The Valley of Landurr[1] (simply referred as the Valley) is the setting of Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove and most other titles in the series.
Description[]
The Valley features various environments including lush forests, gloomy swamps, green plains, dry lands, volcanic mountains, frozen tundras. The Valley can be accessed from the rest of the continent by the Plains of Passage to the east. The west opens on a deep chasm, at the edge of which sits the Tower of Fate, piercing the sky and dominating the Valley by its sight. The Valley also opens to the sea in the south.
There are several settlements throughout the Valley where free folks try to live peacefully under the threat of the Enchantress's power. Others, fell into ruin after being occupied by the forces of the Order of No Quarter. Locked gates divide the Valley into its four quadrants. Each locked gate is color-coded to the Order of No Quarter stage that needs to be beaten to unlock it. There are nine gates in total; one for each Order of No Quarter stage, except for the Iron Whale stage which possesses two gates.
In King of Cards, the Valley's map is slightly different and more detailed. Each main location is also divided into several smaller stages. It is further elaborated that the Valley is divided in several different kingdoms, namely Pridemoor Kingdom, located in the plains, the Troupple Kingdom located by an heavy forested area with a lagoon and a volcano, and a large span of inhospitable land, full of snowy mountains, barren wastelands and windy cliffs which supposedly was the location of the Birder Kingdom.
Brief History[]
Long, long ago, an amulet falling from the sky landed in the Valley, containing within an evil spirit who, with nothing to bind it, was quick to wreak havoc. Soon enough, a hero rose and, with the Omega Driver itself, as well as the six Stones of Fate, bested the fiend and sealed it away in a room on the top floor of Tower of Fate. Furthermore, the room and it's above treasure vault, were detached from the tower, and embedded into the planet's Crystal Core as another precaution,[2] even adding a hidden locking mechanism to block the way to the amulet. The only traces left were the Liquid Samurai, left alone to guard the dark fortress itself, as nothing more than an extension of her immense malevolent power and will.
Eventually however, the criminal group known as the Hexcavators, discovered the existence of a supposedly "ancient weapon", and dig up a gigantic pit known as The Well in order to retrieve it. This would spell disaster for the land as, not only the very existence of the Well put the entire Valley into danger, as the more its depths were expanded, the more tremors, landslides, and sinking the Valley experienced, threatening to swallow up underground the whole land, but furthermore, the weapon they were seeking was the Amulet itself.
Even with Shovel Knight and Shield Knight brave attempt to stop them, they were unsuccessful, and the amulet was returned to the Surface when the now sunken Tower of Fate, rose up from the depths once again with its long lost chambers re-attached to its top floor.[2]
Following a disastrous excursion to the Tower of Fate to destroy the Amulet, the powerful spirit of the amulet, the Enchantress, escaped out of the relic once again, possessed Shield Knight, and began her plans to take complete control over the Valley.
On a quest to defeat the three Joustus Judges and become the King of Cards, King Knight traveled across the Valley aboard the airship Glidewing and its crew, and vanquished not only the three Joustus Judges of the Valley but also the other future members of the Order of No Quarter, all while amassing an assortment of allies from all over the Valley. After it was revealed that the Joustus tournament was a vile deception created by the Enchantress, King Knight's quest led him to the Tower of Fate where he defeated the Enchantress, but then betrayed his allies and joined the Enchantress in her conquest to take over the land so he could become a supposedly real king.
Following King Knight's addition to the Enchantress's cause, her top enforcer Specter Knight forcibly recruited more knights to the dark sorceress personal inner circle, the Order of No Quarter, making the army strong enough to conquer the Valley. Specter Knight, who himself had been coerced into subservience, tried to rebel and defeat the mistress of dark magic, but he was hopelessly unsuccessful.
Shortly before Specter Knight's failure, a brief but intense struggle took place, against the Mirror of Fate, one of the Enchantress' foul creations which had gone haywire and performed a series of kidnappings, trapping its victims inside illusions of various locations of the real Valley and forcing them against shadowy foes and one another. Fortunately, in the end the Mirror was shattered for good.
The Order, backed up by the Enchantress' monstrous powers succeeded in their conquest, deposing King Pridemoor from his throne and attacking the Lich Yard and the Armor Outpost. They drove away the inhabitants of the former, while the latter stayed to oppose her growing power. The Order also set locked gates to prevent undesirables from reaching the Tower of Fate.
Eventually, the brave actions of Shovel Knight and Plague Knight, who both separately confronted directly the witch for their own and vastly different reasons, finally thwarted the vile plans of The Enchantress for good, and peace was restored to the land.
At some unspecified point during these last chaotic events, before her final defeat, the Enchantress recovered the infamous Pocket Dungeon, a magic puzzle box. She used the artifact to kidnap many notorious figures of the Valley, doing so by manipulating Prism Knight, who hoped to free her father from the accursed box, into using her powers to deliver the box to as many people as possible. Due to the presence of said individuals in the puzzle box, the Pocket Dungeon had recreated many areas of the real Valley as illusory copies within itself.
Locations[]
Shovel of Hope/Plague of Shadows[]
First Quadrant[]
- Plains: The entrance to the Valley.
- Village/Potionarium: One of the last free settlements.
- Pridemoor Keep: A fortified tower and King Pridemoor's throne usurped by King Knight.
- The Lich Yard: An old village overrun by the undead and Specter Knight.
- Troupple Pond: The mysterious domain of the Troupple King.
- Forest of Phasing/Forest of Fishing: A Relic/Arcana course based around the Phase Locket and Bait Bomb, respectively.
Second Quadrant[]
- Explodatorium: The alchemy laboratory of Plague Knight.
- Iron Whale: Treasure Knight's submarine and gold haul.
- Lost City: An antique city sunken beneath a volcano, lair to Mole Knight.
- Armor Outpost: A free settlement defying the Enchantress, where weapon and armor blacksmiths sell their wares.
- Knuckler's Quarry/Bottomless Quarry: A Relic/Arcana course based around the Dust Knuckles and Vat, respectively.
- Hall of Champions: An art gallery dedicated to the founders of the land.
Third Quadrant[]
- Clockwork Tower: A tower retrofitted with gears and mechanisms, workshop of Tinker Knight.
- Stranded Ship: The weathered husk of a ship trapped in the Frozen Tundra, guarded by Polar Knight.
- Flying Machine: A luxury airship, captained by Propeller Knight.
- Frigid Flight/Shivering Sprint: A Relic/Arcana course based around the Propeller Dagger and Fleet Flask, respectively.
- Shortcut?: A lone catapult aimed at the Armor Outpost.
Final Quadrant[]
- Tower of Fate: Entrance: The rain-swept bridge to the Tower of Fate.
- Tower of Fate: Ascent: The main building, filled with deadly traps.
- Tower of Fate: ????: The Enchantress's lair within the Tower of Fate.
King of Cards[]
World 1: Pridemoor Kingdom[]
- Main article: Pridemoor Kingdom
World 2: Troupple Kingdom[]
- Main article: Troupple Kingdom
World 3: Birder Kingdom[]
- Main article: Birder Kingdom
World 4: The Tower of Fate[]
- Tower of Joustus: The fourth house of Joustus.
- Tower of Fate
Pocket Dungeon[]
- Main article: Pocket Dungeon
Dig[]
- Main article: The Well
- The Surface
- The Well
- The Crystal Core
- The Crystal Core
Trivia[]
- Up until Shovel Knight Dig, the Valley was never officially named, either mentioned as such[3][4][5][6][7] or simply referred to as "the land".[8][9][10][11][12][13][14] Before that, it was internally named as Landurr by the Yacht Club Games developers.[15]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ "You're supposed to say, "I call to order the meeting of the Order of Equus, Landurr chapter!""
—Adventurer, Shovel Knight Dig - ↑ 2.0 2.1 Discord answer by Woz
- ↑ "Your time away has dulled your senses... can't you see? This entire valley has been conquered by the Enchantress!"
—Black Knight, Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope
- ↑ "Oh, look, it's the loyal lapdog. Here to do your master's bidding, hmm? Chasing your tail around the Valley must be tiring. In fact, you look like death! Ha ha!"
—King Knight, Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment - ↑ "Donovan! This has gone too far! Your meddling across the Valley has impeded my search for long enough."
—Black Knight, Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment - ↑ "You cannot stop The Enchantress, but as her eighth knight, you could roam the valley as you wish..."
—Specter Knight, Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment - ↑ Yacht Club Games on Twitter: "Yes, definitely! We haven't seen what lies outside the valley, where Shovel Knight takes place! Whether on a long journey by foot, or jetting by spaceship, it's a world where heroes cross paths." / Twitter
- ↑ "Travel the land far and wide, I do -- searching, learning, teaching, collecting! All shapes! All sizes! Hats!"
—Mr. Hat, Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope - ↑ "Hail, traveler! I am but a simple bard, but I have a big problem... I've lost all my Music Sheets! My entire repertoire lays scattered across the land!"
—Bard, Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope - ↑ "This is the hall of champions, a living monument to the founders of this great land."
—Ticketer, Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope - ↑ "Tinker Knight is the finest engineer in the land! Will he agree to build our tools of destruction?"
—Dark Acolyte, Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment - ↑ "There's no hope of stopping her. The Order of No Quarter will sweep through the land without mercy."
—Specter Knight, Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment - ↑ "Joustus spreads across the land readily, like a fast-acting toxin."
—Liquid Samurai, Shovel Knight: King of Cards - ↑ "You may have seen my many statues scattered across the land."
—Vicar of Vigor, Shovel Knight: King of Cards - ↑ Sandy Gordon on the official Discord server.
