Forta (child)

"What is my name?"

- Forta's only known words, spoken to Veritas

Forta is the only living Diamond dragon, named after her mother, who was previously believed to have been the last Diamond dragon alive.

History
Forta's egg was laid shortly before Doran the Dragonlover convinced her mother to go into hibernation until the skies of Deltora were rid of the seven Ak-Baba, who had killed Forta's father. Her mother chose Blood Lily Island as her resting place, thinking that the sleep would not be long. However, she ended up sleeping for several centuries, and the Blood Lilies and Fleshbanes spread across the island without any Diamond dragons to graze on them.

Forta was protected by her egg shell, but her mother was eaten alive in her sleep. Without a dragon's fire to hatch her egg, Forta went into a state of suspended animation.

Isle of the Dead
Lief, Barda, and Jasmine discovered the remains of Forta's mother on their way to the Isle of the Dead. The presence of the great Diamond allowed Forta to wake from suspended animation and tap on her egg. The companions found the egg and when Lief picked it up, Forta came close enough to the Diamond to break free from the egg on her own.

Lief fed her strips of dried fish before placing her inside his jacket pocket, where she promptly fell asleep. Lief later showed Forta to Doran—who had been forced to become the guardian of the Sister of the West—to show him that the Diamond dragons were not extinct, and give him a happy sight to die on. After Veritas destroyed the Sister of the West, he vowed to remain in Diamond territory for a time to teach the young dragon, and promises to tell her about Doran when she is older.

The Sister of the South
Forta attended Doran’s funeral alongside the trio, Veritas, Red Han, and Ava, and remained in her territory with Veritas when the trio left to find the Sister of the South in Del. Later, when the Grey tide was awoken, Lief called the names of all seven dragons of Deltora to protect the land.

She and Veritas were the last dragons to arrive and as such did not battle with the seven Ak-Baba, but she did help destroy the Grey tide. Forta later joined the other dragons in bowing to Lief, and Veritas named her after her late mother.

She later attended the wedding of Lief and Jasmine alongside the rest of the dragons.

Anatomy
Forta takes after her mother and other Diamond dragons, with shining, silver-coloured scales and a pale underbelly that changes colour to match the sky. Because of her young age, Forta is considerably smaller than the other six dragons. Immediately after hatching, she was small enough to fit in Lief's pocket, though she grew very quickly by the time Lief called the dragons together to fight the Ak-Baba.

Personality
Since Forta was newly hatched, she has little personality by the end of the last book. At best she could be described as curious, since she asked for her name after the destruction of the grey tide.

Abilities
Like all Diamond dragons, Forta can breathe silver-white fire. It is also assumed that she has hypnotic eyes and some telepathic abilities. Although Forta is very young, she did contribute to battling the grey tide, adding her small, silver-white flame to the battle. Although she is still young, like all dragons, Forta can enter an enchanted sleep, allowing her to sleep centuries without food or water.

The Sister of the South
"What is my name?"

Trivia

 * The word Forta is Spanish and derived from the Latin word Fortis meaning strong. In Deltora the Diamond is the symbol of strength.
 * Forta's mother never told Doran about her egg, since he believed the Diamond dragons went extinct with her death. Why she never told him is unknown, though it is possible she laid the egg after their last meeting.