The Shield of Achille (aka Shield of Achilles, the Magic Shield, and the Protective Shield) is one of the three treasures of Daventry. It is believed to have once belonged to the legendary hero Achilles. It has protected the Kingdom of Daventry for centuries.
Background[]
One of the three great treasures of Daventry, the shield is titanium set with emeralds, and it's believed whoever carries the shield into battle will always be victorious, as the magic shield fends off all enemies[1]. The shield was named after Achilles, a Greek hero of the Trojan War. Some believed that his shield would bestow Achilles' invulnerability on its bearer, but it was supposed lost after being placed upon the hero's chest as his body burned on its funeral pyre.[2]
In time it fell into the hands of the kings of Daventry. It was traditionally carried in battle by the ruler of Daventry. Legend held that he who bore the Shield was invincible, and his army always victorious. Thus there had been no successful attack on the kingdom of Daventry for over five hundred years. It had been left to King Edward by his father when he died. Sometime later, Edward's Queen fell ill from the Plague brought forth by famine (caused by the loss of the Magic Mirror).[3] King Edward lost the shield when he gave it to a dwarf in return for a root to cure Queen Maylie's final illness. It was all a sham, and the lovely queen died, plunging Edward into his final despair. The Dwarf, left taking the shield with him into a hole.[4] The news of the loss of the Shield spread and Daventry was attacked by armies from other kingdoms and weakened (the attacks were doubly successful as the king had no way to predict the enemy movements without the mirror).
Years later, Graham was able to recover the shield from where it was hidden in the throne room of the King of the Leprechauns[5] deep within in the underground realm of the Leprechauns. Whether they were responsible for the loss of the shield, or the shield found its own way to their possession remains unknown. According to Chronicles of Daventry account of King Graham's adventure in King's Quest Companion the shield protected him from the giant in the clouds by putting up a magical barrier around him. However, other accounts of the adventure claim Graham used the Magic Ring instead, claiming he hadn't found the Shield yet.
The Chronicles of Daventry claim it was the second treasure he recovered (following Merlin's Mirror), but other accounts claim it was the last treasure he found.
Features and traits[]
It is said to protect anyone carrying it from harm and the enchanted power to overthrow any invaders. It is made of titanium with a ring of emeralds around the edges
When it functions, a surge of energy engulfs the wielder and protects them. Presumably this energy extends to whole armies as well. The enemy then may become uninterested in the wielder, and that maybe part of its magic.[6]
It does appear to have a weakness to magical or dragon fire (assuming dragon fire is magical in nature). Although perhaps it is strong against dragon fire as long as no magic is directly involved[7] as its believed that Graham once battled a dragon or two using the shield. It is however would have been no match to the The Sorcerer's Dragon, and apparently didn't protect the kingdom from the Three-headed Dragon (which also had a dark magic user behind it). Graham never bothered to try to use it against that latter dragon it seems, and the shield appears to still exist after that point in time. It seems the shield was no defense against Mordack's shrinking tornado magic, nor was it defense against the dark magical winds of the cataclysm.
See also[]
- Three Great Treasures
- Magic Shield (KQGS)
- TOG universe
- Stolen treasures (KQGS)
Behind the scenes[]
- The Shield of Achilles is the shield that Achilles uses in his fight with Hector, famously described in a passage in Book 18, lines 478–608 of Homer's Iliad. The intricately detailed imagery on the shield has inspired many different interpretations of its significance.
- Achilles was on of the most fierce warriors of Greek mythology, the hero of the Trojan War. When he was to return to action and revenge the death of Patroclus, his mother, Thetis, asked from the gods a new armor for her son. His shield was forged by Hephaestus and was particularly impressive.
- According to the Official Book of King's Quest originally the magic shield could be picked up in any order, but because players who picked it up first complained that it should be able to protect from all dangers it was moved to being the last treasure in the SCI remake(to limit its destruction or theft).[8]. In the King's Quest Companion novel it is the second treasure found, after the Chest of Gold.
- Although the shield is said to be so great and protect the kingdom from attacks, it becomes a McGuffin that is never brought up again in the series (the Mirror obviously is used a lot, and the chest of gold is referenced once in almost each story of in the game novelizations in the Companion). But in the games, the heroes never think to bring the shield with them on their journeys, or bring some of the gold with them. The shield also never seems to defend Daventry from magical forces or dragons (it didn't protect Alexander from being kidnapped, it didn't stop the three-headed dragon, didn't stop the castle from being stolen, or protect the inhabitants of Daventry from the cataclysm, let alone stopping the invading forces of Telgrin, the slocks/weevils, etc). Then again if it stopped all these invasions and dangers there would be no more stories after the first game.
- In KQ1 original, the shield protects Graham from the witch, sorcerer, ogre, wolf, and the giant. It will not protect him from the dwarfs or the dragon[9].
- In some sources it says the shield can defend Daventry from invading armies, or from all enemies. In many sources it claimed that the shield can protect the user from any harm (although that seems to be contradicted by the fact that it can be melted by dragon fire).
- The differences between two accounts of King's Quest 1 story is due to two versions of the game being made with slightly altered puzzles, and remake being made a bit more linear.
- The name Shield of Achille or Shield of Achilles is referenced in King's Quest Companion, King's Questions, the King's Quest VI Hintbook, and a few other sources. It is primarily called the Shield of Achille in the KQ Companion.
- The fact that the magic shield is not immune to dragon fire might explain why Graham never attempted to use it to stop the three-headed dragon.
- In KQ1 original this item is known simply as the "shield" in the inventory. It is also referred to as the Shield by the Dwarf.
- It is possible to take the shield to the giant or the dragon in the remake through debug cheats.[1] ...or by simply returning to locations (i.e. returning to the giant after obtaining the shield, or returning after obtaining the shield after taking the mirror from the dragon via other means invisibility or fairy dust).