Hagatha

Dame Hagatha is the witch who resided in Kolyma and kidnapped Valanice and imprisoned her in the Crystal Tower, due to jealousy. She is the sister of Mordack and Manannan. She is said to be the most powerful and evil of witches, and has a taste for human flesh. The skulls of her victims decorate the outside and inside of her cave. She is also known simply as Hag.

Background
Hagatha is an old and evil witch, with poor eyesight, who lived in the kingdom of Kolyma, known for her cannibalism, and has killed many unfortunate travelers who have fallen into her clutches (placing their skulls on stakes outside of her cave, or scattered about inside). Those she grabs she throws into her caulron to make her brew, a broth of bones and human flesh, she loves to have for dinner. :

She is also well known for her vanity. She is a vain hag who was jealous of beauty of the maiden Valanice, the daughter of the prince of Kolyma, Prince Cedric and the miller's daughter Coignice. The jealous crone whisked Valanice away from her parents and servants from her castle in eastern Kolyma. She took Valanice to an enchanted land, and imprisoned her in a Crystal Tower guarded by a ferocious wild beast.

Years later, after Graham journeyed to Kolyma in search of Valanice, he discovered that Hagatha, was not only Valanice captor, but that she had also stolen the shop owner Milvia's magical Nightingale, and also imprisoned the golden lion.

Hagatha was strong and powerful witch, he had no way to defeat her, and had to avoid her.

He managed to enter into Hagatha's very lair, to rescue the magical nightingale from under Hagatha's wicked nose. Some claim she was not inside the cave when he entered, but was waiting outside when he exited with the covered nightingale. He was nearly caught by the hag, but only the magic spell from a fairy protected him.

Graham later met the antique dealer, and who sent him to retrieve her precious nightengale. He had already rescued the bird, and returned it to her.

Graham ultimately made it to the quartz tower on the Enchanted Island where Valanice was being kept, and rescued her from Hagatha. Surprisingly, Hagatha later made an appearance at Graham and Valanice wedding at the Monastery of the Blessed Wilbury in Kolyma, but she continued to hold a grudge towards the king.

Graham's rescue of Valanice set off a series of events that have shaped the destiny of Daventry. Later, Hagatha's brother, Manannan, kidnapped Graham and Valanice's son in revenge for Graham's deed against Hagatha. Dame Hagatha disappeared from Kolyma soon after the incident. Mordack's kidnap of Castle Daventry and everyone in it was a direct, if unforseen, consequence of Alexander's triumph over Manannan.

Derek believes that Hagatha's evil family is the cosmic balance to Graham's. Nothing had been heard of either Hagatha or Mananann since Graham destroyed their brother Mordack. He thinks that is a bad sign.

Behind the scenes
The fact that Hagatha is the villain and the kidnapper of Valanice only appears in the manual (but not in the game). There is no mention of her having had kidnapped Valanice anywhere in the game, much like the gingerbread witch in KQ1, she is treated as a generic fairy tale witch, and is an obstacle in the game, that must be ignored or bypassed in some way. She is however named several times in the game (unlike the wicked witch in KQ1, who is referred to simply as "a witch"). She brought into the plot by the "little old lady" (Milvia) who requests Graham to retrieve her stolen nightingale from Hagatha. Infact there is really only one or two offhand references in KQ2 that even refer to Valanice's kidnapping (but make no specific reference to who kidnapped her).

In the official King's Quest Collection trivia program, and King's Quest Companion, she is said to be sister of Mordack and Manannan. In King's Quest Companion this detail was first mentioned in the King's Quest Companion, First Edition in the An Encyclopedia of Daventry (in the articles for Hagatha and Manannan). However, at the time it only connected Mannanan and Hagatha together as brother and sister. The articles were expanded to include Mordack in the 2nd Edition, and it is also referenced within the novelization of KQV. The novelization and article for Mordack went on to suggest that Hagatha's family represent an evil force that is fated to battle the force of good represented by the Royal Family of Daventry.

However, the fact that they are siblings is not brought up in any of the manuals or the main King's Quest games.

Peter Spear and other King's Quest designers established it in the companion (with Roberta's blessing) and later in the King's Questions. Apparently Roberta at a much later time did not remember the idea (even though she apparently assisted Peter Spear and gave her go ahead for the 2nd Edition of the Companion);

"'I asked Roberta [...], and sorry to admit that she said she didn't remember the Black Cloak Society. It sounds cool. Perhaps she should have taken it more seriously and featured it in other games. With respect to Hagatha [being related to Manannan and Mordack]: Roberta's answer was, 'Would you like them to be related?' Then she said, 'Nope, Hagatha was her own separate person.'" - Ken Williams at SierraGamers (6-9-2003)

"...one final thing: Hagatha was never part in any discussion of a Black Cloak Society." - Roberta Williams at SierraGamers (6-9-2003)

It is possible that she forgot about it, as similarly Roberta, forgot most of the details of her discussions of the Society of the Black Cloak, and also forgot some of the details of material that was cut from MOE, and had to be reminded by Mark Seibert, see Talkspot Interview (1999).

In PG Wodehouse's "Jeeves and Wooster" books and stories, Bertie Wooster has two meddling aunts named Dahlia and Agatha. It is possible that Dahlia and Hagatha are named after these fictional characters.

Trivia

 * In King's Quest II, if you sneak up to her in her cave and type "kiss Hagatha", you'll get a humorous response: "Smack, hug, whoopie.. yuck, barf, gag." Attempting to kiss her anywhere else the game will state, "What a revolting idea!".
 * If Graham walks through the screen with the entrance to Hagatha's cave several times the Batmobile will appear and drive into the cave.

Hagatha (unofficial)
Hagatha appears in fan fiction including fan games, see Hagatha (unofficial).