Manus

Manus is a Ralad man who assisted Lief, Barda and Jasmine on their quest to retrieve the seven gems of the Belt of Deltora.

History
Five years before the series began, Manus left Raladin for Del to look for help from the Del resistance. On the way, he was lured off the road by sweetplumbs and captured by Jin and Jod, two of the monstrous children of the sorceress Thaegan. He was deemed too small to eat, so they chained him to their wall and kept him as a slave. Manus was forced to watch the two trick and eat travellers for years, until he was able to escape across their quicksand moat. However, he was captured by a pod of Grey Guards shortly after.

The Lake of Tears
Manus was being escourted back to Jin and Jod's house when he was discovered by Lief, Barda, and Jasmine. Jasmine fed Manus dried grapes, since the guards hadn't given him anything to eat, then freed him. Manus drew the symbol of the resistance on the ground, but when the companions didn't recognize it, he erased it.

Shortly after freeing Manus and wrapping him in Lief's cloak to dull the sound of his chains, the Grey Guards woke up and chased them. During the chase, Manus passed out from exhaustion. After escaping the guards, Jasmine applies some of her healing ointment to his injuries, but the companions were forced to leave him in a sweetplum bush while they searched for help. Upon awakening, Manus realised he was back near Jin and Jod's house, and deduced that the companions must have fallen victim to the monster's trap.

In order to save them, Manus rang the bell on the edge of the moat, and tossed a stone into the quicksand to distract Jin and Jod. He then crossed the hidden stepping stone path. Jin and Jod were enraged at the sight of their former slave, and tried viciously to kill him. Lief rescued Manus by breaking Jod's hook, and Manus was able to show him the hidden stepping stones in the quicksand moat. Jasmine changed the pattern of the leaves that marked the stone's locations, resulting in Jin and Jod's deaths. Afterwards, Manus explained to Barda who he was, and that, since the companions saved his life twice now, he owed them a life debt.

Lief asked Manus to escourt them to Raladin, which he agreed to. During their travels, Manus explained to the companions the significance of the symbol he had drawn when they found the symbol drawn in a ransacked house. Upon arriving at Raladin, Manus paused before entering the city, fearful of what he would see. Lief told Manus that it was better to know either way, which encouraged him to lead them inside. However, they discovered Raladin had been looted and destroyed. No other Ralads were in sight, and the Shadow Lord's brand was on every house. Distraught over the loss of his people, Manus found a wooden flute and began playing a sad song. As he did, Ralads began appearing from hidden passages. They welcomed Manus back with open arms, and brought the companions to their underground city.

Three days later, Manus led the companions to the Lake of Tears despite the protests of his people. Knowing how much they missed him, Lief suggested Manus go back to them after he had finished guiding them, but Manus refused, again sighting his life debt. After they were attacked by the monster Soldeen, Lief asked Manus to play his flute to help combat the sorrow of the lake. As he played, Soldeen rose from the lake and offered to give them the great Ruby for the Belt of Deltora if Manus would remain in the lake with Soldeen and play his flute until his dying days.

Despite Manus' willingness, Lief, Barda, and Jasmine refused to hand their friend over. Soldeen attacked them, but Lief was able to use the Topaz to remind him of his past life, which prompted the sea monster to relent the Ruby to them.

At that moment, the sorceress Thaegan arrived and attacked the group for the deaths of her children. Luckily, Kree was able to discover the weakness in her armour, and was able to kill her.

Many years ago, when she changed the city of D'Or into the Lake of Tears, the Ralads spoke out against her. Thaegan punished them by stealing their voices, and the voices of every future member of their tribe. Upon her death, the spell was broken, and both the city and people of D'Or, and the Ralad's ability to talk were restored. The first words Manus uttered were congratulations to the Kree, and suggestions that they return to Raladin to partake in the festivities to come.

Return to Del
Manus was chosen as the Ralad representative in the ceremony to discover the heir to the Belt of Deltora. He was alerted by a swarm of bees sent by Queen Bee, and arrived in Withick Mire with Nanion. After Ichabod attacked the ceremony and appeared to steal Dain, Glock initially believed Manus was to blame for luring the monster to them, but Doom calmed him down. Manus then went to Del with the rest of the resistance to free Dain, but was captured. Before he could be executed, Lief wore the Belt of Deltora in its correct sequence and drove the Shadow Lord away.

The Isle of the Dead
Manus was contacted by Zeean about any possabilities of re-opening the Bone Point Lighthouse, since it was built by the Ralads. He made his way to Tora to look into the matter. Along the way, he stopped briefly at Tom's shop in Opal territory for supplies. While there, Tom gave him a jar of fire beads, some pepperment fancies, and a note for King Lief.

Manus had arrived in Tora by the time Jasmine and the Kin Bruna, Ailsa, and Prin arrived from Bone Point. A week later, he accompanied Jasmine, Zeean, Marilen, and Ranesh into the Dreaming Dunes to find Lief and Barda, and gave Lief the supplies from Tom.

The Sister of the South
Manus accompanied Zeean to Del during the breakout of the Toran Plague. When King Lief began suspecting the plague was really poison, he contacted his closes companions and gave them each assignments to deal with the outbreak. Manus' role was to look over the palace blueprints, and help Lief discover the Sister of the South's hiding place. Eventually it was discovered to be the chapel room.

After the Topaz Dragon destroyed the sister, Manus led a group of guards in repairing the now structurally unstable wall. He later attended the wedding of Lief and Jasmine, where he and his fellow Ralads played music for the event.

Physical appearance
Like all Ralads, Manus is a short man with blue-grey skin, beady black eyes, and a tuft of red hair on his head. He normally dresses in grey.

Personality
Manus has a strong sense of honor and morality. After the companions risked their lives to save him on multiple occasions, he felt he owed them a life debt, and refused to let them talk him out of it. He was willing to do anything to help them succeed, including giving up his freedom.

Manus has a love and appreciation for artistic craftsmanship. He praised the original plans of the royal palace, but was very forward in his disdain for the raised platform in the centre of the palace chapel, which he felt ruined the original design of the room.

Abilities
Manus had incredible strength for his size, as he was able to carry Barda — a man at least three times his size — over his shoulders. He's also a skilled architect, as shown when he was able to direct a group of volunteers to keep the palace stable after the battle in the pit of the Sister of the South.

Like all Ralads, Manus also had knowledge of the different symbols his people used for communication when their voices were stolen. Even after his voice was returned, this knowledge was used to help him understand coaded messages.

Manus also has a love of music, and can play a large selection of emotional melodies from his flute.

Deltora Quest 1

 * The Lake of Tears
 * Return to Del

Deltora Quest 3

 * The Isle of the Dead
 * The Sister of the South