Tenna Birdsong Tales

The Tenna Birdsong Tales were stories a young Jalis girl named Tenna learned from a blackbird after she rescued it from a net. She remembered the stories word for word and it became her work to tell them to others.

History
The Jalis kept the stories mostly to themselves and passed them down through generations. After the unification of Deltora, the Tales were written in The Deltora Annals as part of the land's lore.

Josef, the Del palace librarian in the time of King Alton and King Lief, researched the Tales and wrote them in his book, Tales of Deltora. Josef came to the conclusion that many of the Tenna Birdsong Tales were not just simple fairy tales of made-up people and places, but they actually told the ancient history of the land of Deltora. He compiled the Tales that best told the land's story and published them in Tales of Deltora.

The Girl with the Golden Hair
Alyss was a plain-faced girl whose only beautiful feature was her long golden hair. She had many handsome admirers, all who only loved her for her hair. One day, a golden dragon took her to its nest in the Os-Mine Hills, intending to line its nest with her hair. A young man by the name of Rosnan followed after her even though she spurned his affections since he was as ugly as she was. Rosnan demanded that the dragon release Alyss, but the dragon refused. In desperation, Alyss cut off her hair and gave it to the dragon in order to save Rosnan's life.

When Alyss saw how ugly she was without her hair, she raced off deep into the hills, into the caverns beneath the Land of Dragons. Rosnan gave chase, but Alyss refused to stop because the golden cavern walls reminded her of the beauty she had lost. On and on they went, until the gold turned to red, red turned to rainbow, and rainbow into green. Alyss stopped in the green caverns, for beyond the green lay grey, and she feared to go any further. Rosnan caught up to her, took her in his arms, and told her that she was the most beautiful girl in the world to him. She saw he was honest and brave, and fell in love with him. They stayed in the caverns among the goblins and lived happily ever after.

The Land of Dragons
When the world was young, the biggest of the islands, known as the Land of Dragons by its fearful people, was a hard and cruel place. It’s skies were ruled by dragons, and its seas were vast and deadly, filled with fearsome sea monsters. The tribes that lived there kept to themselves and warred often over its scarce resources. To the north, there lay what the inhabitants of the land called The Twin. The Twin was lush and green, and surrounded by pure white sand. At day and night, the people of the Land of Dragons could hear a faint fluting that drifted from that mysterious island.

The people believed that The Twin was their island’s good twin, where it lacked the evil and terrors that The Land of Dragons held. They came up with stories about its imagined beauty and perfection. Often the people would attempt to make the journey over to The Twin but they were never seen again. Some believed that the lost ones had actually made it over, but others suspected that the seas had claimed them. The sea monsters were so savage, so hungry, and always fighting that only the dragons dared to fish far from the shore. While the people lived in fear, terrorised by both the sea monsters and the dragons, the Land of Dragons bided its time, waiting.

Fire and Water
This tale tells the story of the merging of the Land of Dragons with its twin and the emergence of the seven talismans. The tribe of the west, black-haired and wise in magic scattered fortune-telling stones and found that the stones of fire, water, death and marriage fell together and wondered what it meant. The dragons sensed that a change was coming but merely watched and waited.

The fearsome sea monsters burrowing deep into the seabeds, weakened the rocky ground of the sea, not knowing what fiery doom lay behind it. One day the dragons took flight and blocked out the sun. The earth quaked beneath the people’s feet, the sea boiled, and the land changed. The people thought that the world was ending but it merely changed. Once it was over, it revealed that the north shores were now rocky mountains, forced up as the land between The Twin and the Land of Dragon’s collided and merged sealed by melted rock.

Eight days after the event, the skies cleared and the people found a wondrous gem in each of their territories, their own talisman. The land blossomed and the people were able to leave their land, for many of the sea monsters died in the clash of fire and water. The people of the Land of Dragons tried to explore the new land but the mountains separating the lands were full of the deadly creatures that once lived in the sea and their attempts at sailing around were blocked by powerful magic. And so they forgot about The Twin and guarded their own talismans.

The Island of Dorne
East of the Land of Dragons, across the perilous Sea of Serpents lay the smaller island Dorne. The Sea of Serpents was dangerous due to the ravenous beasts that lurked its depths, they were ever-growing in number since most of the larger monsters had vanished. In spite of the treacherous journey, Dorne was a long-time favourite port for the traders of the Land of Dragons. Though small, the island was rich and strange, and its people were always eager to trade. For all its gifts, Dorne had no metal and metal goods were in high demand.

Dorne's harbour town, Nerra was a bustling and inviting place. It's twisted streets were lined with shops and stalls filled with all sorts of jewellery, fabrics, bone and wood carvings, gem-like glass and tiles. All of which were highly valued by collectors in other lands. There were interesting objects to found as well. Though ordinary in appearance, they were imbued with magic and often found their ways into palaces, towers, and castles far from Dorne.

Further inland, there was a town called Fleet where horses were bred and raised, which were very sought after. Many traders made the journey from Nerra to Fleet with pockets laden with gold and carts crammed with goods to trade but few travelled further than the horse fields. For beyond there lay the towering forests of Dorne's centre and visitors were not welcome. The beings who lived there did not trade as they had no use for gold and hated anything made of metal. They kept to themselves and they were so different to the friendly, welcoming people by the coast. Many newcomers wondered how two tribes could have so little in common on such a small island.

Long ago before the cataclysm of fire and water changed the world, Dorne was only home to people with magic. The Fellan, as they called themselves, were beautiful and lived long lives, far longer than that of a human. They did not build, fish or grow crops since the forests provided them with all they needed. The magic that ran in their veins gave them many powers, such as the ability to tame savage beasts, speak to one another in their minds, change their shapes at will, move from place to place within a breath, and to create from some earth or a piece of bark. It was tradition for the Fellan to remain away from the sea that surrounded their island, since the salt water weakened their magic and the sun of the coast scorched their skin. The waters around Dorne were constantly churning by the battles of the ferocious monsters and each wave carried with it the threat of teeth, spines and deadly stingers.

The fire and water that freed the Land of Dragons from the worst of the sea monsters also freed Dorne. But while the Fellan felt the land quake and the centre swell and burst, spewing fire and death into the air, they did not care about what happened in the sea. When the people of the other lands were venturing out into the much safer waters, the Fellan remained to themselves in their forest shade. Soon ships came, full of sailors and adventurers who became entranced by the beauty of Dorne and decided to stay in peace. Their ranks were swelled by the arrivals of other settlers. Camps multiplied on the shore and soon driftwood shelters were built and trading began between the settlers and the ships that continued to the harbour that became known as Nerra.

The Fellan and the newcomers did eventually meet, as some of the new settlers were more curious and adventurous than that of their neighbours. They wandered inland to where the forest trees began and sometimes they met the strange, beautiful beings with long red hair. Eventually love happened between a human and a Fellan, and the two settled together on the forest fringes to raise children who loved the sea as well as the land, and in whose blood lay the drive of the human and the magic of the Fellan. These children grew to adulthood and many obeyed the call of the sea and worked in Nerra as the salt didn't bother the half-Fellan and they could work with metal as well as they could with wood. Often they married their own kind but it was not uncommon for them to choose humans on the coast. It was said that there was no attraction more powerful than the bond between a half-Fellan and human. So it was that little by little, magic became the birthright of many and Nerra became less a rough seaside town but more a place known for its incredible works of art and magic.

Some of the more superstitious people were made uneasy by this change and crossed their wrists to ward off evil whenever they saw red hair. Most felt differently, they accepted their half-Fellan neighbours and saw that magic was enriching Dorne in many ways. The population continued to grow and soon the inlands were bring occupied by farmers who raised goats, ducks, horses and planted crops. They started cutting down the trees in the forest fringes to extend their fields and they battled the one-horned predators of the plains. The Fellan drew back into the depths of their shrinking forests and the people of the coast cared little for what they thought.

The Four Sisters
On their beautiful island, the sisters Flora, Viva, Aqua, and Terra sang night and day, and their voices brought peace and beauty to the land.

A sorcerer came to the island, searching for a place to conquer. He despised the sisters' singing and tried to stop them by imprisoning each sister on a separate corner of the island. Even when separated, they sang to one another and their voices still made the island beautiful. Enraged, the sorcerer went to each corner and struck them down one by one. First Flora, then Viva, and then Aqua. Terra sang alone for a time, but the sorcerer killed her as he had killed her sisters.

The sorcerer realised his mistake too late, for in the centre of the island, hidden deep in the earth, slept a great monster. Once the sisters' voices ceased, it woke in fury and destroyed the island. The sorcerer fled in fear and sailed away in search of new lands.

The Tale of the Sorcerer
Looking for a land to call his own, the Sorcerer finds an island with a powerful magic. He encounters an Emerald dragon and decides this is the place he will rule. When he attempts to command the dragon, it responds by breathing fire on him, and the sorcerer is forced to flee into the mountains to the north. The tale tells of Verlain, the Shadow Lord, and his coming to the Land of Dragons, which would later be known as Deltora. It deals with what happened after the Shadow Lord had fled the island of the Four Sisters.

The Dragon's Egg
One day the sorcerer who had hidden himself deep within the snowy mountains that bordered the Land of Dragons, looked down upon the green land of the north and smiled. Years he had watched the land and learned of its strengths and weaknesses and soon his plans would be put into action. He was very strong now, as he could wither growing things with a touch and create half life from scraps of bone and flesh. In the land of the north, he would finally have the room to implement his schemes. Then he could finally take revenge on the Land of Dragons.



Though cold and heat no longer bothered him, he was still mortal and he knew it was time for him to return to the den before he froze to death. As he was returning, he stumbled across a huge, speckled egg lying within a stone nest. Believing it to be a dragon's egg, he bent to pick it up. He knew that it was alive even though it was cold as ice and took it with him to his den. There he got his servants to build up a fire. So gleeful he was in his discovery, he forgot that dragons line their nests with human hair.

A full day later, the egg moved and emitted a tapping sound. He watched as the egg cracked and at last split in two. But the creature that came out wasn't a dragon, it was a strange, naked creature with stubby wings, a long awkward neck and a beak that was far too large for its body. It looked like some kind of bird which the sorcerer knew wasn't native to the Land of Dragons, for his servants had told him of every bird and beast they knew, and none matched the description of the creature he had in front of him.

Sick with disappointment and rage, the sorcerer raised a fist, intending to kill the miserable creature but something made him hesitate. It could have been the way its beak snapped close like a trap, or the creature's cruel talons that scrabbled upon the bowl that contained it, or perhaps it was the cold thought that if he could not have a dragon, that he should make do with what he had. It wasn't pity that made him lower his hand bring the wretched thing raw meat to eat.

He could see the way it tore the meat that it could be trained to kill. He could see by the size of its beak and claws that it would become very large. The children of its flesh would be even larger, and stronger. By the time he was finished, they would have teeth, spines, and endless cunning. They would become devoted servants, killing at his command. He knew that this work would take space but soon he would have all the space he desired.

The Tale of the Pirran Pipe
Beyond the mountains of the Land of Dragons, in the lands of its merged twin, Pirra, there was a Piper who played the Pirran Pipe which produced notes so sweet that no evil could exist there. The Pipe was played every morning, afternoon and night. One dark winter's night, the Piper passed away in her sleep and three musicians offered to be her replacement. They were called Plume the Brave, Auron the Fair and Keras the Unknown.

The three played the Pipe in turn before the people, as was the custom. Plume played notes so stirring that it made the crowd's cheer. Auron's music was so beautiful that the people wept at the sound. Keras made notes so haunting that the people were rapt in wonder at the sound.

When it finally came time for the people to vote for their favourite, each player received the same amount of votes. The three played again, and again but the result was the same. Night-time came and still the testing went on. The people had now separated into three groups according to their favourite player. They were growing tired and angry but they refused to vote for another. Long after midnight, when the vote was equal for the thirteenth time, the groups turned on each other. A hooded man, bent with weakness stepped forward. Each section of the crowd believed him to be one of their own for he had spent time with each group urging to remain firm to their choice.

He suggested that the contestants share the honour of being Piper. Since the Pipe was in three segments, each group should take one part of the whole. So tired and angry the people had become, they agreed. The mouthpiece went to Plume, the middle went with Auron and the end piece was given to Keras. Then because the groups did not like each other, went their separate ways, each group following their favourite.

Dawn broke the next day with no sound and the day passed in silence. Shadows crept into Pirra, causing trees to wither and flower to wilt. Little by little the Shadows ate up the fields, the villages while the power cloaked within grew stronger with every inch it took. It was too late when the three groups realised their mistake. Shadows kept them separated and they could not reach each other to make the Pipe whole. Knowing that their land was lost to them, they used their remaining magic to escape and save themselves.

And that is how Pirra became the Shadowlands. The three groups still blaming one another for their ancient loss, dwell to this day on separate islands hidden within a strange and secret sea.

The Seven Goblins
Seven ugly goblins left their underground world in order to share their story and bring their people into the light. Just outside of the dragon's nest that lay at the entrance to their caverns, they met a man called Ben Os-Mine, who upon seeing them, attacked them with a stone. The stone hit and killed the smallest of the goblins. The man ran off and they buried their companion.

They continued on until one of the goblins lagging behind was captured and eaten by creatures hidden beneath a rock. The remaining members heard the creatures talking about a cunning puzzle box and fled, horrified. They reached a farm house and the family within were terrified at their appearance. The mother tossed a boiling pot of soup at the five and while four of them got out of the way in time, one was not so lucky. It burned him and he fell upon his bone knife, killing himself. The four left, heard shouts and the heavy pounding of feet towards the farmhouse and they fled, leaving their fallen friend where he lay.

They decided to head toward the magic city they had heard the townsfolk chatter about, believing that they would listen to their tale. So they continued on, stealing food from the sleeping houses. The hungriest goblin found a tray of raisins on a pantry floor. She ate her fill and tipped the remaining ones into her bag, not knowing that they were poisoned, left out to kill rats. She lived long enough to warn them of the danger and died in their arms.

Opal the Dreamer
Opal was a young girl born on the Plains to two overprotective parents. lived in the Plains. She was called the dreamer because of her ability to predict the future. One night, she dreamed that the Land of Dragons would one day be invaded by a powerful Socerer and a man of 'fire and iron' would defeat him. Her parents dismissed her dream, so she went to the Plains capital of Hira to preach her vision. No one would listen to her there, so she decided to seek out the man of fire and iron herself. This led her to Del, where she met the city's blacksmith, who was not the man from her vision. Opal realized that the man in her vision wasn't born yet, so she eventually married the blacksmith and kept a vigilant watch for when the child would be born.

The Tale of the Three Knights
Three Jalis brothers travelled to the Forests of Silence in search for the fabled Lilies of Life, whose nectar was said to give eternal life to the drinker. The brothers found their prize, but started fighting when they realised there was only enough nectar for one. The two younger brothers, Greddock and Gudden, perished at the hands of their older brother, Gorl.

Trivia

 * The goblins that Alyss and Rosnan lived with, were the Keron people on the island of Keras.
 * Jasmine reads the tale of The Girl with the Golden Hair and uses it to find a way into the Shadowlands, prompting Lief and Barda to follow after her. Josef was of the opinion that the tale was pure fiction, unaware as he was of the existence of the Pirran Caverns and failing to recognise the connection with The Seven Goblins.
 * In the Land of Dragons tale, some of the named sea monsters are -  Sea serpent, Sea Wolf, Mirodan, Strangler, Vulture Fish, Bird Bane, Deadeye, Kobb, Kreel, Stinger, Bubbler, Blood Creeper, and Death Spinner (Glus).
 * The Shadow Lord was inspired by his experiences in The Four Sisters, and created twisted versions of them which brought death and despair to Deltora.
 * The Seven Goblins were Plumes from the underground island. The precious carved bit of wood that one of the goblins held was the Plume's piece of the Pirran Pipe, the mouthpiece. Glock, who was a descendant of the Jalis who accidentally killed the last goblin, ended up with it and passed it onto Jasmine when he died.
 * The creatures hidden beneath the rock mentioned in The Seven Goblins are the Granous. Lief, Jasmine and Barda encountered them during their quest to defeat the Sister of the East. The Granous talk about one of their visitors who left behind a puzzle box.