Endon

"I am happy. My life is fulfilled. Here, now, at the moment of my death, I have what I have longed for. The knowledge that the evil caused by my fault has been undone. The knowledge that, with my dear wife, I have raised a son who can lead his people wisely, know their hearts."

- Endon to Lief.

Endon was the thirteenth known monarch and a king of Deltora. He was the ruling monarch during the Shadowlands invasion, the husband of Sharn and the father of Lief. After escaping the palace, he went into hiding in Del's forge and adopted the identity of his best friend Jarred to protect the kingdom. During his upbringing in the palace, he was clever and dutiful, afraid to stray from the laws created by the Chief Advisors, collectively known as the Rule.



Early life
Endon grew up within the safety of the palace walls, and was taught to be dutiful and always follow the Rule, a collection of laws created by the Chief Advisors. He was the only son and heir of King Alton. When Endon was four years old, he was given a servant boy, Jarred, as a companion to play with. The two boys became like brothers, despite their different personalities. At a young age, Endon was taught a rhyme that would help him remember the way in and out of the palace through a secret tunnel.

Endon and Jarred were raised by their nursemaid Min. They would play games such as 'Aim High' and would hide in the hollow tree when the need arose. As the two boys grew older Jarred began to suggest climbing over the palace wall and into the city, thereby breaking the Rule. Endon, not wanting Jarred to be sent away for disobedience, begged him not to leave the palace walls, to which he begrudgingly agreed.

Coronation and reign
After the death of King Alton and his queen, Endon was crowned King at a young age. As was tradition, on the Coronation Day, the Belt of Deltora was fastened around Endon's waist, marking him as the King of Deltora. However, following the tradition of The Rule, the Belt of Deltora was then removed and sealed in a tower.

Endon went to the chapel to keep a vigil over his father's body. Close to dawn, Jarred burst into the chapel and began babbling about how precarious the royal family's rule over Deltora had become and that Endon must come with him now to put on the Belt of Deltora and mingle with the common people to prevent the Shadow Lord from invading. Endon, still grieving over his parents' deaths, was frightened by Jarred's words and thought he was mad. Then Prandine, the Chief Advisor, interrupted their conversation and accused Jarred of trying to murder Endon. Endon believed him, and Jarred was forced to flee. Endon did not see him again for seven years. When it was believed that Jarred had died, Prandine did not tell Endon to keep him in fear of his life.

Eventually, Endon married Sharn, a woman of Toran descent who had also spent most of her life inside the palace walls. Although they did not see each other before their wedding, Endon grew to love Sharn as each year passed. Seven years into his reign, Sharn was pregnant with their son.

Shadowlands invasion
On the night of Endon's seventh anniversary of becoming king, Endon was approached by his old nursemaid Min. She told him of a conversation she overheard, which mentioned a great evil that would happen that night. Endon dismissed her concerns and left for a feast in the grand hall. Afterward, Endon received news that Min had fallen to her death from the top of the staircase, and realised that Min had been murdered for what she had heard.

He began to suspect that Min was right about the 'great evil' that would befall them. He told Sharn what happened and she agreed that Min had been killed. Endon sent for Min's son, a palace guard named Barda, but he had escaped the palace during the feast and was nowhere to be found.

Shortly after, Endon found a message Jarred had left in the hollow tree seven years prior. The message said that if Endon ever needed help, all he had to do was shoot a golden arrow in the highest fork of the old tree. Endon did so, and left a nursery rhyme outside the palace gates to show Jarred the hidden entrance to the palace. He then went to the chapel to keep a vigil over Min's body and wait for Jarred to appear.

When Endon was reunited with Jarred in the chapel, he did not recognise him at first. When he did, Endon fell to his knees and begged for his help, apologising for doubting him all those years earlier. Endon then introduced Jarred to his wife, and Jarred said that they had to retrieve the Belt of Deltora for Endon to wear.

The three arrived at the tower where the Belt of Deltora was stored and found all the guards dead. Inside, the seven Ak-Baba removed the gemstones from the shattered Belt and flew off in different directions. Prandine then appeared and, after revealing himself as a servant of the Shadow Lord and responsible for the deaths of Endon's parents, prepared to kill the three to wipe out the last of Adin's blood. Before he could kill them, Sharn tricked Prandine into looking out the window of the tower before she pushed him out to his death.

Endon gathered up the remains of the Belt escaped the palace with Jarred and Sharn. They went to Jarred and his wife Anna's home at the forge to decide what to do next. It was decided that Endon and Sharn would stay in the forge and take on the identities of Jarred and Anna to keep them and their unborn son safe from the Shadow Lord, until their enemy was no longer looking for the missing king. Jarred and Anna then fled Del disguised as the king and queen.

As Endon and Sharn were seeing Jarred and Anna off, Endon saw a palace guard coming towards him and knocked him unconscious, fearing that he was an enemy. Later, he discovered that the guard was Barda. Endon and Sharn enlisted Barda's help in searching for the gems to the Belt of Deltora, but they never told him who they really were, so Barda always thought they were Jarred and Anna.

Life as a blacksmith
Sometime after the Shadow Lord's invasion, Endon remade the Belt of Deltora in preparation for their quest. He also began working in the forge as a blacksmith to keep up his identity as Jarred. In the summer, Sharn gave birth to their son, whom they named Lief.

For years Endon intended to go himself to restore the Belt of Deltora. However, when Lief was ten years old, Endon was crippled by a falling tree and afterwards walked with a limp. It was clear that Endon could not go on the quest, so he and Sharn argued with Barda to let Lief go in his place when he was old enough, because they believed it was his right to fulfill his father's pledge. Barda at first wanted to go alone, but he eventually gave in on the condition that Lief be allowed to take risks on the streets of Del to prepare himself for the journey. Endon and Sharn agreed, and Barda became Lief's 'guardian' during his adventures, although they were always anxious when Lief took risks and came home after the Shadow Lord's curfew.

The Forests of Silence
On Lief's sixteenth birthday, Endon and Sharn told Lief about the quest to retrieve the gems, to which he agreed. To aid him in the quest, Endon presented Lief with the finest sword he had ever forged, along with a map showing the seven gem's hiding places. Endon and Sharn also explained Barda's origins to Lief, as he would be Lief's traveling companion, before seeing the two off.

Dread Mountain
While Lief was questing for the Belt of Deltora, his identity became apparent and both Endon and Sharn were captured and imprisoned in Del in a bid to force Lief to come forward and rescue them. Endon was interrogated by Fallow, an exact copy of Prandine, who told him that a boy, a man, and a wild girl with a black bird had found four of the gems and were now looking for the fifth. Though they did not know the identity of the girl, Fallow accused the boy of being Lief, and the man of being the old king of Deltora, to which Endon laughed at the idea of Barda being mistaken for himself. When Fallow saw he was going nowhere, he threatened Endon with the knowledge that his wife was experiencing worse treatment than he was before departing.

The news that Lief and Barda were succeeding gave Endon hope and strength to endure. Alone in his cell, he prayed that Lief and Barda would continue fighting their battles while he and Sharn fought theirs. Unbeknownst to Endon, the interrogation was seen by Lief, who was using Dreaming Spring water to see his father. He used the courage demonstrated by Endon to continue on the quest to Dread Mountain.

Return to Del
After retrieving all seven gems, Lief used Dreaming Spring water to spy on a conversation between Fallow and the Shadow Lord. Fallow was growing increasingly frustrated with Endon and Sharn's defiance, and suggested killing them and using Ols in their place to lure Lief into a trap. The Shadow Lord rejected this plan, since Lief had the Topaz and could see through such a trick.

Endon and Sharn were brought to the Place of Punishment, along with the Resistance captives, in a bid to force Lief to show himself. Among the captives was Jarred, who had just regained his lost memories. He and Endon shared a silent glance before Fallow prepared to execute them. However, Lief arrived and caused enough confusion to allow Endon to wrap his chains around Fallow, who stabbed Endon with a knife.

After Lief put on the completed Belt of Deltora and banished the Shadow Lord, Endon and Jarred revealed their deception to everyone. As he died, Endon told Lief that he was happy to see his son fix his mistakes and become a better king than he was. Endon then closed his eyes and breathed his last breath.

Anime
Endon's role in the anime is the same as in the books. However, his involvement in the final battle against the Shadow Lord is expanded upon. He actually participates in the final battle and it is he who tells Lief that the gems need to be placed in the correct order. Shortly after this, he was struck by the Shadow Lord and mortally wounded. He lived long enough to see Lief assemble the gems in their correct order and the Shadow Lord banished from Deltora. Afterwards, he was seated on the throne of Deltora and apologised to the Resistance members for his negligence during his rule before dying.

Physical appearance
Endon was dark-haired and well-built. In the anime, however, his hair is blonde.

As king, Endon's long hair and beard were plaited with gold, and his eyes were lined in black and shadowed blue in the traditional palace fashion. As a blacksmith, his appearance was far rougher. After he was injured by the falling tree, Endon's leg was stiff and he walked with a limp.

Personality
From birth, Endon was raised to be dutiful and obedient, and always obey the Rule. As a child, he had known that one day he would become king of Deltora and would be responsible for the security and well-being of the country. However, due to his upbringing under the Rule, Endon was very decided and compliant towards authority, and showed no ambition to learn more about his people or country outside of what he was told by the chief advisor.

Despite his duty to authority, Endon loved to bend the rules when he was with Jarred. In their youth they would play various games to escape from Prandine or Min when they had come to take the boys to their lessons. The boys even created their own secret code to signal one another. The only rule Endon would not break when with Jarred was leaving the palace grounds.

During his years as a blacksmith, Endon reflected much on his past action and developed self-loathing, but also a desire to atone for his sins. He became skilled in masking his identity, as even when he and his wife were captured by Fallow, they never gave away that they were the king and queen. Endon was also shown to possess a strong will, as he survived Fallow's torture and interrogations for months without breaking.

Abilities
Endon was able to pass as his friend Jarred for sixteen years without ever drawing suspicion to himself or his family, even though Jarred had lived in Del as the blacksmith for many years before Endon assumed his identity. Endon also became a skilled blacksmith during his time in hiding; he mostly crafted horseshoes and carpentry equipment, but he was also able to re-forge the Belt of Deltora and forge the sword he gave Lief for his quest.

Deltora Quest 1

 * The Forests of Silence
 * Dread Mountain
 * Return to Del