Mab

Mab is a woman of the Del tribe and is the current Trader Rosalyn and leader of the Rosalyn fleet. She is the mistress of Britta, the current Trader Rosalyn Apprentice and as such Mab's heir to the fleet.

Early life
As a young woman in her prime Mab lived through the Shadowlands invasion. On the day the Shadow Lord attacked Mab realised that the king's magic had broken, and that Deltora was doomed to be under tyranny and would not be able to resist against the Enemy. Unfortunately, most of the other traders and captains of Del did not agree with this, and believed that it would be best to stay in Del and fight for as long as they could. Thus, when Mab decided that the Rosalyn fleet must flee into exile to save its ships from being burnt by the Shadow Lord, they would not hear of it. They refused to relinquish the Rosalyn Trust into Mab's care, forcing Sorrel to pilfer it from them, along with the treasured painting of the original Trader Rosalyn. Secretly, close to dawn, the Rosalyn fleet fled Del harbour and went into exile.

The young Dare Larsett tried to stowaway on Mab's ship, but was caught; however, Mab agreed to take him on as part of the crew and he went into exile with them. Mab grew very fond of Dare as the years went by.

At some point, Mab forms a friendship with Perlain of Pandellis. The Rosalyn fleet and the Maris trade regularly with each other and consider themselves to have a long-standing friendship.

After over sixteen years of exile, as soon as Mab heard of the restoration of the monarchy, she returned the Rosalyn fleet to its rightful place in Del harbour. The people were glad to see them again; however, there were still people who did not like that Mab took the fleet away and thought that she should have stayed to fight, and let her ships burn.

Shadows of the Master
Mab hosts the Rosalyn Trust competition, to search for an apprentice, as she is old and ailing. The candidacy is narrowed down to four finalists, and Mab is forced to set an additional test to eliminate one of the candidates. Unfortunately, while Britta is a clear winner and Vashti comes a close second, Sky and Jewel tie for third place. Mab considers simply taking Britta and Vashti and leaving Sky and Jewel behind, but Sorrel reveals that the true words of the Rosalyn Trust call for at least three finalists to come on board the ship, thus ensuring that Sky and Jewel are able to set sail with the other candidates at dawn.

When the Star of Deltora leaves the harbour, Britta thinks that Mab may not look kindly upon her, seen by the expression in her eyes when she looks at her.

Two Moons
Once at sea, Mab orders the four candidates to choose their rooms and determine who will be sharing a cabin with Jewel. Though appearing not to take notice of it, Mab watches the interactions between them closely, and is amused at Sky's straw trick which fools Britta. Later Mab notifies the candidates of the islands chosen for them to trade on—Maris, Two Moons and Illica. Vashti insults the traders of Illica by complaining of their 'strangeness' and the unbearable heat of the island in summer; Mab overhears and puts Vashti in her place, telling her that 'opinions differ'.

After arriving in Maris, the ship is met by Perlain, who claims that the Keeper has felt an presence with death at its core among them and will not let them ashore because of it. Mab understands and accepts the Keeper's decision, and tells the girls to prepare for a first trade at Two Moons. Though she states that Perlain's claims are nonsense and that there is no evil presence upon the ship, she is in truth very concerned and worried about this new development.

At Two Moons, there is more disruptions to Mab's trading schedule—the councillors of the island ask that the Star and her crew be away from Two Moons by dusk, to appease the turtle-people who are displeased at their arrival (for, much like the Maris, they sense that there is a deathlike presence aboard the ship). Mab reluctantly agrees to their terms, and tells Britta, Sky, Vashti and Jewel to be back on the ship by dusk, or else. She is understandably furious when Britta and Sky disobey her orders and return past this time, dishevelled and dirty, though she ultimately realises that the fault was not of their making.

She is shocked when one of the shoremen reveals that Sky is male, and not female like everyone on the Star believed him/her to be. Angered by the deception, she locks Sky in the lock-up.

The Towers of Illica
At some point after the Star leaves Two Moons, Mab relents enough to let Sky out of the lock-up, and places him under the supervision of Bosun Crow as a deckhand. Just before their arrival on Illica, Mab notices the terrible condition of Britta's clothes and gives her some fabric to make a shirt out of to wear on Illica. After seeing how ridiculous Britta appears in the shirt, however, Mab relents and agrees that Britta should wear her own bedraggled clothes when meeting the Collectors.

When the three finalists are about to meet the Collectors Mab reveals that they will be invited to stay in one of the Towers for the duration of their stay on Illica, though she doesn't admit that the reason for it is that the Collectors want to marry their sons off to them. Mab warns the finalists that the Illicans are very traditional and tells them to be careful to not make trouble like what happened on Two Moons.

When Britta accidentally influences Collin into eloping with Vorn the Ship, Mab is furious at her, and then alarmed as Olla-Crossbow and his family and the family of Vorn the Ship confront them and threaten to raise the Jaws. Mab faces the accusations of Collin's family concerning Britta and manages to sort the matter out before the Illicans turn violent, choosing to call Britta a liar and a thief and force her to give up her sunrise pearl to the Illicans in order to get the Star away from Illica safely.

The scene on the jetty proves to have been too much for her to handle, however, and as soon as the Star is underway she is taken below deck and into the care of her healer, Kay, where she stays for the time being.

Physical appearance
Mab is tall and imposing, with flaming red hair. Her face is painted brightly, and she wears a lot of jewelry, including a pair of large hooped earrings. When she was at sea, it was rumoured that she wore pants, but on the day of the Rosalyn competition, Britta sees her wearing a dress. She appears to be frail and ailing, as she has a healer hired to care for her day and night.

Personality
Mab is proud, intimidating, independent and strong-minded. She cares greatly for the Rosalyn fleet, and cannot bear the thought of her ships burning at the hands of the Shadow Lord, as they would do if she did not choose to take them away. She knows that it is her duty to ensure the survival of the fleet, and senses that it is needful and important that it survives. Although this action is viewed with dislike and scorn by the people of Del, and in part blackens her reputation, Mab does not seem to care and does it anyway. She seems to prefer to choose her own course, and is not so easily swayed by others when she believes strongly in something. This is seen in Shadows of the Master, when Mab chooses to take the fleet into exile despite resistance and disapproval from the other traders who do not believe in the danger of the coming Shadow Lord invasion.

Mab could also be seen as rebellious and a free spirit, as she wears pants like a man during her years at sea rather than wear a skirt or a dress, like women in Del do. After her return, this is spoken of among the common people with hushed fascination and is thought of as scandalous and odd. However, Mab's fierce appearance prevents the people from gossiping about it openly to her face. Although she is now old and ailing, Mab is still a frightening and intimidating figure to behold, and her strong-mindedness and pride have not faded.

Abilities
Mab is a skilled trader, as she is the current Trader Rosalyn.

Dare Larsett
Mab had a very close relationship with Dare Larsett.

Kay
Kay is Mab's healer, and as such it can be assumed that they have a healer-patient relationship.

Star of Deltora

 * Shadows of the Master
 * Two Moons
 * The Towers of Illica
 * The Hungry Isle