“ |
Are these statues, or victims of Goldilocks' touch? |
” |
—Fairytale Detective, Goldilocks and the Fallen Star |
The Golden Touch is the ability to turn anything one touches to solid gold. This power is both a blessing and a curse to its bearers.
The Golden Touch plays a large part in the tenth Dark Parables game, Goldilocks and the Fallen Star.
Specifics[]
Like so many divine gifts, this power is both a blessing and a curse. While it can bring a great many benefits, such as bringing wealth to a poor and starving nation, it also carries a price. It will turn anything the bearer touches to solid gold. Princess Leda discovers this for herself before the start of the tenth game as she finds that she cannot touch any other person without turning them into a golden statue. In fact the statues in the Barsian Palace treasury are all people that have been turned to gold. It is because of this that the effects of the Golden Touch become known as the Golden Curse, and the power is often referred to by one of these two names.
It is possible to restrain the power somewhat as shown by Rumpelstiltskin's use of a magical gem and Leda's use of Magic Ribbons. There are only two known cures for the Golden Curse: either by wishing upon a Fallen Star or through the healing tears of a Golden Child. Both of these methods are employed during Goldilocks and the Fallen Star and its accompanying bonus game, The Golden Slumber.
Effects[]
- Immobility: All things, including liquids, gasses and living creatures, are turned to solids immediately. Items with moving components, machinery and multi-state beings (like people) fuse together into one solid object - generally preventing them from functioning at all.
- Hardness: Gold is not the hardest of metals, but it's definitely harder than a lot of non-metal things. Hence, a golden cobweb makes a practically impenetrable barrier without the proper tools.
- Long Term Effects: King Eurig is the only victim of the Golden Curse to have had it reversed some time ago. After having been turned to gold, Eurig's obsession with wealth and luxury increased tenfold - to the point that his behavior drove his wife away with their infant daughter. It is unknown if this effect is only seen in Rumpelstiltskin's use of the power, or if it is a universal effect of being temporarily turned to solid gold.
Notable Bearers[]
- King Midas: Traditionally, King Midas used his power by touching items. It is unknown if he ever found a way to control the power or reverse the effects.
- Rumpelstiltskin: The imp found a way to harness the power to a magical gem in his forehead and was able to use it without needing to make contact. He was also able to reverse the effects somehow.
- Queen Leda of Barsia: Leda asked for her power, and was granted it by the Sun Goddess, who later gave her the means to craft Magic Ribbons to control it. Leda never found a way to reverse the effects of her power, and was only able to do so through the use of the Fallen Star.
Notable Victims[]
- King Midas' Daughter: One of the earliest victims of the Golden Touch, this young Princess was turned to gold accidentally by her father. It is unknown if she was ever restored to her human form.
- King Eurig: The King of the Sky Kingdom was cursed by Rumpelstiltskin and turned into solid gold when he failed to correctly guess Rumpelstiltskin's name. Rumpelstiltskin reversed the curse, himself, when Eurig's Queen correctly guessed his name. Eurig is the only victim that we can learn the long term effects of the curse from.
- The Stranger: This unknown man tried and failed to acquire the power of King Midas' Golden Touch. When the Fabled Inspector reversed the machine, the Stranger was using to obtain the power, the Stranger became a victim of the power, rather than a wielder of it. His curse was not reversed.
- Emma: Emma encountered Leda in the woods, unaware that the young Princess possessed the Golden Touch. Emma made the mistake of touching Leda - a mistake that led to her becoming a victim of the Golden Curse. She was eventually cured by a Golden Child's Tear.
- Rach Neumann: At some point, Leda turned the hapless Rach into a golden statue. Presumably, his curse was reversed when all those cursed in Barsia were saved by the Fallen Star.
- Silver Stag: Leda attacked one of the Silver Stags when it threatened an innocent young boy playing on the iced-over Lake Symhir. The Stag was destroyed when its machinery fused together during the transition, and the whole thing broke apart.
- The People of Barsia: The people of Barsia were inflicted with the Golden Curse by Leda on Queen Valla's orders. Many of them were then melted down and used to make an Automaton Army for the Queen. They were all restored by Leda when she wished upon the Fallen Star.
- Jack: Jack was turned to gold when he attempted to bully the Fairytale Detective into giving him the Ancient Dagger. He is one of many saved when Leda wishes upon the Fallen Star.
- Queen Valla: When finally faced with her "sister" in her full Automaton glory, Leda reaches out and touches her in an attempt to turn her to gold. However, the transition only completes half-way before Valla is able to shoot a jolt of electricity at Leda that sends her across the room and stops the transition. Automaton Valla is left in a half-gold state until her eventual destruction by the Fairytale Detective.
Related Parables[]
Magic Ribbons (from Goldilocks and the Fallen Star)
Once upon a time, there was a Princess named Leda, who was blessed by the Sun Goddess with the gift of golden touch. But what was granted as a gift became a curse to the young Princess, as she couldn't touch a thing without turning it to solid gold. She cried a sea of tears, praying to her Goddess once more to help her get rid of the gift. "What is granted cannot be taken back that easily," the Sun Goddess said. "But, fret not, because for I hear your plea." Then the Goddess took two hairs from her golden braid and said, "Take this, my child, and look for a master craftsman who can use them as a weft to craft two magic ribbons to help contain your power." The young Princess traveled the world, searching for such a master weaver. One day, in a faraway land, she found a craftsman able to weave the ribbons. Her wandering had cost her the crown, but granted her the opportunity to hug her loved ones once again without a fear of turning them to gold.
Crowning of Queen Valla (from Goldilocks and the Fallen Star)
Craftsman Ewan was hired to make an automaton in the image of King Waclaw's late daughter. He made it so like Princess Valla that no one could see the difference, not even her father and sister, who soon learned to love new Valla. King Waclaw decided to hide Princess Valla's death, pretending her accident had no lasting harm. No one knew the truth about Princess Valla except him, Ewan and Princess Leda. Still, as the King knew the truth, he wanted his younger daughter, Leda, to succeed him. She grew to be a strong and wise leader. But, as the time passed, Leda became obsessed with finding a cure for her golden touch, so she traveled the world searching for one, rarely coming home to Barsia. That's how it happened that when Waclaw died, only Valla was in Barsia, while Leda was missing, her whereabouts unknown. Barsia needed a Queen, and the late King's advisors, not knowing Valla's true nature, did what they thought was the best and proclaimed her the Queen.