Deltora Quest 3

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 destroy the Four Sisters (creations of the Shadow Lord, which have been poisoning Deltora's crops causing the people and creatures of the land to starve). 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 and continues the story. These series are Deltora Quest and Deltora Quest 2 (also known as Deltora Shadowlands). Collectively, these three series are known as the Deltora Quest series or the Deltora series.

Novels in this series include Dragon's Nest, Shadowgate, Isle of the Dead, and The Sister of the South.

The Guardians of the Four Sisters

Just as the gems of Deltora had guardians in Deltora Quest, the Four Sisters each had a guardian to defend them. These guardians included:

Rolf

A Capricon and servant of the Shadow Lord, Rolf is the Guardian of the East who is first encountered in the Os-Mine Hills. In series three, he is captured by Granous and saved by Lief and his companions. Proclaiming that he is a prince, he is taken into Lief's party out of pity and later on believed to have been killed by a ruby dragon, though this is false. He is the one that 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.

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 chose Mariette over her. This made Kirsten bitter with resentment and so she allied herself with the Shadow Lord for vengeance. The Shadow Lord gave Kirsten 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 to 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 she 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 within. The snakes in the pit latched onto Kirsten and bit her, killing her with their venom.

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 Deltora'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 an 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. His map was found by the Shadow Lord and 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. Later it was revealed 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. Veritas, the amethyst dragon, 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 diamond dragon species still lived and that there was still hope for Deltora, Doran died a peaceful death as he disintegrated into dust.

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. As one of the cruelest guardians, she pumped Josef for information, and, when she had no further use for him, poisoned him. 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.

Bonus books

In the Deltora Quest series, apart from the books which tell the story, there are other books which reveal some hidden and dangerous secrets of Deltora. These books include the following:

Tales of Deltora: This book tells of how the land of Deltora came to be, how the seven gems came to be, how the Shadow Lord came to be and many other things that evolved to become secrets, that just had to be released in this highly detailed book, with 20 new illustrations by Marc McBride (Illustrator), and tales that make up some of the legends. The book was "written" by Josef, who in the Deltora Shadowlands and Dragons of Deltora series is the palace librarian of the city Del.

The Deltora Book of Monsters: This book goes through all the monsters and other deadly things that exist in the world of Deltora. Through the original Deltora Quest to Dragons of Deltora, it goes from the seven Guardians of the gems, to the Dragons of Deltora. They go through the beasts that cause the history through certain landmarks, such as Reeah from the City of Rats. The book is also "written" by Josef, the palace librarian.

Other books include How to Draw Deltora Monsters and The Ultimate Deltora Quiz Book. The former book, which details the drawing of Deltoran monsters, was more associated with Marc McBride than Emily Rodda, seeing that he is the illustrator. The book only covers creatures described in the original Deltora Quest via basic shapes like circles and triangles (etc.). The "Quiz Book" will go through all the adventures except the last two books in the third series. In the quiz about the first series, the difficulty goes up in number and order of gems. For example the topaz is the first gem therefore gives 10 of the easiest questions, whereas when you go to the ruby there are 10 questions which are slightly harder. It goes so on and forth until you've answered all 10 questions, of each seven gems, of one book. The quiz for the second series follows the same principles, but with pieces of the Pirran Pipe. The same applies to the third series; only there are forty questions—the four symbols of the "Sisters".

External links

• Australian Deltora Quest website
• US Deltora website
• Emily Rodda's official website
• Deltora Quest anime website