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Native to Deltora
Creatures that more often than not stand guard over the resting place of the MacGuffin. Some display intelligence and are Shadow Lord servants while others are merely vicious beasts.
The Wennbar
A monster living in First Wood of the Forests of Silence. Serves as the first threat Lief, Barda and Jasmine face together.- Non-Malicious Monster: The Wennbar is simply a huge and powerful animal, incredibly dangerous but not at all wicked.
Reeah
A giant snake living in the City of the Rats. Guards the Opal.- Compelling Voice: Reeah enchants Lief with this when he draws near enough.
- Cool Crown: It wears one to show its lordship over the City of the Rats. This crown is where the Opal is kept.
- From Nobody to Nightmare: It shares this trait with many of the Shadow Lord's servants. Reeah describes itself as having once been just a "tender worm" in its youth and at risk of being easily killed by humans. Countless centuries later, it's grown into a true monster and rules over the City of the Rats.
- Giant Equals Invincible: Averted Trope. Unlike other giant monsters like the Glus, Gellick, and the Arach, Reeah can be harmed by normal weapons.
- Multiple Head Case: In the anime only, Reeah has three heads.
- Reptiles Are Abhorrent: It's a giant snake, and it drove away an entire city of people with the aid of a horde of rats.
- Smug Snake: Literally and figuratively. Above all else, Reeah is vain, considering Lief and his friends to be of absolutely no threat in comparison to itself.
- Weaksauce Weakness: Compared to many of its fellow monsters and servants of the Shadow Lord, and despite its immense size and strength, Reeah is completely susceptible to normal human weaponry. It dies after having its neck sliced open by Jasmine.
Sand Beasts
Giant eight-legged carnivorous insects living in the Shifting Sands.- All There in the Manual: Supplementary material repeatedly states that they actually called Terreocti, though this name seems to mainly be used by scholars.
- Body Horror: Sand Beast typically have a collection of external stomachs that detach when filled with enough food before having an egg laid inside.
- The Heavy: Of the Shifting Sands. While the Hive may be the one to truly rule over the sands, it's the Sand Beasts that live at the top of the food chain and deal with intruders.
- Non-Malicious Monster: As with the Wennbar, the Sand Beasts are just really hazardous normal creatures.
The Hive
The true guardian of the Shifting Sands and keeper of the Lapis Lazuli. Described as an organism resembling living sand. It has the mysterious ability to influence the minds of any and all creatures within its domain (and perhaps may even be able to go outside the Sands' borders, in at least one case).- Hive Mind: As its name would suggest, the Hive seems to operate in this way. It can even affect creatures such as humans that are not native to the Sands.
- Nothing Is Scarier: We never actually see the occupants of the Hive, though Lief figures that the Queen is probably lurking somewhere deep in the darkness. He also shakily speculates that the young presumably housed in its artificial honeycombs may not even be insects but some other completely unknown and alien life form.
- Treasure Room: It has a variant- a giant tower built from the bones of every dead creature that fell into its grasp, with the treasures it covets housed in the tower.
- The Unfettered: The Hive cares nothing for anything or anybody that does not align with its goals, which almost always boil down to the acquisition of treasure. Lief notes that it doesn't even particularly dislike him, merely viewing him as the vessel which will deliver yet another pretty prize to its clutches.
Gellick
A giant toad that excretes deadly poison. It provides the Dread Gnomes with its poison in exchange of their servitude. Guardian of the Emerald.- All There in the Manual: Gellick is in fact a particularly ancient example of an Ooze Toad.
- Bad Boss: To the Dread Gnomes, whom it enslaved. If they failed to bring it enough flies to eat, or otherwise displeased it in anyway, it would kill them on a whim.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: Gellick's poisonous sweat, near indestructibility and ravenous appetite are enough for any Australian to see that he probably took inspiration from the hated Cane Toad. Gellick's origin is the icing on the cake.
- Fat Bastard: Complete with always being hungry and forcing the Gnomes to feed it more and more each day.
- Forced Transformation: It's taken down by Lief throwing water from the Dreaming Spring into its mouth, instantly turning it into a tree.
- From Nobody to Nightmare: It takes a very long time for Ooze Toads to reach the size of this one. He also popped up completely out of the blue one day at Dread Mountain to make his deal with the Gnomes, who were unaware of just how terrible their end of the bargain would turn out for them.
- Jabba Table Manners: A typical meal consists of thousands upon thousands of dead flies, which he scoops nonchalantly into his mouth without a care for how they spill over the mound of beautiful treasures he sits upon.
- Nigh-Invulnerability: He is unaffected by the blisters, which are the most deadly weapons the main trio currently has, thanks to them being made from his own poisonous sweat. His body is impervious to traditional weaponry as well. It takes evil-repelling magic water from the Dreaming Spring to finally destroy him.
- Poisonous Person: Being an Ooze Toad, Gellick literally oozes an incredibly deadly poison from its body at all times.
- Really 700 Years Old: While his true age is never brought up, it is stated that Ooze Toads will live for centuries before reaching Gellick's monstrous size.
- Shout-Out: A massive monster that lies on a bed of treasure; he seems to be this to Smaug from The Hobbit.
- Taken for Granite: The direct effects of his venom in the anime, though the blisters created from it are simply explosives.
The Glus
A giant slug-like creature living in the Maze of the Beast. Spits sticky webs from its mouth, similar to how velvet worms capture their prey. Guardian of the Amethyst.- All There in the Manual: Its actual name is the Deathspinner, and it's just one of an entire species of sea-dwelling creatures. One of the Tenna Birdsong Tales even goes into this particular one's origins. Its egg washed up onto the shores of Tora, where it was found by a young and foolish little girl named Enna, soon to hatch into what she called a "sweet sea worm". Unwilling to give it up when her disgusted mother told her to kill it, Enna ran away and accidentally fell into the cavern that would become the Maze... And the Glus has been there ever since. It's implied that if the fall didn't kill Enna, then the growing Glus certainly would have.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Being fed to the Glus is one of the worst fates one can suffer in Deltora. Which is really saying something, considering the sheer number of deadly horrors Deltora is home to.
- Determinator: This is one of the main reasons the Glus is so feared. It never gives up, as its prey is usually incapable of escaping the Maze, and is content to simply slowly track and pursue its victims.
- Demoted to Extra: The manga adaptation cuts out quite a bit of the Glus' screentime, giving the audience barely enough time to appreciate it for the horror that it is.
- The Dreaded: Many people consider being tossed into the Maze of the Beast the be-all-end-all cruelest of fates. Naturally, the local pirate group takes advantage of this. It's enough to reduce the pirate Milne, a hardened murderer, into a gibbering, hysterical mess.
- From Nobody to Nightmare: Started out as a tiny little thing that could fit into a child's palm. Centuries of growth later, it is now a giant carnivorous monster that has no trouble killing and eating anyone unlucky enough to fall into its domain.
- Healing Factor: In the anime, its Nigh-Invulnerability is replaced by this. A scar left by a sword heals in seconds.
- The Maze: Where it lives, and an apparently naturally-occurring example. Complete with walls that will cement you in place should you stay still for too long.
- Mighty Glacier: Subverted Trope. The Glus usually appears to be a slow-moving, albeit invincible creature, but it's capable of moving at incredible speeds when it needs to.
- Non-Malicious Monster: Subverted. While not created by the Shadow Lord and generally only caring about food and protecting its home; the Emerald and Ruby dull in the presence of the Glus which implies that, unlike the Wennbar and Sand Beasts who are non-evil predators, it is an actually malicious creature.
- Nigh-Invulnerability: Its body cannot be harmed by blades, as they just bounce right off it.
- Really 700 Years Old: The Tenna Birdsong Tales predate the unification of Deltora by many years. The Glus is thus absolutely ancient, but shows no sign of running down yet.
- The Unfought: Along with the Hive, is one of the two major enemies that the heroes never actually confront. By the end of the series, it's apparently still alive, lurking somewhere down in its lair.
- Weaksauce Weakness: To a degree. The only thing that gets to the Glus is the destruction of its home. It'll drop everything, including prey, to fix any damage done to the Maze.
The Vraal
Shadow Lord creatures bred to do one thing: kill. Most live in captivity in the Shadow Arena, while others have escaped and roam the wastes of the Shadowlands. Fewer still (usually those who have lost in the Arena and been kicked out) terrorize Deltora's north.- Blood Knight: Vraal exist to do one thing: kill. The more challenging the opponent, the better.
- Elite Mooks: One of the most terrible and effective monsters that serve the Shadow Lord.
- Eyes Do Not Belong There: In the anime, it has an eye in its "throat".
- In Harm's Way: To say they glory in battle would be an understatement.
The Kobb
A ferocious marine creature living on the Isle of the Dead.- The Dreaded: Sea serpents fear Kobbs to the point where fishermen use Kobb oil to ward them off.
- Eviler than Thou: The Kobb seen in Isle of the Dead is subject to this by the Sister of the West, having been driven from its cave by the Sister's song.
- Walking Wasteland: The silvery slime that covers their body will harden over any surface it is rubbed on. The Isle of the Dead itself has been host to Kobbs for centuries and is now completely covered in a glassy finish.
- We Have Reserves: There are more Kobbs than the one encountered on the Isle of the Dead. The Isle is a favoured den, with a new Kobb claiming it as its own as soon as the previous is killed or driven away.
Native to the Pirran Caverns
The Fear
An octopus-like creature from the world below the world. Demands offerings from the Plumes.- Multi-Armed and Dangerous: It's similar to an octopus, so this is a given, but the Fear is specifically described as being "everywhere" when Lief and his companions first encounter it due to its enormity.
- Nigh-Invulnerable: The Fear's tentacles and body are impervious to human weapons. Only the hook-like feelers at the end of its tentacles and its innards are vulnerable.
Arach
Giant spiders of the world below the world. They nest at the base of the dome that encompasses the Isle of Illusion.- Giant Spider: So big that fighting them is futile.
- Meaningful Name: 'Arach' is likely derived from 'Arachnid', the class spiders and scorpions are in.
- Weaksauce Weakness: The Arach are repelled by light. They won't come near the rafts, which are lit, and they can't go inside the dome, but the area around the dome is quite dark and warm, so they thrive. Once the dome is dissolved, the Arach flee back into the caves they originally lived in.
Native to Dorne
Bloodhogs
Skimmers
Vicious flying creatures that live on the island of Dorne and attack in hordes at night in the summer.- The Dreaded: Any person who's been in a Skimmer attack and lived knows that they are not to be trifled with.
- Super Drowning Skills: They drown very quickly and are not only too inexperienced with water to know to avoid it, they actually rush to running water because they think the sound might be prey.
- Zerg Rush: While not exactly harmless in small numbers, they attack Weld in hordes and are a source of certain death.
Native to Maris
Dragon of the Mountain
The great dragon living at the summit of the forbidden mountain.- Androcles' Lion: The dragon originally stopped melting the ice because a bone was stuck in its throat and it couldn't get the bone out. Rowan gets the bone out and the dragon, recognising this, decides not to harm him. Unfortunately, Jon also made it to the top of the mountain, and the dragon was perfectly happy to eat him, though Rowan managed to stop it.
- Berserk Button: The dragon doesn't care about the villagers on the land or anyone in the water, but it considers the sky to be its domain, so any invaders will be swiftly killed, as the invading Zebak found out.
Trees of Unrin
Carnivorous trees from the the slopes of the forbidden mountain.Ishkin
Large insectoid monsters that live in the Zebak wastelands. Native to the seas
Serpents
Sea serpents that swarm the ocean. Supernaturally created monsters
Grey Guards
Grey-skinned humanoids used by the Shadow Lord as guards, grunts, occupation troops and general rank-and-file.- Blood Knight: Created to be this. They are brutal, cruel, and terrifyingly efficient when they set their minds to it.
- Elite Mooks: The Carn Squad in the anime, though the dialogue in the books suggests that the Perns are considered this when it's suggested they are called to deal with a Vraal.
- Jerkass: Every single one of them is negligent at best and cruel at worst, referring to humans as "ticks" and taking little excuse to punish and abuse them.
- Mooks: The Shadow Lord's rank and file soldiers, growing increasingly unimpressive as the series goes on.
- Shock and Awe: In Deltora Quest 2, the lack of blisters has caused the Grey Guards to take up "sparking rods" instead.
- Unwitting Pawn: Given the conversations held between the Baks in The Shadowlands, it would seem that the Grey Guards are all told that their pod, and only their pod, does not have a fail-date, unaware that they too will eventually expire.
- We Have Reserves: Literally. Grey Guards are grown en masse and thrown away when the old Guards are past their use-by date and the new guards are ready.
- You Are Number 6: All Guards have a name consisting of the name of their type ('Pern', 'Carn', 'Bak' and so on) and their number in their pod.
Ols
Shapeshifters used by the Shadow Lord as spies and infiltrators.- Elite Mooks: Unlike Grade 1 and 2 Ols, Grade 3 Ols have no obvious tics or tells to give them away and no time limit to their shapeshifting. This allows them to trick even the wariest of people, such as Dain tricking the infamously untrusting Doom for years on end.
- Human Disguise: They can take the form of any living creature (and Grade 3s can even mimic non-organic matter), but this is apparently their go-to transformation.
- Morphic Resonance: Grade 1 and 2 Ols can be identified no matter what guise they take by the black mark that each has somewhere on their bodies. Grade 2 Ols have become somewhat adept at hiding this mark, however.
- Shapeshifter Swan Song: When Ols die, they go through one of these, being described as resembling white flames with the various shapes they took in life appearing and disappearing in a chaotic mess.
- Sorting Algorithm of Evil: They come in three varieties that are increasingly difficult to spot; Grade 1 Ols have a number of recognizable tics and can only hold their disguise for a few minutes, Grade 2 Ols can hold it for three days before briefly losing control, and Grade 3 Ols are near-perfect mimics and can maintain the disguise indefinitely.
- Transformation Is a Free Action: Invoked. Certain Ols use the shock factor of dropping their disguise to their advantage, and also take advantage of their victims' innate fear of them to strike while their guard is down. Fortunately this does not work on people with enough experience in dealing with them, as seen when the captain of the River Queen mercilessly spears one despite everyone else's hysteria at the mere sight of it.
- Weaksauce Weakness: Grade 3 Ols, though almost flawless in their technique, pay a price for their perfection in that they are fragile enough to be able to die like humans do. Grade 1 and 2 Ols, while not as good at mimicking, are far sturdier and can survive just about anything except a stab to the heart.
