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'''Willowsby''' is a town in the world of [[Gloriana]] lying in a small valley. It lies to the east of [[Spielburg Valley]] and between [[Mordavia]] which lies far to the east, and to the far south of [[Jotunheim]]. |
'''Willowsby''' is a town in the world of [[Gloriana]] lying in a small valley. It lies to the east of [[Spielburg Valley]] and between [[Mordavia]] which lies far to the east, and to the far south of [[Jotunheim]]. |
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Revision as of 18:53, 22 January 2016
Willowsby is a town in the world of Gloriana lying in a small valley. It lies to the east of Spielburg Valley and between Mordavia which lies far to the east, and to the far south of Jotunheim.
Background
It is the hometown of Devon Aidendale (the Hero), and his family, the Aidendales. Willowsby is a bustling town, its streets filled with men going to work, women heading to market and children getting into trouble. Adventurers study at the Willowsby Adventurers' Guild Hall, a grand building. Foothills surround the town. The town is covered in snow during the winter. During early spring there is a spattering of snowy patches which lays on the ground still. Budding trees promises the end of winter. The town of Spielburg stood in a valley on the other side of the mountains from the town. Spielburg was about fourteen days journey from Willowsby on foot (in good weather). A road passed through the narrow Spielburg Pass through the mountains.
In Willowsby magic is considered wicked. Although magic is neither good nor evil, the townsfolk are not easily convinced otherwise. Magic users practice their runic lessons in private, sharing them with no one.[1]
Willowsby has its own Thieves' Guild as well.[2], and a jail to toss thieves in.[3]
In Willowsby, like other cities near Spielburg, the local cuisine includes knockwurst and sauerkraut. It is a traditional food of Devon's homeland, although Devon never really cared for it much. Still it is something to remind him of his home. Quite a bit of it gets imported from Spielburg into other lands.[4]
The fancy city european city with the ruins nearby it seen in the intro of the VGA version where you select the playable character could be an interpretation of the Hero's home city. Similar medieval style artwork showing a similar looking city appears on the page next to the backstory of hero's journey from his hometown to Spielburg. The city is filled with germanic medieval towers, and is surrounded by several walls, and a stone-covered bridge crosses a river to the main city beyond it.
Salt is mined in a desert east of Spielburg, although it is unclear if this desert is near Willowsby or not.
Geography
- The Adventurer's Guild Hall in Spielburg is much like the one in Willowsby.[5] It is run by the Town Guildmaster[6]
- Willowsby lies about 14 days on foot from Spielburg in good weather, 16 in rainy weather. During the winter it can take up to a month. It took a Devon Aidendale a month to travel to Spielburg Valley as he got caught in a late winter storms.
Behind the scenes
- The Quest for Glory series, including Willowsby was made canon when published by the former Sierra Online (currently owned by Activision).[7] The Coles did not include a name in the games, to allow players to create their own backstories for the character and his homeland.[8][9]
- There is a location "Willoughby" in the World of Narnia
- There are a few Willoughbys in England (but that lies west of Bavaria)
- In German language, 'Weide' (willow) or 'Weiden' (willows) from 'Weidenbaum' (willow tree) can be associated with Willow[3]. There was a town known as Weiden in Bavaria in the year 1241 into the 1800's. It is now known as Weiden in der Oberpfalz ('...in the Upper Palatinate'), however note that Weiden can also translate as "pastures". Weiden is a city the eastern edge of Bavaria near the Czech Republic. Based on play on words sometimes used for lands associated with real earth locations in Quest for Glory, Willowsby could work as pun/adaptation of the name of the city of Weiden into English. Willowsby, however, may more properly be translated as 'by the willows', or 'willows by' ("...willows by the water courses.", Isa 44:4). If Willowsby is the anglicized name for a Bavarian town, it would explain why 'knockwurst and sauerkraut' were cuisine from the Hero's homeland, as stated in QFG2.
- Though not specifically mentioned, the budding trees outside the town of Willowsby, could themselves be Willows,thus explaining the name of the town.
Willowsby (unofficial)
References
- ↑ Quest for Glory: The Authorized Strategy Guide, ix-xi, 3, 9
- ↑ "...it gives you fond memories of your home guild."
- ↑ TASG, 26
- ↑ Narrator (QFG2): "Unfortunately, you never really cared for sauerkraut and knockwurst, but you are too polite to tell Shema that. You must admit the honey and lemons on the knockwurst aren't too bad, but the sauerkraut curry is a bit much.", Shema (QFG2): "Tonight I have prepared something for you so that you do not become too homesick. It is knockwurst and sauerkraut.", "I had them specially imported from Spielburg for you.
- ↑ "This Adventurer's Guild Hall reminds you of the one in your hometown. The traditional Moose head and other stuffed monsters...adorn the walls.
- ↑ Narrator (QFG5):""
- ↑ From the back matter: "This is the only officially authorized strategy guide to the Quest for Glory series. Don't try to be a hero without it!
- ↑ "And by the way, mentions of "Devon Aidendale" and Willowsby (or Willowdale or whatever the name was) drive me crazy. Devon was just the name Paula Spiese chose for her QG hero, and she used him in the strategy guide she co-wrote with Lori. Those names have no "official place in the canon", except of course they've been enshrined on Wikipedia because they're part of a published book." "We did not name the hero, nor his starting village, for a reason. We wanted every player to imagine their own hero's background so that the player would really become a part of the story. So it's frustrating when I see other people adopt Paula's fantasy as their own. Still, if that makes the game more fun for you, go with it!"[1]
- ↑ "Our main objection to the Spiese book is that the Quest for Glory hero is supposed to be a reflection of the player. When Paula named her hero as Devon Aidendale, that became canon. We would have preferred he remain simply The Hero. But that's a trivial quibble."-Corey Cole[2]