Katrina was a character who is briefly (and indirectly) mentioned in the second (Quest for Glory 2) and appeared as the secondary antagonist of Quest for Glory 4. The Hero first meets her at the (literal) mouth of the cave where he arrives after being teleported to the Land of Mordavia. She later (after day 2) meets him several times at the gates of the nearby village after nightfall, or the castle gates where the local noble lives, flirting with him. She is said to be a distant Borgov cousin[1][2], of a family that once served the Borgovs in the castle[3] (although this is not strictly confirmed).
In Quest for Glory: Shadows of Darkness Multimedia, Katrina is voiced by prolific video game voice actress, Jennifer Hale, in her first ever credited video game role.
Background[]
In her early life (she may have originated from Silmaria[4]), Katrina, was cast out of the Wizard's Institute of Technocery for summoning nameless horrors and performing unspeakable rites.[5]
Many years ago, while living in Silmaria, she assumed the name of the Dark Master, trained a young magician, Ad Avis, in the ways of dark magic as well. He hated women, and this amused her. She gave him "Life Eternal after Death", the mark of the Vampire, but did not kill him, knowing he would rise from his grave to serve her. Ad Avis fled from her to Shapeir, hoping to gain enough power that he would never die and have to serve Katrina.
Long ago, she traveled to Mordavia, having heard rumors of the Cult of the Dark One. The cult had already vanished at this point. Seen as a stranger, she moved into the castle. The stranger was only known by the ominous title 'the Dark Master', and there were rumors of Vampires. However, no one met the stranger (not even knowing whether she was male or female), and as no one was ever killed by the Vampires, gradually the talk faded.[6] She spent many decades living in the Land of Mordavia. She began to think of herself as the local ruler and liege Lord.[7] At one point, she found Boris Stovich lost in the woods at night, rescued him from some creatures, and offered him a job as the daytime gatekeeper.
She returned to Castle Borgov in Mordavia five years before the Hero came to Mordavia, believed to be one of the Boyar's cousins. Though she apparently left on a journey and returned one year later. There she was joined by Ad Avis when he was killed by the Hero. Ad Avis was now her Vampire slave, unable to harm her or to disobey her orders. Although a Vampire, Katrina retained a human desire for companionship and especially family. Unable to enter the town because of the protective magic of Erana's Staff, she had her servant, Toby, lure a child, Tanya, to the castle.
Katrina desired to summon Avoozl, the Dark One, in order to blot out the sun and not be held hostage by its powerful glare. However, she was unaware of what power Avoozl really contained, and that it would harm the people there. She attempted to research how to find the rituals needed to perform the rite. She found the Mouth Ritual, and knew the locations of the Bone Ritual and Essence Ritual, but the others were beyond her grasp.
There, Katrina turned Tanya into a Vampire, to be Katrina's young daughter through eternity. In order to summon Avoozl, Katrina had to find seven rituals which were scattered throughout the land. She found the "Mouth Ritual", but she needed a Hero who could survive the dangers of Mordavia and move freely by day and night. When Ad Avis told Katrina of the power of the Hero, she figured he was powerful enough, and used a Teleportation spell to bring him to Mordavia
Unfortunately, the Dark One's Cave distorts all magic in the valley. The hero was summoned, but rather than arriving in the castle surrounded by Katrina and Ad Avis, he arrived there. Katrina made her way to the cave and opened the mouth so he could escape. She disguised herself as a peasant girl, passing herself off as a member of Borgov family's cousins allowed to live in the castle since they once served there. She was friendly with the Hero, and, if he was a Wizard, taught him a magic spell, and brought him healing potions if he was harmed.
She tries to get him to find the rituals for her, but before her plan can move forward, Ad Avis captures the Hero, leaving him in the Castle Dungeon with an Iron Hammer to kill a vampire, and purposefully leaving him undefended, so that the Hero could easily escape, find his way to Katrina's Room, and hopefully kill her. However, the hero causes Katrina to awaken and she angrily confronts him, furious that he restored Tanya to human form.
She puts a Geas on him to find the rituals. Once the Hero finds them and returns to the castle lobby, she teleports herself, the Hero, and Ad Avis to the Dark One's Cave. She uses the ritual to open the mouth, tells the Hero where to find the Essence Ritual, and informs him to come to her when all the rituals are done.
Once this happens, the Hero reads the Essence ritual. Once completed, Ad Avis attacks the hero, and Katrina retaliates. This breaks the magical binding she had over him, and they fight. Katrina gets the upper hand, but then Ad Avis reasons he will kill the Hero instead, summoning a spell to eradicate the Hero, and that would attract Avoozl. Katrina teleports in the way to block the spell and is grabbed by Avoozl's tendril, and pulled into the Chaos.
Dragon Fire[]
Katrina is dragged down to Hades, and stays in darkness, remembering only her love for the hero. She reasons that she doesn't care whether or not she lives or dies, if only the Hero would touch her once more.
The Hero can sacrifice his vitality to restore Katrina to life. If so, she goes to the island of Zante and makes a new castle there. She alters the magic around the castle so that it is always night, as she is mortal again, but still unused to daylight. She talks to the hero and enjoys his company. She also makes acquaintances with Fenris.
If the hero is a Wizard, she can teach him Dragon Fire (spell).
If spoken to, Katrina will make the Hero a Water Breathing Amulet so that he can travel to Atlantis. After the Hero and Elsa von Spielburg defeat Minos, she reasons that she will have to take up the Hero's mantle after all, and teleports herself, the Hero, and Elsa to the Dragon of Doom. She will then teleport in Toro and possibly Gort to help fight the dragon. She herself will attack the dragon with Frost Bite and a cold-version of Dragon Fire (spell).
Character and traits[]
Katrina was the Dark Master, a vampire Wizard. She is a powerful and complex person who refuses to accept weakness in herself or others. She was trying to summon the Dark One, Avoozl, in order to fill the land with eternal darkness, so that she would never lie helpless in her coffin again. Katrina was a ruthless and deadly killer when she wanted to be, but she left the townspeople alone, partially because they were protected by Erana's Staff. It was also partially because she thought of herself as the ruler of the land, and they as her people. It was the rainstorms she summoned that cut Mordavia off from the rest of the world. She was completely self-centered, and thought nothing of the consequences of summoning Avoozl other than permitting her to live without fear of the Sun. Katrina is also a passionate woman who has never known true love. The hero's actions determined how she felt about him. He could become either a despised pawn, or earned her respect and admiration.
Once restored to life, Katrina takes pleasure in the joys she could no longer stand as a vampire, including the smell of the flowers, the feel of the sea spray against her face, and the sunlight. She also finds herself a bit vulnerable without the stamina of an undead, so the Amulet of Defense is a prized gift for her. She recognizes the power of other magical amulets, but realize that they would harm, and has no interest in them.
Titles[]
- Dark Master
- Master of Magic
- Master Vampire/Vampire Master
- The Master/De Master
- Darkness[8]
- Aunt Trina/Trina
- Vampire
See Also[]
Behind the scenes[]
It is rumored that she was a member of the Wizard's Institute of Technocery many years ago, but left to study the dark arts. Ultimately, she was no longer acknowledged or expelled by the Wizard's Institute of Technocery who stopped all contact with her, or she to them (going as far as the darkening of her picture in the institute[9]). Technically the painting in QFG2 is not named (it is referred to as the portrait of "Darkness"[10]), but is most likely a nod toward the Dark Master. In QFG2 the Dark Master is briefly mentioned by Ad Avis near the end of the game.
QFG4 implies that Katrina is pulled into the dark universe (Chaos) where the Dark Ones dwell, trapped there much like Erana previously, and will continue to exist there along with Avoozl for eternity. QFG5 on the other hand says she was killed and went to Hades, from which the player can rescue her.
Katrina's name is of 'Greek' origin, and in QFG4 Hintbook might suggest she was originally from Silmaria and moved to Mordavia later.
Appearance[]
Katrina walking barefoot in QFG4
Katrina wears a violet dress with red sleeves and walks barefoot. In her first appearances, she has a blue hood over her dress.
True Identity[]
Katrina turns out to be a vampire residing in the Castle abandoned long ago by its previous owners, and is the Dark Master of Ad Avis, the villain of the second game in the series. She manipulates the Hero into finding the various rituals that will bring the Dark One Avoozl back to life. Her goal is to use Avoozl to plunge the world into eternal darkness. Despite her sinister actions, Katrina is depicted as a sympathetic and deeply lonely character; the Hero learns at one point that she has abducted a child from the village, Tanya, because she longs to have a daughter of her own. Katrina becomes furious when the Hero later rescues Tanya Markarov and returns the child to her real parents. During the finale of the game, Katrina realizes that she does have genuine affection for the Hero, and she sacrifices her un-life to save him from an attack by Ad Avis - playing into the hands of the malevolent wizard.
Path to Redemption[]
In the last game of the series, Dragon Fire, one of the Hero's quests takes him to the Greek Underworld. There, he is given the chance to give up a portion of his life force to bring Katrina or Erana back to life. If revived, Katrina takes up residence on the island of Zante. Although no longer a vampire after her resurrection, Katrina still feels unused to daylight and casts a spell over the island so that anyone who approaches can only do so at night (i.e. if they approach during the day, they arrive after nightfall). She also dresses similarly to her first appearance - bare feet and all, though she is never seen walking. Learning that the Dragon of Doom is rising she urges the Hero to flee the islands lest he become just another of its victims. She claims her own enchantments will protect her new home from the Dragon's power and claims at first she has no interest in "playing the hero." Ultimately, however, she assists the Hero in his desperate battle against the Dragon of Doom that is threatening the land of Silmaria (and she causes a great deal of damage to the Dragon, showing how tremendous her magical powers are). Katrina is a potential bride for the Hero in Dragon Fire, and is most suited to a wizard or a warrior (not paladin) character, but the game must be patched before she can be successfully wooed. She will turn down paladins for being too 'good', and thieves for being too dishonest. She will also turn down anyone with thief lock picking skills, detecting that they are thieves.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ "Castle Borgov is north of the town. The last of the Borgov family left this valley years ago. Now it is inhabited by some cousin."
- ↑ "We met with the gatekeeper, who said that the Borgov family was dead. The castle was now owned by a distant cousin who promised to protect this valley as a true Boyar.", "We did some trading with the Gatekeeper, but never saw sign of this Borgov cousin. Soon after this, the rains started to fall, and we were trapped here."
- ↑ Katrina (QFG4): "The castle was once home to the Borgov family. My family once served them and so I am allowed to live there."
- ↑ QFG4 Hintbook, pg
- ↑ Hero: Journal of General Job Adjusting, pg
- ↑ Nikolai: "It has been so long, and I know so little of what goes on today. Still, some time ago, there was talk in town about a stranger moving into Borgov Castle.", "There was much talk, and many rumors about who had moved in. I do not know whether your path will ever take you to the castle, but I do know of a secret passageway to there.", "My grandfather once told me that there is a secret passage that leads from the Borgov Crypt in the cemetery to the castle. It was an escape route for the Borgov family when they were alive.", "There was some talk of Vampires at the time. I do not think anyone in Mordavia was actually killed by a Vampire, so gradually the talk faded.", "I do not think anyone even saw the stranger. We knew him only as 'the Dark Master.' It is an ominous title.
- ↑ Katrina (QFG5):""
- ↑ QFG2
- ↑ Narrator: "The picture is entirely black."
- ↑ Narrator (QFG2):" "the portrait of Darkness", "The picture is entirely black."