 First edition | |
| Author | Terry Brooks |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Stephen Youll |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Paladins of Shannara |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Publisher | Del Rey Books |
Publication date | July 9, 2012 |
| Media type | eBook |
| Pages | 39 pp |
| Preceded by | First King of Shannara |
| Followed by | The Sword of Shannara |
Allanon's Quest is a fantasy short story by Terry Brooks in his Shannara series. It is the first in a trilogy of short stories that make up the Paladins of Shannara series, first published in 2012.
Allanon is on a desperate quest to find the last heir of Shannara before the Skull Bearers can wipe them all out. His quest takes him to the small village of Archer Trace, where he interrogates an innkeeper about the whereabouts of Eldra Darrivanian. Eldra is an elf who worked for the Elessedil Royal family as a historian that specialized in genealogy. After his son was killed under mysterious circumstances while serving in the Home Guard, Eldra felt the king did not do enough to discover who the killer was and bring him to justice. He then began neglecting and sabotaging his work, and eventually was dismissed. In disgrace, he left Arborlon with his wife and went into hiding near Archer Trace. After tracking him down, Allanon questions him as to whom the last heir of Shannara is and Eldra tells him that it is a man named Weir.
Allanon travels to Weir's home, and wonders about Eldra's strange behavior. He seemed tense and afraid. When he arrives at Weir's home he is attacked and takes a dagger to the chest, but using Druid magic he is able to kill most of his attackers, while the rest flee. During the assault, Allanon uses one of his attackers as a human shield. The man is pierced and killed by arrows. Afterwards, a Skull Bearer reveals himself long enough to tell Allanon that the man he used as a human shield was Weir, last heir of Shannara.
Allanon retreats to the home of friends where he is healed of his wounds by medicine and magic, then returns to the home of Eldra. Eldra seems relieved to see him, and Allanon immediately knows he didn't expect him to survive. Eldra confesses that he had been ordered by the Skull Bearer to set Allanon up. The Skull Bearer had been in his bedroom during Allanon's visit, and had threatened to murder his wife if he didn't tell Allanon exactly what he was told. The Warlock Lord not only wanted Shannara's last heir dead, but he wanted him dead by Allanon's hand as revenge for Bremen casting him out of the Druid Keep. He wanted Allanon to know that he was responsible for the death of the Four Lands' last hope. Eldra reveals, however, that Weir was an evil man that allied himself to the Warlock Lord, and would have been no help anyway. He also reveals that Weir was not the last heir of Shannara. Aren Shea is. He has just reached manhood, and now goes by Shea Ohmsford. Shea's parents were murdered mysteriously, so Eldra and his wife hid the boy and later left him in the care of the Ohmsfords. Eldra then takes his own life to protect this secret from the Skull Bearers and to protect his wife, knowing that the Skull Bearers won't bother with her if he is dead. Allanon sets off to find Shea.
The characters:[ citation needed ]
Shannara is a series of high fantasy novels written by Terry Brooks, beginning with The Sword of Shannara in 1977 and concluding with The Last Druid which was released in October 2020; there is also a prequel, First King of Shannara. The series blends magic and primitive technology and is set in the Four Lands, which are identified as Earth long after civilization was destroyed in a chemical and nuclear holocaust called the Great Wars. By the time of the prequel First King of Shannara, the world had reverted to a pre-industrial state and magic had re-emerged to supplement science.
The Sword of Shannara is a 1977 epic fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks. It is the first book of the Original Shannara Trilogy, followed by The Elfstones of Shannara and The Wishsong of Shannara. Brooks was heavily influenced by J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and began writing The Sword of Shannara in 1967. It took him seven years to complete, as he was writing the novel while attending law school. Ballantine Books used it to launch the company's new subsidiary Del Rey Books. Its success boosted the commercial expansion of the fantasy genre.
The Elfstones of Shannara is a 1982 epic fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks. It is the first sequel to The Sword of Shannara and the second book in The Original Shannara Trilogy. It expands upon the history of the Elves, which was only hinted at in the preceding story, and follows Wil Ohmsford, grandson of Shea and inheritor of the Shannara Elfstones.
The Wishsong of Shannara is an epic fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks. It is the final novel in the Original Shannara Trilogy, with the other two being The Sword of Shannara and The Elfstones of Shannara. The story revolves around Jair and Brin Ohmsford, the children of the main characters from The Elfstones of Shannara: Wil Ohmsford and Eretria. The siblings, each possessing an inherited magic, must save the Four Lands from the evil magic within a tome called the Ildatch.
First King of Shannara is a 1996 epic fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks.
The Heritage of Shannara is a series of four fantasy novels by Terry Brooks, set hundreds of years after the original Shannara trilogy. Unlike the original trilogy, however, this series is all one, cohesive story, in contrast to the three isolated stories of the originals. It is set in a future Four Lands in which the Federation of the Southland has driven off the Elves, enslaved the Dwarves, and outlawed magic. Only the rebel Free-born, led by Padishar Creel, dare to resist. The series begins with The Scions of Shannara, when the Ohmsford descendants are summoned by the shade of Allanon to combat the Shadowen that have been poisoning the land, each charged with a quest only they can embark on. The story continues with The Druid of Shannara, The Elf Queen of Shannara, and concludes with The Talismans of Shannara.
The Scions of Shannara is a fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks. It is the first book in the Heritage of Shannara series, which takes place three hundred years after the end of the previous Shannara trilogy. The first version was published in 1990. The book follows the lives of the Scions of Shannara, Par Ohmsford, Walker Boh, and Wren (Ohmsford).
Ilse Witch is a fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks, the first book in The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara fantasy trilogy. First published in 2000, it was the first novel in which Brooks described the use of futuristic technology, including airships as well as robots and lasers from the Old World. A conversation between the Druid Walker Boh and the Shade of Allanon that was edited from Ilse Witch was published as part of Unfettered, a collection of fantasy short stories.
Antrax is the second book in Terry Brooks' The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara fantasy trilogy. It was first published in 2001.
Morgawr is the third book in the Voyage of the Jerle Shannara fantasy trilogy by Terry Brooks. It was first published in 2002.
Shannara is a computer game released in 1995 for the MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows. It is based on the Shannara series of books by Terry Brooks.
Jarka Ruus is a fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks. It is the first book in the High Druid of Shannara trilogy in Brooks' Shannara series, and takes place 20 years after the events of The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara. It was first published in 2003.
Tanequil is a fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks, part of the High Druid of Shannara trilogy of the Shannara series. First published in 2004, the book takes place immediately after the events of Jarka Ruus and is followed by the novel Straken.
Straken is a fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks, the third book in his High Druid of Shannara trilogy. First published in 2005, it takes place immediately after the events of Tanequil.
The Sword of Shannara Trilogy consists of the first three Shannara novels by Terry Brooks. Though not originally written as a trilogy, the novels were published as The Sword of Shannara Trilogy by Del Rey Books.
The Talismans of Shannara is a fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks, the fourth in his tetralogy The Heritage of Shannara.
The Elf Queen of Shannara is a fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks, the third book of the tetralogy The Heritage of Shannara. It was first published in 1992.
The Druid of Shannara is a fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks. The second book of his tetralogy of The Heritage of Shannara, it was first published in 1991.
The Dark Wraith of Shannara is a graphic novel produced by Terry Brooks in his Shannara series. The story is set several years after the events of The Wishsong of Shannara and Indomitable.
Black Irix is a fantasy short story by Terry Brooks in his Shannara series. It is the third in a trilogy of short stories that make up the Paladins of Shannara series, first published in 2013.