The Lake of Tears

The Lake of Tears

Author	Emily Rodda
Cover artist	Marc Mcbride
Language	English
Series	Deltora Quest
Genre	Fantasy novel
Publisher	Scholastic
Publication date	2001
Publication place	Australia
Media type	Print (Paperback)
Pages	129 pp
ISBN	0-439-25324-1
OCLC	46426946
LC Class	CPB Box no. 1858 vol. 18
Preceded by	The 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. They somewhat retrieved the Ruby and didn't die...Theagan gets killed. They continue on their journey.

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 architect, 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/Nanion: 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 a 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.
• Jin and Jod: Jin and Jod are two of Thaegan's thirteen children and were the first to die. Jin is described as a grotesquely fat being with a pair of yellow tusks and three small horns on the back of her head while Jod is described as a toadish-creature with dagger like teeth and flaring nostrils. Jin and Jod used magic to make travellers think their home is a cottage that is owned by an elderly couple but Lief realised this with the help of the Topaz and so did Barda and Jasmine so they escaped. Lief, Barda and Jasmine couldn't understand what Jin and Jod would say because they always talked backwards and they called themselves Nij and Doj. They were killed by their own quicksand trap because Jasmine moved the moss and the stepping stones to fool them.

See also

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

External links

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