The Lake of Tears

Soldeen is the monster who haunts my dreams, and I fear he always will. Soldeen lurks in the murky depths of the Lake of Tears. Normally he feeds on the blind, crawling things that infest his hideous domain, but he will ravenously attack anyone or anything foolish enough to set foot on his shore.

Created by the sorcery of Thaegan, Soldeen can breathe both air and water, and is able to speak. He can swim with great speed, and will throw himself onto the lake’s shore in pursuit of food.

I learned of Soldeen on the night of my escape from the palace. I had found shelter in a small inn, telling the surly innkeeper I was a traveller. He did not believe me, and no wonder. My clothes, and the books I carried, made my story unlikely. He took the ring I offered, however, and gave me a dirty attic where clearly no one had stayed for years. He guessed I would not complain.

His meanness was a stroke of luck. Looking for a place to store my books, I found, in a dusty cupboard, a jumbled heap of things left by previous tenants. Among them were pages of Ralad writing, and drawings of a gigantic beast. The drawings were labelled SOLDEEN. The writings (which fortunately I could understand, having learned Ralad script as a child) told of a monster who guarded the Lake of Tears, killing all who ventured into his domain.

Possibly the Ralad travellers who once stayed in that attic had meant to take the papers to the palace. Some misfortune had plainly overtaken them before they could complete their mission. The mission was doomed anyway. If the papers had been delivered, they would surely have been destroyed before the king saw them. As it was, they were thrown into a cupboard by a lazy innkeeper and at last found by me.

My candle burned low as I read of the terror of Soldeen and the sufferings of Raladin. I shuddered as I studied the images that the Ralad artists had made. I saw that evils beyond anything I had ever imagined were abroad in Deltora. By the time dawn broke, I knew that I had more to do than guard Deltora’s memories. I had to use what talents I possessed to record the evils of its present as well. And thus the idea for this book was born.