provide no answers; not even a clue, for some bearer of dark magic had cast a cloud of darkness upon its face. It had been clouded ever since the night of the young Prince Alexander's disappearance from his cradle. Unfortunately for Manannan, so far away, Gwydion was a smart lad. He collected spell ingredients while the wizard was away, and hid them under his bed, to keep them away from Manannan's sharp eyes. He'd also learned, through a meeting with an oracle, that he was indeed Prince Alexander of Daventry, stolen from his cradle some years ago. His own sister, Princess Rosella, was the terrible dragon's latest sacrifice and nobody it seemed could rescue her. Gwydion escaped the wizard by turning him into a cat and set sail with a bunch of pirates (for a price, of course) for Daventry, where he rescued Princess Rosella and returned with her to the castle. Thus the royal family was reunited and hope was restored to the kingdom once again. The Magic Mirror now cleared and shone with renewed brilliance. Nothing could disturb the peace Daventry now found herself in.
Shortly after the rescue of Princess Rosella and the return of Prince Alexander, old King Graham decided it was time to pass his adventurer's cap with the red feather on to younger blood. Gathering his wife and two children into the throne room of the castle, the King offered a grateful smile upwards, for each member of his family had given him great pride. Gazing down at his children, he couldn't help but see the glint of spirited valour in their eyes. Knowing that the future of his kingdom would rest soundly in the hands of its future heir, he slowly lifted his hands to display the famous adventurer's cap. He flung it towards Rosella and Alexander, while Queen Valanice looked proudly on. The joy was short-lived, however, as Graham suddenly experienced a terrible pain in his chest. All the members of his family rushed to his aid, the adventurer's cap lying unclaimed on the floor ... forgotten. After helping Graham to bed, his family could do nothing but watch as he lay there weakly, Father Death hovering near. Grief overwhelming her, Princess Rosella ran from the room. As she sat on her father's throne wishing she could help him, a small voice from the Magic Mirror called to her. It told her of a remarkable tree, that took 100 years to bear just a single fruit. This fruit would save her father. It grew in the land of Tamir, and the fairy in the mirror, whose name was Genesta, offered to bring Rosella to Tamir if she would agree to help her. Rosella immediately agreed and was transported to Tamir, where she was met by Genesta. Genesta told Rosella where she could find the fruit. However, before Rosella could be sent home, she would have to do something for Genesta. Her magic talisman had been stolen by the evil fairy Lolotte, and Genesta would die if she didn't get it back. Furthermore, without the talisman, Rosella could not be sent home again. Bravely, Rosella agreed to help.
Indeed, Rosella *did* help. Not only did she find the magic fruit that would save her father, she saved Tamir from the persecution of Lolotte, returned Genesta's talisman to her (and found her golden egg-laying hen) and stopped the evils of Pandora's Box from ever being released into the world. She also met Edgar, an ugly little man, whom Lolotte said was her son. Edgar fell in love with Rosella, and a wedding was arranged for them, but Rosella stopped Lolotte before it could go ahead. Before Rosella was sent home, Genesta rewarded Edgar's bravery by turning him back into the handsome young man he had been before. He again asked Rosella to marry him, but she refused, saying that she had to get home before it was too late. She did say, however, that she hoped to see him again. With that, Rosella was sent home, where she gave the magic fruit to her father. At once, he sat up in bed, full of life. Smiling, Rosella placed the adventurer's cap back on its rightful owner's head.
One beautiful spring day, King Graham set out for a walk in the woods. Birds were singing in the trees. It seemed an auspicious sign. As Graham was contemplating his good fortune, a sharp wind blew into the woods from the east, whirling up sticks and leaves into his path and startling the birds into silence. The air suddenly grew colder. It seemed an unexpected storm was approaching. Graham began to walk back towards the castle, his joyful mood broken by a dark foreboding. When he reached the top of the gentle rise overlooking his home, he was horrified to see empty space where the royal castle of Daventry had stood just minutes before. Cold fear gripped his heart. Where was his family? What had happened to them?
"Whoo-hoo ... whoo-hoo." An owl hooted behind him, but Graham scarcely heard it over the pounding of his heart.
"I can tell you what happened," came a voice behind him, and Graham spun around to confront a large owl in a blue vest and spectacles. "I know what happened to your castle. I saw it all." said the owl. It seemed the evil wizard Mordack had taken the castle in revenge for having his brother, Manannan, turned into a cat some time back. The spell could only be undone by the doer -- Prince Alexander.
Graham journeyed to the land of Serenia where he met the owl's employer, the good wizard Crispinophur -- or Crispin for short. Crispin gave Graham some magic white snake to help him understand the language of the animals, and his old wand. Along with the reluctant owl, whose name was Cedric, Graham started out on his journey. He banished a witch from the woods, returned a princess to her true form, dispelled a yeti from Queen Icebella's crystal caves and put out Mordack's evil flame, rescuing the young Princess Cassima of the Land of the Green Isles along the way, who was being held captive by Mordack for refusing to marry him. Having charmed Prince Alexander, who asked permission to travel to the Land of the Green Isles to see her, Cassima was sent home. The royal castle of Daventry was restored to its rightful place, and life went on as it had for many a year.
Many months after the ordeal in Mordack's castle, Prince Alexander couldn't stop thinking about the beautiful girl he'd seen there. Nobody he'd asked had even heard of the Land of the Green Isles, so there was no way, it seemed, for him to get there. His head buried in his hands, Alexander sat in the throne room. All of a sudden, he heard a voice from the Magic Mirror calling his name -- it was Cassima! Alexander put a hand to the glass. It clouded for a moment, then cleared to show Princess Cassima standing at a window calling his name and wondering why he didn't come. Now Alexander knew where to find her! He'd seen the night sky outside her window, and he could navigate by the stars. He gathered his men together and they set sail. Unfortunately for Alexander and his crew, a violent storm struck and their ship was wrecked on a beach. Taking his royal insignia ring from the sand, as it was the only proof of his identity he had now, all his papers having been lost in the shipwreck, Alexander sought an audience at the castle on the island. He learned that he was on the Isle of the Crown, part of the Land of the Green Isles themselves. He was granted an audience with Vizier Alhazred, adviser to King Caliphim and Queen Allaria, whom Alexander was informed had become ill and died while Cassima was away. As befitted a princess, Cassima was sequestered in mourning for them. Worse, Alexander was also informed that she was to marry the vizier himself, as her father had wished.
Although Alhazred advised against it, Alexander decided to explore the land and learned that it was in a dark time. The vizier had siezed power upon the King and Queen's death. It seemed too that something had been stolen from each of the islands making up the land and the owners of these treasures blamed one of the other islands. After making the red and white queens of the Isle of Wonder happy with a new lump of coal, rescuing Lord Azure and Lady Aeriel's (of the Isle of the Sacred Mountain) daughter, Lady Celeste, from the terrible Minotaur, impressing the Druids of the Isle of Mists with a thunderstorm and finding a beauty for the Beast on the Isle of the Beast, Alexander sought passage to the Realm of the Dead. There he met the tortured souls of King Caliphim and Queen Allaria themselves. He learned that they were, in fact, murdered by Alhazred, who was once their trusted vizier. Alexander challenged the Lord of the Dead for Caliphim and Allaria and the three of them were set free. Infiltrating the castle at last, Alexander eavesdropped on a number of conversations, in the process learning a password, slipping a dagger to Princess Cassima herself and learning of the vizier's true plans. Alexander defeated Alhazred and returned the lost treasures of the islands -- the singing stone to the Isle of Wonder, the sacred golden fleece to the Isle of the Sacred Mountain, the coat of arms to the Isle of the Beast and the sacred miniature oak to the Isle of Mists. Cassima immediately accepted Alexander's marriage proposal and the kingdom was passed down to the young couple. As far as I know, the two still rule the land happily together.
Now Princess Rosella is nearly 20 years old, and according to Queen Valanice, it's high time she was married. Rosella's not ready, however, and while listening to her mother talk about likely suitors, Rosella sees a beautiful castle in the pond she's kneeling by. She jumps in to see and as soon as Valanice notices her daughter is gone, she jumps in after her ... and is just in time to see Rosella's wrist grabbed by a hairy hand before she disappears.
Rosella finds herself in the Vulcanix underground ... and she looks just like the funny creature that brought her here! A troll! What's worse, she's engaged to be married to King Otar Fenris III, ruler of the trolls! Elsewhere, Valanice finds herself in a most unfriendly desert. As Rosella searches for Etheria, land in the clouds, Valanice searches for her lost daughter. They both learn the fate in store for the realm of Eldridge -- the evil enchantress Malicia wants to destroy it all with the volcano she's cooking up.
After getting herself turned back into a human with the help of Mathilde, Rosella must go up above to the dangerous land of Ooga-Booga to rescue the *real* King Otar. Meanwhile, Valanice puts the moon back in the sky in the funny town of Falderal, saves Lady Ceres, thaws out Lady Maab, returns a headless horseman's head and travels to Etheria, where she meets Lord Oberon and Lady Titania.
Rosella finds herself imprisoned in the volcano, but escapes and helps King Otar defeat Malicia and stop the volcano from erupting. Rosella and Valanice are finally reunited with the appearance of a very special guest!
With Alexander happily ruling the Land of the Green Isles with Cassima, and Rosella spending a lot of time with Edgar, King Graham and Queen Valanice once again focus on ruling Daventry. One morning, a sudden wind whips through the land and something comes hurtling out of the sky. An unlikely hero, Connor, picks it up. It appears to be a piece of mask. Looking up, Connor sees with dismay that the one most dear to him, Sarah, has been turned into a statue. He wanders the roads of Daventry and sees that all in Daventry have suffered the same fate as Sarah. Connor immediately seeks answers and finds out that what he holds is a piece of the Mask of Eternity, shattered by one of its trusted Archons.
With the aid of his dagger and a magic map, Connor must travel through many strange lands to find the rest of the Mask before it's too late! First he had to find a portal through to the Dimension of Death from Daventry, restore peace to the Dimension of Death itself, defeat the terrible witch that has turned the water of the Swamp to poison, find his way out of the Underground Realm of the Gnomes, face the fearsome basilisk in the Barren Region and survive in the frigid temperatures of the Frozen Reaches, collecting pieces of the Mask along the way. Finally, he faced Lucreto in the Realm of the Sun and put the shattered Mask back together, restoring the peace to Daventry.
NOTE: Most of the information on this page was taken from various Sierra and King's Quest books and my own experiences playing the games. I just put it all together. All the information belongs to Sierra and is being used for non-profit purposes only. Now you may click on one of the buttons below and continue your journey -- one takes you back to the main King's Quest page, and the other to the site's main page. Come back again soon! :)