Deltora Quest 4-Sword of Deltora
Disclaimer: No I don't own Deltora Quest blah blah blah. However I do own other things
Author's note: I published this story when I finished these exams. The idea for the Swords & Knights was in my head for a long time. Although I never made a story on it till now. In other news another story is going to be published around Christmas. No I'm not going to tell you what it is & you can guess. Oh & more spoilers for the book Tales of Deltora. Thanks for the reviews.
As the crowd heard this they began whispering among themselves that they had never heard such foolhardy statements from a librarian. "Deltoran what?" Lief stated flabbergasted. "The Deltoran Knights, you never heard of them because they were forgotten long ago" Marilen responded. "Do you have any proof of their existence" Jarred said his mouth still stuffed with food & face disheveled from the cuisine like a few others. "We do, but it was very scarce. It is as though a great wave sunk a ship full of knowledge about these valiant people" Said Josef suddenly. The guest started muttering after a long silence.
After a while Jasmine spoke to the crowd with a blaring volume that echoed so everyone could hear "I believe the wild celebrations are finished for tonight. The meeting of the royal court will commence again right now" She said as she suddenly stood up. Zeean, Peel, Tira, Steven (Nevets), Tom, Manus, Lindal, Gla-Thon, Bede & Hellena then followed Lief, Jasmine, Barda & Jarred along with the weary Marilen, Ranesh & Josef. While the other guest went in a different direction they headed towards the meeting room.
The room was built by the Ralads to be round with ten attractive white pillars decorated with an encircling dragon on each one. The walls in between the towering pillars were covered lavishly with frescoes depicting the Rise of Adin told from the Deltora Annals in picture. Each one was surrounded by a golden border of great beauty. Lief & the council went through the door which had a elaborate archway. Lief, Jasmine, Barda, Tom, Manus, Gla-Thon, Marilen, Josef, Ranesh, & Jarred walked down the steps (which was renowned for it's wonderful stonework) to the great round table with the floor covered in a large piece of a diamond, emerald, lapis-lazuli, topaz, opal, ruby & amethyst. The floor on which the council's table was is said to be like a giant multi-colored pizza. The other members walked to the many curved tables that were still available & sat down.
"During our day in the library we were able to find a letter while cleaning the books & fixing the catalogue…" Marilen said stopping for a moment. But before she could speak Josef continued "it was written by my adoptive grandfather the late Josef Sr" his eyes now sparkling with tears knowing he would never see him. "May we hear it's message?" Tom asked kindly. Ranesh hold up the dusty & dilapidated letter began opening it & began reading.
Dear Reader
If you are reading this I hope you haven't sided with the Shadow Lord, for it contains the great secret that I've been guarding for the16 dark years of the shadow lord's rule, my days serving King Alton, the years I spent with Ranesh before the tyranny & my final years as Palace Librarian for young King Lief.
During my time as librarian for the King Alton I was ordered to burn the Deltora Annals. I was shocked when I heard this message from the chief adviser & this crime against history & knowledge. But I was even more shocked when I spent a few moments briefly reading the contents. I found pages revealing to me the history of the 7 Deltoran Knights, a courageous bloodline created from 7 noble people of the original royal court of the first king Adin. It seems as though someone doesn't want to know about them & I couldn't let history this great be forgotten forever & for good
Suddenly as I was observing the page palace guards broked into the library with orders to make sure I burnt the books. With no other choice I was forced to kill the menwith my dagger & mutiliate one of their bodies into many parts for I knew that the Annals were not safe in the palace & that they would keep watch till my job was done & they would have stopped me if I tried to leave with them. I started a great fire with the bones of that man in there, I escaped with the Annals & when I left buried these great soldiers which had sadly became blinded puppets. I ripped the page into three parts, the smallest being the last sentence & I began my life as a wonderer until I found a new purpose writing the Deltora book of monsters. Also I have hidden it in three separate areas of Deltora. I still continue to regret what I did to the Annals & the guards even though it was for the greater good.
Josef-Palace Librarian during the time of King Lief & written in the year of the 4 sister famine.
"What is this?" Lindal asked now observing the poem underneath the sign-off on the worn out paper.
The way to find the secret past
Is the first place I went but not the last
The land of sand, sky & trees
It is the place full of buzzing Bees
The piece is hidden deep beneath
Behind a beast that guards a place with no leaf
It seems as though it can see
Staring now straight at me.
"It is a clue" Hellena said, "To find the first page of the parchment" Bede finished. "Did you find the first piece? Is that why you came barging into the celebrations? Said Tira who now had a golden blonde straight hair that grew longer than her shoulder & would grow back (in one day) if it was cut bald. This was mainly due to her strange Plains heritage. "Yes we did, the first piece of the parchment is in my pocket" Ranesh said as he tooked the paper out of his pocket "It is written by Tod Bigg-Fellar, explorer of the Plains."
The 7 Deltoran Knights & the 7 swords of Deltora
After the Battle of Deltora (which I participated in) I wrote this in the Annals. During the time when Adin was the King of Deltora, raids had been coming from the silver seas & pillaging was becoming a major problem.
The cause of this as I had learned during my visit to Del was human servants of the Shadow Lord blessed by magic & multiplying in great numbers. The old shadow armies had been replaced by pirates, killers, thieves & bandits. Some were descendants of his original companions. Others were villain who had succumbed to his cause. This was the knowledge I gained from a cheerful baker & a common man.
As I walked to the street I heard mutterings from the Forge about how to get rid of this pestilence. After the many hours of discussion they had a solution. I walked into the blacksmith's place with his advisers & court already there. As I asked them about their solution but they only replied we will show you it when we're done & immediately went to work. For the next few days I watched Adin work on metal, 7 pieces to be exact 7 I was asked to record this in the book that one day became to be known as the Deltora Annals.
Zara said that this book will be a collection of songs, stories & history of Deltora & I had been chosen to write a page on this historic event. When he was finished he revealed to me 7 swords with a hilt that was embroidered with small gems from Dread Mountain & a pattern as complicated as the links of the belt. The Jalis Greel later sharpened the blade & it was blessed by Zara's toran magic. It looked like a dragon flying & breathing fire onto it's enemy. It was also cloth-wrapped for ease at handling
Adin thrust the 7 swords into the stone of the forge & then something brilliant happen. Each one shined with blinding light at where they had cause an distinct opening in the rock. Suddenly a protruding stream of light burst out & went in 7 different directions. 4 headed to the north & 2 went towards the west & 1 moved towards the south. Like a swarm of rats fleeing from a gang of cats, curious onlookers followed the lights to the baker Samuel.
Then as if driven by some magical force he & the former leaders of the tribes Az-Zure, Greel, Loosely, Fie, Padge & Lenore gripped a sword each & pulled it out of the stone with ease. They placed their sword's tip on the talisman of their tribe & called out 7 names at the same time. Then one dragon from each tribe flew into Del. They were unlike most dragons people saw, these one had a gem on its brow, a twin to those in the belt. The only difference was that it had a bronze dragon decorating it. They placed the gem at the end of the sword & formed the first Deltoran Knights. (456)
After creating their own armour, they rode out on their new steed the dragon leaders. Their swords seem to have strengthen the armies they were leading to the north-west where a large army was sighted heading to the land bearing the grey hand of the Shadow Lord. Their forces were comprised of the all the dragons & strong men. The shadow lord also was assisted by shady men beyond Deltora & strange creatures. After as long & bloody battle the armies of Deltora won. The Knights' title was made official & became well respected residents. They were the most prominent presence in court, messengers to the tribes, generals to their tribes army & 2nd in command of the dragons. After the originals went to the spirit world their children became the next knights & a traditional ceremony was created to honour that fateful day.
Tod Bigg-Fellar
"This is a amusing story librarian but what does he mean by 456" Lindal said bemused. "How exactly did you find the first page?" Lief asked. "Simple what Josef meant was the Seaside Bee in the ruby territory. It was in the room he rented behind a picture of Soldeen." Ranesh answered politely. "456 could mean this" Josef said as he tooked out Volume 4 of the Deltora Annals.
He quickly flicked through the contents to find the page he wanted- page 56.
The Deltoran Dragon Gems
When the ancient tribes found the wondrous gems of the belt, the 7 dragon tribes each found another powerful talisman. Each had a powerful magic similar to that of the gems & were use as a symbol of power by the leaders of the clan. The dragons coincided with the human gems like the dragon talismans & their names coincided with what they symbolize. This is what I Hekken have learnt during my journey with the dragons
Emerald were fierce supporters of their honour, ruby dragons were the more joyful of their kin, Del dragon were faithful in most causes, Jalis dragons are considered to be the strongest & have scales that were almost impervious to attacks, Mere dragons enjoyed games based on luck, the dragons of the Amethyst were taught to live up to the ideals of truth & the dragons of Hope were always optimistic & saw hope in the darkest of times.
For many years the dragons placed this gem into their brow as a symbol of leadership & power over the skies & trust to keep the land safe. Until one faithful day they heard voices from the land of Del calling their names. I have been told by dragons that to know a creature's name is to give power over that individual. They rode out at once & after the convincing of the men they gave up their gems to be placed at the end of these hilts.
The dragons told me that the weapons made them stronger & they became the noble steed for the powerful Deltoran knights. The leaders & friends that I knew as Vigor of the diamond, Honra of the emerald, Geluk of the Lapis-Lazuli, Fidelitas of the Topaz, Hopen of the opal, Felicity of the Ruby & Verite of the Amethyst, had now became powerful allies to the wielders of the 7 swords- Strengthu, Honneur, Zufall, Fides, Speranza, Felicita & Treowth. Together with the power of the sword, knight, Belt & King they protected the land from many evils.
Hekken
"This information is useful, but there are still pieces of the history missing, we must embark on a quest to find these swords, the heirs of the knights 7 the next clue" Jarred said coldly.
Author's note: Review please & this is the second last chapter before the real Quest begins. As for the names of the swords they coincide with the correct order of the belt eg Diamond(strength),Emerald(honour) etc. I got most of the names from