Forta (parent)

"Trust! Now that my mate is dead, there is nothing in this world I trust but the land—and you, Dragonfriend."

- Forta to Doran on the symbol for "trust" having appeared on one of the Toran fortune-telling stones

Forta was believed to have been the last Diamond dragon her skeleton was first encountered by King Lief, Captain Barda and Jasmine, but she was outlived by her daughter of the same name, whose egg Forta had managed to lay before being devoured by the fleshbanes of Blood Lily Island while she was in an enchanted sleep.

Secrets of Deltora
In his book, Secrets of Deltora, Doran described two encounters with Forta. The first time was on Blood Lily Island, where Forta was feeding on the flowers of the island, had the dragon telling Doran that her mate was killed by the Ak-Baba a few weeks prior, on the ground while he had been searching for nesting stones. During this time, Forta was grieving and welcomed Doran soberly. After having told him this, Forta went back to grazing, though she did not have much thought for the food, plainly eating to build up strength as whe was preparing to attack the Ak-Baba and avenge him, but Doran convinced her not to. They spoke again later, where Doran showed her his sketch of the Toran fortune-telling stones in order to convince her of her tribe's danger, and Forta pointed out the symbol for "truth" being next to the one for "dragon" and told Doran that with her mate dead, Doran was the only one she trusted. This comment moved Doran and helped him realise that even if the dragons did not trust each other, they may still trust him.

Some time after this, Doran found Forta once again and convinced her to hide away and sleep until the king of Deltora woke her. He also made her vow not to enter any other dragon's territory.

Isle of the Dead
Forta is the only one of the seven dragons that made their vow with Doran that did not survive. When King Lief, Captain Barda and Jasmine went through Blood Lily Island—on their way to the Isle of the Dead and the Sister of the West—they are attacked by the Fleshbanes. Lief called for the Diamond dragon in his mind and with the power of the Belt of Deltora, but she did not come. The group discovered her skeleton covered by Blood Lilies. Jasmine theorised that the Blood Lilies and Fleshbanes had not been nearly as large in population when she went to sleep, and she had not anticipated sleeping so long that they would become so numerous while there was no one to feed and keep the population down. The Fleshbanes devoured her in her sleep, and she never woke up. However, the group also discovered an egg clasped in Forta's arms under her head, which hatched upon being roused by the power of the Belt of Deltora, just as its mother would have roused the egg to hatch had it been alive. When Barda questioned that it was strange that the egg could have been fresh for so many centuries, Lief argued that it might be possible and that they, as humans, knew nothing of dragon eggs. Lief also suggested that her eggshell was too hard for the Fleshbanes to have cracked in all that time, so it at least had protected the baby from them.

Because Forta was dead, Veritas came to King Lief's aid and destroyed the Sister poisoning her territory in her stead. Doran, kept alive to be the Sister's unwilling guardian, was deeply saddened upon hearing of her death, but was put at rest when Lief showed him her daughter.

The Sister of the South
Forta is mentioned briefly in The Sister of the South. Veritas remained in Diamond territory to teach her daughter, who later helped to destroy the grey tide. After burrying the recently deceased explorer, Doran —Veritas having taken Doran's last breath to give him final peace — Lief learned the dragons' true names to each other, including Forta's, by touching Doran's soul-stone, one of the few items in contained in his grave. Veritas used the opportunity to name Forta's daughter after her mother.

Anatomy
Forta presumably has the same general appearance as all Diamond dragons: silver scales and a pale underbelly that camouflaged her against the sky.

Personality
Unlike the other dragons Doran convinced to enter an enchanted sleep, Forta did not survive the centuries waiting for King Lief. Thus, not much is known about her personality. It is however said that she was grieving after the loss of her mate, and that she was building up her strength in order to seek revenge against the Ak-Baba, but Doran convinced her not to.

Abilities
Like other Diamond dragons, Forta can breathe white fire. Like other dragons, it is assumed that Forta possesses hypnotic eyes and some telepathic abilities. As other dragons, Forta was able to enter an enchanted sleep in order to survive through the centuries, however she was killed in her sleep by fleshbanes.

Trivia

 * The word Forta is Spanish and derived from the Latin word Fortis meaning strong. In Deltora the Diamond is the symbol of strength.