Deltora Quest 3
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Deltora Quest 3 (also known as Dragons of Deltora) 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 to awaken the last seven dragons and stop the Shadow Lord’s evil plans. It comprises four books which were first published in Australia in 2004 and 2005 by Scholastic. The Dragons of Deltora series is preceded by two other series that take place in the same fictional world and feature the same characters. These series are Deltora Quest and Deltora Quest 2 (also knows as Deltora Shadowlands). Collectively, these three series are known as the Deltora series.
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[edit] Major characters
[edit] King Lief
Lief is the main character in the Deltora series. For a long time, he thought he was the son of Jarred and Anna, but later on finds out that he is the real heir to Deltora. While the Ak-Baba swooped around, the four friends (Endon, Sharn, Jarred and Anna) desperately thought of a plan to help protect Sharn and Endon's child; the true heir of Deltora, seeing as the belt would never shine for Endon again. Endon and Sharn took Jarred and Anna's place in their forge, while Jarred and Anna fled to the Forests of Silence and had their child, Jasmine.
[edit] Queen Jasmine
A young woman with the ability to communicate with almost any living thing, but with little patience for humans. She eventually falls in love with Lief, marries him and has three children after the weapon of the Enemy was destroyed.
[edit] Barda
Son of Min (a servant in the palace in King Endon's time), one of Lief's companions, and chief of the palace guards.
[edit] Doom
Doom was the leader of the Resistance in the reign of the Shadow Lord, and the father of Jasmine. He is actually Jarred, but he lost his memory in the Shadowlands, only to regain it during his time in Deltora.
[edit] Josef
The Palace Librarian in the time of King Alton and King Lief. Author of Deltora Book of Monsters and Tales of Deltora. He is the one who starts Lief and co on the quest to awake the Dragons. His notes that are a help to Lief and co. are changed by his treacherous assistant, Paff. She drugged Josef to confuse him so he distrusts Doom, and to easily get information out of him. When she had no more use for him she poisoned him. But not before he warned Lief of danger in Hira, the City of the Rats.
[edit] Minor characters
Dragons of Deltora features a wide cast of characters.
[edit] The Masked Ones
The Masked Ones are a group of wandering nomads and performers (similar to a Circus Troupe). It was founded long ago by King Adin's grandson and King Elstred's brother, Ballum, after he had been expelled from the palace. Lief, Barda and Jasmine join the group after a misunderstanding when a man from their group, Otto, is killed by one of the Masked One's phantoms. They are very strict and are distrustful towards newcomers into their group. They also have a deep hatred towards the Kings of Deltora, and so Lief and his friends are forced to take fake names for themselves to disguise themselves. The masks they make have magical attributes, when a member of the troupe reaches adulthood, they are given a magically crafted mask that merges and becomes part of the wearer's face. These Masks of Adulthood also make the wearer have absolute loyalty to the Masked Ones, making them think and feel like them.
[edit] Bede
A former wandering stage-actor, member of the outlaw entertainers known as the Masked Ones. Bede resembles Lief in appearance, because of their mutual ancestry; both of them are descendants of Adin, the first ruler of Deltora. He had a beautiful singing voice that many of Deltora's women fell in love with, although the feeling wasn't mutual. He wore a mask of a bird. When the Masked Ones came to Shadowgate, he became the boyfriend of Kirsten but then at last fell in love with Kirsten's sister, Mariette. They both wandered into the mountains and were never seen again. It was then revealed that Kirsten had captured Bede and made him her slave. Fortunately, Lief and the Emerald Dragon destroyed the Sister of the North and Bede and Mariette were saved.
[edit] Mariette
The "despicable bareface" that Bede fell in love with. Actually quite humble, unlike Kirsten of Shadowgate, who is her sister. When Bede fell in love with Mariette, Kirsten became jealous that Bede had not chosen her and so she captured them both and imprisoned Mariette in her locket. Fortunately, after Kirsten was killed and the Sister of the North destroyed, both Mariette and Bede were freed.
[edit] Bess
An Inner Circle Masked One and Bede's mother. She is superstitious and believes many incidents to be omens. Her mask is that of an owl When the trio of Lief, Barda, and Jasmine travel with the Masked Ones, she says that Lewin(Lief) looks a lot like her son, because the Inner Circle is descended from Ballum, King Elstred's brother, who was expelled by Elstred's chief advisor. Lief is an descendant (heir) of Elstred. When "Lewin" says that his first loyalty must be to "Berry"(Barda), his and "Jay's" (Jasmine's) supposed uncle, and that "Berry" wanted to move west, Bess attempted to intervene. She requested that Lief at least wear Bede's Mask of Adulthood for at least one hour (so that it would become part of him and therefore he would never want to leave) and tried to poison Barda, but Kree saw to it she drank her own poison.
[edit] Fern
Laughing Jack's servant. She is a "bareface hanger-on" of the Masked Ones. She is killed by The Masked One.
[edit] Rust
A suspicious member of the Inner Circle Masked Ones. She wears the mask of a fox. She seems to dislike the fact that Barda, Lief and Jasmine have joined the Masked Ones and wishes to expel them from the group and becomes delighted that they chose to leave on their own free will.
[edit] Zerry
A thieving young Masked One, student of Plug, and orphan. He steals the Belt of Deltora, but Lief, Jasmine, and Steven/Nevets manage to get it back. Later, Steven takes Zerry as an assistant.
[edit] Otto
An Inner Circle Masked One who is killed by the Masked One, probably in mistake for Barda. Otto wears a mask shaped like the face of a Wild Pig, which like all the inner circle's masks is bonded into his skin by the contraction of the boiled roots from which it is made.
[edit] Ava
A sibyl who owns a shop near the western coast of Deltora. Like Tom, she promises a free gift for customers because she is Tom's sister.
[edit] Red Han
Father of Verity and Lighthouse-keeper at Bone Point, near Tora. He was cheated, blackmailed, and eventually changed into a horse by the Shadow Lord's servant James Gant (Laughing Jack), later to be rescued by Jasmine.
[edit] Verity
The daughter of Red Han. She is a painter. Since she was born in Bone Point's Lighthouse (which itself possessed Toran magic to protect itself), she developed magical powers. Laughing Jack holds her hostage and kills her afterwards. She shows some Toran magic while held hostage, creating a network of spells that releases Lief and Barda from Laughing Jack's sorcery.
[edit] Tom
Elder brother of Ava and Laughing Jack and owner of a shop on the Plains.
[edit] Steven/Nevets
The sons of Queen Bee, Nevets "sleeps" inside Steven until times when Steven is angry or threatened. Steven is a calm, easygoing peddlar and ally of King Lief, whereas Nevets is a monstrous golden giant "who fights with dragon claws" and, if released from within his brother, will destroy everything in his path.
[edit] Lindal of Broome
A huntress descended from cannibal warriors who ate the brains of their enemies. Lindal knows a great deal about the wildlife and superstitions of Deltora, as well as how to hunt, how to fight, and how to tease without being malicious. She eventually marries Barda, (Whom she often teases)and has six children (Each bigger than they are).
[edit] Marilen
Lief's heir to the Belt of Deltora until he has children of his own. Unlike most of the kings and queens of Deltora, Adin had several children and Marilen is descended from his second child. She is married to Ranesh.
[edit] Manus
Manus is a Ralad man from the city of Raladin who helps Lief, Barda, and Jasmine on their first Quest when they are still searching for the gems in the Belt (in Manus' case, the Ruby). When Lief, Barda, and Jasmine return to Del in order to defeat the Sister of the South, he is the one that eventually leads them to its hiding space because the Ralad people were the ones that had built the royal palace in the past.
[edit] Monsters
There are many mysterious and magical creatures that inhabit the lands of Deltora, here is a sample of the few that have appeared.
[edit] Ak-Baba
The Ak-Baba are a species of monstrous, dragon-like birds. They are pure evil and the Shadow Lord has bred at least seven of these monsters to serve him as his spies, messengers and soldiers. The Ak-Baba were the ones that the Shadow Lord used to hunt down and slaughter the dragons of Deltora. At the end of Dragons of Deltora, when the Grey Tide was released. The Shadow Lord sent the Ak-Baba to finish the job they had started by killing the remaining dragons that were attacking the Grey Tide. Fortunately, with their combined strengths, the Dragons at last destroyed the seven Ak-Baba, causing their bodies to fall and be consumed by the Grey Tide.
[edit] Capricons
Capricons are the Deltora Quest equivalent of Fauns or Satyrs, having the upper body of a human and and the lower body of a goat. Only one appears in the first book of the third series; Dragon's nest. He is known as Rolf, and though he is a friend at first whom Lief, Barda and Jasmine rescue from the Granous, in the end it turns out he was a servant of the Shadow Lord and the guardian of the Sister of the East. The Capricons supposedly once lived in a beautiful, rose-pink city named Capra in the far northeast of Deltora. Apparently, however, the deep-down-inside greedy and selfish creatures' city was destroyed by the red dragons due to them stealing their eggs to make dragon eggshell lanterns. Humans then came and built the city of Broome on the ruins of the place, and most Capricons nowadays, though there are only a few, are wandering rogues, like Rolf.
[edit] Kobb
A giant golden-brown shark-like creature with a mane of seaweed-like hair and a long, blue tongue. It hunts on the west coast of Deltora like the Glus, another quite mysterious sea monster. Its home was in the cave on the Isle of Dead where until recently the Sister of the West had taken up residence. The song of the Sister held it back until it was destroyed leaving the Kobb return home.
[edit] Orchid keepers
Orchid keepers are large, predatory birds who dwell around the Forest of Silence (though they make no appearance and have no mention until the third series). They catch their prey in an interesting way; they find and keep orchids of a special type of tree, the delicious fruit of which causes paralysis. Using the bones of victims, it makes paths to their orchid which lure victims to it, which in turn eat the fruit and become immobilized. The Orchid keeper then comes and devours the prey. Despite these undeniably evil habits, killing an Orchid keeper is said to be bad luck. In the first book of the third series, Dragon's Nest, Lief, Barda and Jasmine nearly fall victim to an Orchid keeper and its hunting method.
[edit] Dragons
The Dragons of Deltora are considered to be the land's most maginificent, mysterious and glorious of all its creatures and are the only creatures that the Shadow Lord himself fears for they are the strongest and most resilient against his magic. There were seven different Dragon Tribes, each one drawing power from and associated with the seven different gems of Deltora. The Dragons believed that if one should reveal one's true name, those who knew that individual's name had great power over them and so the dragons rarely revealed their names and only did so to those they truly trusted. Long ago the Dragons of Deltora were quite numerous, until the Shadow Lord sent his monstrous birds, the Ak-Baba, to hunt down the dragons until one of each tribe remained. This was when "Doran the Dragonlover", or "Dragonfriend" to the dragons, came to each of the remaining dragons, having them to swear and oath. This oath entitled that each dragon would go into a deep hibernation until the current king, wearing the Belt of Deltora, would come to them and awaken them. Once awakened, they must also never to use the other dragons' hibernation to their advantage to invade their lands. In present day, Lief went to each of the dragons' lands and awakened them one by one and calling upon them for assistance in destroying the Four Sisters, for Dragonfire seemed to be the most efficient weapon against the Shadow Lord's magic. They were called upon one last time by Lief to destroy the Grey Tide, and Lief inadvertantly revealed all of the names of the dragons to one another and so they all had equal power over one another.
[edit] Fidelis
Dragon of the Topaz, gold as the stone of its territory, Fidelis is the first dragon the companions encounter and awaken. Originally found during the search for the Pirran Pipe, Fidelis was awakened when Lief came into its territory wearing the true Belt of Deltora. It saved Lief and his companions from Granous, and then spoke to Lief. It sensed the Sister of the South, and meant to destroy it. However, it refused to accompany Lief to Dragon's Nest to destroy the Sister of the East, because Doran Dragonfriend had bound it to the promise of never entering another Dragon's territory while the master thereof slept. Lief later re-encountered it in Del, where it flew over the city, trying to get at the South Sister to destroy it. It was wounded by the citizens of Del, but still helped Lief destroy the Sister. It later carried Lief, Barda, and Jasmine on its back to the ruins of Hira to stop the Grey Tide, and fought alongside the Dragon of the Opal. Lief, who when touching Doran the Dragonlover's soul stone had acquired a list of names, realized what they were. He called them, revealing the Topaz Dragon to be Fidelis. The name itself means "loyal". Fidelis' lair is located in the Os-Mine Hills, a feared part of the Deltora countryside.
[edit] Joyeu
The dragon of the ruby and the second to be awakened, Joyeu was for a time impersonated by the evil mage Rolf. The true Joyeu later revealed itself when Rolf attacked Lief and his group in Dragon's Nest. After destroying Rolf, Joyeu teamed up with Lief to destroy the Sister of the East. Later, it carried Lief and co. on its back to the northwestern edge of its territory. Joyeu next appeared when Lief called its name to do battle with the seven Ak-Baba. Joyeu's lair is located somewhere in the vicinity of Dragon's Nest.
[edit] Fortuna
Dragon of the lapis lazuli, Fortuna is the third dragon to be awakened. Unlike the other dragons, Fortuna despises what it calls 'warm blood', and prefers the taste of Sand Beasts. It is smaller and quicker than most of the other dragons, and is also the most easy going. Fortuna is awakened by Lief when Lief puts on the temporarily stolen Belt of Deltora near its hiding place. It then carries Lief and co. to Shadowgate pass, disregarding its vow of not entering another dragon's territory while they sleep. It imagines that the Emerald dragon might be dead, and sounds pleased at the thought (clearly the lapis lazuli dragons and emerald dragons were enemies before the arrival of Dragonfriend). As such, Fortuna is attacked by the so called "honor bound" emerald dragon, and is forced to flee. Fortuna later returns when Lief calls the names of the last dragons, much to the displeasure of the Emerald Dragon. Fortuna remarks helpfully that knowing all the names provides the Dragons with influence over one another, preventing any future rivalry. Fortuna's lair is located behind a waterfall called The Funnel.
[edit] Honora
Dragon of the emerald and fourth to be awakened, Honora has great dislike for the lapis lazuli dragon, whom it considers sly for trusting in luck rather than in honor. When it wakes up, it senses Fortuna in its territory, and attacks it in rage. It later returns to help Lief destroy the Sister of the North. It comes to the company again, demanding the emerald for itself. It does not seem to care that it is breaking its vow by entering the amethyst's territory, in spite of its commitment to the ideal of honour. It consequently has a heated argument with Jasmine, who accuses it of being hypocritical. Honora is a bit haughty and stingy. Honora returns once more when Lief summons the seven dragons, and is angry at Lief for revealing its name. However, it is powerless to stop the other Dragons from learning its name, let alone itself from doing the same. Honora's lair is located somewhere in the mountains that line the Deltora/Shadowlands border.
[edit] Veritas
Dragon of the amethyst, Veritas is the fifth dragon to be aroused. However, as it is digging out of its hiding place, the amethyst in the Belt of Deltora, meant to give strength, is removed from its territory. It manages to escape, but is terribly weak and believes that it will die. It is found by Lief and Barda, and then fully unearthed by the Torans. Veritas tells Lief its name as a precaution, and comes forward when the elder diamond dragon seems to be dead. Veritas fights the monster Kobb, and then with Lief finds the Sister of the West hidden in the ancient body of Doran the Dragonlover, still alive after centuries. Veritas takes away Doran's breath, and then destroys the Sister of the West. Veritas also inscribes Doran's tombstone, and stays in the diamond territory to tutor the infant diamond dragon. It reappears when Lief calls the names of the seven dragons to battle the Ak-Baba. It is Veritas who titles the young Diamond Dragon Forta, after its mother.
[edit] Forta
Forta is a name given to two dragons of the diamond. The first one was the dragon that Doran convinced to hide itself, and the second was her daughter. The original was found dead on Blood Lily Island, where it had fallen asleep and then been devoured by the Blood Lillies and Flesh Banes of that island. However, the younger Forta was found by Lief and co. inside her egg amid the bones of her mother. She hatched from her egg at the coming of the Belt of Deltora, too small to destroy the Sister of the West. Lief later pulled her from a pocket in his cloak and showed her to Doran, who thought that her tribe was lost forever. Forta was then tutored by Veritas of the amethyst, who named her after her mother when Lief called their names.
[edit] Hopian
Hopian is the dragon of the opal and the last to be awakened. It is also the largest and fiercest of the Deltoran dragons. When Lief and co. rode Fidelis to the ruins of Hira, Hopian arose in rage. However, it was diverted by the arrival of the seven Ak-Baba. Fidelis joined forces with it, but the two were still outmatched. Lief then called the names of the seven dragons, and they banded together to destroy the Shadow Lord's last plan. Hopian's lair is located somewhere near the City of the Rats. Hopian has never spoken aloud in any of the book series, so no one knows what its temper or attitude is.
[edit] Villains
Although most of the characters that appear in Deltora appear friendly, there are some with malevolent intentions.
[edit] Shadow Lord
The evil sorcerer that took over the land of Pirra (later the Shadowlands) and eventually Deltora, but was sent back to the Shadowlands when Lief restored the gems to the Belt of Deltora. It is believed that the Shadow Lord was once human, but that his hate and lust consumed him and reduced him to, forsooth, a mere shadow. In this he resembles Sauron, the Dark Lord of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
[edit] Laughing Jack
Also known as Captain James Gant, captain of the gambling ship Lady Luck, Laughing Jack is a travelling moneylender who cheats his victims and threatens their lives. He makes his customers sign a paper that they cannot read, which states that they must pay back 5 or 6 times what they borrowed. Laughing Jack is Tom and Ava's brother, although they will not tell anyone this. He was given great powers of sorcery by his Master, the Shadow Lord. He was told to stop the companions' quest, but failed, first when he encountered Steven, and then he broke an oath he made in the past. He had promised in the presence of magicker Verity, who was his prisoner, that he would not take a coin of his ill-gotten gold for himself as long as his crewmen must row the ship without oarslaves. After breaking his oath he was pulled into the Ocean by his crew, who are now little more than animated cadavers, having plied at the oars for longer than mortal lifetime.
[edit] Grey Tide
A creature literally made of poison that lived in the center of Deltora/Hira/City of the Rats. It is the enemy's secret weapon. It is awoken when all Four Sisters are destroyed, to grow until its poison sweeps over Deltora. The idea supposedly reached the Shadow Lord via a Tenna Birdsong Tale, in which the singing of four sisters kept a monster imprisoned, until a sorcerer killed them. This sorcerer could easily be the Shadow Lord, whom it amused to watch his enemy re-enact the story and in the act annhilate his country.
The Shadow Lord's plan was simple; if the Four Sisters remained, Deltora would starve. If they were destroyed, the chemical substance would spread all the way across Deltora, killing every living thing. The only weapon against it was Dragonfire. Therefore, Lief summoned Veritas, Hopian, Forta, Fortuna, Fidelis, Honora, and Joyeu to burn it away. As a matter of course, each Dragon learnt every other's name, making it impossible for them to conflict with one another and survive.
[edit] The Guardians
Just as the Gems of Deltora had guardians in Deltora Quest, the Four Sisters each had a guardian to defend them. These guardians included:
[edit] Rolf
A Capricon (Satyr) and servant of the Shadow Lord, Rolf is the Guardian of the East. He takes the form of a Ruby dragon and destroys the companions' escort. He tries to destroy the companions when they reach Dragon's Nest, but is defeated by the true Ruby dragon, Joyeu.
[edit] Kirsten the Masked One
A woman that Lief, Barda, and Jasmine discover in a castle in the mountains. She was Mariette's sister and Bede's girlfriend until Bede fell in love Mariette and chose her sister over her. This made Kirsten bitter with resentment and so she allied herself to the Shadow Lord for vengeance. The Shadow Lord gave Kirsten evil magical powers and thus she became the Masked One, now a sorceress with the appearance of a black-cloaked figure with a green mask and pale hands that could kill others just by touching them. She used her power to enslave Bede and imprison Mariette in her locket. She also had the power to conjure phantoms of herself in Deltora, a technique she used to try and kill her enemies. In return she was given the task of guarding the Sister of the North. When Lief, Barda and Jasmine went to her castle, they at first thought that she is under Bede's power, however Bede was able to clue them in with his song. Kirsten almost killed Barda and Jasmine when the caused the walls of her castle to swallow them. However, as Lief jumped into the Snake pit that the Sister of the North was contained, the snakes in the pit latched onto her and bit her, killing her with their venom.
[edit] Doran the Dragonlover
Also known as "Dragonfriend" by the dragons, Doran is said to be Deltora's greatest explorer and was a kind and noble man. He developed everlasting friendships with Delotra's Dragons and even explored Deltora's underworld and befriended the Pirran people that had sheltered themselves there. When the Ak-Baba killed nearly all of the dragons of Deltora, Doran went to each of the remaining dragons and had them swear and oath to go into a deep hibernation until the King of Deltora came and awakened the Dragons using the Belt of Deltora. He also made them promise not to take advantage of the other Dragons' hibernation and not to invade their territories. After the dragons went into hibernation, Doran then found out too late that the Dragons were an obstacle to the Shadow Lord's plan to plant the Four Sisters throughout Deltora and by having the dragons go into hibernation, Doran had removed this obstacle once and for all. Doran then drew a map to where the Four Sisters were located and asked the map to be delivered to the King, but the people of Deltora thought he was mad and his map was torn into four pieces. Doran then went into the wilderness to find another way to get rid of the sisters and was never seen again. It was revealed later on that the Shadow Lord had captured Doran and as punishment for resisting him, Doran was forced to become the immortal vessel of the Sister of the West (having the sister contained inside his own body) and thus he was unwillingly forced to become the Guardian of the Sister of the West. He became situated in the Kobb's lair on the Isle of the Dead. Lief and his group managed to finally meet him and Doran was saddened to discover that the Diamond Dragon was dead, but was overcome with joy when he found out her daughter still lived. Sadly, Veritas was forced to destroy Doran by stealing his breath in order to destroy the Sister of the West that he guarded, but knowing that the Diamon Dragon species still lived and that there was still hope for Deltora, Doran died a peaceful death as he disintegrated into dust. Doran turn back now
[edit] Paff
When Ranesh left to Tora, this young girl took his place as assistant librarian to Josef. But it is revealed she is a servant of The Shadow Lord and guardian of The Sister of the South. She was made such in the Shadowlands, while her dark Master concocted his plan. Far from punishing her, Doom and Lief pity her as she dies. Paff had gone willingly, it seems, to the Shadow Lord, partly because she hated everybody who did not appear to love her.
[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: | |
