Ranesh

"They are not just dry history, you know, but a day-by-day account of events in the kingdom for many centuries. Every volume is full of tales, sketches, maps—"

- Ranesh about The Deltora Annals to Jasmine

Ranesh is an advisor to King Lief. He is the father of Josef and the husband of Marilen. He previously worked on a boat before coming to Del.

Early life
Ranesh was born in Where Waters Meet, a village in the west of Deltora. When the village was plundered by pirates, Ranesh was orphaned and the village was destroyed. Ranesh fled the village and found work on a boat that carried passengers along the River Tor.

Eventually the boat was captured by pirates, who robbed and killed the passengers. They captured Ranesh and the captain of the ship and took them to a cave on the coast. The pirates threw the captain into a hole that led into the Maze of the Beast, then lowered Ranesh in by a rope so he could watch the Glus kill the Captain. The Pirates then forced him to work for them, threatening to feed him to the Glus if he refused.

A year later, Ranesh escaped from the pirates during a battle with a rival crew and travelled east. During his travels he stumbled upon the Valley of the Lost. There he met the Guardian, a powerful magician. The Guardian showed Ranesh a magnificent palace made of glass, and challenged him to play a game of skill. If Ranesh won, he would receive a casket of gold. If he lost, he was doomed to stay in the Valley forever. Ranesh refused to play the game; he valued freedom more highly than gold.

To his surprise, the wizard smiled and said that it would have been pleasant to defeat Ranesh, but that he did not need his company. He would have many other subjects soon, he had been told by his master. Ranesh ran from the Valley, and shuddered at wondering who the Guardian's subjects would be.

Meeting Josef
Ranesh made his way to the city of Del, where he lived as a thief. It was here he met Josef, the former palace librarian and guardian of the Deltora Annals. Josef taught Ranesh to read and write, and in return Ranesh told Josef of the Guardian and the Glus so that Josef could add them to his Deltora Book of Monsters. While sitting outside their drain-tunnel shelter one day, Ranesh and Josef were found by the two fruitsellers who were Ols. As they were about to strike, Steven loomed up behind them. Steven was injured and threatened by the Ols but Nevets appeared and he destroyed them.

Ranesh and Josef ended up growing close, with Ranesh viewing Josef as a fatherly figure. The pair eventually took up residence in the cellar of a pottery run by Mikal. The people of the pottery cared for them until they were taken to the Shadowlands by Grey Guards. The Grey Guards also set fire to the pottery and Josef thought that they would die in the fire. However, the flames never got into the cellar of the pottery where Ranesh and Josef were hidden. Ranesh and Josef spent the rest of the Shadow Lord's tyranny hidden in the pottery cellar, during which Ranesh returned to thieving to keep them alive.

Cavern of The Fear
After the Shadow Lord's defeat, Josef sent Ranesh to inform King Lief of the Deltora Annals, hoping the young king would come to him. Ranesh waited at the palace for an audience with Sharn, where he spotted Jasmine heading to the forge. He followed her and introduced himself. At first Jasmine was skeptical, but Ranesh convinced her to follow him to the pottery by promising her his master's treasure, which were the Deltora Annals.

Sensing Jasmine's disappointment over the "treasure" being books, Ranesh told the girl that he also had once not valued books and reading much but now felt differently. He explained to her that the Deltora Annals were more than dry history, but rather a day-by-day account of events in the land, full of tales, sketches and maps. The latter roused Jasmine's curiousity and excitement, for she was secretly intending to find a way to the Shadowlands to rescue the Deltoran slaves, even unbeknownst to Ranesh. He told her to look at his favourite maps in volume 5, drawn by Deltora's greatest explorer Doran the Dragonlover, whose maps he said he would trust with his life.

Jasmine accompanied Ranesh and Josef to the Palace where they were greeted as heroes especially for returning the Deltora Annals. Josef regained his old position as palace librarian and Ranesh became his assistant. They were ushered into Josef's old working place where Jasmine was studying the Annals looking for clues to enter the shadowlands. Later Lief and Doom came back from Tora to study the Annals and they were greeted by Josef and Ranesh, who had silently approached them. Doom was unsure at that time if he could trust Ranesh. Eventuallly Josef and Ranesh left Lief and Doom so they could study the Annals to find out more about the Pirran Pipe.

The Isle of Illusion
During his stay in the palace, Ranesh met Marilen, a Toran girl rumoured to be King Lief`s bride. She frequently visited the library and grew close to Ranesh. Josef noticed their budding affection and decided to send Ranesh off on some errands, hoping that, by the time he returned, Lief would be back as well.

The Shadowlands
Ranesh was among the group who welcomed King Lief, Captain Barda, and Jasmine back to the palace. Lief also revealed that Marilen is his cousin and heir, rather than his bride.

Dragon's Nest
Ranesh married Marilen sometime before the Full Moon Meeting and went to live with her in Tora. This forced Josef to hire a woman named Paff as his new assistant. Josef frequently wrote to Ranesh about her mishaps, and while Ranesh wanted to help his foster father, he learned that Marilen was pregnant and remained by her side.

The Isle of the Dead
Ranesh was part of the group who found King Lief and Captain Barda in the Dreaming Dunes, along with Jasmine, Zeean, and Manus. He confessed to Lief that, while he loved Marilen deeply, he could not stand how perfect everything was in Tora.

The Sister of the South
When the Toran Plague arrived in Del, Ranesh quickly returned to the city. He went to check on Josef, who died in his arms, calling Ranesh his son in all but blood.

Grief-stricken, Ranesh dressed Josef in his finest tunic and brought his body to the palace chapel. There he stood vigil over Josef's body, and so missed King Lief's meeting where he told everyone that the Toran Plague was poison. When Lief began to doubt his judgement, he sought out Ranesh to ask him to deliver a letter to Marilen telling her to come to Del and claim the Belt of Deltora should he die.

When Lief learned that Ranesh spoke to Josef, he tried to ask him what he learned. Ranesh snapped at this invasion of privacy, but when Lief told him it was to try and find the location of the Sister of the South, he quickly apologised and left at once to retrieve Marilen. He returned just after Lief and Fidelis destroyed the Sister of the South, along with food that Marilen brought with her from Tora. He also presented Lief with Josef's last book, Tales of Deltora.

On Lief's request, Ranesh inspected Josef's tunic, and discovered a map of Deltora that marked the city of Hira. Lief, Captain Barda, and Jasmine rushed to the city on the back of Fidelis while Ranesh travelled with Doom, Steven, Lindal, and Gers. They arrived in time to watch the seven dragons destroy the grey tide.

He and Marilen attended the wedding of King Lief and Jasmine. Later, when Doom left to stretch his legs and mind across Deltora, Ranesh took over his position as Lief's advisor. He and Marilen moved into the palace, where she took over as Palace Librarian. She also gave birth to a son, whom they named Josef.

Physical appearance
Ranesh is described as being tall, lean and strong. He has dark brown skin and long, straight black hair, tied back in a band. He has clear hazel eyes and is described as being clever-faced. Ranesh's face is unlined and Jasmine thought that it was hard to tell what age he might be.

Personality
Ranesh is a man who does not like following other people's orders and who prefers to do things his own way. He is calculating, observant, reserved, good-natured, and has no love of weapons or combat. When King Lief first met Ranesh, he assertes that is a man whose real character it is difficult to know.

Thanks to Josef, Ranesh knew the worth of preserving history and remembering lessons of the past so as not to repeat the same mistakes, and he understood how valuable the Deltora Annals were.

Ranesh had great respect for Doran the Dragonlover, the greatest and most famous explorer in Deltoran history, and claimed that he would trust his maps with his own life. Ranesh thought Doran was a great character and a man of many talents.

Abilities
Ranesh is a good thief, a skill he learned living as an oprhan on the streets of Del. He is also rather observant and sharp-minded. Ranesh is exceptionally good at moving about unnoticed, to the point of Jasmine not hearing him slip up behind her in one instance.