The Lake of Tears

infobox Book |
name = The Lake of Tears
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption =
author = Emily Rodda
illustrator =
cover_artist = Marc Mcbride
country = Australia
language = English
series = Deltora Quest
genre = Fantasy novel
publisher = Scholastic
release_date = 2001
english_release_date =
media_type = Print (Paperback)
pages = 129 pp
isbn = ISBN 0-439-25324-1
preceded_by = Forests of Silence
followed_by = City of the Rats

"The Lake of Tears" is the second book in the eight-volume Deltora Quest series written by Emily Rodda. It continues the trio's journey to find the seven missing gems of Deltora, braving dangers and guardians in each book.

Plot Summary

In The Forests of Silence, the Topaz had been retrieved by Lief, Barda, and Jasmine. They continue on their way to the Lake of Tears, to retrieve the Ruby.

As they are about to cross into the territory of a witch Thaegan, their progress is halted by a giant who is guarding a bridge which leads into the territory. The only way to cross is for each of them to answer a question asked by the giant. Jasmine and Barda answer their questions and are allowed to cross. Lief, however, fails to do so and is grabbed by the giant, who asks Lief how he should die. Lief answers the question and creates a paradox, which frees the giant. The giant had been stationed at the bridge by Thaegan and was to forever guard the bridge until lies and truth become one. Lief crosses and the trio advance toward the Lake.

In the middle of travelling, the three hear voices and hides behind a tree. The voices turns out to be Gray Guards, the Shadow Lord's henchmen. They are about to flee when they notice that the Guards have a prisoner. Lief, Barda, and Jasmine managed to rescue the half-starved man.

The man is unconscious and they set him down behind a bush. The man was called Manus from the Ralad tribe. The trio find out that Thaegan cast a spell on them long ago so that none of the Ralads could ever speak again as punishment, for when they had spoken up against her when she had destroyed the city of D'Or. Lief, Barda and Jasmine search for food, leaving the injured Ralad behind. They see a house and run towards it. Unfortunately, there is a ring of quicksand around the house and they become stuck. But luckily two elders on the other side of a sand trap, Nij and Doj, pulled them out. Although the elders were speaking in a strange language that Lief, Barda, and Jasmine couldn't recognize, they gave the trio food, water, and rugs to lie down on. Lief, with the help of the Topaz, finds out that Nij and Doj were actually two of Thaegan's Children, Jin and Jod, who were preparing to eat them. The trio couldn't escape the house in time, but Manus saved them by ringing the bell that meant there was someone in the quicksand. The four trick Jin and Jod, escape the quicksand, and continue on their way.

At the Lake of Tears, they find a monster named Soldeen, who was in the form of a giant fish. They persuaded Soldeen to give them the Ruby, but he drops it before Lief could take it. Thaegan quickly arrive and punishes Soldeen. She then turn upon Manus, Lief, Jasmine, and Barda for killing her children. The four of them then engage in battle with Thaegan who is finally defeated by Kree when he stabbed her finger with his beak. All the spells that she had cast were undone so the Ralads could finally speak again, and the Lake of Tears was restored to its former glory.

Soldeen transformed into Nanion, the chief of D'Or. All the lizards and worms in the lake turned back into the people of D'Or. The rock in the center of the lake cracks open revealing the other chief of D'Or, Ethena. She gives them the Ruby and Lief fits it into the Belt of Deltora. Afterwards, the trio head to the City of the Rats to retrieve the Opal.

Characters

*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 begin a dangerous quest to find the lost gems of the Belt of Deltora.
*Barda: Barda was enlisted as a friend by the King and Queen of Deltora and was trusted to help him find the lost gems of Deltora sixteen years before the initial story took place. 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.
*Jasmine: Jasmine is a wild girl, described as having black hair (dark green hair in the anime) and emerald green eyes 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 seven years old, and so she has been raised by the forest. She can understand the language of the trees and of many animals, and has incredibly sharp senses, 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 occasionally has a quick temper. After helping Lief and Barda in the forest and with the help of the Topaz, she is greeted by her mother's spirit from beyond the grave, who tells her to go with Lief and Barda in their quest. After this encounter, she joins Lief and Barda in the search for the great gems that will complete the belt.
*Kree: Kree is a raven and one of Jasmine's closest companions in the Forest of Silence. His family was taken and eaten by the witch Thaegan, and Kree was found by Jasmine. She took pity on him, as both had their family taken away, and she took care of Kree. Kree treats Jasmine as his master, and does not tolerate offensive behaviour towards Jasmine. His presence is advantageous towards the three companions, as he is able to fly ahead and warn the others of oncoming danger or safety.
*Filli: Filli is a small, mouse-like creature (although Jasmine denies that he resembles any rodent). He was rescued by Jasmine when she discovered him paralysed by the Wenn in The Forests of Silence. As such, he remains close to Jasmine and Kree, often hiding himself in Jasmine's clothing when danger arises. Like Kree, Jasmine is able to understand Filli. His small size is often advantageous to Lief, Barda and Jasmine, as he is able to hide easily and eavesdrop on others.
*Manus: Manus is a Ralad from the city of Raladin. He cannot speak, due to a curse placed upon the Ralad people by the witch Thaegan when their ancestors spoke out against her. As a Ralad, Manus is an exceptional musician and architecht, as well as bearing the traditional Ralad blue skin, red hair, and black button eyes. Manus leads the three to Raladin, teaching them the ancient Ralad script. They discover the underground city of Raladin, and make their way to the Lake of Tears to find the ruby. They encounter the lake creature Soldeen, who wishes to exchange the ruby for Manus, as he enjoys his music. However, when Thaegan is destroyed, Soldeen transforms into Nanion, leader of D'Or, and the Lake of Tears returns to its original state as the city of D'Or. Nanion and Manus become great friends.
*Soldeen: Soldeen was a demonic sea monster who guards the ruby. He resembles a mix of an eel, a catfish and a shark. 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, most of which were turned into mud and clay and the repulsive worms and other crawling creatures in the mud, but were freed by Thaegan's death at the attack of Kree. When Thaegan is killed by Kree, the lake Nanion and the rest of the townsfolk are imprisoned in dries up instantly. In the same stroke, the spells Thaegan placed are destroyed, and all of the townsfolk are returned to human forms.
*Thaegan: Thaegan is the secondary guardian of the Ruby. She is similar to the traditional interpretation of an fairytale witch. Her mother was a sorceress who used her magic for benevolent reasons such as healing, and could even transform herself into a blackbird. Her daughter, although beautiful, was much different and was spiteful to other living beings and ran away from home after sheer disgust towards her mother. Over time her power grew and she returned. She hated the vitality of the life and beauty of the city of D'Or and so she used her power to turn the city into a barren swamp, home to the Lake of Tears, and she turned its people into fish, worms and blind, crawling things and turned D'Or's leader, Nanion, into the sea-monster, Soldeen. When the Ralads had known of her treachery, they spoke out against her, so she used her magic to "silence" the voices of the Ralads, leaving them mute until her spell is lifted. She has a deep hatred of birds (although she herself transforms into a bird in the anime) because of their free spirits and out of spite for her mother. 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. With the Shadow Lord at the new tyrant of Deltora, Thaegan became one of his most powerful allies and her power grew with his dominance. She was vanquished after Kree pecked her finger just before she blasted Lief, Jasmine and Barda on the shore of the Lake of Tears.

ee also

*Deltora series
*Deltora Quest 1
*Emily Rodda
*Characters in the Deltora Quest series

External links

* [http://www.scholastic.com.au/titles/deltoraquest/ Australian Deltora Quest website]
* [http://www.scholastic.com/deltora/ US Deltora website]
* [http://www.emilyrodda.com/ Emily Rodda's official website]
* [http://www.deltoraquest.jp/ Deltora Quest anime website]