The title of palace librarian belonged to a number of individuals throughout Deltora's history following the construction of the palace of Del. Traditionally there were always more than one librarian serving the monarch at any given time,[1][2] headed by one chief librarian,[2] however when Josef was reinstated as chief librarian, he was the only one in service.[3]
History[]
Early history[]
The palace librarians were well known for the silk gloves and velvet tunics of their office,[2] and for their dedication to order and neatness. Doran the Dragonlover, despite being a colleague of theirs, had a degree of contempt for them, and refused to allow any of the librarians to enter his findings into The Deltora Annals.[1]
By the time of Queen Elspeth, the palace librarians, writers, and painters were confined to the palace under the pretense of them attending to making records of the palace itself, with no further exploration into Deltora's wilds being allowed. As a result, people in the palace became entirely isolated from the outside world, and were left ignorant of the calamities befalling the rest of Deltora.[2]
Josef[]
In the time of King Alton, chief advisor Prandine ordered the destruction of the Annals and the creation of a new history; however, chief librarian Josef deduced his villainous intentions and faked the demise of both the Annals and himself. He then left the palace and went into hiding, during this time creating The Deltora Book of Monsters and beginning work on a new volume of the Annals, the first to be begun in decades if not centuries. Meanwhile, at the palace, any librarians who continued in service were cowed by Prandine, who disposed of a number of volumes that may have threatened the Shadow Lord's plans. However, Josef had succeeded in hiding The Belt of Deltora, which was later found by Jarred.[2]
During the reign of King Endon, the Shadow Lord invaded and seized control of Deltora; it is unknown if any of the palace librarians remained in service during this time.
The library and a portion of its contents survived the occupation, but when King Lief ascended to the throne no librarians were known to remain in service. Luckily, Josef emerged from hiding and entered back into service, bringing with him the Deltora Annals. His adoptive son, Ranesh, served as his assistant.[3]
After Ranesh fell in love with and married King Lief's cousin Marilen, Josef took on a woman named Paff as his assistat. Though she was eager to please Josef, he couldn't help but compare her to Ranesh, and often became frustrated with her.[4] Paff proved to be a servant of the Shadow Lord, and poisoned Josef's mind against Doom and eventually poisoned his body as well to prevent him from sabotaging her master's schemes. Prior to Josef's death, he requested that he be buried in the uniform of his office, in part because he had placed a map in his pocket for Lief.[5]
Marilen[]
Marilen succeeded Josef as chief librarian and recorded Lief's marriage to Jasmine in the Deltora Annals. It is likely that she also recorded findings made by Doom in his travels across Deltora, unless Doom did so himself.[5]
Known librarians[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Rodda, Emily. Secrets of Deltora. Scholastic Australia. 2008.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Rodda, Emily. The Deltora Book of Monsters. Scholastic Australia. 2001.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Rodda, Emily. Cavern of The Fear. Scholastic Australia. 2002.
- ↑ Rodda, Emily. Dragon's Nest. Scholastic Australia. 2004.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Rodda, Emily. The Sister of the South. Scholastic Australia. 2004.