King's Quest Omnipedia
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The Tree of Life is an elusive tree growing on an island in the Swamp in Tamir. The Magic Fruit on the tree grows but once a century.[1]

Background[]

After King Graham suffers a massive heart attack and is left upon his deathbed, Genesta informs Rosella of the tree and the Magic Fruit it bears through the Magic Mirror as a way to save her father. After being teleported to Tamir, Rosella is able to reach the swamp, enchant the king cobra using Pan's Silver Flute and retrieve the fruit to save her father.

Behind the scenes[]

The name of the tree only appears in the AGI version of KQ4.

The Tree of Life is inspired by the biblical tree of life in the Garden of Eden. The counterpart to the Tree of Knowledge and Good and Evil. Though technically the concept of a tree of life appears in many different mythologies and legends. This one equally takes from the Greek myth of the Island of Hesperides and its guardian snake.

In the story The Golden Heart by Violet Jacob (1904) the Ugly Prince is sent after a mythical plant located in a marsh surrounded by a desert. The plant appears every thousand years with red berries growing on it. The berries can only be picked on a certain day at a certain hour, once every thousand years when the plant fully matures. The berries can be made into an ointment that gives perfect beauty and perfect health to only one person who uses it.

The Story of Prince Ahmed and the Fairy Paribanou from Andrew Lang's Fairy Books also served as a possible inspiration for the magic fruit.

The Tree of Life was also planned to be part of Mask of Eternity's story during development in the final game, only the hidden Apple in the tree was left (which is closer to the story of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil).

References[]

  1. Narrator (KQ4AGI):"You see a small island in the middle of the huge swamp. Upon this island grows a scrawny little tree. This must be the elusive "Tree of Life!"
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