| Adin knew that he was the one who must fill the medallions in the belt.
Dain is in need of more information! Dain is lacking Improved synopsis, including information about the Deltora Quest anime, whether it be canon or not, but remember to distinguish between the two canons. |
| There is no denying that Deltora can be dangerous for the unwary or ill-informed!
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Dain was a grade three Ol tasked with infiltrating the Resistance and Lief's quest. He took the form of a Toran boy close to Lief's age and joined the Resistance, secretly reporting information about the group to the Shadow Lord. He was a secret plan in case the Belt of Deltora was reforged and the gems collected, but was killed by Lief and the Belt in the end.
History
Early life
Dain was created by the Shadow Lord to act as a false heir to the Belt of Deltora, as one of the many backup plans it created should the Belt be reformed. He chose his form with care in order to best look the part. A year before the events of the series, Dain met Doom, the leader of the Resistance, and told him a false story that he was orphaned when bandits attacked his family farm.
Dain was able to fool Doom (who was known for being able to detect Ols) and was brought into the Resistance. He believed that the royal family might have been hiding in Tora and often asked Doom to go and visit the city by saying his fake family might have hidden there. However, Doom knew the city was abandoned after the Torans broke their vow to the royal family and kept Dain as far away from the city as possible.
Dain used his position in the Resistance to listen in for any news about the royal family's whereabouts. He was ordered by the Shadow Lord not to contact it and risk revealing himself to the Resistance.
The Shifting Sands
Dain and Doom came to Rithmere during the 11th Rithmere Games to see if the games were linked to the Shadow Lord at all. During the semifinal round, Dain served drugged Queen Bee Cider to Neridah and Jasmine so that Doom could fight Glock and expose the games for what they were. However, Jasmine refused her drink, so Glock drank it instead. When he and Neridah passed out, Dain escaped as the games officials came to investigate.[1]
The Maze of the Beast
Dain was tracking a pair of Grade One Ols that were following Lief, Barda and Jasmine after they left Dread Mountain. He killed one of the Ols when they took the form of two drowning girls, but the companions did not know what Ols were and attacked Dain, breaking his arm and a few ribs. He was able to warn them of the danger before the second Ol could kill Barda, and later gave some of his Queen Bee Honey to Barda to help him regain his strength.
The three decided to take Dain to the Resistance stronghold. During the trip, he told them about the different grades of Ols and how to identify them. He also told them about his wish to go to Tora. When they arrived at the stronghold, Dain passed out from his injuries and was unable to tell the companions about the password. Fortunately Lief was able to decipher the code on his own and Dain was taken away to be healed.
After he recovered, Dain rescued the companions from Doom after he ordered them locked up in a testing room to see if they were Ols. He told them that he intends to travel with them, believing that the companions destination is Tora and became upset when he learned otherwise.
To avoid the notice of Ols on their way to the Maze of the Beast, Lief, Barda, and Dain split up from Jasmine, Filli, and Kree. Their journey was made more difficult without Jasmine's senses to keep them safe, but their group eventually made it to the ruined town of Where Waters Meet. There they found a note from Jasmine, who had been there three days prior, and encountered Steven, the son of Queen Bee who frequently traded with the Resistance. After trading with Lief and Barda, he offered Dain the chance to come with him and return to Doom, but Dain refused since he still wished to go to Tora.
Lief, Barda, and Dain then slogged their way along the River Tor until they were picked up by the River Queen. They found Jasmine on board in disguise, but made no attempt to speak to her. That night, the boat was attacked by the same pirates who destroyed Where Waters Meet. They recognized Dain as a member of the Resistance and kidnapped him for ransom. Lief and Jasmine tried to rescue him, but Jasmine's disguise was ruined by the pirate Nak, causing a disguised Ol to recognize Jasmine and attack. The pirates escaped with Dain during the confusion.
Lief, Barda, and Jasmine continued towards the Maze of the Beast, but were eventually captured by the same pirates. They briefly spoke to Dain again before he was taken to be ransomed to a pod of Grey Guards.[2]
The Valley of the Lost
Lief, Barda and Jasmine stumble upon the pirate ship on their way to the Valley of the Lost. They managed to rescue Dain, but were swept downriver during a storm. They washed up outside of Tora hours later and Dain rushed towards the city. Due to the protective magic that weakens and destroys evil creatures, Dain collapsed in the center of the city beside the Torans' Oath stone. When the companions saw him, he pretended to be griefstruck and requested they take from the city.
Outside the city gates, the four encounter Doom and Neridah, who had come to Tora suspecting Dain would arrive sooner or later. Dain quickly regained his strength outside the city and yelled at Doom for not telling him the city was deserted. Nevertheless, when Doom revealed he only wanted to keep Dain safe from heartbreak, he returned to the Resistance.[3]
Return to Del
Dain arrived in the Valley of the Lost with Doom to see if the companions managed to defeat the Guardian. Once Lief revealed the Belt of Deltora, Dain suggested that they gather together representatives of the Seven Tribes to conduct a ceremony to find the heir to Deltora. When asked about how he knew so much about Deltoran history, Dain said that he used to study the The Belt of Deltora. Zeean, the elder of the Torans, also commented that Dain most likely had Toran blood in him.
Doom agreed to hold the ceremony in Withick Mire (another Resistance stronghold) and used his connection to gather all the companion's allies. The ceremony was held several days later, with Lief, Manus, Steven, Fardeep, Gla-Thon, Zeean, and Glock representing the Seven Tribes. As the Belt of Deltora reacted to the representatives, it seemed to single out Dain, which Lief took to mean that he was the heir. Before he could hand over the Belt, Ichabod attacked and in the confusion Dain changed into a dagger. On Dain's orders, Ichabod publicly declared that he was kidnapping Dain and made his way to Del. Lief then found Dain in dagger form.
The Resistance made a plan to break into Del and rescue Dain by splitting up into several groups and entering the city at multiple entrances. However, Dain was able to inform the Shadow Lord of this and they were captured. Dain himself remained in dagger form while Lief, Barda, and Jasmine traveled with Steven. He left Lief sometime after they entered the city and returned to human form, allowing Grey Guards to bind him to a stake atop a stone pyramid for a public execution.
Thinking they had the element of surprise, Steven and his brother Nevets charged the Grey Guards to cause a distraction. They were caught in a pit trap, but Lief was able to climb the pyre and cut Dain free. However, when he returned to human form, Dain kept his dagger, which revealed to Lief that he was an Ol.
Dain dropped all pretense and admitted he should have remembered to put aside the dagger when he changed form, but his plan is set in motion regardless of the Resistance's knowledge of his true identity. He disarmed Lief and knocked the Belt into the fire, leaving him defenseless. He taunted Lief over his victory, which allowed Doom, who had escaped from the earlier ambushes, to sneak up on Dain with a knife. Dain was too quick and reverted to his true form to attack Doom. This allowed Lief to recover the Belt from the fire and wrap it around Dain's waist until he dissolved into a puddle of goo.[4]
Personality
Dain carefully created his personality in order to fool his enemies. He was a meek, soft-spoken, sensitive, caring and trustworthy person. On his first encounter with Lief, Barda and Jasmine, he saved them from two grade one Ols, promoting his character as brave. He freed Lief, Barda and Jasmine when they were held by Doom in the western stronghold of the Resistance. By doing this, he showed them that all his actions supported the right reasons, further gaining the trust of the three. In order to make himself more human, he improved his relations with everyone around him. In Withick Mire when Barda was dying of Gripper wounds, Dain was close to tears, insisting that Barda must not die and offering his help in any way possible.
In actuality, Dain was crafty, deceptive and self-serving. During the final moments before his death, Dain boasted about his triumph over the Resistance and believed that this victory would ensure his replacement of Fallow, whom he called a "Lumin obsessed fool." This arrogance is what resulted in his defeat, as he was so focused on victory that he forgot to remove his knife when he returned to human form.
In the anime, Dain showed romantic interest in Jasmine during their journeys. When he gifted Jasmine the pendant on the River Queen, he showed nervousness, telling Lief that he feared that Jasmine would not like it, showing that he was shy. He was also more sadistic than his book counterpart, as he playfully toyed with Lief during their battle and even helped Lief up when he had the chance to kill him.
Physical appearance
In human form, Dain had pale skin, delicate features, dark, silky hair and dark eyes, like all Torans. He specifically chose his physical appearance in order to fool others into thinking he was the heir to Deltora, since the royal family always married Toran nobility. In battle Dain used a bow and knife.
Dain has long purple hair and eyes in the anime. He wears a white cloak with a purple shirt, black pants and long purple boots.
Anime
Dain, as he appears in the anime.
Dain's role in the anime is primarily the same as in the books. However, he was given a subplot with Jasmine that hinted to romantic feelings (which was later revealed to be a lie) and inserted into scenes he was not originally present for. One example is that both he and Doom rescue the companions after the Rithmere games, as opposed to Doom rescuing them alone.
The circumstances of his death are also completely different in the anime. Unlike in the book, Dain does not inform the Shadow Lord of the other Resistance groups entering the city, and instead plans a massive ambush to capture them all once he was freed from the pyre. He steals the Belt of Deltora from Lief, who pursues him to an open staircase on the Palace where the two of them fight. During the battle, Dain's body mutated whenever he received an injury; he even grew a hard plate over his heart when Lief stabbed it. This allows Dain to easily overpower Lief during the battle. At one point Lief slipped off the stairs when it started to rain and Dain helped him back up, pretending to have reverted to his old self, before continuing the battle.
Fallow later arrived and ordered his Grey Guards to attack Dain, since he feared that Dain would take his place at the Shadow Lord's side. This allowed Lief to wrap the Belt around Dain's body, which caused him to melt. However, Dain tried one last time to attack Lief by pretending to be his friend once more. Again, Lief fell for the trick, but was able to avoid the attack and Dain died.
Trivia
- His name is actually an anagram of 'Adin', which leads Lief to believe him as the heir to the Deltoran throne.
- His fake mother's name, 'Rhans' (Arn in the anime) is also an anagram of 'Sharn', Endon's wife (the previous queen of Deltora).
- Dain easily escaped Doom's suspicion of being an Ol because he [Dain] is a Level 3 Ol and Doom can only detect Level 1s and 2s.
References
- ↑ Rodda, Emily. The Shifting Sands. Scholastic Australia. 2001.
- ↑ Rodda, Emily. The Maze of the Beast. Scholastic Australia. 2001.
- ↑ Rodda, Emily. The Valley of the Lost. Scholastic Australia. 2002.
- ↑ Rodda, Emily. Return to Del. Scholastic Australia. 2002.