Mordavia as a Shadowland to Spielburg
The description of Shadowland as it applies to the Quest for Glory series does not seem to do justice to how well Mordavia works as a twisted reflection of Spielburg. This analysis attempts to dig a bit deeper into how well the reflection works. Unmarked spoilers from Quest for Glory I: So You Want to be a Hero and Quest for Glory IV: Shadows of Darkness follow.
The Valley
Both Spielburg and Mordavia have towns blessed by Erana's protective magic, as well as gardens far away from town that she has also blessed. But whereas Erana consciously cast a spell of protection over the town of Spielburg, the protective magic over the town of Mordavia is largely accidental, due solely to the presence of her staff there after her death.
It is also interesting to note that the town and garden are in opposite locations in Spielburg and Mordavia respectively: In Spielburg, the town is in the center of the valley and Erana's Peace is at the northern edge; in Mordavia, the town is at the northern edge of the valley and Erana's Garden is in the center.
Both Spielburg's and Mordavia's woods have a local guardian spirit, who can be of great help to the Hero if the Hero helps them first. But the Dryad is very serious about protecting the woods and has no patience for silliness, whereas the Leshy is practically silliness incarnate.
The lakes of Spielburg and Mordavia are fairly similar, being haunted by Sierra Easter Eggs and the Rusalka, respectively. Neither lake is particularly relevant to the plot, although the Hero can get useful information from the Rusalka about the adjoining swamp (and cure her to get Piotyr's favor, if the Hero is a Paladin). Come to think of it, that is not much different than the Hermit living near the lake in Spielburg, who can also give the Hero useful information about Erasmus and the brigands.
The passes out of both valleys are blocked: Spielburg by an avalanche, Mordavia by a swamp. It is noted that the pass to Spielburg is usually open, and Abdulla Doo will talk about his troubles with the Brigands as he entered the pass, some time before the Hero did. But the swamp has flooded the pass to Mordavia for years, and by the time of Quest for Glory III: Wages of War, the value of Mordavia's local currency is so low relative to other countries that even the moneychanger in Tarna will comment on it.
An exception to Mordavia's role as the Shadowland to Spielburg occurs, oddly enough, in their respective cemeteries. The cemetery of Spielburg is so thoroughly defiled that it is impossible to take two steps in without touching some ghost or other. But while Mordavia is otherwise lousy with undead at night, from the vampires in the castle to the revenants and wraiths in the forest, the cemetery is largely undisturbed. In fact, the few ghosts that do dwell there will only attack the Hero if he goes out of his way to agitate their graves.
The Castle
Both castles are located near their respective towns: near the middle of the valley of Spielburg, and at the far northern edge of the valley of Mordavia.
In many ways, Katrina, the Dark Master and de facto Boyar of Mordavia, is a foil to Baron Stefan von Spielburg. If you interpret “son” and “daughter” loosely enough to account for vampires and their thralls, the twisted parallels are particularly evident:
- Both Stefan and Katrina have an obnoxious older son who doesn't like the Hero (Barnard and Ad Avis). Whereas Barnard doesn't like the Hero even though the Hero had freed him and allowed him to return to Stefan, Ad Avis dislikes the Hero specifically because the Hero had killed him and forced him to return to Katrina.
- Both Stefan and Katrina have a young, kindly daughter on whom they dote (Elsa and Tanya), who is interested in an activity that is not considered ladylike (swordsmanship and reading).
- Both Stefan and Katrina are heartbroken when their daughters are stolen away from them by Baba Yaga and the Hero respectively.
- The daughters both have monstrous-looking guardians who take the protection of their charges very seriously (Toro and Toby).
- Both Stefan and Katrina are responsible for most of the trouble in their respective lands: Stefan's problems are largely the result of his unwise decision to cross Baba Yaga, while Katrina is in the process of making a conscious (and unwise) decision to summon the Dark One, crossing the Hero as a result.
Other Characters
As mentioned above, insofar as Katrina in QFG4 plays the foil to Stefan in QFG1, so too the Hero plays the foil to Baba Yaga. While Spielburg is an otherwise idyllic woodland to which Baba Yaga has brought darkness and despair (because Stefan tried to banish her from Spielburg), Mordavia is a dark Uberwald to which the Hero brings light and hope (possible only because Katrina summoned him to Mordavia).
But Baba Yaga also plays a role in Quest for Glory IV: She has fled to a remote corner of Mordavia and set guards to deter unwelcome guests, much like Erasmus did in Spielburg. Her attitude towards the Hero in QFG4 also mirrors (pun intended) Erasmus' attitude towards her in QFG1. She has useful information about Katrina and the Dark One, just as Erasmus has useful information about Stefan and his curse. Finally, if the Hero knows magic, both Erasmus and Baba Yaga will share a bit of their magical knowledge with him, if he can win their favor first.
Conclusion
A great many things about the setting and characters of QFG4 darkly reflect their counterparts in QFG1, and Mordavia's reputation as Spielburg's Shadowland is well deserved.
