King's Quest VII: The Princeless Bride - The Realm of Eldritch in King's Quest VII

The Realm of Eldritch in King's Quest VII

Eldritch is the land explored in KQVII. Eldritch consists of the Desert, the Vulcanix Underground, Ooga Booga Land, the Bountiful Woods, the Were-Woods, Etheria and Falderal. The magical Realm of Eldritch includes several peoples and lands. It is a land of magic and everyone who resides within knows of the various beings and creatures who occupy the lands. Several of the residents that live in the land of Eldritch are Faeries, Gods and Goddesses. There are also spirits in the land and in the air. All of Eldritch is ruled by Oberon and Titania, the King and Queen of the Faeries.

The Desert

This is the first land that the player, as Valanice, encounters. She is deposited here by the whirlwind/vortex after Rosella is pulled through the mirror into the Vulcanix Underground. A barren, yet beautiful land, the Desert is home to a surprising variety of creatures, including the Jackalope and the Desert Spirit Colin Farwalker. Valanice must also decipher the mythologies of this land and investigate the secrets of the desert temple in order to continue her journey. Valanice can be killed by either being stung by a giant scorpion, getting lost in the desert and dying from exhaustion, drinking salt water while in the endless desert, drowning in the well after taking an object from the offering bowl without giving something first, and getting caught in a sandstorm in the endless desert after drinking fresh water.

The Bountiful Woods

The Bountiful Woods lie between the Desert and Falderal, and they shade off to the Were-Woods in the west. A beautiful and peaceful land, Malicia has placed some of its most important inhabitants—Lady Ceres, queen of the forest, and her husband Attis, lord of the hunt—under a curse and has caused the river to dry up. The Woods lie directly underneath Etheria. Despite its beauty, Valanice and Rosella both face dangers here; they can sink into the mud if they try to walk through it, or be carried away and drown in the river after it is refilled. Valanice can also be bitten by a poisonous spider while trying to rescue a hummingbird caught in the spider's web.

The Were-Woods

The Were-Woods are positioned due west of the Bountiful Woods, which they connect to Ooga Booga Land. This area is densely packed and is the home of were-beasts, including a violent bear.

Etheria

Floating on the clouds above the realm of Eldritch, Etheria is the colorful and enchanting home of Oberon and Titania, the rulers of Eldritch, the Three Fates, Maab, and the Dreamweaver. This seemingly peaceful place is also home to several deadly monsters. This is the area that is visited exclusively by Valanice. She can be eaten by a nightmare if she attempts to enter the Dreamweaver's cave without a certain item or eaten by a rogue wind spirit if she stands around too long on the mountain.

Falderal & Nonesense Land

Located in Eldritch to the north of the Bountiful Woods, Falderal is a wacky and colorful town where everything is not truly as it seems and many of the physical laws are bent. The town is populated by animal-like creatures such as "mock turtles," mockingbirds (which really hurl insults), and others. The Mayor of town is Archduke Fifi le Yip-Yap III. The town includes a China Shop owned by a bull, Fernando, Ersatz's Faux Shop and the Snake Oil Salesman's cart. The only danger here is the salesman. Upon entering Falderal, one can see a Victorian-styled building, the China Shop, which is run by a formal bull, Fernando (like the cliché "bull in a china shop"). The Faux Shop is also one of Falderal’s prized places. Besides supplying the Town Hall with rubber trees, it is run by an eccentric mock turtle, Ersatz, who specializes in selling the most bizarre and unusual goods. Near the Faux Shop, there is also a small cart that is run by a snake oil salesman who likes to swindle as many people as he can meet. From the mockingbird in the tree to the guard at the door, every animal displays a unique personality. The most noted ones are the hippopotamus lady, Chicken Little, the British badger who guards the town hall, and a beaver who sits by Fifi Le Yip-Yap’s birthday cake. The only danger here is the salesman; if Valanice attempts to take the china bird without taking care of certain business first, he will sprinkle magic dust on her and turn her to stone.

Despite its wackiness, Falderal holds many deep secrets. It is said to hold a magic statuette which has the power to predict the future, and it is rumored that the passageway to the Vulcanix Underground is located somewhere in the town; more specifically, in Yip-Yap's parlor located in the Town Hall.

Vulcanix Underground

The Vulcanix Underground is populated by trolls and ruled by their Troll King. Like Falderal, this place also holds secrets of its own. The player learns that something is amiss with the king, and finds out that he is actually an impostor placed there by Malicia. The characters inhabiting the Vulcanix Underground consist primarily of trolls, including the king's nursemaid, various gossipers, a cook with a French accent, a polite gem maker, a blacksmith who flirts with Rosella, and a large troll that guards a bridge. A crystal dragon resides here as well, and Malicia also makes several appearances. This is the only area of the game exclusively visited by Rosella, and she can meet her doom through several events here. She can be killed after eating three baked beetles and getting poisoned, falling into a deep chasm if she attempts to jump across to the wrong rock, thrown into lava by the bridge troll, falling into lava if she attempts to ride the cart without fixing one of the wheels first, falling into lava after being warped into the volcano, being crushed by the dragon's tail while attempting to remove a scale, or being fatally cursed by Malicia.

Ooga Booga Land

Ooga Booga Land lies directly on top of the Vulcanix Underground; Rosella finds herself here after regaining her human form and climbing out of the Vulcanix Underground, and Valanice makes her way here through the swamp after leaving Falderal. Although all the residents of this land are dead, most of the residents of this town are harmless with the exception of the Boogeyman, who has been instructed by Malicia to capture Rosella (but will also go after Valanice if he encounters her); and Lady Tsepish, who will cause both women to die of fright when approached. The other inhabitants include Dr. Mort Cadaver, the gravedigger, and the mischievous Ghoul Kids, who will attack unwanted visitors but are otherwise harmless. This is probably the most dangerous area in the game. Both characters can die by falling into an empty grave, trying to climb the spider web into the pumpkin house only to get stuck and bitten by a big spider, being caught by the Boogeyman, being scared to death by Lady Tsepish if they disturb her mourning, being scared to death by the Ghoul Kids, being dragged into the ground by the Deadfall bones, or being pulled into a grave by a rogue corpse. There are some character specific deaths though. Rosella can be killed by not grabbing onto the gravedigger's shovel, which he offers her to grab on to, if she takes too long she will fall (it is not shown only implied) and the elevator will be buried along with her, taking too long to escape from the coffin and being impaled (also not shown) by the Deadfall bones, being crushed by Malicia's gargoyle if she turns the Troll King back to normal, being caught by the Boogeyman if she does not put on her black veil to disguise herself, or being pulled underground if she awakens a corpse with the gravedigger's horn. Valanice can be killed by being run over by the Headless Horseman, or being blown up by a lit firecracker if she stands around too long with it. (One of the most prominent and annoying glitches of the game has the firecracker exploding after just 5 seconds, forcing the player to repeatedly revive Valanice in order to get to the crypt).

The eastern edge of Ooga Booga also includes a swamp with carnivorous plants where Malicia lives. There are several dangers lurking here. Rosella and Valanice can be carried off to be eaten by a giant were-bear if they enter the woods without a certain item, zapped into oblivion by Malicia, eaten by the three headed plant if they get too close to it, or eaten by the swamp creature if they enter without either Rosella getting defoliant or Valanice helping Lord Attis. Rosella can also be caught by the Boogeyman here if she tries to leave Malicia's house without disguising herself in the black veil.