The first elf ever seen on Knightmare. Known more fully in some circles as Velda the Huntress, and indeeed, she is a self-styled 'warrior elf'; but Treguard has identified her as a wood elf. Too cautious to give away her summoning name and allow humans control over her whereabouts, Velda was the name she shared with dungeoneers.
Velda is about as hostile as a Dungeon dweller can be without being an Opposition minion outright. Although massively distrustful of humans, she frequently gave dungeoneers crucial assistance, because they had helped her, summoned her with a horn (see: Elvandis), or appeased her with a goodwill token (a rose or gauntlet). While not invincible, Velda seemed to thrive on opportunities to indulge her pugnacious side, which may explain her presence in the Dungeon. Further explanation came during the quest of Team 9 of Series 3, when Velda ordered Treguard to tell Merlin to mend the breach between her realm and the Dungeon (a breach seemingly located on the Vale Of Vanburn), hinting that her entire race would attack unless this was done. (Apparently Merlin did not oblige, as more elves later visited the Dungeon (i.e. Pickle and Elita), and were less aggressive than Velda.) Velda introduced herself to Team 5 of Series 3 as "keeper of the gate, warden of the Lower Marshes", so perhaps the elven kin had appointed her to guard the breach.
Velda appeared during every odd-numbered quest in Series 3, but only one even-numbered quest - probably because these were the quests in which Natasha Pope played Brangwen instead.
Using her bizarre weapon - a crossbow that shot elongated bullets - Velda defended the following teams from the following adversaries: Team 3 of Series 3 from Grimwold, Teams 5 and 9 from the Behemoth, Team 7 of Series 3 from goblins. Team 11 of Series 3 freed Velda from incarceration, as did Team 10 of Series 3 (Velda's only appearance below Level 1 - she'd been tied up by goblins in the Level 2 caverns: see below). Aid given by Velda tended to take the form of step clues for use in Merlin's chamber, though she once awarded a spell (TRANSFORM, to Team 7) and a beryl (to Team 10).


As noted above, Velda was played by Natasha Pope, whose other roles were Brangwen and Morghanna.

In addition to numerous fanfiction appearances, Velda is featured in both the story and gamebook sections of The Labyrinths Of Fear, the second of the official Knightmare books.

[Second image courtesy of Rex Features. Lowest image courtesy of The Jackal's Knightmare Page.

Earlier version: 2006-04-10 14:31:10]

login to vote

From TES issue 46 (July 2007)

Series 3. Level 1/2.
VELDA.

Velda was the first of Knightmare’s three elves. Like Pickle, she was a wood elf, although her personality was far less sunny than his. Velda carried a crossbow and several daggers, and lived in the realm of the Elven Kin, which could be all too easily accessed from Knightmare Castle during series 3. Velda soon became aware of this fact, and voiced her displeasure about it whenever she could. She was played by Natasha Pope, the actress who also brought us Brangwen and Morghanna.

Velda’s first appearance was in the first episode of series 3. She had a brief encounter with Gavin, who had to win her over with courtesy in order to earn her help. Upon being asked if she would please let the dungeoneer pass, Velda parted with a step clue and set Gavin on the right path. This was a strange little scene, the premise of which was never revisited.

It was more usual to meet Velda in the Vale of Vanburn, which was the rocky area with the waterfall at the end of the Dungeon Valley. It was here that Velda’s extreme dislike for goblins was revealed, as well as her affinity for seeing off ogres by kneeing them in the privates!

In the Vale of Vanburn, Velda gave Simon a step clue after he had thrown down a gauntlet to prove his allegiance to the quest, turned up in answer to a horn-blast to shoot the Armoured Behemoth for James, and rewarded Kelly with a TRANSFORM spell in exchange for a rose: ”It is a fair token indeed; no one would carry this instead of a weapon if their feet were on the dark path.” – Velda.

The trend that James set for calling Velda with a horn was continued later in the series, when Scott called her to get rid of the Armoured Behemoth in the Dungeon Kitchen. After dispatching the enemy, Velda held forth for some time about what a travesty it was that she kept having to answer dungeoneers’ calls for help, and told Treguard to find a way to mend the breach between the two worlds or risk an elf invasion! This was Velda’s most outspoken and fiery appearance, and summed up her character rather well, as Treguard was quick to point out: ”Such a vibrant young lady, don’t you think? Or perhaps strident would be a better word.” – Treguard.

Velda’s final two appearances (in episodes 13 and 14 of series 3) saw her bound and tied as a helpless prisoner, and it was Julie’s and then Martin’s task to free her in order to earn her help. In her one appearance on level two, Velda had to be rescued from some goblins by dungeoneer Julie. In return for this aid, Velda gave Julie a large green gem, which she described as an elven stone. In series 5, this snippet of information was explored further, as it was revealed that Elita would do just about anything for a green stone. Hmm, now that’s a useful tip to remember…

Julie’s rescue scene was pretty much played out all over again in the next episode, as Martin found Velda tied to a wall. He had a key with which to free her, in exchange for which she gave him a useful hint and a step clue. This was a slightly inglorious final appearance for the character, who had certainly proved to be an important (well, loud anyway) part of series 3.

Fear Factor: 6 Armed and dangerous!
Killer Instinct: 1 If handled incorrectly, she could have proved deadly.
Humour Rating: 2 Seemed to take life very seriously indeed.
Oscar Standard: 7 A little one-dimensional, and rather forgettable, I’m afraid.

login to vote

A character in Le Chevalier du Labyrinthe, the French version of Knightmare. Although she was intended as a warrior, she apparently went from an aggressive brunette (i.e. similar to her British namesake) in the series' first year to an amiable blonde in its second, which one might credit to a change of actress. Or magic.

Véronique Moëst, who also played Iselle and Morganne, first played Velda. Marine Jolivet later took on the role.

[Previous version: 2005-11-14 17:59:29]

login to vote

Blithe member of the Knightmare fan community. Velda, real name Julia, joined around December 2002, and is noted for such accomplishments as episode transcripts, the Knightmare Encyclopedia, and contributions to Interactive Story #1.

Velda has also participated in roleplay on the KMBS and Surrounds forums, where her characters have included Hordriss' niece, a version of Stiletta, and herself (transported to the Knightmare realm from this dimension).

Having disappeared from the Knightmare.com discussion forum in May 2004, Velda returned to it (initially incognito) 17 months later with a new screen name, 10th Doctor Fan. In the interim, she had posted on the forum as Opera Babe, falsely claiming that her first name was Chloe.

In December 2007, after another extended absence, Julia joined the Knightmare.com Forum once more, this time with the username Romana. The following month, she deleted the Romana account, regained access to her original account and subsequently posted as Velda again. In May 2013, she rejoined the forum as Romanadvoratrelundar. On the Lexicon and Knightmare Back-Up, her current screen name is Romana.

[Earlier versions: 2008-01-29 01:35:53, 2007-02-18 23:35:05, 2006-01-12 18:16:11]

login to vote