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Drumm was the Chief Adviser to King Lucan and oversaw the placement of the Four Sisters in Deltora.
History
Drumm was appointed to act as King Lucan's chief advisor, though the details of how he attained the position are unclear. At some point during Lucan's reign, the Shadow Lord had its seven Ak-Baba kill off the dragon populations who would defy its plans. Drumm made sure the king would do nothing to help the dragons by convincing the king that a few less dragons would be beneficial to the farmers who saw dragons as pests.
As the dragon population dropped to near extinction, the Shadow Lord had Drumm place the Four Sisters, devices that would slowly poison Deltora, at the easternmost, northernmost, southernmost, and westernmost points in the land. Drumm was also responsible for adding the pedestal to the centre of the Palace chapel,which concealed the Sister of the South. When Rufus, the chief of the Ralad builders, sent a letter that requested the pedestal be removed, Drumm refused on King Lucan’s behalf.
Drumm's refusal to remove the pedestal.
Much of Drumm's reign oversaw the attempted destruction of Deltora's history, which often brought him into conflict with Deltora's greatest artist, Withick. At one point Drumm requested that Withick's painting of Opal dragons be removed from the palace of Del, but he was overruled since an Opal dragon fought at the Battle for Deltora. Drumm was able to destroy many copies of The Belt of Deltora, a book Withick made detailing the history of the belt. However, he was unable to destroy them all, as Withick kept several copies with him.
Secrets of Deltora
When Lucan commissioned Doran the Dragonlover to write a book about Deltora to educate his son, Prince Gareth, about the land he would one day rule, Drumm opposed the decision fiercely. In the end he could not go against the king's orders, but he did order Doran to write his book in pencil so that the explorer's messy handwriting and sketches could be rewritten and redrawn to standards more appropriate for the Prince of Deltora. In reality, Drumm hoped to edit and censor the book to keep important information from Gareth.
Doran assumed Drumm's intentions and went to Withick to prepare the book. Doran included several cleverly disguised riddles in the book, warning Gareth of Drumm's treachery and the plight of Deltora's dragons. Despite his efforts, Drumm was able to convince Lucan that Gareth was too young to be trusted with such a valuable book, and had Secrets of Deltora locked away in the palace library. Not long afterward, Withick was found dead, and Drumm convinced the king to keep the book from ever being read, as it was Withick's last work and therefore invaluable.
At some point after Withick's death, Doran learned of the Four Sisters and sought a way to destroy them. He left a map detailing where he believed the sisters were hidden in the Deltora Annals, but was shortly after captured by Drumm's men. Drumm tore the map into four pieces and wrote cryptic warnings that dared anyone to try and hunt the sister's down. He hid one part of the map in the table containing the Shadow Lord’s crystal and the other three throughout Deltora. Drumm is also mentioned in the Deltora Annals as having attended a palace dinner at some point after Doran drew his map.
King Lucan eventually died after months of being poisoned by Drumm, though it is unclear if Drumm continued to act as chief advisor to prince Gareth. The Shadow Lord eventually tired of Drumm and eliminated him, replacing him with a new spy.[1]
Dragon's Nest
When the Shadow Lord's crystal was being destroyed in the forge in Del, King Lief, along with Barda, Jasmine, and Doom, overheard a conversation between Drumm and the Shadow Lord, which had been recorded by the crystal. The Shadow Lord spoke to Drumm about the Four Sisters, and Drumm questioned the wisdom of leaving Doran's map intact rather than destroying it, but the Shadow Lord silenced him. This conversation led to Lief, Barda, and Jasmine's quest to destroy the Four Sisters.[2]
The Sister of the South
Manus recovered Drumm's letter to Rufus during his research of the royal palace’s blueprints. He angrily told King Lief about the issue with the pedestal in the palace chapel, which helped Lief deduce that the pedestal was put in place to hide the Sister of the South.[3]
Physical appearance
Nothing is known of Drumm's physical appearance, though, as an Ol, he could take any form he wished. He took the form of a male human to serve as Lucan’s chief advisor.
Personality
Drumm seemed to be highly paranoid or, at least, overly cautious. He opted to lock away Secrets of Deltora despite there being no obvious threat contained in the book, other than simple knowledge. He also thought it would have been safer to destroy Doran's map instead of dividing it.
He did not seem to be highly trusted by the Shadow Lord and only had cursory information about his master's plans, though he carried out his orders faithfully. Drumm was very nervous and occasionally spoke without thinking, in one instance suggesting that the Shadow Lord had made a mistake in his plans, though he apologised profusely and fearfully when the Shadow Lord reprimanded him. Drumm's voice was higher-pitched and more whining than Prandine's.
Abilities
Drumm was a Grade 3 Ol, able to perfectly disguise himself as any living creature or inanimate object for as long as he needed, though as a result he could be killed in his human form. He was able to communicate with the Shadow Lord via the crystal and, with the Shadow Lord backing him, was able to secretly plant the Four Sisters throughout Deltora.
Drumm was skilled at manipulating the king, as were most of the Shadow Lord's spies, and convinced Lucan that Deltora was perfectly safe while the land was deteriorating. He was able to control and slowly poison Lucan without raising the suspicion of anyone else in Deltora, save for Doran the Dragonlover, though the explorer was never able to act on his suspicions. Drumm's control over Lucan effectively gave him control of Deltora, though with some limitations, as he could not defy a direct order from the king.
Trivia
References
- ↑ Rodda, Emily. Secrets of Deltora. Scholastic Australia. 2008.
- ↑ Rodda, Emily. Dragon's Nest. Scholastic Australia. 2004.
- ↑ Rodda, Emily. The Sister of the South. Scholastic Australia. 2004.
