50 Fun Facts About Beast Quest

Which Dark Wizard puts the six guardian Beasts of Avantia under an evil spell in Beast Quest?

Malvel was once the good court wizard's protégé, until a lust for power turned him to evil. He plans to conquer the kingdom by turning its own protectors against it.

Which black stallion, once a champion racer in the palace stables, carries Tom on his Beast Quests?

Storm refused every rider who tried to take his reins until Tom arrived. Since then the horse has carried him fearlessly into every new territory.

In Beast Quest, what kind of animal is Silver, the companion who once rescued a very young Elenna?

A wolf with grey fur, Silver has a sharp sense of smell that often gives the questers their first hint of danger. He is quick enough to slip capture and come back for his friends.

Which enchanted object, unlocked with a wizard's key, holds Ferno the Fire Dragon under a spell?

A collar charmed by the Dark Wizard binds the dragon until Tom climbs up his back and unlocks it. While it holds, Ferno burns farms and leaves the fields parched.

Before his first quest in Ferno the Fire Dragon, Tom is an apprentice in which trade?

Blacksmith is the trade Tom is learning, though he dreams of becoming a noble knight. He gets his chance when he carries his village's plea for help to the king.

The Observer said Beast Quest reads like Narnia meeting Harry Potter and which monster franchise?

Pokémon joined the wardrobe and the boy wizard in Kathryn Flett's 2009 column, which called the series a work of publishing, if not quite literary, genius.

Epos the Flame Bird, the oldest of the good Beasts of Avantia, stands guard over what?

A volcano is in Epos's care: she makes sure it does not erupt and keeps a lookout for invaders. Under the Dark Wizard's spell, the sleeping mountain blows.

In Beast Quest, Tom enters the Dark Jungle to battle Claw, a giant version of which animal?

A monkey grown to giant size, Claw guards a piece of the magical armour that the Dark Wizard stole and scattered across Avantia.

Publishers Weekly called Ferno the Fire Dragon an ideal read before tackling which fantasy classic?

The Hobbit was the yardstick for a review that called the boy-versus-dragon tale a promising start to a franchise, with a likable young hero and an old-fashioned feel.

Ferno the Fire Dragon of Beast Quest is so huge that he has twice been mistaken for what?

A slate hillside is what the huge, spiky-headed dragon resembles when he lies at rest. For all his bulk he is noble, and strong enough to carry heavy loads on his back.

In Beast Quest, which wise old wizard at the king's court recognises Tom as his father's son?

Aduro then convinces the king that a boy can be trusted with saving the kingdom. His magic is immense, and he once trained the very Dark Wizard that Tom must stop.

Which missing hero, known as 'the Swift', is the father of Tom in the Beast Quest books?

Taladon rode away on a mysterious quest and never came home. The king's wizard recognises Tom as his son when the boy turns up at court.

With his father missing, who brings up Tom in his home village in the Beast Quest books?

An aunt and uncle, Maria and Henry, raise Tom. Henry is so respected that the villagers beg him to stay when trouble starts, which is why Tom goes to the king instead.

Which village, plagued by burning crops, is the home Tom leaves in Ferno the Fire Dragon?

Errinel is where the trouble starts for Tom: crops burn, horses turn up dead, and the frightened villagers begin to suspect a curse.

Which king of Avantia entrusts Tom with the quest to free Ferno the Fire Dragon?

King Hugo has already lost his bravest knight to the dragon when Tom arrives. Sending an untested boy is a gamble his wizard talks him into.

Once freed in Ferno the Fire Dragon, the dragon restores the people's water supply by removing what?

A dam had left the farms dry while the Beast was under the spell. With it gone, Ferno flies off to hide until the kingdom needs his help again.

When Tom drops the key on the back of Ferno the Fire Dragon, how does Elenna return it?

Looped onto an arrow and shot back up to him, the key reaches Tom in time to open the lock. Elenna is known for deadly accuracy with her bow.

Which part of Ferno the Fire Dragon, left behind once he is freed, becomes a token on Tom's shield?

A scale shed by the dragon fuses into the shield and deflects all kinds of heat. It later guards Tom against fireballs hurled by another Beast.

In winter, how does Ferno the Fire Dragon help the people of Avantia when he is not enchanted?

Ferno warms them with his breath so that nobody grows too cold, and he also guards the kingdom against invaders. His main duty is protecting the water that feeds the farms.

Which magical gift from the king's wizard shows Tom where to find each enchanted Beast of Avantia?

A map from the wizard does more than chart the kingdom: it points the way to each Beast, and his ghostly image can appear above it to give advice.

In Beast Quest, the tooth Sepron the Sea Serpent leaves on Tom's shield protects him against what?

Raging torrents cannot sweep Tom away once the ivory tooth is set in his shield. A free Sepron keeps the sea full of fish and guides fishermen home in rough weather.

According to Beast Quest lore, the young Sepron the Sea Serpent was once as small as which animal?

A dolphin was his size when he first swam, and he loved racing his friends. Grown huge, he enjoys guarding Avantia's seas but is said to miss his playtime.

Arcta the Mountain Giant causes avalanches in Beast Quest because a wizard has fixed what on him?

A blindfold he cannot remove makes Arcta stumble about the peaks and bring the snow crashing down. Tom breaks the spell simply by untying it.

Which token does Arcta the Mountain Giant give Tom for his shield in Beast Quest?

An eagle feather is the giant's present to Tom, and it keeps him safe when he falls from great heights. Arcta lives at the Place of Eagles in the Northern Mountains.

The fragment of golden horseshoe that Tagus the Horse-Man leaves on Tom's shield grants which gift?

Incredible speed comes from the very horseshoe that once held Tagus under the spell. The Beast himself is said to be faster than the fastest stallion.

On the central plains of Avantia, Tagus the Horse-Man protects which animals from predators?

Cattle are in Tagus's care, and he also keeps the hyenas under control. Under the spell he does the opposite, stampeding the herds and setting fire to the plains.

The enchanted bell on Nanook the Snow Monster makes her bad-tempered by stopping her doing what?

Hibernating is impossible while the bell keeps Nanook awake, which leaves her extremely grumpy. Tom frees her by breaking the chain that holds it round her neck.

The talon that Epos the Flame Bird leaves behind in Beast Quest gives Tom's shield which power?

Healing wounds is the talon's gift: cuts and bruises vanish and pain melts away. It suits a phoenix, a bird that can be reborn from fire and ashes.

In which part of Avantia does Tom first meet Elenna, a stranger who becomes his closest companion?

The Forest of Fear is where the two first meet, and Elenna soon proves just as courageous as Tom. Her knowledge of herbs comes in useful on a quest.

How does Tom get inside the royal castle without waiting in line in Ferno the Fire Dragon?

Disguised as a servant, Tom reaches the dining hall and overhears the nobles discussing the enchanted Beasts. Until then he had thought they were only legends.

Which house name, shared by a team of ghostwriters, appears on the cover of every Beast Quest book?

Adam Blade is a collective pen name, yet the invented author was given a full biography, down to hobbies of fencing and football.

Which British imprint, home to Giles Andreae and Lauren Child, publishes the Beast Quest series?

Orchard Books launched the series in Britain in 2007 with six adventures, the first of them Ferno the Fire Dragon.

Which London-based book packager, the creator of Rainbow Magic, produces the Beast Quest series?

Working Partners produces the series and has several authors write it behind one shared pen name, the same method it used for its fairy books.

Which Astrosaurs author ghostwrote Ferno the Fire Dragon, the very first Beast Quest book?

Stephen Cole wrote three of the first six adventures, then moved on, and later continued the Young Bond novels.

Cherith Baldry, a ghostwriter of Sepron the Sea Serpent, writes which cat series as Erin Hunter?

Warriors is written by a team under one name, just like Beast Quest, and Baldry went on to ghostwrite more than a dozen of Tom's adventures.

Sea Quest, the ocean-going companion series to Beast Quest, belongs to which genre?

Science fiction replaces sword and sorcery in Sea Quest, where a new hero battles robotic sea creatures, starting with Cephalox the Cyber Squid.

Which boy, rider of a phoenix Beast, is the hero of the prequel series The Chronicles of Avantia?

Tanner is the Chosen Rider of the phoenix Firepos, and his four-book story is set several hundred years before Tom's quests.

The Beast Quest spin-off books that begin with The Dark Cauldron use which format?

Pick-a-path gamebooks, sold as Master Your Destiny, let the reader decide what happens by turning to different pages. Each book has ten different endings.

In The Dark Realm, the good Beasts of Avantia are captured and taken to which evil kingdom?

Gorgonia is ruled by the Dark Wizard himself, so Tom has to cross into his enemy's own land to rescue Ferno and the other five protectors.

Which realm, home of the cursed Mistress of the Beasts, must Tom save in The Shade of Death?

Gwildor has guardian Beasts of its own, but the curse on their mistress has set them destroying the land. Tom's quest there opens with an ambush on his boat by Krabb.

Which villain makes Tom hunt six potion ingredients to save his mother in The World of Chaos?

Velmal is the wizard Tom's mother must be rescued from, and every ingredient is guarded by a terrifying Beast, the first of them Komodo the Lizard King.

Which Pirate King summons six evil Beasts to stop Tom finding the magical Tree of Being?

Sanpao stands between Tom and the tree he needs to rescue his mother and Elenna's faithful animal companion, both trapped in another realm.

In Beast Quest, which fighter is the mother of Tom, who inherits her combat skills and his father's?

Freya is as much a fighter as Tom's father, and their son inherits the skills of both. In the first book, though, Tom believes his mother died long ago.

Early Beast Quest paperbacks each came with which extra, which set off a playground swapping craze?

Collector cards showing each Beast were swapped so keenly, one Observer columnist joked, that children soaked up the stories without reading a word.

The Beast Quest author's invented biography gives him a capuchin called Omar and which other pet?

A tarantula named Ziggy is one of the fictional writer's two exotic pets, a detail that tickled the Observer columnist who looked him up in 2009.

Which web gaming company helped develop the first Beast Quest mobile app, released in 2015?

Miniclip worked on the award-winning app, which has been downloaded millions of times and was followed by a second mobile title in 2020.

The eyes of Nanook the Snow Monster turn from blood red to which colour when her spell is broken?

Blue is their true colour. Nanook, said to have been born from snow, was small and playful before her size began to scare the other animals of the ice.

Which knight battles Ferno the Fire Dragon in the vivid opening scene of the first Beast Quest book?

Sir Caldor the Brave meets the dragon before Tom ever appears, an opening that shows just how dangerous the enchanted Beast has become.

Great magical forces created Ferno the Fire Dragon to guard which waterway feeding Avantia's farms?

The Winding River is Ferno's home as well as his charge: he lives in a cave beside it in the south-west of the kingdom.

Which American publisher first brought the Beast Quest books to readers in the United States?

Scholastic brought the first book to American readers under its Little Apple imprint, with illustrations by Ezra Tucker.