The Scions of Shannara, first published in 1990, is a fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks. It is the first book in the Heritage of Shannara series, taking place three hundred years after the end of the previous Shannara trilogy. The book follows the lives of the Scions of Shannara, Par Ohmsford, Walker Boh, and Wren (Ohmsford).
The Scions of Shannara is set in a land ruled by the cruel military order called the Federation. The Elves have vanished, while the dwarves are imprisoned for having fought the Federation in the past. The Dwarves are sent to dig in mines, and will soon be extinct because of the Federation's wickedness. Magic is forbidden.
Par Ohmsford and his brother Coll start the story in Varfleet, telling legends and important histories about the adventures of the Ohmsfords and the druids in a tavern through the use of Par's magic, the wishsong. The wishsong is an illusion seen when Par sings what he wants to create. However, what Par and Coll are doing is illegal under the law of the Federation because magic is supposedly the cause for various problems that are occurring in the Four Lands. On one night, Rimmer Dall, first Seeker for the Federation, bursts into the tavern, having found out about Par and Coll, and tries to arrest them. Par and Coll are rescued by a mysterious man, who claims to be a leader of the rebel group (or the Movement). The man does not give them his name, though he does hand Par a ring with a hawk insignia. He tells them that when they need help they can go to a certain forge, show the ring, and they will be led to the Movement's base. Thus, the two brothers escape and after much debate decide to travel to Leah to meet up with their friend, Morgan Leah. Upon their way, they are attacked by a frightening woods hag who is a Shadowen, a beast of legend and of great power. Yet they are saved by an old man, Cogline, who was once a Druid, and is now a messenger for the Shade of Allanon. He informs them that they must travel to the Hadeshorn in order to meet with the ancient Druid, Allanon. The fate of the Four Lands lies upon them and the other scions of Shannara: Wren in the Westland and Walker Boh who lives somewhere in the Eastland, and to whom Cogline is to deliver the message also. The Shadowen threaten to overcome all the Races.
The two brothers, and later Walker Boh and Wren, travel to the Hadeshorn through much peril. All the scions meet at the Valley of Shale and receive tasks from the shade of Allanon. Wren is charged with returning the missing Elves, Walker is charged with returning Paranor and the Druids, and Par is charged with finding the lost Sword of Shannara. Both Wren and Walker consider their tasks impossible (Walker even goes as far to say that he would rather lose his hand than recover lost Paranor and restore the druid order) and leave, but Par is determined to fulfill his task.
Par heads to the forge, hoping that the Movement will know more of the Four Lands in order to find the Sword. He comes to the city of Varfleet with his companions, Morgan Leah, Coll Ohmsford, Steff, and Teel to request for help from an outlaw ally. Upon reaching their meeting point, however, they are pursued by Federation. Hirehone, one of the outlaws, hides them in an underground basement before taking them to the Parma Key, base of the Movement. The company meets the mysterious leader who then tells them that he is Padishar Creel. He says he knows where the Sword is, leaving the Dwarves behind, Creel, Morgan, Coll, a group of outlaws, and Par set out for Tyrsis, the last known place of the Sword of Shannara. Once in Tyrsis, Creel leads them to a hiding place. Padishar Creel goes out to show Par about the truth. They meet with a girl, Damson Rhee. The three of them go for a walk and Creel explains that the Bridge of Sendric and People's Park in Tyrsis where the Sword was said to be placed many years before were destroyed. The ancient Bridge and Park were covered up in the Pit, a place guarded and unseen, and that fake ones were built in their place. They devise a plan so that Morgan, Par, Coll, Padishar, and some of the other outlaws venture into the Pit, where the Sword of Shannara was last seen.
Then at night, the group go into out to the pit. They lower a ladder into the Pit, but unfortunately the Federation guards see them. The rebels and Par, Coll, and Morgan are captured and are told that one of the outlaws had betrayed them. Par uses the Wishsong to distract the guards so he could escape. He meets with Damson, and together they make a plan to free their companions. After hiding in another place, they make a plan to go into the Pit again. The second time, the company (excluding Damson) makes it to the bottom of the Pit safely. There, Par finds out that he can use another kind of magic that can find things that he wants, and he sees through this that the Sword is indeed there. However, they are confronted by Shadowen. Creel and Morgan make a stand in order for Par and Coll to escape. Par and Coll flee and are hidden by Damson, thinking that their friends are dead. Par insists on them to venture into the Pit a last time, and Damson knows a creature that might know another way into it. She leads them to the Mole, who agrees to help them, and escorts them through a series of tunnels and into the Pit. Damson and the Mole stay outside, while Par and Coll go in. This time Par does find the Vault, where the Sword is placed, and goes in, leaving Coll to stand guard outside. Par finds the Sword, and meets Rimmer Dall there, who shows him that he is a Shadowen and asks Par to join him. Par does not agree, and Rimmer Dall leaves, saying that once Par comes out of the Vault something precious will be lost. Par takes the Sword and runs out of the Vault to find that while he was gone Coll was possessed by Shadowen and that his brother has become one himself. Par kills him to escape and runs away from the Pit. He finds Damson and they hide in the tunnels that The Mole live in. Par, depressed and confused, becomes sick and Damson slowly but surely nurtures him back to health before vowing to get revenge for what happened to his brother.
Meanwhile, Padishar and Morgan, who turn out to be alive, have fled from the city of Tyrsis, having survived using Morgan's magical Sword of Leah. But the Sword of Leah is broken in the act of breaking free from the Pit and Morgan becomes ill because of this. The two of them run to Parma Key, and are closely pursued by an army of the Federation who want to put an end to the Movement once and for all, having found out the base of the rebels from a traitor. The companions come to Parma Key and prepare to battle away the Federation with the Movement. A long battle takes place, in which Morgan finds out that the traitor is Teel the Dwarf, who is now a Shadowen, and on her way to opening a passageway into Parma Key for the Federation to breach. Creel and Morgan fight her, and both are wounded in the act, while Steff, her lover, is killed by Teel. However, the passageway was opened, since they were too late, and so Morgan and Creel head back. The Movement then escapes using another secret tunnel and are free for now. The battle ends here.
Walker Boh believes it is impossible for him to recover lost Paranor and the Druids, until Cogline brings him an old Druid History. Then Walker learns that he must first find the Black Elfstone from the Hall of Kings and with it accomplish his task. He goes to the Hall of Kings, which is an ancient place of great evil. Upon coming there, he makes his way to the location of the Black Elfstone using the magic he had mastered to sense where it is. Once he arrives there, he encounters an Asphinx, a snake that turns everything it poisons to stone before becoming rock itself, instead of the Black Elfstone. The Asphinx bites him and Walker finds that his hand has turned to stone, effectively trapping him. Walker also knows that he is doomed because the poison of the Asphinx will spread until he has been completely turned to stone.
Michael Burry named his hedge fund company, Scion Capital, after the book. [1] In the film The Big Short, Michael Burry played by Christian Bale can be seen reading the book.
Related Research Articles
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 in a titular trilogy.
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.
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.
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 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.
"Indomitable" is a fantasy short story by Terry Brooks in his Shannara series, and takes place two years after the events in The Wishsong of Shannara. It was first published in the 2003 collection Legends II.
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.
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.
The Shannara Chronicles is an American fantasy drama television series created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. It is an adaptation of The Elfstones of Shannara of fantasy novels by Terry Brooks. It follows three heroes as they protect an ancient tree to stop the escape of banished demons. The series was filmed in the Auckland Film Studios and on location elsewhere in New Zealand.
This is the complete list of works by American fantasy author Terry Brooks.
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