Mikah

"Something is happening, a long way from here. There is a change. I feel it, and must know more of it. The place is Deltora—the city of Del—far across the Silver Sea. The person is a girl—no, a young woman now. Her name is … Britta."

- Mikah

Mikah was the former captain of the Star of Deltora, and the brother of Zoolah. With the Staff of Tier, he reigned as the King of Tier until Britta and her goozli took the Staff from him.

Early life
Mikah was a deckhand in the Rosalyn fleet as a young boy. He fled Deltora along with the fleet on the day the Shadow Lord invaded, and lived in exile for sixteen years. At some point he became a captain, and befriended Dare Larsett.

When Dare became an independent trader and owned the Star of Deltora, Mikah was its captain. He captained the ship on its maiden journey to find the Staff of Tier. Larsett successfully obtained the Staff and locked it in the ship's cargo hold, but Mikah was power-hungry and could not resist the call. He tricked Larsett, telling him he must use the Staff to heal his maimed hand. When Larsett agreed to touch the Staff once more and use it to heal the captain, Mikah cut off Dare Larsett's hand and fused it to his own arm, claiming the Staff for himself. After claiming the Staff and killing Larsett, Mikah sailed to the Isle of Tier.

Mikah placed Larsett's skeleton at the helm of the Star and wrote a note claiming the skeleton was his and framing Larsett for betraying the crew and awakening the Isle of Tier.

Larsett's skeleton was subsequently buried at the Del harbour graveyard with a gravestone bearing Mikah's name, reading: "Beneath this stone lies Mikah, 45 years, first Captain of the Star of Deltora. Foully betrayed by one he trusted, he perished attempting to bring his ship home. His courage will never be forgotten."

Shadows of the Master
Mikah, now ruling as the King of Tier, sensed that something important was happening from the Isle of Tier. After a flashback, he decided that he must find out what is about to happen.

Two Moons
Mikah became increasingly nervous of Britta reaching the island and the wraiths felt this. He felt anger and shock as they revealed the ports that Britta would be visiting, the same ones he visited with Dare Larsett long ago.

The Towers of Illica
Mikah feared he had lost power over the wraiths and they were being drawn to Britta. If Britta came close enough to the Isle she would be compelled to take up the Staff and become its new master. Though he could not speak of it to the wraiths, who would not understand his alarm, he did not want Britta to take his place.

Physical appearance
By the time Britta met Mikah in the cavern in the heart of the Isle of Tier, Mikah had become a shrivelled soul. Although he did not look older than when he first set out with Dare Larsett to find the Staff of Tier, since the magic of the Staff kept him young, he did not look like other humans. His skin, which covered a wasted frame, was pale and glowed faintly blue, as if he was a creature of the deep, and his eyes were deep black pools that did not reflect the brilliant rainbow light of the cavern. When Britta met Mikah, he e wore a robe of rich, scarlet fabric that flowed in liquid folds from his shoulders and pooled like blood around his feet. He sat on a golden throne in the cavern, with one hand always tight around the Staff of Tier which was stuck into the very ground at all times. The hand that held the Staff was not his own but that of Dare Larsett, fused to Mikah's arm.

Personality
Mikah was brave but unimaginative and power-hungry. He was loyal to Dare Larsett and the Rosalyn fleet until the Staff of Tier proved too great a temptation for him.

Abilities
Mikah is presumed to have been a capable sailor and captain, as he captained the Star of Deltora on its first voyage. As the Master of the Staff of Tier, and the King of Tier, he had powerful magic that allowed him to control wraiths to some extent, cure all ills, live forever, and create objects out of nothing. However, the source of these powers was the Staff of Tier alone, and only while holding it in his hand could he use the powers. Furthermore, the Staff allowed him to live forever.

Zoolah
Mikah cared for Zoolah, as he asked the Rosalyn fleet to look after her after his death.

Dare Larsett
Dare and Mikah were good friends. Mikah seemed to like and trust Dare, as he captained his ship on its maiden voyage, but he betrayed and murdered Larsett for control of the Staff of Tier.

Star of Deltora

 * Shadows of the Master
 * Two Moons
 * The Towers of Illica
 * The Hungry Isle

Trivia

 * The name 'Mikah' or 'Micah' is derived from the Hebrew 'Mikha' (מיכה) which means "who is like God?" or "who is like Yahweh?" (God's name in the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible), and is the name of several people in the Tanakh.