Princess Daphne inside the Bubble of Helotry.
The Bubble of Helotry is a magical containment prison used in the original Dragon's Lair video game and again in Dragon's Lair 3D. Singe imprisons Princess Daphne in this magical orb and keeps her in his treasure room inside an evil wizard’s castle while he is sleeping.
When Dirk reaches the treasure room, Daphne explains to Dirk that the only way she could be freed from the magic bubble is for him to retrieve the key from Singe's neck. In order to slay the dragon, Dirk must first claim the magical Dragonfang sword which is also secured in a base inside the lair.
The Bubble's full name is revealed in the comics and is explained to be more than a prison. The Wizard apprentice Halvern sees it in the mind of a dead fire drake and then finds it in an old book. It is mentioned to be first used in the ancient Caldera and it had the magical power to dull the mind and enslave those in it "by the dawn of the next full moon". The effects of the bubble disappear when the bubble is destroyed as Dirk shows in the comics. It also shows that Singe created a harem of enslaved princesses using the effects of the bubble turning them over to his command, although their debasement seemed to consist mostly of frolicking and pillow fighting in his lair in addition to feeding, cleaning, and pampering the dragon.
This seems to create one possible explanation of the differing characterization of Daphne across the respective canons (adventurous and feisty in the cartoon series and the comic, and an air-headed bimbo in the original game). Presumably, by the time Dirk the Daring reached her at the end of the game, it may have already affected her mind to a significant degree.
In the television show, the Bubble had more of a snowglobe appearance with a lid on top of it that Singe places Daphne into, with no known side effects of spending time inside of it.
In Dragon's Lair 3D, Dirk is introduced to his doppelganger Hollow soon after the destruction of the bubble at the center of Singe's treasure room, and the ensuing cutscene reveals how the shapeshifter ended up in the lair after trying to steal the magical Dragonfang sword.
In the comics, the bubble is proven to be exceptionally durable, apparently impervious to any force or element aside from Singe’s magical key. Despite Daphne’s attempts to free herself by rolling the bubble down steep drops, the only result was giving herself disorientation and the threat of motion-sickness. Dirk is able take cover behind the bubble and is able to be shielded from the entirety of Singe’s fire breath, aside from losing his backpack which combusted due to direct contact with the bubble’s exterior surface. Despite the bubble’s external hear conductivity, Daphne remained unaffected by the heat while confined inside the bubble.
Trivia[]
- Curiously, in the opening of Dragon's Lair 3D, Daphne does the same motions she does in the original Dragon's Lair, when Singe imprisons her in a green bubble.