Sharn

Sharn was the thirteenth royal consort and a queen of Deltora, and is the mother of Lief. She was the wife of King Endon and acts as a trusted adviser to Lief following the banishment of the Shadow Lord. She was born in the palace of Del and is of Toran descent.

Part I
Sharn was married to Endon and pregnant with Lief when Jarred returned to the palace. When the Shadow Lord invaded, Endon, Jarred, and Sharn hurried to the tower where the Belt of Deltora was kept. They arrived too late, and found the gems had been taken and the metal was twisted and burnt. Prandine cornered them, holding a poison dagger which he used to murder Endon's parents. Quickly thinking of a way to escape, Sharn pretended to see someone out the tower window. When the men noticed her behaviour, she denied she had seen anything. Prandine, not believing her, walked over to the window and leaned out, looking for what had captured her attention. Sharn pushed him over the edge, causing him to fall to his death. Both Jarred and Endon were amazed at her cleverness and quick thinking.

Jarred led them to the secret tunnel hidden in the chapel. Endon felt guilty for allowing the land to fall into the Shadow Lord's grasp, but Sharn convinced her husband that they needed to leave, telling him that their survival was necessary to restore peace. Endon, realising his wife was right and there was nothing more he could do, left his childhood home, vowing to restore the Belt and chase the evil in his land away.

In secret, unknown to anyone else, Jarred and his wife Anna switched places with Endon and Sharn. Jarred and Anna left the forge, disguised as the king and queen. Endon and Sharn dressed up as the blacksmith and his wife to take their place among the people. Later, after the Shadow Lord was defeated, Jarred referred it as 'the perfect plan'. Barda stumbled upon the four when Endon and Sharn were bidding Jarred and Anna goodbye. Startled by the sight of a palace guard, Endon knocked him out. Later, Barda woke up to discover that Endon and Sharn (disgused as Jarred and Anna) no longer feared him due to his mumbling in his sleep. Barda, pretending to be a beggar outside their gates, would protect their son Lief from harm until the time came to search for the gems.

Part II
After Lief returned home on his sixteenth birthday, Endon told him the time had come to search for the gems. Endon told Jarred's story, calling himself a fool. Sharn stood by the fire while Endon explained everything to Lief. When Lief decided to go, Sharn went against it, claiming he was too young. Lief soothed his mother, saying that he wanted to go and that he would be careful. Her birthday present to him was a cloak that would help hide him from enemy eyes. Endon's original plan was for Lief and Barda to head to the Valley of the Lost, but Barda said they should head to the Forests of Silence instead, since it was free of Grey Guards. Endon and Sharn gave in, and their only and firstborn son left.

Dread Mountain
Lief has a dream of the forge being deserted and branded with the Shadow Lord's mark. When Lief dreams again, this time of his father, Fallow warns Endon that he not only holds power over him, but over Sharn as well.

The Valley of the Lost
Sharn is briefly mentioned when Zeean admires Lief's cloak, claiming that it was as good as her own loom. This hints that Sharn is of Toran blood. Dain claims that his mother's name is "Rhans", and anagram of "Sharn", which further fueled the idea that Dain was the heir to Deltora.

Return to Del
When Lief uses the water from the Dreaming Spring, he learns that though Sharn is being tortured she will not reveal any information. Fallow remarks that she is stronger than her husband.

When Lief returns to Del to rescue Jasmine, Barda, and Doom (the real Jarred), he sees his parents are in the Place of Punishment. Endon and Sharn are able to stop Fallow from harming their son, but during the struggle Fallow stabs Endon in the chest. After Lief puts on the Belt and the Shadow Lord is driven away, Sharn stays by her dying husband's side. Endon is happy to die in a free Deltora, knowing that his mistakes have been atoned for. Lief now knows that his parents are Endon and Sharn, not Jarred and Anna.

Cavern of The Fear
Sharn becomes known as Lady Sharn and the king's mother, and helps the people of Deltora recover from the Shadow Lord's tyranny. During this time, Sharn's old friend Amarantz appears in the palace asking for a job as a palace cook. Sharn is overjoyed to see her and immediately grants her a position in the kitchen.

When Lief and Doom bring Marilen to Del from Tora, Sharn looks after the girl and makes sure she is well cared for. Sharn stays in Del to run the kingdom when Lief and Barda follow Jasmine into the caverns.

The Isle of Illusion
Sharn looks after Marilen and brings her meals. She is worried that Lief, Barda and Jasmine have not returned yet from their excursion to the Os-Mine Hills. When Jinks the acrobat appears in the palace saying that the king and Barda are dead, Sharn believes him and is distraught. However, Doom tells her not to worry, that Jinks is a liar and Lief is likely still alive. He sets off to find out where Lief and Barda have disappeared to.

Sharn still half-believes Jinks' story. She cares for Jinks and feeds him broth in bed, not realising that he is not as ill as he seems. Sharn falls asleep, but after a short while wakes up and leaves the room, going to meet with the Deltorans seeking help in the palace grand hall. Later, she goes to the library to meet with Marilen, who wishes to speak with her about an urgent matter. Sharn thinks that the girl wants to speak about the rumours of Lief's death, but Marilen leads her to her bedchamber. Marilen opens the door and screams in fright, seeing Jinks is lying dead on the floor, clutching stolen valuables in his hand. As Sharn and Marilen examine the body, Sharn says that his wounds must have been more severe than anyone had realised, but Marilen says that Jinks has been poisoned. She says that that was what she wanted to tell Sharn—that she had found poison in one of her cakes and had known not to eat it. When Sharn demands to know how she knew, Marilen says that it was because of the magic in her Toran blood.

Later, the two women discuss who would have wanted Marilen dead. Marilen blames Josef the librarian, but Sharn tries to counter her argument, saying that it could have been Ranesh, for evil lies in unexpected guises. They both agree that it could not be Doom. Sharn goes down to the kitchen to see Amarantz, and finds her serving Lindal, Steven the pedlar and Doom the same cakes that had almost poisoned Marilen. With a shout Sharn swipes the tray of cakes to the ground. Doom snaps at her, confused by her actions, while Amarantz trembles in shock. Then Amarantz begins to speak. She fully admits her role in trying to poison Marilen, and calls her 'the Toran bride'. Before Doom can stop her, Amarantz commits suicide by eating a cake. She says that 'more will be coming', and as she dies, a grey and red worm crawls out of her ear. Doom kills it with disgust. With the worm gone, Amarantz is herself again, and Sharn comforts her as she dies.

Marilen then appears in the kitchen, unexpectedly saying to Doom that she will not hide in the palace like a prisoner any longer. Doom tries to argue against Marilen's suggestion, but gets nowhere. Then Doom tells Sharn that Lief and Barda have followed Jasmine into the caverns below Deltora. When Sharn asks whether he will pursue them, he says he will not.

The Shadowlands
Sharn appeared at the end of the novel along with Marilen, Josef, Ranesh, Doom, Lindal and Steven to welcome Lief, Barda and Jasmine back to the palace.

Dragon's Nest
Sharn was mentioned visiting Tora to strengthen relations between Del and Tora.

The Sister of the South
Immediately after returning from Tora and arriving in Del, Sharn distributed soup among the people, trying to care for them in any way she can. Afterwards she went to bed immediately. When Doom came to wake her, he discovered that she was gravely ill. Others in Del showed similar signs of disease, leading people to believe that a plague came from Tora. Lindal and Zeean came to Del and risked their lives to nurse Sharn. When Lief, Barda and Jasmine returned to Del to find and destroy the Sister of the South, Lief visited his mother's bedside and realised that Sharn was not ill, but had been poisoned. He used the Emerald in the Belt of Deltora to help Sharn recover. For a while, it appeared that Sharn was recovering, but Zeean and Lindal fell ill and Sharn's condition became more severe. Lief began to worry that he was wrong and that the "Toran Plague" was real after all. However, while Lief was destroying the Sister of the South with the aid of the Topaz dragon, poison was discovered in Sharn's lip balm. With the source of her ailment known, she began to recover.

Sharn regained her strength and was in the palace dining hall during the feast. She was the only one who saw Lief leave the room to search for Doom. She was present when Lief and Doom explained Paff's treachery and when Lief discovered the Shadow Lord's final plan and left with Barda and Jasmine to stop it with the help of the dragons.

The following spring, Sharn attended Lief and Jasmine's wedding.

Physical appearance
Sharn is beautiful and delicate, of Toran descent. She has dark hair, dark eyes and slanting eyebrows, like all Torans. It is implied that she is rather short, causing others to think of her as weak and insignificant.

Personality
Sharn is courageous, quick-witted and intelligent. Though she is thought of as a 'painted doll' in The Forests of Silence by Prandine, she outwits him and pushes him from the tower window, killing him. She was able to think her way out of the situation by predicting how the Ol would act and using it against him.

Sharn is also a compassionate individual. She cares for the citizens of Del and helps them in any way she can.

Abillities
Sharn is a magic user and a skilled weaver, able to make fine magical cloth like all Torans. She is a quick thinker and can outwit enemies bigger and stronger than herself.

Endon
Although they never meet before their wedding day, Sharn grew to love Endon as the years went by. She supported Endon when the Shadow Lord invaded and convinced him to listen to Jarred and reclaim the Belt of Deltora. She went into hiding with him in the forge. Sharn is strong and brave during the dark times, and supports Endon through all this. When Endon dies, Sharn mourns for him, showing that she did indeed love him.

Lief
Sharn shares a close relationship with Lief. In Return to Del, when Lief is recalling a memory of his parents, he recalls that Sharn said that he was 'the light of their lives'. When Lief chooses to go to seek the gems, Sharn looses her courage for a moment, being afraid that Lief will be killed, and Lief reassures her, showing how close their relationship is. In The Isle of Illusion, when Sharn hears that Lief and Barda have followed Jasmine into the caverns, she asks Doom to bring them back, as she is afraid for Lief and what would happen if he died with no heir. She is distraught when she hears Jinks' false story of Lief's death at the hands of the Granous until Doom tells her that the story is fake. In The Sister of the South, when Sharn is ill, Lief comes right back to Del when he hears of her illness, wanting to see her. He helps save her life by destroying the Sister of the South and discovering that Sharn was being poisoned.

Appearances
{{Scroll|

Deltora Quest 1

 * The Forests of Silence
 * Dread Mountain (mentioned)
 * The Valley of the Lost (mentioned)
 * Return to Del

Deltora Quest 2

 * Cavern of The Fear
 * The Isle of Illusion
 * The Shadowlands

Deltora Quest 3

 * Dragon's Nest (mentioned)
 * The Sister of the South}}

Trivia

 * Sharn is a talented weaver, and like the Torans is able to weave magic into clothes. She makes a cloak which conceals its wearer for Lief to take on his quest. This is used to provide hints of who the heir to Deltora is, as in Return to Del, Zeean comments that Lief's cloak is as good as one of the Torans' own handiwork, despite the thread that was used to make it.
 * 'Rhans' is an anagram of 'Sharn'. This was used to give the impression that Dain was the heir to Deltora.