The Forests of Silence is a fantasy novel written by Australian author Emily Rodda, and is the first book in the eight-volume Deltora Quest series. It was first published in 2000 by Scholastic and was awarded the "Notable Series in Children's Book of the Year Awards 2001: Younger Readers". The novel follows a teenage boy named Lief as he and his companions search the deadly Forests of Silence for the magical Topaz gem, one of the seven missing gems from the belt of Deltora.
Plot summary
The book opens with a boy called Jarred, a friend of Prince Endon. After the death of King Alton and his queen, Endon is proclaimed King in his father's place. To consummate this, a magical steel belt, the Belt of Deltora, is set around Endon's waist. The Belt recognizes Endon as Deltora's rightful king. Jarred goes to the library and later learns that the evil Shadow Lord, a Sauron-like intelligence located in the Shadowlands, once tried to seize the land in which is the kingdom of Deltora. Because the people of those days were divided into seven tribes, the Shadow Army soon overwhelmed much of the land. Jarred learned that a blacksmith named Adin gathered the sacred talismans from each tribe and attached them to a chain of steel medallions. The people's trust in Adin, channeled through the gems, was powerful enough to drive back the Shadow Army into its own dark home, the Shadowlands. Adin later became king of the united land called Deltora; yet he never forgot that the Enemy was not destroyed. He therefore never let the Belt out of his sight. With every generation, the Belt was worn less and less, diminishing its effect, until the belt was worn only once, in the coronation. The kings and queens also let their power go to the administrative council, diminishing its power.
The advisors all created a series of laws on the royal council called "The Rule", which enforces the power of the royal family for generations.
Jarred, learning of this, urges Endon to put on the Belt and revive the custom of Adin. However, Endon disagrees, arguing that The Rule enforces that. Before he can explain in detail, Chief Advisor Prandine, who is evil, enters and accuses Jarred of treason and called Jarred 'a spy' and 'one that has a bad influence on Endon' Jarred desperately reaches for his book, but Prandine accuses Jarred even more, saying that he was there to murder the king. Prandine tries to have Jarred hanged but Jarred escapes Prandine and finds that the city has fallen into disrepair, and Deltora has become a virtual dystopia, with people fighting and arguing for the leftover bones and apple cores the palace threw away. Jarred then faints on Crian the blacksmith's doorstep and eventually becomes apprentice and successor to Crian, later to marry Crian's granddaughter Anna.
Jarred also realises that the Shadow Lord sent many spies to act as advisors, secretly ruling Deltora with an iron fist. After an amount of time, the Shadow Lord would dispose of one advisor. However, Jarred was convinced that Prandine was evil.
However, the Shadow Lord did not know that Adin had five children with his wife, Zara, and four of them are in the kingdom somewhere. The eldest son was the ancestor of King Endon, which meant that there still was a heir, even if there was none.
Seven years later, the gems of Deltora were stolen by the Ak-Baba under the Shadow Lord and were scattered throughout the land. This also allowed the Enemy to enter the land. Jarred helps King Endon and Queen Sharn (Endon's pregnant bride) escape the invasion through a secret tunnel, but not before Queen Sharn pushes Prandine out the topmost window of the castle.
Sixteen years later
Sixteen years later, the Shadow Lord tyrannically rules Deltora, because of Prandine's evil work. On the morning that Prandine died, the Shadow Lord first shut down the Bone Point Lighthouse, shutting down all merchant ships. Then, the Shadow Lord posted Grey Guards on the road to Del, the capital city, ready to kill anyone that dared anger or pass them. The evil lord also put Ols, a type of shapeshifting beings that worked for him, everywhere.
