- "Baba good woman. Baba not lie."
- — Baba Yaga about herself.
Baba Yaga (ババ・ヤーガ Baba Yāga?) is a character in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. She is an old witch who lives in the Woes Moor.
Background
Baba Yaga tested many knights of the Brotherhood of Light as they came to her land on their way to the Land of the Dead. Some died attempting to destroy the Scarecrows that had taken her keys, others died inside of her music box attempting to find her blue rose; still others she killed and ate. Those she found worthy she sent on to the Titan Graveyard.
As Gabriel headed to the land of the Necromancers, he encountered Baba Yaga, whom is said to be a witch from popular legend in the area. Yaga has Gabriel collect three keys from Scarecrows that will allow her to open her music box. After getting the three keys, Yaga shrinks Gabriel down to a small size so that he can enter the music box and retrieve its treasure, a blue rose that will allow her to transform into her younger self. In return she opens the portal to the Titan Graveyard for him.
After Gabriel has traveled on, Zobek kills the witch to prevent her from hurting anyone ever again. He says that he does this because a comment she made greatly worries him. Namely that the "King of the Angels" told her that Gabriel was coming.
Interestingly, it is said in the bestiary that the crows were sent to watch over her by the Crow Witch Malphas. A brotherhood letter found on a corpse in the Woes Moor also mentions that Malphas sent crows to spy on the witch who took her lover. This suggests that Baba Yaga is in fact the witch mentioned in Malphas' bestiary entry who enchanted Malphas' lover and lured him to his death, triggering Malphas' attempted suicide and subsequent transformation into a monstrous demon crow.
Quotes
- "Find Blue Rose for Baba!"
- "Many knights help Baba, before you... yes, yes, many..."
- "They tasted so good... very good knights"
- "Hi hi hi hi..."
- "Baba knew you would come..."
- "Hi hi ha ha ha... ha ha ha!"
- "You have all the music! Now, get blue rose for Baba!"
- "Hi hi... blue... blue... roses!"
- "Ha ha ha... blue..."
- "Roses! Ha ha ha... roses!"
- "Yes, my good knight! Blue rose is there!"
Trivia
- Baba Yaga is a witch in Slavic folklore, known for eating children and living in a hut standing on chicken legs. While her reputation is mainly of negative nature, in many tales, heroes seek her wisdom and guidance, like Gabriel Belmont and the other Brotherhood Knights before him; in fact, she became a negative character only after the spread of Christianity influenced its folklore. Until then, she was forever young, beautiful and a noble deity, protector of orphaned children and wise mentor of all legendary heroes on their way to Nav (spirit world).
- According to the folklore surrounding Baba Yaga, anytime she was asked a question, she would age one year, making her highly reluctant to be sought out for advice. The only way to reverse this was for Baba Yaga to drink a tea brewed from blue roses; she was better disposed to give counsel to those who offered her a blue rose in exchange for her services, hence why she had Gabriel enter her music box to retrieve one.
- In the cutscene after the credits, an old woman that looks similar to Baba Yaga to be seen, but it is highly unlikely that they are the same character.
- Baba Yaga claims the "King of the Angels" had told her of Gabriel's coming. This is unusual, as despite being reputed as a cannibalistic witch, her claim would mean that she had been contacted by Christ, who is said to have the epithet of King of the Angels. However, the reference could also be to the game's antagonist, Satan, as Lucifer was once considered King of the Angels before his fall from grace.
- Zobek refers to Baba Yaga in his narration as an "evil crow"; ironically, Baba Yaga is implied to be the enemy of the Crow Witch Malphas.
- The Blue Rose first appeared as an unlockable accessory in Castlevania Judgment, although it is unknown if it has any relation or if it inspired the item Baba Yaga requested.
- Yū Kobayashi, Baba Yaga's Japanese voice actress, also voiced Claudia in the same game.