The Belt of Deltora (book)


 * This article is about the fictional book. For the magical belt, see Belt of Deltora.

The Belt of Deltora is a book that contains history and information behind the Belt of Deltora. The book was produced by the artist Withick.

History
The Belt of Deltora was written and illustrated by Withick, Deltora's greatest painter. He intended it to be a history book of the Belt of Deltora, dating back to its original forging and how the customs of Adin conflicted with the current customs of the kings and queens. The chief advisor at the time, Drumm ordered all copies be rounded up and burned.

However, Withick was able to save several copies of the book. One was hidden inside the palace library.

Secrets of Deltora
Withick illustrated a section of the palace library in Doran's Secrets of Deltora. It showed light being reflected off one of the bookshelves, where a copy of The Belt of Deltora lay hidden for the prince to find. This never came to be, as after Withick's death, Secrets of Deltora was hidden away, deemed too valuable to be viewed openly.

The Forests of Silence
Many years before the Shadow Lord's invasion, Jarred discovered the The Belt of Deltora while looking through the palace library. Reading through it, he realised how blinded the kings and queens were to the chief advisors and their rules. He tried to convince Endon to read the book, but was declaired an assassin and forced to flee for his life.

Years later, after Jarred and Endon switched identities, Endon educated Lief by having him remember the The Belt of Deltora passage by passage.

The Lake of Tears
While on the quest for the Belt of Deltora, Lief, Barda and Jasmine came upon a house within a circle of quicksand owned by an old couple, Nij and Doj. Inside the house, Lief happened to touch the Topaz and its power cleared his mind and allowed him to see through the pretence the couple had created. They were in fact the sorceress Thaegan's monstrous children, Jin and Jod, their strange language were simply words being spoken backwards and the house was not cosy, but in ruin. And they planned to eat the companions. He then remembered the passage about the Topaz from The Belt of Deltora and realised its power had caused him to see through the magical illusion the children had created.

After Lier used the power of the Topaz to calm Soldeen and convince the monster to swim to the Weeping Rock in the centre of the Lake of Tears with Lied on the back so he could retrieve the gem there, he found a pink gem. He tried to remember if there were any pink gems in the Belt of Deltora, but could think of none, but then he remembered the passage in The Belt of Deltora about the Ruby, where it was stated that the Ruby pale in the presence of evil. He then knew to beware, and shortly afterwards they were ambushed by the sorceress Thaegan who teleported to the lake.

City of the Rats
When the giant serpent, Reeah, did not attack the companions, they wondered why, but Lied remembered the lines from The Belt of Deltora about the Ruby and realised that Reeah felt the power of the stone and feared it because it is an antidote to snake venom. It was also why Reeah had been attempting to hypnotise Lief and command him to take off the Belt and cast it aside.

The Shifting Sands
While being lowered down into the Hive via a rope, held by Barda, Lief had a hard time seeing the Topaz and Ruby in the Belt of Deltora, but the Opal shone brightly. He wondered what this meant and tried to remember the words in The Belt of Deltora about the Opal's powers, but was only able to recall the first part. When he caught sight of the Lapis Lazuli, the gem he was seeking for the Belt, he remembered that the last part of the passage talked of a special relationship the Opal had with the Lapis Lazuli.

Dread Mountain
While Lief, Barda and Jasmine were flying from the Dreaming Spring in the pouches of the Kin - Ailsa, Bruna and Merin - towards Dread Mountain, Lief reached down to the Belt and touched the Topaz, the Ruby, the Opal and the Amethyst, and reassured himself that the powers of the gems together would keep them safe. However, then he remembered words in The Belt of Deltora that said the seven gems together created a spell that was more powerful than the sum of the gems' parts, which made him realise that while the gems they already had in their charge could help them on their way, they could not save them yet.

When Jasmine was struck in her hand by one of the Dread Gnomes' arrows, she became poisoned by Gellick's ooze toad venom that its the arrow's tip had been dipped in. Desperately Lief tore the Belt of Deltora off his waist pressed the medallion that held the Ruby into the injured hand hands hoping that it could cure the venom, remembering that The Belt of Deltora told of the fact that the Ruby was an antidote to snake venom. Luckily it worked for the giant toad's venom too.

The Maze of the Beast
While Lief, Barda, Jasmine and Milne were being hunted by the Glus in the Maze of the Beast, Lief griped the Belt of Deltora. His hand touched the Topaz which cleared and sharpened his mind. He remembered the passage from The Belt of Deltora about the Topaz, and that it said that its power increased as the moon grew full. He realised that the moon was high above them outside, blocked by the churning sea and a mountain of rock, and yet the Topaz still managed to draw power from it.

The Valley of the Lost
While Lief, Barda, Jasmine and Dain was in the city of Tora, they found the oath stone at the central square cracked and its magical green fire to have ceased burning. Lief noticed that the Emerald in the Belt of Deltora had paled and remembered the words from The Belt of Deltora about its powers, which stated that the Emerald dulls in the presence of evil, and when a vow is broken. He deduced from this that the Torans had somehow rejected King Endon's orders and as a result the oath stone had broken and the Torans had been swept from their city forever.

While inside the Guardian's palace, Lief discovered a copy of The Belt of Deltora. It had been placed there to further convince travellers that King Endon had given into the Shadow Lord's power. While playing the Guardian's game in an attempt to win the Diamond, Lief flipped through the book and found the words detailing the Dimaond's powers, which stated that diamonds gained by treachery or violence, or desired out of envy or greed, are ill omens and bring bad fortune, and used these words to convince Barda and Jasmine of why they could not simply steal the Diamond from its casket as its power would have brought them ill luck. These words prove to be true, as a girl they had brought with them, Neridah, had stolen the real Diamond before they came to play the Guardian's games, and its power had caused her to drown in the stream outside his palace, killing her.

Return to Del
Following the destruction of the Guardian's palace, The Belt of Deltora was all that had survived. The Belt of Deltora was finally complete, however Lief had a nagging feeling that something was still wrong with it. He read in book and wondered if the reason it had survived was that it might hold the key to finding the heir to the Deltoran throne. He read the words about the gems making a spell together far more powerful than the sum of their parts, and that the Belt would only have the power to defeat the Shadow Lord if it was complete as it was first fashioned and worn by Adin and worn by his true heir.

Later, Lief read in the copy of The Belt of Deltora again, about how Adin had united the seven tribes of Deltora. He realised that they must unite the tribes once more, and with this knowledge he orchestrated a ceremony to do so, also hoping that it would somehow help to discover the heir of Deltora.

Following an ambush by Ichabod which had resulted in the abduction of Dain and several other people of the Resistance, Barda had become fatally injured as he was losing blood. Somehow the Belt was able to stop him from drifting towards death. Later, when Steven the peddlar drove towards Del with Lief, Barda and Jasmine hiding in his cart, Lief wondered how the Belt had done this and decided to read the passages on the powers of the seven gems, but did not find anything of help.

Later, while preparing to swing down from the walls of the palace of Del to clasp the Belt around Jasmine's waist, as he had begun to suspect she was the heir, Lief had the nagging feeling that something was wrong with the Belt once more. He withdrew The Belt of Deltora and read the passage about it only working if it was complete as it was first fashioned by Adin and worn by the heir. He realised that the words contained a riddle, with the word "spell" indicatitng that the gems needed to be in the exact order that Adin first collected them in, so that they spelled the name of the land, "Deltora", and used this information to rearrange the gems.

Dragon's Nest
During his attempt to destroy the crystal in Del's forge, following the closure of the monthly Full Moon Meeting, King Lief was growing weak as the voice of the Shadow Lord kept tormenting him, streaming from the crystal. He instinctively felt for the Belt and happened to touch the Topaz, which eased his mind and caused spirits of both past and present people to appear around him, their voices drowning the Shadow Lord's. Then Lief remembered the passage in The Belt of Deltora about the powers of the Topaz, remembering it said the gem increases in strength during a full moon.

The Sister of the South
Lief again remembered a passage from The Belt of Deltora regarding the Shadow Lord as "it", rather than "he". This nearly caused Lief to give into the despair of the situation.

Known passages
"In ancient days, Deltora was divided into seven tribes. The tribes fought on their borders but otherwise stayed in their own place. Each had a gem from deep within the earth, a talisman with special powers."

"There came a time when the Enemy from the Shadowlands cast greedy eyes on Deltora. The tribes were divided, and singly none of them could repel the invader, who began to triumph."

"A hero called Adin rose from the ranks of the people. He was an ordinary man, a blacksmith who made swords and armour and shoes for horses. But he had been blessed with strength, courage, and cleverness."

"One night, Adin dreamed of a special and splendid belt — seven steel medallions beaten to the thinness of silk and connected together with fine chain. To each medallion was fixed one of the tribal gems."

"Realising that the dream had been sent to him for a purpose, Adin worked in secret over many months to create a likeness of the belt he had been shown. Then he traveled around the kingdom to persuade each tribe to allow its talisman to be added to it."

"The tribes were at first suspicious and wary, but, one by one, desperate to save their land, they agreed. As each gem became part of the belt, its tribe grew stronger. But the people kept their strength secret, and bided their time."

"And when at last the belt was complete, Adin fastened it around his waist, and it flashed like the sun. Then all the tribes united behind him to form a great army, and together they drove the Enemy from their land."

"And so Adin became the first king of the united tribes of Deltora, and he ruled the land long and wisely. But he never forgot that he was a man of the people, and that their trust in him was the source of his power. Neither did he forget that the Enemy, though defeated, was not destroyed. He knew that the Enemy is clever and sly, and that to its anger and envy a thousand years is like the blink of an eye. So he wore the belt always, and never let it out of his sight ..."

"The first to leave the belt aside was Adin’s grandson, King Elstred, who in his middle years grew fat with good living and found the steel cut sadly into his belly. Elstred’s chief advisor soothed his fears, saying that the belt need only be worn on great occasions. Elstred’s daughter, Queen Adina, followed her father’s ways, wearing the belt only five times in her reign. Her son, King Brandon, wore it only three times. And at last it became the custom for the belt to be worn only on the day the heir took the throne ..."

"At the urging of his chief advisor, King Brandon caused the Ralad builders to raise a great palace on the hill at the centre of the city of Del. The royal family moved from the old blacksmith’s forge to the palace, and over time it became the custom for them to remain within its walls, where no harm could come to them ..."

"Each gem has its own magic, but together the seven make a spell that is far more powerful than the sum of its parts. Only the Belt of Deltora, complete as it was first fashioned by Adin and worn by Adin’s true heir, has the power to defeat the Enemy."

"The diamond, symbol of innocence, purity, and strength. Diamonds give courage and strength, protection from pestilence and helps the cause of true love. But take heed of this warning: Diamonds gained by treachery or violence, or desired out of envy or greed, are ill omens, and bring bad fortune. Great evil comes upon those who gain them without honour."

"The emerald, symbol of honour, dulls in the presence of evil, and when a vow is broken. It is a remedy for sores and ulcers, and an antidote to poison."

"The topaz is a powerful gem, and its strength increases as the moon grows full. The topaz protects its wearer from the terrors of the night. It has the power to open doors into the spirit world. It strengthens and clears the mind ..."

"The opal, symbol of hope, shines with all colours of the rainbow. It has the power to give glimpses of the future, and to aid those with weak sight. The opal has a special relationship with the lapis lazuli, the heavenly stone, a powerful talisman."

"The great ruby, symbol of happiness, red as blood, grows pale in the presence of evil, or when misfortune threatens its wearer. It wards off evil spirits, and is an antidote to snake venom."

"The great amethyst, symbol of truth, calms and soothes. It changes colour in the presence of illness, loses colour near poisened food or drink, and guides the wearer towards sincerity, security, and peace of mind."

Deltora Quest 1

 * The Forests of Silence (both the book and passage flashbacks appear)
 * The Lake of Tears (passage flashbacks appear)
 * City of the Rats (passage flashbacks appear)
 * The Shifting Sands (passage flashbacks appear)
 * Dread Mountain (passage flashbacks appear)
 * The Maze of the Beast (passage flashbacks appear)
 * The Valley of the Lost (both the book and passage flashbacks appear)
 * Return to Del (passage flashbacks appear)

Deltora Quest 3

 * Dragon's Nest (passage flashbacks appear)
 * The Sister of the South (passage flashbacks appear)