Genesta

[TheReturnofDMD]

Has anyone ever been sort of suspicious of Genesta?

What I mean is--Graham just so happens to have a heart attack right when Genesta is in an hour of deep need. She just so happens to actively contact Rosella (rather than the Magic Mirror acting as it usually does, showing someone a passive vision of events occurring afar or in the future) using either perhaps her own mirror or her magic right when Graham is stricken and claims to only have enough magic to bring Rosella to Tamir but that first Rosella will have to help Genesta before she can be sent back.

Her timing and ''hacking'' of the Mirror, combined with her knowledge of Graham's sudden ill health (without being told) and her seeming to be spying on Rosella or at least watching the events (as Rosella is in despair over Graham's seemingly impending death and wishing she could do something), Genesta out of nowhere says "Do you really mean that?" from the Magic Mirror, meaning she's been viewing or listening in on the situation taking place in the Throne Room of Daventry for an indeterminate amount of time--Just how long has she been watching and why did she happen to ''tune in'' to view Daventry's Magic Mirror at that exact point in time?

(As an aside, it makes the Mirror kind of dangerous--if magical figures can manipulate the Mirror to view and/or hear events in Castle Daventry at least, it could easily be a way for an evil magician to use the sight of Mirror to his/her benefit--We know from the source materials that during the 17 years of Alexanders enslavement the Mirror was clouded and it only lifted when he returned home--We still don't know who clouded it or why)

It just seems sort of suspect to me, like perhaps Genesta was truly going to die herself and caused Graham's ill health to get a member of the Daventry family (already probably famous throughout the magical world for basically being heroes) to aid her, or she simply capitalized on a horrible situation for mutual benefit.

Either way, even if she's a ''good'' character, her way of doing things seems kind of suspect--For example not giving Rosella the specifics of how she needed to help her until Rosella agreed to come to Tamir.

Anyone agree that either Genesta herself, or her timing, or her actions, or both, seem kind of suspect

[Rosella]

Wow. I never noticed it before, but when you put it that way... I feel manipulated. It would almost be permissable if it weren't for the fact that she must've been watching for a while to chime in when she did... Huh.

[Enchantermon]

The mirror has demonstrated the ability to sense whenever the kingdom is in trouble, as it grew dark when Alexander was kidnapped. Perhaps upon sensing Graham's collapse, it somehow used its magic to signal Genesta, knowing that her land held a cure for him. Perhaps she has a mirror of her own that works as a sort of counterpart, or maybe it could reach out to her because she is a powerful fairy (or was, at the time).

[TheReturnofDMD]

Off topic, but I've often thought that a sequel should include or at least expand upon the background or usage of the three treasures. They serve as the center of the plot in 1, and The Mirror helps to move the plot into action in 2, 4 and 6, but other than that--You never see the Shield, for example, mentioned or used after KQ1, or the chest for that matter.

Wouldn't the combination of these three treasures--The Shield, which makes the bearer and any army he commands invincible, the Magic Mirror which can foretell the future and which is used to foretell times of harvest and drought and see things afar, along with the Chest, which is filled with an endless supply of gold, make Daventry the most powerful nation on ''Earth'' (or whatever world you prefer to call the world of Daventry)?

[Enchantermon]

Perhaps the Mirror can only be used to foretell things that are asked of it with good intentions. For example, I don't think it would foretell the outcomes of battles if Graham just wanted to go around conquering everything for the fun of it. But if an army was beginning to challenge Daventry to war, the Mirror could be used to show Graham how to best defend his people. The Shield may work the same way; it only protects those with a good will. It certainly doesn't protect the leprechaun king or his people if you choose to use the clover to deal with them instead of the fiddle. So again, Graham couldn't go out conquering nations with it because it would refuse to work under self-serving circumstances.
As for the chest, well, an endless supply of money does tend to have a detrimental effect on the economy should it be managed badly. There would have to be strict limitations put on the use of the chest (only dipping into it on certain occasions and for certain needs, etc).
And anyway, perhaps Daventry is the most powerful kingdom in the land. All the more reason it needs to be ruled by a fair and just King and Queen.

[Baggins]

The Mirror is not something that just works on whim. It always seems to activate at the hour of a person's greatest need, on its own. Its not something you go up to and start consulting, just because you want to know things. Its not like the Snow White's Witch's mirror. There is none of that "Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall" phrases for using it.

It seems to be activated most of the time by a person's internal emotions. Graham's lonelyness, Rosella's grief, Alexander's melancholy.

In MOE it just activated as a warning, not because of emotions.  But it was all too late. It later activated for Connor seemingly because of his need and vow to save King Graham and Daventry.

As for who clouded the Magic Mirror, I think it was implied to be the work of Manannan, but I have no way to check that.

It's also said that he or Mordack couldn't have been the ones behind the Three-headed dragon. I don't know if the An Encyclopedia of Daventry added anything to it, maybe implynig that the dragon was sent by their Sister, Hagatha or not. But it would kinda make sense, as revenge for losing Valanice, in the same way Manannan is said to have kidnapped Alexander to avenge his sister.

any army he commands invincible, the Magic Mirror

Well, the shield its one of those mcguffins/deus ex machina, that the series simply ignores later on, as is the chest.

Think about it, with the Shield of Achille, the dragon should never have been any trouble to Daventry. If the army is invincible they shouldn't have had trouble defeating it... It should have made it impossible for Mordack to "assault' the castle in the way he did, etc. Granted it didn't save Achilles, he still died in battle, through his injured foot (this is confirmed in the KQC, Second Edition). So its not perfect defense, even against non-magical armies.

Then there is the chest, something like that should make gold almost worthless in Daventry... It would cause inflation... Could that be that Copper is worth more in Daventry, and that's why Alexander had taken a chest of copper with him to the Land of the Green Isles? The chest is never mentioned after KQ1, except in summaries of KQ1, and maybe an offhand reference in KQ5 novel in the Companion (and of course in the An Encyclopedia of Daventry).

In See No Weevil, they don't mention the chest, but Rosella goes about spending gold willy nilly, for every little thing, in some cases hiring people that the castle already has its own staff for. The Seneschel Oswald warns and is worried that she'll "bankrupt" the kingdom. Most peculiar, .

We know that the Magic Mirror warns the kings of daventry so they could avoid droughts far in advance.

[I_am_so_nifty]

It's possible that Genesta also had a mirror-like object. If Rosella and Genesta both had one, since they were in such great need, they probably just "tuned them in to the same frequency", if you want to think of them sort of like walkie-talkies. Genesta is a very powerful fairy, so perhaps she just knew what was going on right away just by seeing Rosella's emotions.

Though, I will admit that I do have a bit of suspicion for her now. Still, she ended up sending Edgar back to his parents somehow and sent Rosella back home, so we know she can be trusted, even if her original intentions can be viewed as somewhat selfish.

[Baggins]

Well, considering that had Genesta died, and Lolotte probably would have used the power to destroy and conquer the world. It's probably a good thing "Genesta" was "selfish".

In anycase, I wonder what the King's Quest Companion had to say about her motivation? All I can think of off the top of my head that it discussed about her was that she was the Queen of the Fairy of the world of Daventry (in much way that Titania was the Queen of the Fairy in the world of Eldritch/Etheria).

[liggy002]

The Mirror to me seems to be akin to an online dating service.  It connected Graham, Rosella, and Alexander to their future lovers- although Alex initially met Casimma before but it still connected them.  Only thing was Graham and Alex got to view the equivalent of their "online pictures" while it was a blind and unexpected situation with Rosella.

The mirror is like www.plentyofprinceandprincesses.com

[MangoMercury]

She can't be all good - as I said in a previous post, she's perfectly happy to let you heal her and then to send you home without the fruit to save Graham.  Surely if you saved her, she would be able to magic the fruit to you before she sends you home?

[I_am_so_nifty]

But where would the fun in that be, Mango? You wouldn't get to replay it to fix your mistake.

Though, since someone seems to have put a cobra to guard the fruit, it is possible that somebody has also protected it with magic that disables anyone to obtain it through magical means.

[Baggins]

The the magic of the swamp, and the cobra, and the lost city of tanalore blocks her magic She does kinda say at some point its something only Rosella can do for herself :p...

http://kingsquest.wikia.com/wiki/tanalore

[TheReturnofDMD]

The the magic of the swamp, and the cobra, and the lost city of tanalore blocks her magic She does kinda say at some point its something only Rosella can do for herself :p...

http://kingsquest.wikia.com/wiki/tanalore

Tanalore, the city, would be an interesting location to use in a fan fic. It sounds like a magical city of some sort, ''touching on all realities''--A Shangri-La of sorts perhaps. An immortal city, of immortal beings--or perhaps of Wizards or Magic folk in general--The realm of the Gods, maybe.

Perhaps it's a land lost not totally but only to mortal eyes or un-magical eyes or hidden--Like the Druids' Isle of the Myst--By some sort of magic or mystical law of nature.

[Storm]

It's possible that Genesta also had a mirror-like object. If Rosella and Genesta both had one, since they were in such great need, they probably just "tuned them in to the same frequency", if you want to think of them sort of like walkie-talkies. Genesta is a very powerful fairy, so perhaps she just knew what was going on right away just by seeing Rosella's emotions.

Though, I will admit that I do have a bit of suspicion for her now. Still, she ended up sending Edgar back to his parents somehow and sent Rosella back home, so we know she can be trusted, even if her original intentions can be viewed as somewhat selfish.

Genesta obviously either had some sort of a remote viewing device (mirror, crystal ball etc.) or was herself clairvoyent to some extent, otherwise how did she know about Edgar helping Rosella in the end of KQ4?

[crayauchtin]

Tanalore, the city, would be an interesting location to use in a fan fic. It sounds like a magical city of some sort, ''touching on all realities''--A Shangri-La of sorts perhaps. An immortal city, of immortal beings--or perhaps of Wizards or Magic folk in general--The realm of the Gods, maybe.

Perhaps it's a land lost not totally but only to mortal eyes or un-magical eyes or hidden--Like the Druids' Isle of the Myst--By some sort of magic or mystical law of nature.

Ohmigosh!
What a fantastic idea.
I've got thoughts brewing in my head.

Ugh, it is such a shame Nifty and I seem to be the only two really seriously interested in the King's Quest RP!