Deltora Quest
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Deltora Quest is a series of children’s fantasy books, written by Australian author Emily Rodda. It follows the adventures of three companions as they journey across the magical land of Deltora seeking seven magical jewels that, when combined, will vanquish the evil Shadow Lord. It is comprised of eight books which were first published in Australia by Scholastic. They were published monthly, starting in April, 2000 and ending in November, 2000. The Deltora Quest series is followed by two further series that take place in the same fictional world and feature the same characters. These series are Deltora Quest 2 (also knows as Deltora Shadowlands) and Deltora Quest 3 (also known as Dragons of Deltora). Collectively, these three series are known as the Deltora series.
In January 2007, an anime adaptation will air in Japan.
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[edit] Major characters
[edit] Lief
Lief is the main character of the series. Lief was born to parents King Endon and Queen Sharn though he believed them to be Jarred and Anna of the forge. As a child Lief roamed the streets of Del, sharpening his wits and gaining him the skills needed for his future quests. Though he did not know it, he was constantly protected by Barda and he prided himself on his many 'lucky' escapes. On his sixteenth birthday it is revealed to him that he must accompany Barda on a quest to find the lost gems of Deltora. At the end of the series Lief discovers he is the heir to the belt of Deltora and becomes the king.
Lief cares much for his country and in doing so is a good king. He is an able swordsman and with the aid of the Belt of Deltora has often solved incredibly hard riddles. He uses his wits in battle letting him defeat even the more experienced opponent. However sometimes Lief possesses a lack of foresight and often loses his temper. He is stubborn which leads to him making some poor choices. Lief, from his father's side is descended from Adin, The first king of Deltora and the creator of both the belt and the country's name, which is an acronym of Diamond-Emerald-Lapis lazuli-Topaz-Opal-Ruby-Amethyst. If you read the Deltora Quest 3 series the the dragons seem to go Diamond-Emerald-Lapis lazuli-Topaz-Opal-Ruby-Amethyst.
[edit] Barda
Before the Shadow Lord took control of Deltora, Barda was a guard in training at the palace in Del. His mother, Min, was a great gossiper, nursemaid to young Jarred and Endon, and late one night overheard a plot for the Shadow Lord to take control of Deltora. Scared, she told the news to King Endon, who believed she was mistaken and had merely been dreaming. However several hours later she had been murdered for what she knew. Fearing for his own life, Barda left the palace shortly before the Shadow Lord invaded Deltora. Through the darkness of the night, Barda stumbled into the forge and fell asleep.
When he awoke the Shadow Lord had commenced his attack upon the city. Only half-awake and scarred by the invasion Barda stumbled upon what he thought to be Jarred and Anna hurrying the King and Queen away. Actually, what he saw was the plan the four friends had hatched in order to keep the heir of Deltora safe. Endon was surprised to see a palace guard lurching toward him and knocked him unconscious. While asleep Barda rambled aloud his fears and Endon and Sharn realised that he was a friend. They enlisted his aid in searching for the lost gems of Deltora.
For the next sixteen years Barda disguised himself as a beggar so as to discover information vital to the Quest. He also became the bodyguard of Endon and Sharn's child Lief, albeit without the semi-arrogant Lief's knowledge thereof. Upon Lief's sixteenth birthday Barda revealed himself to Lief and the quest for the gems of Deltora began. Though Barda was at first annoyed to travel encumbered by a child, he soon saw Lief as more of a help than a hindrance.
Barda's skill in swordsmanship is second to none. His courage and wits have seen his companions and himself through several tight places. He holds a genuine affection for Lief (and to a lesser degree Jasmine). His loyalty to his king makes him a good friend.
[edit] Jasmine
Jasmine is a wild girl, who has grown up in the Forests of Silence, where Lief and Barda meet her shortly after leaving Del. Her parents, Jarred and Anna, were captured by Grey Guards when she was young, and so she has been raised by the forest. She can understand the language of the trees and of many animals, but has trouble understanding some social customs. Jasmine is usually seen with her blackbird, Kree, and a mouse-like creature she calls Filli. Jasmine is like Lief and has occasionally a quick temper. After helping Leif and Barda in the forest, she is greeted by her mother's spirt from beyond the grave, who tells her to go with Lief and Barda in their quest. After this encounter, she joins Lief and Barda on their quest for the belt.
[edit] King Endon
Endon was king when the Shadow Lord took over. Although by the normal rules of succession he would have still been king if he was still alive, it is said in the Forests of Silence that his people didn't trust him, and the Belt would not shine for him. Therefore, his son is the rightful king even if Endon was still alive. King Endon was married to Queen Sharn. When Lief and his companions challenged the Guardian of the Diamond, the Guardian faked his name as "Endon" so that those who passed his challenges would be shocked and tricked into believing the real king had abandoned Deltora. Fortunately the three companions learn the truth and when they return to Del and drive away the Shadow Lord, it is revealed that Endon and Jarred switched places to hide Endon and his family. Sadly, Endon dies before he can see his son rule wisely over the people.
[edit] Jarred the Blacksmith/Doom
Jarred was a noble of Deltora and childhood friend of Endon, who left in disgrace and disgust when he learned that the noble world he lived in was a falsehood. He moved to the blacksmith outside of the castle, and took up the trade, eventually taking over when the existing blacksmith (Crian) grew old. Jarred is Jasmine's father. Jarred is married to Anna, Crian's granddaughter. It is later revealed that on the day the Shadow Lord took over, Jarred came up with a plan to hide Endon and his family by switching places with them. Jarred and Anna, along with their unborn daughter Jasmine, fled at first towards Tora, but because of Grey Guards turned east towards the Forests of Silence. They lived there for many years until Grey Guards captured them. Jarred and Anna were taken to the Shadowlands, where Anna died. Jarred, because of his strength from years as a blacksmith, was sent to fight in the Shadow Arena. He fought a Vraal, and in the process escaped the Arena but lost his memory. He somehow fled the Shadowlands, with the Vraal and Grey Guards in pursuit. He fought them again, but was gravely injured. Making his way to Kinrest, he met an old hermit called Doom of the Hills. Doom nursed Jarred back to health, but was later killed by the remaining Grey Guards. Jarred, strong once more, killed them all, buried Doom, and took his name for himself. He became head of the Deltora Resistance, and years later met Lief, Barda, and Jasmine in their quest. After several unpleasant encounters, they joined forces against the Shadow Lord. During a battle with a Grade 3 Ol Dain,Doom was struck in the head and regained his memory. He recognized Jasmine, and because of a piece of paper he had given Jasmine years ago, Lief thought he was Endon. He was then revealed to be Jarred, and joined the new royal court as one of Lief's advisors.
[edit] Queen Sharn
King Endon's wife and the mother of King Lief. Sharn was the Queen consort of Deltora, now the king's mother. (Ever since her son, Lief, became King.) Sharn had switched places with Anna, Jasmine's mother, in order to keep her true identity secret. She became a widow when her husband died. Later in the series, she was poisoned by Paff (the guardian of the Sister of the South) who spiked Sharn's lip balm. She later recovered using the healing powers of Deltora's emeralds.
[edit] Anna
The wife of Jarred/Doom and mother of Jasmine. She fled Del with Jarred into the Forests of Silence. She was later captured along with Jarred by Grey Guards and died in the Shadowlands. Jasmine is visited by her through the topaz which has the power to contact the spirit world.
[edit] Villains
Not all of the characters in Deltora Quest are friendly, however. There are many malevolent characters as well, some serve the Shadow Lord himself while others are just malevolent in nature.
[edit] The Shadow Lord
The Shadow Lord is the tyrant ruler of the Northern region once called Pirra, to which he has laid waste. Once a human sorcerer, the Shadow Lord died after many years of study, wherein he perfected his skill at manipulation. His intelligence, his desire for control, and his hate for all that does not love him survived and re-embodied itself as a being of pure darkness, shrouded in grey and red clouds. A voice it has, and it can cause physical reactions such as the creation of living things or the movement of objects. It forgets nothing, and it always makes multilayered plans.
In its attempt at conquest, the Shadow Lord was foiled by Adin the blacksmith, who united all the seven tribes of the land into an army of his own. Backed by the warrior Jalis, the noble Dread Gnomes, the hedonistic Mere tribe, his own faithful Del people, the hopeful Plains folk, the cheerful Ralad, and the magical but hidebound Torans, Adin vanquished the Shadow Army and seized power, becoming the king of the land he now called Deltora.
Furious, the Shadow Lord withdrew and began concocting other plans. Sending Ols to be chief advisors of the royal family, it instilled its voice in the ears of rulers, ultimately robbing the kings and queens of power until they did nothing but obey worthless customs. In time, the seven Ak-Baba stole the tribal talismans from the Belt of Deltora, concealing each in a perilous place.
However, the gems were recovered by a descendant of Adin, Lief as well as Barda, and Jasmine of Del. The Belt was remade, and the land freed from the foreign threat.
[edit] Dain
Dain was originally encountered as a nervous servant to Doom, and a member of the Resistance. He was cultured, polite, respectful, and often afraid, yet noble in battle and showing evidence of a great spirit. He saved Lief, Barda, and Jasmine from shape-changing Ols, before they knew what an Ol was, and helped them escape from Doom when Doom held them prisoner for his own reasons. However, Dain was kidnapped by pirates. When the trio later encountered the same pirates, Dain had just freed himself with the help of a polypan, and he came with them to Tora, the magical city.
Dain had hoped to meet his parents in Tora, but the city was deserted. He seemed to be all but destroyed by the news, but once they left the city he seemed to feel more hopeful.
In the final book, Lief assembles representatives of all seven tribes to pledge loyalty to the Heir and thus hope that the Belt will lead them to the Heir. It seems clear that Dain is the heir (his name is even made of the same letters as the first King, Adin), but just then he gets kidnapped. Lief picks up his fallen dagger and carries it with him. Knowing that they must get the Belt to the true Heir, the team makes plans to get into the city. However, their plans are all anticipated and easily overcome, and most of the group are captured.
It turns out Dain is not the Heir, but a Grade 3 Ol, capable of assuming even inanimate shapes, and sent to spy on the Resistance and eventually on the trio. The fact that he had killed other Ols is not surprising; they were less talented varieties and the Shadow Lord's creations don't have anything resembling a conscience. Ols think only of furthering their own usefulness to the Shadow Lord. Dispite this, some fans speculate that he could have been //replaced// with an Ol after being captured by the pirates. The fact that he was an Ol was the reason he was weakened when he entered the magical city of Tora, as its magic weakens evil.
In the end, it is the Belt of Deltora itself that destroys Dain. Dain's betrayal is one of the larger shocks in the tale, despite the previous depiction of Grade 3 Ols.
[edit] Prandine
Endon's Chief advisor, who turns out to be a servant of the Shadow Lord. After the Belt is stolen, Prandine traps Endon, Jarred, and Sharn in the highest tower, ready to kill them with a poisoned knife. However, he underestimates the resourcefulness of the "painted doll" Sharn, who tips him out of the window in defiance of the limits pregnancy put on her; he falls to his death.
Prandine is thought by Lief to be a Grade 3 Ol, due to a speech made by Fallow in the fifth book of the first series.
[edit] Fallow
Ancient traitorous Chief advisor. He is another Grade 3 Ol who seems to act as a personal advisor to the Shadow Lord. After Prandine is killed he takes on his appearance since the Shadow Lord seems to favor that particular form. he interrogates Lief's father, asking about the boy (Lief), the man (Barda) and the wild girl with a black bird (Jasmine and Kree) and questioning if the boy in the group is his son who is undoing the Shadow Lord's grip on the world of Deltora. He also mistakenly thought that the man that was traveling with him (Barda) is none other than King Endon himself. Fallow also seems to have an addiction to Lumin, a reward the Shadow Lord granted him, however the Shadow Lord threatens to take it away if Fallow does not buckle down in finding the heir of Deltora as well as the traitors. Fallow was the one who hosted the punishment for Lief's allies (although it is normally a Grey Guard who does this but since it was a special situation, Fallow was granted the honor) but was driven back by Lief using the Belt of Deltora. See Prandine for more details.
[edit] Grey Guards
Grey Guards are part of the Shadow Lord's attacking force. Their main and most fatal weapon are 'blisters', which are filled with Gellick's poison, explode on impact, and cause a quick but torturous death. Grey Guards possess an incredible amount of durability, speed and accuracy. They can stay up nearly all night and not get tired.
The various pods have names, such as "Carn pod", and an identical pod is grown in time to replace the ageing pod, so that to the populace it seems that Carn pod goes to the Shadowlands, and then Carn pod returns invigorated, good for another seven years. Somehow Jasmine knows about the general idea of pods (that they don't know mothers or fathers because they "are raised in groups of ten") when Lief and Barda first meet her; it is questionable how she knows, given that the general populace does not seem to know. Her father did go to the Shadowlands and may have learned this information, but never returned to her to share it. The Grey Guards do not actually know that they are grown in factories and replaced regularly, so they could not have talked about it while Jasmine listened in. It is possible, if not likely, that Kree heard this from other birds; aside from that, there is no ready explanation.
[edit] The Sorceress Thaegan and her Children
Thaegan makes an appearance in "The Lake of Tears" as one of the major villains. Thaegan is a sorceress who hates all things good & beautiful and full of life. She uses her magic for malicious deeds. She also has a deep hatred for birds because of their free spirits and according to the Deltora book of monsters her mother could actually transform into one.Her favourite food is a live raven; she apparently ate Kree's parents, causing him to flee to the Forests of Silence. Her death can be brought upon her by spilling at least a single drop of her tainted blood. Many have tried to kill her but she uses her magic to create a barrier around herself. Her only weak spot is her finger when she casts her spells. She was vanquished after Kree pecked her there just before she blasted Lief, Jasmine and Barda on the shore of the Lake of Tears. She has 13 children who are named in an uncanny rhyme:
Hot, Tot, Jin, Jod.
Fie, Fly, Zan, Zod.
Pik, Snik, Lun, Lod.
And the dreaded Ichabod.
Her children are monstrous in appearance, able to take on either the form of some grotesque beast or a wolf. Jin and Jod are a pair of ogre-like monsters that are able to use magic to mask their true evil selves (as well as the dungeon-like setting of their lair) to make them appear as a kindly elderly couple and their sentences are spoken backwards to fool their victims into thinking they are simply speaking an incomprehensible language (it is never revealed if the other eleven are able to use such powers as well). Jin and Jod trap the three heroes in their house using their magic to trick them and plot to kill them. It is also revealed that the Ralad, Manus, was a captive "pet" of the two for a time since he was too small to eat and simply didn't have very much other use until he escaped but was then recaptured by the Grey Guards and was being escorted back to Jin and Jod's cottage. Manus helps rescue Lief, Barda and Jasmine by distracting the two and by revealing to Lief how to cross the quicksand moat. Just as Jin and Jod went in pursuit of them they are killed by their own quicksand moat when Jasmine moved the moss over the moat and stepping stones to trick them into falling into a patch of quicksand instead of the hidden bridge under the water.
The remaining children pursue Lief and company in City of Rats so that they could get revenge for the deaths of their siblings and their mother and so that they can eat them. Lief and Barda trick them into fighting each other and 10 of the other eleven are killed in a fight over who would get to eat which parts of them and Ichabod wins this fight only to have the three escape; he is only heard from again in "Return to Del". Doom remarks that Ichabod is the "Only one of that foul brood who still prowls", suggesting that he slew his siblings in the said fight. He is described variously as a "freak", as a "fiend as red as blood", or simply as a monster.
[edit] Ra-Kacharz
Are the ruling class in Noradz. They are dressed from head-to-toe in red and carry whips. Their name is a derivative of "rat catchers" and work for the Shadow Lord. It was they who caused the "rat plague" that drove humanity from the city of Hira, under which was buried a chemical that would pollute the whole of Deltora if released by the burning of the Four Sisters. The Ra-Kacharz are similar to priests, in that they "serve sacred laws", (cleanliness, watchfulness, and duty; three things required for reaction to rat overpopulation) but in other ways are more like oppressors. They keep the people afraid, though of what the citizens do not know. They also provided luxuries for the noble families in Del, blinding them to the poverty on the castle doorsteps.
The word "Noradz" is of course derived from "No Rats"; whereas the "blessing" uttered by the Ra-Kacharz, Noradzeer, means "There are no rats here".
[edit] Nak, Finne, and Milne the Pirates
Three pirates who raided the riverside town of Where Waters Meet. In Maze of the Beast they capture Dain, and Milne, a traitor, was put with Lief, Jasmine and Barda into the maze of the beast. Milne ran from Lief and co and was eventually killed and eaten by the Glus .
[edit] The Guardians
The Guardians are the ones that the Shadow Lord sent the Ak-Baba to deliver the Seven Gems of the Belt of Deltora to in order for them to keep them from falling into the hands of his enemies. Some of these beings are minions and allies of the Shadow Lord himself such as Thaegan and Gellick, while others are merely acting on their own accord such as Gorl the Knight and the Glus in the Maze of the Beast. In whatever way they are connected to the Shadow Lord, all of the Guardians are terrible and getting the Gems from them is no easy task. The Guardians include:
[edit] Gorl
Gorl's appearance is in the first book, "The Forests of Silence". He is a knight-like warrior that wears golden jalis armor and has a pair of horns on the top of his helmet and is the guardian of the Lillies of Life and the Topaz, which is located in the hilt of his sword. He unknowingly prevented the Lillies from blooming by tending vines that grew to block out the sun. He and his two brothers were Jalis knights searching for the Lillies of Life, whose abundant nectar had healing properties. When they found it Gorl slew his two brothers for the last of the magical nectar, desiring eternal life. Since then, it appears Gorl has lost his human form and become a ghost haunting a suit of large gold armour. When he engages in combat, he can use telepathic or magical powers to bend people to his will or mesmerise them. The only way to break out of his binding is to distract him. The only way to destroy him is to crush him and his armour, as Jasmine did with a large tree branch.
[edit] Soldeen
A demonic eel-like monster, who guards the ruby. Soldeen was once Nanion, the leader of the D'or Tribe. He, along with several others, (the number is not stated, but assumed to be in the hundreds) were transformed and controlled by Thaegan, but were freed by Thaegan's death at the attack of Kree. When Thaegan is killed by Kree, the lake he and the rest of his townsfolk are imprisoned in dries up instantly. In the same stroke, the spells Thaegan placed are destroyed, and all of them are returned to human forms.
[edit] Reeah
This is an evil and giant snake monster. It lives in the City of the Rats, feeding on the rats that live there. It wears a crown set with an opal, one of the gems of the Belt of Deltora. Reeah was bred by the Ra-Kacharz on orders from the Shadow Lord to guard this stone; a position that gave it great arrogance. Reeah originally dwelled in the sewers and cellars, the underground areas of what is now "The City of Rats", and used to be a much smaller snake. But the "Rat Catchers" helped Reeah survive down below by secretly collecting and breeding the rat population to feed him while Reeah bid his time and continued to grow in size. Eventually the rats became so numerous that they overran the city and so the people were forced to leave and form Noradz somewhere elsewhere, leaving Reeah to claim the city as his new kingdom, with an abundant food supply.
Reeah is a very vain creature, becoming flustered with pride when he was complimented. Reeah also seemed to have some form of telepathy as well, he could see into the minds of his prey and read their thoughts. He also has some influence as well, luring his prey closer and closer to him with his alluring voice, something he did to Lief to lure him into a trap (perhaps this was a power bestowed upon him by the great Opal because of its power to see into the future). Fortunately Jasmine and Lief managed to kill Reeah and Lief managed to collect the Opal that he was guarding. Ironically, when Reeah died, the rats that he fed on and depeneded on as his food for so long began to devour his corpse when the three heroes departed the city.
[edit] The Hive
Possibly the most ancient and mysterious of Deltoran monsters. The Hive is a vast community of underground invertebrates, of what kind no human knows. They, like bees, have a Queen Mother, workers, and studs. Smoke calms them, whereas heat agitates them. They dwell in a massive pyramid of bones, gold, gems, and other nonperishing oddments, which sink to the Hive like detritus in a whirlpool. The Shifting Sands are made up of the Hive's dead. Every grain of red sand was once a Hive member. The vast number of them has created a simple ecosystem similar to a desert above the Hive. The Hive then became the Guardian(s) of the Lapis Lazuli, and the jewel became part of the Hive's pyramid beneath the ground.
[edit] Gellick
Gellick is an enormous and greedy toad-like monster. The Shadow Lord placed upon him the task of guarding the Emerald of the Belt of Deltora. Gellick sat in a great chamber that served as the Great Gnomes' treasure hoard, sitting on a pile of gold coins and other gems as his throne. Here the Dread Gnomes tend to his whim such as bringing him a supply of dead flies as his food. The Dread Gnomes serve as Gellick's slaves and caretakers in return for Gellick protecting them and giving them his venomous slime to use for their poisonous arrow. This same venom is also used in making the Grey Guards' blisters and whatever venom that the gnomes don't use is shipped off somewhere where the Grey Guards collect it and use it to make their most-feared weapon. Lief and his group attempted to kill the monster using the blisters they had stolen but because they were made of the same poison the toad produced the blisters had no affect. Fortunately Lief still had some water from the Dream Spring and hurled some down the throat of the toad. Because of the enchantment on it, the water from the spring cannot be consumed by those with evil hearts, causing them to turn into trees. This is a fate that Gellick was also doomed with.
[edit] The Glus
A giant white-skinned slug monster with 8 eyes and 28 teeth. The name is an anagram of "slug"; It is also known as The Beast (for it is none other than the creature that the Maze of the Beast gets its name from) or Deathspinner. Although its sight and hearing aren't very good, it is attracted by movement within the maze just as a spider is attracted to movement within its web. The Glus has fine hairs on its underbelly that allows it to feel movement and captures its prey by spitting a milky glue-like substance. The walls of the maze also seem to drip with the same substance. Although the Glus is not a particularly fast creature, all it has to do is follow its prey and wait. If its prey stays still long enough, the substance hardens like cement leaving it easy prey for the Glus to consume when it finally catches up. The walls of the Maze are composed of a combination of rock, the creature's glue-like substance and the bones of its victims. It is the guardian of the Amethyst. Its only victim in the series is Milne, a pirate. It is one of many seabeasts that went to hunt on land (including Kobb) and thus escaped the tectonic shift that joined the Land of Dragons to Pirra. To Glus, its lair is more important than food, demonstrated when it sealed a hole that threatened to release water into its maze.
[edit] The Guardian who they think is Endon
He was originally a wealthy, game-loving hermit named Fardeep who came from Rithmere. He was originally the owner of the Rithmere games Inn before it became what it is now. The Shadow Lord's minions attacked Rithmere and Fardeep was forced out of his life of luxury. He came to what is now the Valley of the Lost to find peace but the Shadow Lord's influence seeped into his mind, promising him riches and luxury again and Fardeep fell into despair and temptation conquered him and thus he became the Guardian. Although he was changed, his love of games and riddles still remained even after he became the guardian. When he was made Guardian of the diamond, those who came to seek it were given the chance to win the Diamond in a game of his choice. Those who failed became ghosts and were forced to become his "deciples", sadly roaming the Valley of the Lost forever. He also seemed to be the most reasonable of the Guardians, he was willing to allow his visitors safe passage and leave if they did not want to play his games in order to get the Diamond (something he did with Neridah).
When Lief, Barda and Jasmine challenged the Guardian to the game that gave them the opportunity to win the Diamond, he promised that he would allow the group to take possession of whatever item was contained inside a golden cascket within a glass room and the cascket was where the Diamond of the Belt of Deltora was contained. To gain entry, they had to figure out the Guardian's name. The Guardian's name was also the password that the group needed to get inside the chamber where the gold cascket was stored in. The Guardian only gave a small sample of clues, such as that the clues they needed to find were inside the Guardian's palace and that the riddle they needed to help them find out his name was hidden but also so out in the open that it was right in front of their noses. As it turned out the riddle was in the mirror in the chamber, when they looked inside they found this riddle:
My secret name awaits within. My first the first of Pride's great sin. My second and my last begin, The sum of errors in the twin. My third begins a sparkle of bright-The treasure pure? The point of light? My fourth, the sum of happiness, For those who try my name to guess.
The Guardian has four demons attached to him through cords of flesh. They are named after and symbolize his four greatest sins; "Pride", "Envy", "Greed", and "Hate". Strangely, the method that the Guardian named the monsters was not after their personalities. For example, Pride was not a vain creature, Envy was not envious, Greed was not greedy and Hate had never hated anyone or anything in its life. However, each monster did have at least one trait that their siblings were name after, which became one of the clues that Lief, Barda and Jasmine needed to find out The Guardian's name as well as the password to the chamber where the Diamond was being contained since the riddle said that the first letter was "Pride's first sin" meaning it was the sin that the monster Pride represented. The Guardian had also noted that Hate was also not an envious creature. He also hinted that the envious and proud monsters were afraid of Greed and that Envy nearly killed the greedy monster for fighting over the table scraps. That's how the group discovered that Greed was the monster of hatred, Envy was the monster of pride, Hate is the monster of greed and that Pride was the monster of "E"nvy and so they found out that the first letter of the guardian's name was the letter "E".
The other clues the group found were around the palace. Lief figured out that the fourth letter was the letter "O" since the sum of the happiness that was brought to everyone who tried to guess his name was "0". Also, Barda figured out that third letter of the name was the letter "D" after they group found a window with designs of stars and diamonds on it. Because how he worked doing formations in the palace in the olden days he was able to figure out the pattern of the shapes on the window and that the last shape to be filled in (and the clue they needed) was a "D"iamond. To find out the last two letters the group found two portraits of a hermit and although they appeared identical, they had several differences. When the group counted out the number of differences they found "N"ine differences in the two and so they found out that the first and last letters were the letter "N".
When Lief, Barda and Jasmine completed the task, they found out that the Guardian's name and password was "ENDON". The answer filled them with great shock, not expecting the Guardian to be none other than the previous King of Deltora. The Guardian revealed that only one other person managed to complete his test: Doom. Because of his discovery, Doom had lost all of his faith in the King and the Royal family of Deltora since the King was now a servent of the Shadow Lord and thus began his lifetime of bitterness. Since he was so shocked and filled with grief from his discovery, Doom left the Valley of the Lost without even collecting the Diamond. When Lief, Barda and Jasmine complete their task, Lief discovers that the diamond within the cascket is not the real diamond when they return to claim it, the real diamond had been stolen by Neridah. Suddenly Pride, Envy, Greed and Hatred began to attack and devour the Guardian, but fortunately Lief saved him by severing the cords that connected the demons to the Guardian causing them to wither and die. After this the Guardian told Lief where to find Neridah and the real diamond and fainted. When Lief reclaimed the real Diamond, the Valley of the Lost and everyone within it became purified, the "desciples" became alive again and the Guardian was purified and became who he truly was, Fardeep the Hermit (he was also the hermit in the two portraits in the palace). Fardeep told the group that he used the false name "Endon" on orders from the Shadow Lord to fool those who completed his game since he found the idea amusing. He is a useful aid in Return to Del, being that he is a pureblood Meresman and therefore a descendant of the original Deltorans.
[edit] Minor characters
[edit] Manus
Manus is a Ralad from the city of Raladin. Lief and co. first encounter him on the way to the Lake of Tears, when he is being escorted by a troop of Grey Guards. They free him, and escape the Guards only to fall into the hands of Jin and Jod, two of Thaegan's children. Manus helps them escape, and reveals that he was their prisoner for several years. He also reveals that the Ralads cannot speak because of a curse placed upon them by Thaegan. Manus then takes them to Raladin, where they meet the Ralads. Despite the warnings and despair of the people, Manus accompanies Lief and co. to the Lake. There, Soldeen wishes to exchange the ruby of the Belt of Deltora for Manus, but then does so because of the topaz clearing his mind. After Thaegan is destroyed, the Ralads regain their voices, beginning with Manus. He later joined Lief and co. as the representative of the Ralad tribe in the ceremony to find the heir of Deltora.
[edit] Nanion
Nanion was the ruler of D'OR before Theagan turned D'OR into a swamp (the Lake of Tears) and Nanion into a beast called Soldeen. Soldeen was a huge shark-like animal that haunted the lake of tears and guarded a jewel of deltora.
[edit] Tom
Tom is a shopkeeper, brother of Ava, the sibyl, and of Laughing Jack, the pirate and nomad. He is a man of business rather than honour, and will sell to anyone, regardless of allegiance. He claims to be the same person to everyone, and not take sides, but aids Lief, Jasmine, and Barda numerous times. Because Tom is psychically or mentally bound to his siblings, he knows when either is in danger or causes danger for others.
Tom even once tricked a Grey Guard into trading golds for a mudlet's urine.
[edit] Tira
A descendant of the Plains tribe. Her people were driven from Hira into a new city called Noradz. The reasons for the move were the sudden rat infestation. She was born under the tyranny of the Ra-Kacharz. She later helps Lief & his companions escape from prison & was taken to the Shadowlands.
[edit] Queen Bee
An old, roundish woman, who raises bees to make her Queen Bee Honey, which has certain healing properties. She also grows apples to make her Queen Bee Cider, which makes a person energetic and aggressive. After Lief and his party fled the City of the Rats, they stole nine apples from her orchard; Queen Bee was ready to have her bees sting them to death, but when she realized that they had destroyed the City of the Rats (and by extension were working against the Shadow Lord), she let them go and promised to pretend she had never seen them.
She is Steven and Nevets' mother.
[edit] Glock
Glock is a savage member of the Jalis tribe. The party first meets him in the Rithmere arena, where he mocks Jasmine's petite size; however, he has no chance to fight her. In later books he seems more a boastful annoyance than anything else, and he takes every chance to tease Jasmine.
[edit] Neridah
The battler of Lief in The Rithmere Games in The Shifting Sands. In the Rithmere games, Neridah is known as Neridah The Swift. She is deceitful and agile, and seeks to merit personal gain from every enterprise. Neridah also appears in The Valley of the Lost, wherein she is a Resistance hanger-on. She eggs Lief and his group on to let her join their group so that they can escourt her home but in fact wanted to go with them to the Valley of the Lost in order to claim the Diamond of the Belt of Deltora out of greed. When the Guardian challenges a group to a game for a chance to win the diamond, she refuses and the Guardian allows her to leave. However, not long after she returns to steal the diamond and takes off. However, the Diamond had a curse on it that whenever it is acquired through dishonorable and deceitful means, ill-fortune falls upon the one who claimed it. Because of the curse she dies in the mists when she slipped on a smooth rock and bashed her head causing her to get knocked unconscious and she drowns in a stream.
[edit] Prin
A young sweet tempered female Kin. Kin are large, round, winged creatures that when sleeping resemble rocks; children sometimes have stuffed animal versions (Lief's was named Monty). Prin is rather childish when Lief first meets her, but she becomes quite brave as she helps Lief, Barda, and Jasmine retrieve the emerald for the Belt of Deltora by saving them from a Vraal and later helps them on their journey to the Isle of the Dead (by which time she has grown considerably). She is young, so she jumps into some things without thinking of the consequences. she gets caughts by carn5 and carn8.
[edit] Gla-Thon
An old member of the Dread Gnomes tribe. She frequently helps Lief and friends from the background.
[edit] Steven/Nevets
Steven is a peddler (wandering merchant) whom Lief, Barda, and Jasmine encounter on their journey. He is cheerful and pleasant, and sings almost constantly. He supplies Queen Bee products to the Resistance - not surprising, once it is mentioned that his mother is Queen Bee herself.
Lief at first worries about Steven travelling alone, but he is told that Steven is safe travelling without companions, as he always has his brother (Nevets) with him. Nevets is not seen until the last book (although at times he is heard singing with Steven).
When Steven, or someone close to him, is threatened, yellow light pours from his body and Nevets appears: a great giant with a golden mane and fur, capable of destroying large groups of enemies without difficulty. Nevets is somewhat overprotective, turning on anyone in the vicinity, friend or foe (he thus fits the profile of a berserker). Often he is triggered by danger in a circumstance where his appearance would cause more harm than good, and Steven wrestles to keep him from coming out, even begging him out loud ("If you attack now, the guards will kill him - please wait!"). At these times Steven convulses, and his eyes flash back and forth between brown and golden, but most of the time he can stop Nevets from coming out or at least delay him enough to allow friends to get to safety.
Steven and Nevets grew up on the plains (the territory of the opal); in The Sister of the South, the Topaz Dragon comments that the territory of the plains breeds strange beings.
[edit] Chett
Chett is a polyphan (a type of ape-like creature) that the group met in Maze of the Beast. It is said that those who have polyphans in their service are usually up to no good. Polyphans are known to be very skilled thieves and pickpockets. He served the captain of the Queen's Express by doing smaller chores and by using the rowboat to pick up potential customers. After the Ols aboard the ship revealed themselves when the pirates began to raid the ship, Chett fled with the pirates aboard their own ship in a fit of panic. When Lief and his group were capture, Chett helped them by stealing the Belt of Deltora back from the pirates to give to Lief in exchange for the chewing tobacco-like gum that Lief had in his pocket. They met the polyphan again in Valley of the Lost when Lief, Jasmine and Barda were attempting to rescue Dain from his pirate captors. A fight broke out between crew members and in a state of panic, Chett tossed a lanturn into the storage area where the pirates kept a great deal of flammable materials (such as paint and oil), this caused the pirates' ship to catch fire. Chett helped get Dain of the ship and then rowed the group's rowboat back to shore before fleeing into the wilderness.
[edit] Fardeep
The Diamond Guardian's proper name. He is from the Mere tribe and used to own the Champion Inn until the Shadow Lord took it over. While he was the Guardian, everyone who came to his lair and finished his challenge (failing to do so would result in the person becoming a ghostlike creature stuck between life and death, and only 1 person [Doom] and 1 group [Lief, Barda, Jasmine] finished it) would be led to believe that he was Endon. Pride, Envy, Hate, and Greed had grown in him, taking the form of hideous monsters that grew from the Guardian's body. Lief is known to have freed him.
[edit] Zeean
A wise old Toran who assists Lief in a few occasions.
[edit] Marilen
Lief's relative and a descendant of Adin, making her the next in line to the throne.
[edit] Jinks
Before the Shadowlord's rule, Jinks lived in the Castle of Del as a clown and joker. He fled when the Shadowlord came and joined the Resistance.
[edit] Monsters of Deltora
Deltora is well-known as the land of Magic and Monsters. These are just some of the many fantastic creatures that inhabit it.
[edit] Ak-Baba
Ak-Baba are giant reptilian vulture-like birds that live for a thousand years. It was the Ak-Baba who hunted the dragons of Deltora near extinction until Doran the Dragonlover (known as Dragonfriend to the dragons) persuaded them to sleep until a king of Deltora wearing the Belt of Deltora came to rouse them. The Shadow Lord is in control of at least seven Ak-Baba which took the seven gems to the seven areas of Deltora. In 'The Sister of the South`, the dragons face off the Ak-Baba. In that battle, four of them die and the rest flee to the Shadowlands.The shadow lord found them when he mistoke one of their eggs for a dragon's and stole it so it would serve him. An Ak-Baba is featured prominently on the cover of Return to Del.
[edit] The Wennbar and the Wenn
The Wennbar is a large predator (something that is like a carnivorous Apatosaurus) who exerts authority over a tribe of pale, poisonous creatures known as the Wenn. These Wenn worship the Wennbar as a god, offering it gifts of live prey which they have captured. Although they are small, Wenn are capable of subduing large prey by means of a sound they produce, which drives animals to the point of insanity. If the Wennbar is not fed, it will eat its worshippers.
Every hundred years, the present Wennbar dies and a new one is born. This new one is thought to be the strongest of several young, which fight each other to the death over the dead body of their parent.
[edit] Mudlets
Mudlets are bizzare, albeit rare, gentle and highly valued, beasts of burden who supposedly exist in central Deltora, around the area near the City of Rats. They resemble Zebras (though they are splodged, not striped) crossed with some type of herbivorous Dinosaur. They have three legs. In The City of Rats, Lief, Barda and Jasmine are sold three Mudlets as mounts by the eccentric, uncaring shopkeeper named Tom. Apparently, they were only being stabled there and were not Tom's to sell, and truly belonged to the people of the city of Noradz. This results in, when the heroes pass Noradz, the Mudlets bolting (due to excitement at catching the scent of home) and the heroes ending up in the clutches of the Ra-Kacharz. The three mudlets are returned to their herd, and neither them nor any other Mudlets are featured or mentioned for the rest of the series.
[edit] Sand Beasts
Insectoid animals native to the Shifting Sands, a desert country created from the leavings of the Hive. They resemble a mix of a spider and a praying mantis. They have many egg sacs hanging from their chests that look rather similar to giant grapes. Appear in the Shifting Sands. They burrow in the dunes to hide, and at any vibration will spring up to kill and eat prey. The treasure and bones of the prey will be offered to the hive. They are on the cover of the Shifting Sands.
[edit] Kin
The Kin are an ancient, rare and fabled species of rodent-like flying creatures. They are among the few harmless, gentle creatures in Deltora, and have long been the apple of the eyes of many Deltoran children and the common subject of picture books, fairytales, folklore and stuffed toys. They resemble cute, round, bulbous crosses between a pig and a ferret, with pig-like back legs and rodent-like front legs, large leathery wings, velvet-esque fur, pouches, and expressive faces. Their size ranges from that of a large dog, to almost as large as Dragons. They are capable of human speech. Unfortunately, the Kin are very rare in the time of the stories. They once lived on Dread Mountain, where they lived and bred prosperously, but were driven out by the Dread Gnomes who hunted them for sport and enjoyment. Now all that are left of them live at the enchanted Dreaming Spring, where they are gradually dwindling. In the fifth book of the first series, Dread Mountain, Lief, Barda and Jasmine encounter the remaining tribe of Kin at Dreaming Spring and save their only young, a boistrous, dim-witted, energetic youngster named Prin from a pair of Grey Guards. For reasons of adventure, homesickness and owing a debt to the heroes, three older Kin agree to take them to their former, now Gnome-controlled home of the mountain. When they can go no further and these three Kin leave, the three heroes discover that Prin, desperate to see the Kin's ex-home and disobeying her mother, had followed them. She accompanies them for the rest of the book, helping the three heroes defeat Gellick and eventually allowing the Kin to return to their former home.
[edit] Vraal
Vraal are ferocious lizard-men beasts with hoofed feet. They are the ultimate human-killer, specifically bred for fighting and killing. They cannot feel pain or pity, only a savage thirst for blood and meat and the thrill of battle. Their massive claws are a lethal weapon not to be underestimated. Most Vraals are found in the Shadowlands and are used in the gladiator-arena like Shadow Arenas and are forced to fight the prisoners and slaves the Grey Guards and other villainous creatures under the command of the Shadow Lord pit them against. Vraal are very intelligent in battle-wise combat. A Vraal was encountered near Dread Mountain. The Vraal nearly killed Lief and his friends, however Prin managed to splatter a purple moss over the eyes and inside the ears of the Vraal causing the beast to temporarily lose his sight and hearing, then tumbled into a stream and carried away. According to Prin, however, the purple moss' effects would only last for a short time and the Vraal would recover within a few days.
[edit] Ols
Ols are the Shadow Lord's shapeshifters (doppelgangers in their own right). They are inherently self-centered, seeking only their own promotion, achieved by pleasing the Shadow Lord. At the core of every Ol is the Shadow Lord's mark, and in whatever shape the Ol takes, that mark is always somewhere on the body. Most Ols attempt to cover the mark with clothing or camouflage it with tattoos. Grade 1 Ols and Grade 2 Ols can be killed by stabbing them through the heart, which is located on the right-hand side; given the evidence so far, Grade 3 Ols might not be able to be killed in this manner.
Ols come is three types:
- Grade 1 Ols:
- Can mimic any living creature - from the description, size does not matter, but all the Ols shown have been humanoid, or animals at least as large as a woodmouse.
- Can hold their shape for three days. After this there is a break in concentration, a spasm known as "The Tremor", which is an unmistakable sign of an Ol
- Are very cold to the touch, and can cause freeze burns during attacks
- Cannot eat or drink
- Must travel in pairs, although the pairs do not need to look alike and may even be different species (e.g. a farmer and his pig, or presumably a dog and a flea)
- Grade 2 Ols:
- Are similar to Grade 1 Ols, but capable of mimicking the acts of eating and drinking, and producing body heat. They are also able to travel alone.
- Grade 3 Ols:
- Can shapeshift into even non-living things, e.g. a dagger
- Can hold their shape indefinitely
- Are indistinguishable from the real person, except by personality (for a convincing performance, the Ol would have to have time to study the one being mimicked)
- Can travel alone
- Can die like the beings they imitate, for example when Prandine was killed by being pushed out a window by Sharn.
[edit] External links
- Australian Deltora Quest website
- US Deltora website
- Emily Rodda's offical website
- Deltora Quest anime website
| The Deltora series by Emily Rodda | |
| Deltora Quest: |
The Forests of Silence - The Lake of Tears - The City of the Rats - The Shifting Sands - |
|---|---|
| Deltora Quest 2: (Deltora Shadowlands) |
The Cavern of the Fear - The Isle of Illusion - The Shadowlands |
| Deltora Quest 3: (Dragons of Deltora) |
Dragon's Nest - Shadowgate - Isle of the Dead - The Sister of the South |
| Other books: |
The Deltora Book of Monsters - How to Draw Deltora Monsters |
| Adaptations: | |
