Forests of Silence


 * This article is about the location. For the book, see The Forests of Silence (book).

The Forests of Silence is a collection of three forests that span both Topaz and Ruby territories. The first of these forests is known as First Wood, the second as Mid Wood and the last as End/Last Wood.

History
Years before Adin forged the Belt of Deltora, three Jalis brothers made their way to the Forests of Silence to search for the fabled Lilies of Life. The three brothers eventually found the lilies, but the youngest brother, Gorl, demanded their nectar for himself and killed his brothers. However, the lilies withered during the battle, so Gorl vowed to guard and protect them until they bloomed again.

Secrets of Deltora
Doran included a detailed description of the Forests of Silence in his book Secrets of Deltora. He also used his trip to the Forests to look for Topaz dragons, but to his disappointment, he could not find any.

The Forests of Silence
After the Shadow Lord invaded Deltora, one of the Ak-Baba dropped the Topaz into the Forests of Silence. Gorl, whose spirit was inhabiting his armour to continue guarding the lilies, found the Topaz and attached it to the hilt of his sword.

Jarred and Anna fled to First Wood after they were denied shelter in Tora. They lived in the Forests for seven years raising their daughter, Jasmine, until Grey Guards captured them and brought them to the Shadowlands. Jasmine was not captured and continued to live in the Forests with Filli and Kree, a siskis and raven who had also been orphaned.

When Lief and Barda began their quest to retrieve the seven gems, Barda decided to go to the Forests of Silence first, since it was closest to Del. They took the Wenn Del path and were captured by the Wenn who nearly fed them to their master, the Wennbar, but Jasmine rescued the two and, after some convincing, took them to The Dark, a ring of vines created by Gorl to guard the Lilies of Life.

In the ensuing battle, Gorl stabbed Barda and prepared to kill Lief, but he was interrupted by Jasmine, who cut off a large tree branch that crushed Gorl's armour and released his spirit. Lief then used the lilies' nectar to heal Barda while Jasmine collected the rest in a spare bottle. The rest of Gorl's vines were destroyed by the animals of the forest.

Cavern of The Fear
Unsatisfied with life in the palace, and frustrated by Lief actively avoiding her, Jasmine contemplated returning to live in the Forests of Silence. She almost left when she heard about Lief's Toran bride, but she decided against it after she had learned about Faith.

Dragon's Nest
Lief, Barda, and Jasmine took a shortcut through the Forests on their way to Dragon's Nest. They hoped to lose the unknown enemy who had been harassing their party. Soon Jasmine realised that they were still being followed by an unknown person. They expected this person to be the same enemy who had been harassing their party before they split up. Jasmine suggested to use a stream to mask their scent and so the companions did. After wading through the stream for some time the companions reached a grove decorated with fruits. They quickly learned that skin tasted very bitter and greedily they ate the sweet flesh of the Sleeper Fruit.

Jasmine and Barda quickly went unconscious and Lief saw a giant Orchard Keeper approaching them. It was going to murder and eat them but Lindal of Broome appeared and saved them.

First Wood
First Wood is the largest of the three Forests of Silence, and is located entirely in Topaz territory. It is inhabbited by a large assortment of creatures, including the Wenn and the Wennbar.

Mid Wood
Mid Wood is the second of the three forests, as well as the second largest. It is found on the border of Topaz and Ralad territory, and so it crosses into both. In the centre of Mid Wood are the Lilies of Life, whose nectar has amazing healing properties. This area would come to be known as The Dark when the ghost of Gorl grew a ring of vines to protect the lilies for himself.

End Wood/Last Wood
End Wood is the smallest of the three forests and is located entirely in Ruby territory. It is considered the least dangerous of the three, and has a more pleasent and peaceful atmosphere. However, it is also the home of Orchard Keepers: large water birds who prey on humans.

Creatures
The following creatures are common in the Forests of Silence.

Silence Spider
Extremly venomous spiders, Silence Spiders are black with a single, red stripe down the middle of its body. They are small spiders, but very aggressive. When an intruder gets too close to its web, Silence Spiders will attack by leaping with extreme speed at the intruder. A bite by a Silence Spider is instantly fatal.

Sunray
Sunrays are large, yellow carnivorous plants which grow at ground level in shady areas. Long leaves fan out from its centre forming a perfect circle, which is ofter mistaken for a ray of sun. In the centre is what appears to be a pile of red berries, tempting anyone who comes near. When stepped on by any living thing, the Sunray's leaves instantly slam shut with great speed, trapping the victim.

Coffin Pod
Coffin Pods are pods that hang from the flowering branches of the Coffin Tree. Though the Coffin Tree looks very beautiful, the pods are vicious and will snap at any living that passes by.

Flesh Python
Flesh Pythons are red and covered with a slime which gives the impression of them being skinless. They have no fangs but kill their prey by strangling and swallowing them hole. They sleep during the day and come out during the night.

Orchard Keeper
Only found in End Wood, Orchard Keepers are giant, carnivorous water birds. They use their orchard as a way to lure hungry travellers. When the fruit is eaten, the victim falls into a deep sleep, ready to be eaten by the bird.

Land Limpet
Land Limpets are hard-shelled creatures no larger than a thumbnail. They occur in large numbers and attach themselves to the flesh of any living thing that passes. While they are attached, they do not do any damage to the victim at all. Instead, when they are removed, they leave a red patch which quickly turns into an ulcer. These ulcers can take months to heal and usually leave a deep pockmark.

Siskis
Siskis are tiny, bright-eyed, highly intelligent creatures found in Mid Wood, in Topaz territory. Due to their small size, they easily become prey to the Wenn, and are therefore going extinct. Filli is the only Siskis that has seen and named in the books. The other being an unnamed one in The Solitary Guard in the anime.