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Shovel Knight, along with its various expansions and spin-offs, seems like a simple story of knights, magic, and shovel-bouncing. But underneath that surface premise lay a web of intrigue, entwined within which is none other than Shovel Knight's own partner, Shield Knight.
While Shield Knight's history is briefly touched upon at the very beginning and very end of the Shovel of Hope campaign, it's only within the various Shovel Knight expansions that we understand the full extent of her sacrifice, suffering, and eventual rescue. Let's trace back the thread of history to discern what, exactly, happened to this brave knight.
Please be advised we'll be getting into spoilers for most of the Shovel Knight series.
The Glory Days
The Valley in which the stories of Shovel Knight take place is absolutely full to bursting with knights and those of a knightly disposition. Among all of those knights, there were few as capable, as chivalrous, as accomplished as the duo of Shovel Knight and Shield Knight. A pair of professional adventurers, the two of them spent their days digging up loot, fighting off monsters and criminals, and generally righting wrongs across the Valley. It was a good life, truly.
As knights, the two of them maintained a policy of proactive protection. Whenever they heard rumors of dark magics and gathering monsters, they made it their mission to seek out the source and dispense shovel-and-shield-shaped justice in the interest of the Valley's continued well-being. While good-intentioned, though, it was this proactive policy that would spark off a tragic chain of events.
Rumors Of Power
After a tangle with the Hexcavators in Shovel Knight Dig, Shovel Knight and Shield Knight learned of the existence of the Amulet, a trinket infused with the dark magic essence of an ancient Enchantress. The two of them fought off an aspect of the Enchantress, but in the process, the Amulet was lost to the Tower of the Fate, an ancient structure of unknown origin emerging from the Earth. The Knights knew they had to secure and, ideally, destroy the Amulet to prevent the Enchantress from ever rising again.
At the same time, though, rumors of the Amulet and its power (leaving out the most dangerous part) had begun to circulate throughout the Valley, catching the attention of a pair of bandits named Luan and Donovan. Luan, in particular, had been searching for ways to empower himself so that he might protect his son, Reize, from the dangers of the world, and Donovon was happy to help him. Together, the two ventured to the newly-emerged Tower of Fate, with Shield Knight and Shovel Knight coincidentally embarking on their own journey soon after.
Tragedy
Within the Tower of Fate, Luan and Donovan were the first to discover the Amulet. However, before they could claim it, they were confronted by Shield Knight, who had run ahead of her partner. Shield Knight, having witnessed the terror of the Enchantress firsthand, tried to warn the bandits away from the Amulet, but Donovan, who bore a deep-seated mistrust of knights, chose to fight her. The battle between Shield Knight and Donovan was so intense that the Amulet's chamber was compromised, trapping Shield Knight and sending the bandits falling to their deaths.
Exhausted and unable to escape, Shield Knight could do nothing to resist the blooming power of the Amulet. As she was suffused with its dark magic, her consciousness was buried deep inside her own mind while the dark will of the Enchantress took hold. A prisoner in her own body, Shield Knight could only watch helplessly as the Enchantress assumed power over the tower and its dark denizens. With the terrible power of the tower at her hands, the world would bow before her.
A Campaign Of Terror
The Enchantress began her campaign to conquer the valley, starting by reviving the deceased Donovan as the revenant Specter Knight and having him recruit other powerful knights to her burgeoning Order of No Quarter. While this was happening, Black Knight, friend to Shield Knight and rival to Shovel Knight, infiltrated the tower in hopes of finding his friend. When he met the Enchantress, he recognized Shield Knight's face, but could immediately tell that she wasn't herself. Beating a hasty retreat, Black Knight resolved to protect Shield Knight's body until he could discern a way to free her.
In another wrinkle shown in Shovel Knight Showdown, a group of the tower's denizens, loyal to Specter Knight rather than Enchantress, sought to trap her in the dimension-bending realm of the Mirror of Fate. Within this illusory realm, an aspect of Shield Knight's consciousness awoke from its dormant state and took the opportunity to battle against the Enchantress. Sadly, even after defeating the witch's avatar and shattering the Mirror from within, Shield Knight was still trapped. However, during her time in the mirror, she planted a seed of hope.
A Glimpse Of Hope
When Shield Knight was first overtaken by the Enchantress, Shovel Knight was ejected from the tower, which completely resealed itself. Without any way to verify his partner's safety, Shovel Knight had no choice but to assume the worst. Heartbroken, he renounced his knighthood and retired to the countryside, where he was plagued with constant nightmares of being unable to rescue Shield Knight. One night, he was confronted with an unusually vivid dream where Shield Knight told him of his survival and warned him of the Enchantress's campaign. As it turns out, this was no dream, but the real Shield Knight communicating with him while in the Mirror of Fate.
With a spark of hope from Shield Knight, bolstered by rumors that the Tower of Fate had been unsealed during the Enchantress's campaign, Shovel Knight took up his shovel blade once again to crusade against the Order of No Quarter. He eventually realized that the Enchantress was Shield Knight, body possessed, but that only hardened his resolve further.
A Daring Rescue
After defeating the knights of the Order of No Quarter, Shovel Knight scaled the Tower of Fate and confronted the Enchantress. With skill and courage, he battled the witch and, when she was on the defensive, managed to shatter the Amulet binding her soul. As the dark magic billowed from her body, she swiftly returned to her normal self as Shield Knight, overcome with relief that her partner had come for her as she always knew he would.
The grudge of the Enchantress managed to reassemble itself into the Remnant of Fate, forcing Shovel Knight and Shield Knight into one last encounter. They managed to overcome the monster, but in the process, Shovel Knight took its dying attack point-blank, forcing Shield Knight to protect him. Coincidentally, Plague Knight chose this time to detonate his Ultimate Potion, causing the tower to collapse. Shield Knight needed to remain behind while Black Knight, who arrived to help, took Shovel Knight to safety. Black Knight dropped Shovel Knight off at his usual campsite and left to look for Shield Knight, but he wouldn't have to go far. At the last minute, Shield Knight managed to escape the crumbling tower. Badly injured but alive, she found Shovel Knight at the campsite and sat down to rest beside him, the two of them finally safe.
It's not clear exactly how much time the various stories of Shovel Knight encompass, but at the very least, Shield Knight was likely trapped by the Enchantress for several months, if not years. While it was surely an agonizing ordeal for her, she remained stalwart that her friend and companion wouldn't abandon her, and while it took some external circumstances to set matters in motion, she was ultimately right about that.
