Brandon

Brandon was the fifth monarch and fourth king of Deltora. During his reign, the royal palace and the royal family moved out of the forge and into the palace when the ground floor was completed.

History
Brandon succeeded his mother, Queen Adina, as the ruling monarch of Deltora. Brandon suffered the same manipulation as his mother and grandfather before him; he only wore the Belt of Deltora three times in his reign, as his chief advisor encouraged, and he was the last king until King Lief to wear the Belt more than once. Brandon's chief advisor also urged the king to move from Adin's humble forge to the palace of Del after the palace was built.

Brandon contracted the Ralad people to build a magnificent palace on a hill at the centre of Del, which the royal family moved into. It became a custom for the royal family to always stay "safely" within the palace walls, away from the common people. Brandon did not live to see the palace fully completed, as it took forty years to complete; he lived on the ground floor of the palace. Brandon's reign also saw the beginning of the rat plague in Hira.

When Brandon died, his son, Lucan, succeeded him as king.

The Forests of Silence
Brandon, and his role in the construction of the royal palace, was mentioned in The Belt of Deltora, a book that convinced Jarred that Deltora was in danger. Seven years later, Jarred used the escape tunnel that Brandon had had constructed to rescue King Endon.

The Valley of the Lost
Brandon's signature and seal were borne on some of the rolls of parchment denying aid in the box in Tora. He, like the kings and queens to come after him, were manipulated by his chief advisor and operated under their orders. This collection of guidelines and rules grew up over the next generations of monarchs and eventually became laws collectively referred to as "the Rule" as the monarchs began to follow them without question.

The Sister of the South
When Manus was angrily insulting the platform in the centre of the palace's chapel, Lief initially thought that the king responsible for the platform's construction was Brandon. Manus denied this, blaming King Lucan and his chief advisor, Drumm, for the unwanted addition.

Personality
Little is known of Brandon's personality, but he was as easily led by his chief advisor as his successors. The Ralads seemed to respect Brandon, appreciating his eye for beauty. Brandon, likewise, trusted the Ralad builders with the palace and did not alter their designs. Brandon was keen enough to have a secret escape passage made in the palace that he did not allow even the chief advisors to know about.

Abilities
As king of Deltora, Brandon had access to platoons of guards and, after its construction, the many resources of the royal palace. According to Manus, Brandon had a keen eye for architecture.