Author's note: So, this is my first Deltora Quest fanfic. I've always been a huge fan of both the books and the anime. Well, not always, of course, but… Why do I waste so much time explaining obvious things?
It's been a while since I read the books, so sorry if I mention things that are only from the anime.
I decided to do something with Noradz, because that part always fascinated me, and I love to say "Clean Noradzeer!" before I eat cleansed food, even though people give me weird looks when I do that.
Warning: This fic will "Clean Noradzeer" the blisters out of you even more than episode 9 of the anime.
Disclaimer: Emily Rodda owns Deltora and all its characters. I don't.
Time: About the same time as the start of Lief's adventure.
Place: Noradz (duh)
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Chapter I: In a place like Noradz
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"Clean Noradzeer!"
"Clean Noradzeer."
"Clean Noradzeer!"
"Clean Noradzeer."
First Ra-Kachar Reece inspected us carefully one last time, and finally raised his hand. "You are free to go. However, if you leave the sleeping quarters during the curfew, you are unclean and will therefore be severely punished! Clean Noradzeer!"
We gave one last "Clean Noradzeer" and went to our separate rooms while Reece walked out of the sleeping quarters, dragging his red leather whip with him. I reached the door of my room and fumbled with the bolt, trying to open it, when I heard a voice behind me.
"Robin?"
I turned around and saw Tira standing behind me, with her arms behind her back. "Oh, hi Tira," I said, greeting the younger girl. "Shouldn't you get to your room? The bell will ring in a few minutes."
"I know," she answered. "I just wanted to say hi one last time."
I smiled. "Did you have fun today?" I asked, trying to hide the sarcasm in my question. Fun wasn't exactly something you could find in a place like Noradz.
"Well, only seven of my cakes were unclean, so I guess today was a good day," she answered with a smile. The sound of a bell wiped it off her face again. "I'd better get to my room now," she said, turning around. "Have a good night!"
I turned back to my door and finally managed to open the tight bolt. I entered my room and took off my black hat. There were no mirrors in the rooms, but the daily cleaning caused the floor to be one giant reflective surface. I inspected my shaven head, seeing my hair was growing again. I would have to be shaven again shortly, because hair is not exactly something you're allowed to have in a place like Noradz.
My mind trailed off towards Tira. For as long as I remembered, I had been the only friend she ever had. That was mainly because friendship wasn't exactly something you could find in a place like Noradz. The minutes before the curfew was rung were the only minutes people could freely talk to each other, and even then we still had to watch our mouths. She was also the only friend I had now, because my ancient roommate Borin (rooms always contained two servants) had been locked up in the dungeons after stealing food for almost three months now. I had no idea if he would ever be released, or if he was still alive in the first place.
I took off my boots and black uniform and laid them on Borin's unused bed. I always wondered how our names were given. I thought it was a bit suspicious how I shared a room with someone from my age with the same letters in his name. Similarly, Tira shared her room with a girl from her age named Rita. It could just be a coincidence.
Laying back on my bed, I thought about today. I had roasted meat in the ovens. Washed pans. Cleansed the floors of the eastern corridor. Brought bowls of vegetables to the inspection room, before bringing the unclean bowls to the cart that went into the Hole. Just the usual stuff. The daily routines.
Once again, I wondered what was out there. The world from where we had a rare visitor from time to time. A curious traveler, or someone who lost his sense of direction in the endless plains. Most of the time, they were sent away or locked up. If I had to believe the Ra-Kacharz, the outside world was evil. And unclean. We would get sick as soon as we touched anything, or even breathed the air.
The problem was, I didn't believe them.
The travelers seemed to survive better out there than in our city. They sometimes brought an animal with them, but the animals seemed to be their friends, not a weapon to destroy us. But they would all be sentenced to death if they brought such a monster in here.
I tried to stop my mind, or I would never sleep. Tomorrow, I would have to work again.
As I slowly drifted into sleep, one last thought crossed my mind.
Clean Noradzeer.
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Baking.
Washing.
Boiling.
Cleansing.
All day long.
Every day.
It can be no surprise it is nice to have something different once in a while. That is why it was almost a relief to see the man lying on the marble floor of the entrance hall. They found him in the late morning, unconscious at the gates. I watched as a team did a first quick cleansing. He wore a blue cloak over a brown tunic, and his shoulder-length, dark brown hair hid his face. I saw blood on his left leg and on the back of his head, clotted in his hair. He had several talismans hanging around his neck, and a dagger in a blue and silver sheath on his leather belt.
"One more time," Reece commanded. "Clean Noradzeer!"
"Clean Noradzeer," the cleansing team repeated as they sprayed another dose of purifying aerosol over the stranger. They waited for another minute, until the man suddenly coughed. He slowly raised his head and coughed again. I could now see his face. He had a short beard and a cut in his cheek, under his right eye, but it seemed to have stopped bleeding already. His dark eyes stopped on each of our faces as he slowly looked around the room. Finally, his gaze met Reece's.
"Greetings, stranger," Reece welcomed him.
"Where am I?" he asked as he raised his hand to his head.
"You are in Noradz. Clean Noradzeer!"
"Clean Noradzeer," I repeated with the rest, touching my right shoulder and making the traditional swiping movement.
"I am Reece, first Ra-Kachar of the nine. We are the keepers of peace and cleanliness in this city. Clean Noradzeer!"
"Clean Noradzeer."
"Who are you, stranger, and why did you come to our city, since you did not know where you are?"
"I am Alstred of the Mere tribe. I was travelling from Rithmere to Broome when I was ambushed by a gang of brigands. I managed to put up quite a fight, but I was knocked unconscious and fell into the River Broad. I don't know how, but I must have floated down the river. I vaguely remember crawling out of the water… I must have walked to your gates with my last strength."
Reece stayed silent for a while, before raising his hand. "Visitors are not welcome here, but since you are wounded we shall offer you food and shelter until your wounds are healed and you can continue your journey. Clean Noradzeer!"
"Clean Noradzeer."
"I thank you for your hospitality, sir Reece," Alstred thanked, "but I would wish to continue my journey as soon as my wounds are taken care of. They will heal quickly, my leg will be the main problem." With that, he looked down at his leg, which seemed to have a rather deep wound above the knee.
"As you wish, Alstred of Rithmere. But first, you will have to be cleansed thoroughly. The water of the River Broad is full of dangers. Clean Noradzeer!"
"Clean Noradzeer."
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"Well, I certainly feel clean Noradzeer now."
I walked towards Alstred as he came out of the room he had been in for almost an hour. His wounds had been treated and cleansed, as well as the rest of his body. His hair was visibly cleaner. His tunic had been washed too, and I handed him over his belt with his dagger, which was now as reflective as a mirror.
"Thank you," he said as he attached the belt around his waist. "Where are my lucky charms?"
"Here," I said as I handed him the five ornaments. He put them on one by one.
"Ah, I feel much better now. Much safer."
"What are they for?" I asked curiously.
"These protect me against hunger and thirst," he said as he showed a silver cup and a copper bread, "This makes sure I don't run out of money," he added as he showed a copper coin, and then a small dagger: "This one protects me against robbers, but he doesn't seem to work that well," he said with a small grin, "And I will need this one, because it will help my wounds heal faster," he concluded as he showed me a silver star. "Everyone in Rithmere wears these. The Mere are very superstitious."
"Master Reece has invited you for a meal," I said. "Shall I bring you to the dining room?"
"Yes, thank you," he answered. "I'm rather hungry, actually."
As we walked through the shiny corridors (slowly, because he was limping due to his wounded leg), I decided to ask him a question. "What is your journey?"
"Oh, I'm just traveling to Broome, nothing special. I first planned to travel by the river, but I decided to take the Mountain Road instead, so I could pass through Charity and Purley on the way. While I was traveling through the deserted Happy Vale, I was attacked by those brigands. I tried to flee, but they caught me at the bridge over River Broad. And then… I was lucky to have this," he said as he showed me his belt buckle, shaped like two fish in a circle. "Protects me from drowning."
We reached a large double door. Reece and the other eight Ra-Kacharz were standing in front of it. "Before we can begin eating, we must perform the hand cleansing ceremony! Clean Noradzeer!"
After the usual scrubbing and scrubbing, the door was opened and everyone entered the dining room. Reece and the other eight Ra-Kacharz went to stand around a long table, and several servants were waiting on the sides of the room. As I took my place amongst them, I repeated Alstred's words in my head. Rithmere. Mountain Road. Broome. Charity. Purley. Happy Vale. I tried to place them in my psychological map of Deltora. I always listened to the travelers that came to our city and used their information to piece a map of our land together in my head. Not that I thought I would ever need it, it was just nice to know something about the world around you.
From what I had heard, our land was surrounded by seas in the west, east and south. In the north, there was a line of mountains. Noradz was located close to a river, the River Broad. That river crossed the plains of our territory, and met another river in the west. Just south of Noradz, there was a town called Miller's Rise. Rithmere was located in the west. Broome in the east. Del in the southeast. And now I could add Charity, Happy Vale and Purley on my map. These were apparently in the north, since they were located along the Mountain Road. Alstred said Happy Vale was deserted. It was also clear that it was located before Broad River. But I had no idea where Charity and Purley were along the road.
"Clean Noradzeer!" Reece said, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"Clean Noradzeer," we repeated once again.
Reece made a small movement with his hand and the other eight Ra-Kacharz stepped forward, closer to the table. Alstred hesitated for a while, but eventually took place at the opposite side of Reece. He looked around, as if he was wondering why there were no chairs and why the table was the height of his shoulders.
"This food has been prepared and cleansed," Reece spoke, "So it must be eaten within the hour. Please eat. Clean Noradzeer."
"Clean Noradzeer," we said, and we started to serve the food.
"Thank you," Alstred said as I placed a basket of bread and a plate with slices of cold meat at his side of the table. I didn't know how to respond, because I had never been thanked for serving food before, so I panicked and made a small bow. I hit my head against a bowl of sweet plums that was about to be placed on the table. The servant who carried the plate watched in horror as one of the plums rolled over the edge of the bowl and plummeted towards the ground. I panicked: I knew the punishment for spilling food, but I was surprised when the plum landed in a hand.
"Watch out, nearly dropped something there," Alstred said as he held up the plum. I looked around to see if the Ra-Kacharz had noticed anything, only to see all nine of them looking at us. Alstred looked back at them in confusion, not understanding the wide-eyed looks in our direction.
Reece snapped his fingers and the eight came to him. They whispered to each other, and glared back at us several times in the process. Finally, they parted again and Reece spoke: "We are grateful, stranger, that you have prevented the food from being spilled and letting evil fall upon our city. However, the offender must still be punished! Clean Noradzeer!" He pointed at me, and two Ra-Kacharz made their way to where I was still standing. They took my shoulders and guided me towards Reece. "What is your name, unclean one?" he asked.
"Robin, master Reece."
"Robin, you are unclean! You are guilty of acts against the peace and cleanliness of Noradz!"
"Guilty! Guilty!" the other eight repeated.
"The evil must be undone! You shall be punished with twenty lashes of the whip!"
"What? But the food didn't even touch the ground!" Alstred shouted.
Reece glared at him. "Watch your unclean tongue, stranger. I already lowered the punishment from fifty to twenty. Take him to the punishing room!"
Alstred stared at me in disbelief as I was taken away by two Ra-Kacharz, followed by Reece. "But how is that fair?" he asked.
Fair, I thought as the doors closed behind us. Not exactly something you will find in a place like Noradz.
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A/N: So this first chapter is really long (I usually write chapters of about 1,4K words on other stories), but I thought I would make longer chapters with this story.
In case you're wondering, Robin is about sixteen years old (because that seems to be the perfect age for heroes in Deltora Quest).
Anyway, let me know what you thought, it would be very much appreciated!