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{{work}}
The sequel to Terry Brooks' best-selling ''[[Sword of Shannara Trilogy]]'', ''[[The Heritage of Shannara]]'' is a quartet of novels that follows the Scions of the Elven House of Shannara as they attempt to save a world that's done its best to outlaw what they are.
The series opens with ''Scions of Shannara''. It's been three hundred years since the death of the Druid Allanon, and the Four Lands are barely recogniseable. The Southland-based [[The Empire|Federation]] has expanded to include most of the known world. The Elves have vanished, the Dwarves are enslaved, driven to the edge of extermination, and magic is outlawed. Worse yet, dark magical creatures known as [[The Heartless|The Shadowen]] have appeared, their very presence sickening the lands.
Realising that something has to be done, Allanon's shade sends Cogline, a former Druid, to summon the Heirs of Shannara: [[The Hero|Par]], [[The Team Normal|Coll]], [[Refusal of the Call|Walker]], and [[Action Girl|Wren]]. He then hands each of them a charge: Par must recover the Sword of Shannara, Wren must find the Elves and convince them to return to the Four Lands, and Walker must bring back Paranor and the Druids. Most of the remainder of the book is spent with Par and Coll, and their friend Morgan Leah, who, with aid from Padishar Creel and the [[La Résistance|Free-Born]], attempt to find the Sword.
As the book closes, things are looking grim: a traitor enables the Federation to destroy the Free-Born, Coll is captured by [[Secret Police|First Seeker]] [[The Big Bad|Rimmer Dall]], who convinces Par that he has accidentally slain his brother, and Morgan's magic sword is shattered. Worst of all, Dall allows Par to escape with the Sword, which he cannot seem to activate, after revealing that the Federation is in fact under Shadowen control.
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The series comes to a conclusion in ''The Talismans of Shannara''. Walker has become the first of the new Druids, Wren and the Elves are back and preparing for war with the Federation, and only Par has yet to fulfill his charge, by successfully using the Sword of Shannara. Nor will he, if Rimmer Dall has anything to say about it. Using a [[Brainwashed and Crazy]] Coll as bait, he captures Par and begins the torturous process of breaking down his mind, trying to convince him that he is a Shadowen, even as he dispatches the might of the Federation army and the deadliest of his Shadowen to harass and eliminate them. The race is one to see which fails first: the Shadowen? The Shannara heirs? Par Ohmsford's mind? [[Mind Screw|Or perhaps our own...]]
The character sheet can be found [
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{{tropelist}}
* [[Absurdly Spacious Sewer]]: Beneath Tyrsis. Justified because the city is so large and old, built upon a massive cliff face which has been hollowed out, and that they were in fact designed to allow the people an escape route should Tyrsis be about to fall in a siege. It's also a nice [[Continuity Nod]], since these very escape routes and sewers were used by the traitor Stenmin to let the Warlock Lord's army into the city at the end of ''Sword''.
* [[Action Girl]]: Wren Ohmsford, Matty Roh, and possibly Damson Rhee. Generally speaking, this series boasts a lot more physically active females than the original trilogy did.
* [[Actually, I Am Him]]: Matty Roh, thanks to Morgan jumping to conclusions at their first meeting.
* [[Aesop Amnesia]]: The {{spoiler|Elves}} in the backstory. They forgot about the results of their original abuse of magic namely {{spoiler|the creation of the Shadowen}}, and went on to repeat said abuses, resulting in {{spoiler|the "demons" of Morrowindl}}.
* [[Alliterative Name]]: Tiger Ty. Doubles as an [[Awesome McCoolname]].
* [[Bad Future]]: What the Shannara heirs are racing to prevent: a future where nothing grows, everything is dead, and people are just prey for the Shadowen.▼
* [[Body Snatcher]]: The Shadowen.▼
* [[Badass]]: Padishar Creel, Walker Boh, Garth, Morgan Leah.
** [[Badass Grandpa]]: Cogline
** [[Handicapped Badass]]: Walker's down an arm by the second book, and Garth, the man who made Wren into the [[Action Girl]] she is today? He's deaf, and always has been.
* [[Becoming the Costume]]: Arguably what happens to Coll when he puts on the Mirrorshroud, with some overlap with [[The Mind Is a Plaything of
▲* [[Bad Future]]: What the Shannara heirs are racing to prevent: a future where nothing grows, everything is dead, and people are just prey for the Shadowen.
* [[Big Applesauce]]: It's hinted that Stone King Uhl Belk's lair, revealed to be the petrified remains of an Old World city, ''might'' be New York.
▲* [[Becoming the Costume]]: Arguably what happens to Coll when he puts on the Mirrorshroud, with some overlap with [[The Mind Is a Plaything of The Body]]. Rimmer Dall, [[Manipulative Bastard]] that he is, could even say that [[Truth and Lies|he told Coll this outright]], since he claimed the cloak would "make him appear as a Shadowen". Problem is, he didn't mention it would do its job [[Nightmare Fuel|all too well]].
▲* [[Big Applesauce]]: It's hinted that Stone King Uhl Belk's lair, revealed to be the petrified remains of an Old World city, ''might'' be New York.
* [[Big Bad]]: The Shadowen, led by Rimmer Dall. Uhl Belk, the Stone King, is a rival [[Big Bad]] who appears in ''Druid''. The King of the Silver River sends Quickening and her companions to head him off before he can achieve the same threat level as Dall and his cohorts.
* [[Big Badass Bird of Prey]]: The Rocs (with special mention going to Tiger Ty's mount, Spirit) and the War Shrike, Gloon.
* [[Big Badass Wolf]]: Two evil versions appear: the Gnawl, which tracked Par, Coll, Steff, Teel, and Morgan through the Wolfsktaag, and the werewolf creature that followed Wren and Garth throughout the Westland. Both are Shadowen spawn.
* [[Big Creepy
* [[Blessed
* [[Blind Seer]]: The Addershag, in a particularly disturbing (and [[Mad Oracle|not exactly]] [[Chaotic Neutral|good]]) version.
▲* [[Body Snatcher]]: The Shadowen.
* [[Break the Cutie]]: Rimmer Dall attempts this on Par, and to a lesser degree, Coll. Wren, Walker, and Morgan endure what might be seen as a lighter version of this.
* {{spoiler|[[Cloning Blues]]: The Elves on Morrowindl tried to clone an army via magic. The clones eventually degenerated into the "demons" that are the main threat in ''Elf Queen''.}}
* [[Cloudcuckoolander]]: Carisman.
* [[Combat Tentacles]]: Each Creeper has several.
* [[Cooldown Hug]]: Performed by Damson Rhee on Par during the finale.
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* [[Darker and Edgier]]: As compared to the original trilogy.
* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: While most characters can get the occasional snark in, Stresa is made of this.
* [[Desperately Looking for
* [[Disc One Final Boss]]: Uhl Belk, a rival [[Big Bad]], in ''Druid'', and [[Super
* [[The Dragon]]: Pe Ell, Federation assassin and [[Psycho for Hire]], who appears in ''Druid'', is probably the closest thing Rimmer Dall has to a Dragon. The Stone King has several candidates, including [[Big Creepy
** [[The Starscream]]: The Maw Grint. Originally an elemental created to serve the Stone King's will, it's now a giant, maddened worm who openly seeks to usurp Uhl Belk's power and is kept in check only by the power of the Black Elfstone.
* [[Dwindling Party]]: Wren's party in ''Elf Queen''.
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* [[Energy Absorption]]: {{spoiler|Southwatch}} feeds off of the magic in the Four Lands themselves, leaving them barren. The Shadowen have a more limited ability to drain lesser magics from from their victims.
* [[Enfante Terrible]]: The little girl on Toffer Ridge, a Shadowen child who tried to possess Par by embracing him. [[Nightmare Fuel|"Hug me?"]].
* [[
* [[Evil Tower of Ominousness]]: Southwatch, the massive black granite monument built by the Federation to commemorate its victories. It's also the homebase for the Seekers and the centre of Shadowen activity in the Federation.
* [[Face Heel Turn]]: {{spoiler|Gavilan Elessedil}}, who turns on Wren and steals the Ruhk Staff because he believes he better knows how to control and use the magic of the Loden. [[Laser
* [[Fainting Seer]]: Eowen Cerise has shades of this, since she always seems weak and near collapse after having a vision/dream.
* [[Fantastic Racism]]: The Federation is Man-run and oriented, and hates Elves, Dwarves, Trolls, and anything else that isn't purely Man-blooded. While it's a recurring theme whenever the Federation appears, it's strongest expression is in this series.
* [[Feathered Fiend]]: {{spoiler|Gloon}}, {{spoiler|Tib Arne's}} Shadowen possessed {{spoiler|War Shrike}}. Capable of [[Sizeshifter|altering his size]] at will.
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* [[Foreshadowing]]: "You're dead, {{spoiler|Garth}}."
* [[The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse]]: Rimmer Dall sends four Shadowen named Famine, Pestilence, War, and Death to keep Walker Boh trapped inside Paranor in ''Talismans''. Famine and Pestilence can spread their respective namesakes with a touch, War is a [[Spikes of Villainy]] weapons user, and Death is about what you'd expect: a [[Grim Reaper]] figure with a [[Sinister Scythe]]. All four are nearly indestructible, forcing Walker to {{spoiler|use their own magic}} to destroy them.
* [[
* [[Garden of Evil]]: Morrowindl, crossed with [[Hungry Jungle]].
* [[Genius Loci]]: {{spoiler|Southwatch}}, a living organism designed to leech off the planet's magic for Shadowen use.
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* [[High Altitude Battle]]: Between Tiger Ty and Spirit on the one hand, and {{spoiler|[[Feathered Fiend|Gloon]]}} on the other.
* [[Hollywood Cyborg]]: The Creepers, which are all at least half mechanical.
* [[I Cannot Self
* [[Is That What He Told You?|Is That What They Told You]]: Wren gets hit by this ''hard'' in ''Elf Queen''--not only does she find out both her own grandmother and Eowen Cerise are keeping the truth from her about the origin of the demons and [[And Man Grew Proud|the full extent of the Elves' sins]], something which first has to be revealed to her by Stresa of all people, but even Garth {{spoiler|knew all along she was Ellenroh's granddaughter, and that the Elfstones were real, since her parents brought her to the Rovers and made him promise to care for her}}. It's no wonder she spends most of that book shifting from [[Rage Against the Mentor]] to [[Heroic BSOD]] to [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]].
* [[
* [[Killed Off for Real]]: {{spoiler|Hirehone, Steff, Teel, Carisman, Quickening, Pe Ell, Aurin Striate (The Owl), Ellenroh Elessedil, Eowen Cerise, Cort, Dal, Gavilan Elessedil, The Wisteron, Garth, Cogline, Tib Arne, Faun, Rimmer Dall}}.
* [[Life or Limb Decision]]: Walker Boh's arm is petrified, by the bite of the Asphinx and he has to smash it off to prevent the rest of his body from becoming petrified as well.
* [[Manipulative Bastard]]: Dear God, Rimmer Dall. He messes with Coll and Par's heads so thoroughly that it's almost frightening, and seems to specialise in [[Break the Cutie]]. He drives them both towards the edge of fullblown insanity, leaving the brothers unsure of the difference between reality and fiction, and his default means of attack, in any situation, seems to be screwing with his opponents' mind. By the time he's done, neither the Ohmsfords nor the reader may be sure what to believe any more.
* [[Mercy Kill]]: Wren is forced to {{spoiler|[[Mercy Kill]] [[Big Brother Mentor|Garth]] after he is infected by The Wisteron's venom}}.
* [[The Messiah]]: Quickening.
* [[Mistaken Identity]]: A [[Running Gag]] of the dramatic sort in ''Talismans'', where characters continually rescue someone, thinking/hoping it is Par. First Morgan rescues {{spoiler|Wren}}, then Damson and Matty rescue {{spoiler|Coll}}. Although {{spoiler|Wren}} wryly apologized for not being Par, neither rescuee is anything but grateful for the save.
* [[Mix
* [[The Mole]]: Many, many examples, if only because of the nature of the Shadowen. {{spoiler|Teel, Tib Arne and Gloon}}, and Pe Ell are among the nastiest.
* [[Mooks]]: The Federation soldiers.
** [[Elite Mooks]]: The [[Secret Police|Seekers]] can cut their way through normal troops with ease, but tend to go down easily when confronted by Wren, Walker, Morgan, or the power-maddened Par.
* [[Not Quite Dead]]: {{spoiler|Cogline and Rumor}}, thanks to the magical power of the Druid History that protects them from the Shadowen attack--[[Blessed
* [[Not So Different]]: Rimmer Dall frequently uses this, on everyone from [[The Hero|Par]] to [[Psycho for Hire|Pe Ell]].
* [[Number Two]]: Chandos to Padishar.
* [[Our Vampires Are Different]]: The Drakuls of Morrowindl: Disembodied wraiths that make themselves sound like people you trust, convince you to lower your defenses and then drain the life from you, transforming you into one of them. Fortunately they're only found on one area of the island.
* [[Panthera Awesome]]: Rumour, Walker Boh and Cogline's moor cat, and a descendant of Whisper, from ''Wishsong''. He's more than a match for most Shadowen.
▲* [[Power Trio]]: [[The Smart Guy|Morgan]], [[The Heart|Damson]], and [[Kuudere|Matty Roh]] form one in ''Talismans''. [[Warrior Prince|Morgan]] is [[The Kirk]], Damson [[The McCoy]], and [[Broken Bird|Matty]] comes very close to being [[The Spock]].
* [[Prophecies Are Always Right]]: Each of the visions the Grimpond gives Walker comes true.
** [[Prophetic Fallacy]]: ...but always with a twist. If Walker hadn't figured this out before the end, and looked beyond the obvious interpretation, the third vision would have come true with his death, [[Revenge|just as the Grimpond wanted]].
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* [[Psychopathic Manchild]]: {{spoiler|Tib Arne, a teenaged Shadowen}}, who uses {{spoiler|his}} [[Enfante Terrible|childish]] and [[Deliberately Cute Child|seemingly innocent appearance]] to trick others into trusting {{spoiler|him}}. Note that the childishness isn't an act; when revealed as [[The Mole]] {{spoiler|he}}'s still remarkably little kiddish.
* [[Quirky Miniboss Squad]]: The Four Horsemen are a very serious version that Rimmer Dall uses to harass Walker in ''Talismans''. They manage to keep him trapped inside Paranor for almost half the book, and nearly kill him two or three times.
* [[Red Eyes, Take Warning]]: Red eyes are the usual tell for Shadowen, and they have them as both corporal beings and wraiths. The more powerful Shadowen can hide them in human form.
* [[The Reveal]]: The Shadowen are {{spoiler|Elves who rediscovered the old magic and found a way to transform into wraiths}}. On a lesser note the "demons" on Morrowindl are {{spoiler|degenerated [[Cloning Blues|Elven clones]], created from the failure of the same magic}}. To say the Elves royally screwed up, would be an understatement.
* [[Schmuck Bait]]: "Here, do you see this magical cloak? If you put it on it will [[Glamour|let you appear as a Shadowen]], thus fooling everyone in Southwatch. Why am I telling you this? Oh, just because I'm a [[Manipulative Bastard]] [[For the Evulz|who likes taunting you]] with something you can't have--[[Suspiciously Specific Denial|it's not because I'm trying to get you to steal it]]. Go ahead, try it on, [[Blatant Lies|it's perfectly harmless and I'll never know]]."
* [[Second Love]]: Matty Roh to Morgan, after {{spoiler|Quickening's death}}.
* [[Secret Police]]: The Seekers, who are employed by the Federation to hunt down criminals, and magic users. Ironically, all of them are Shadowen. Might actually be [[State Sec]] given the ridiculous amount of influence and power they have, as well as their control of the Creepers.
* [[The Smart Guy]]: Morgan is the automatic go-to for plans and plots as the series progresses. Walker could also be said to fulfill this role, though as Druid, [[Mentor]], and all around [[Badass]] this should be expected. In ''Druid'', retired Tracker Horner Dees manages to be [[The Smart Guy]] to Morgan and Walker, serving as their guide to Eldwist and the mountains.
* [[Spikes of Villainy]]: War in ''Talismans''.
* [[Spoony Bard]]: Carisman is a "[[Call a Rabbit
* [[Storming the Castle]]: The finale of ''Talismans'' has Walker, Morgan, Coll, Rumour, Matty Roh, and Damson Rhee storming Southwatch, the Federation fortress. The results are pretty spectacular.
* [[Swamps Are Evil]]: The In Ju on Morrowindl, where the [[Super
* [[Sympathy for
* [[Team Pet]]: Faun to Wren, Rumor to Walker (although he acts more as a companion, protector, and loyal [[Badass]] fighter).
* [[Tomato in
* [[Too Dumb to Live]]: ''Carisman''. "I am the Urdas' king! [[Tempting Fate|They would never hurt me]], they will welcome me back with open arms, and I can calm them and send them away..."
* [[Verbal Tic]]: Stresa has one of these. It is never stated if this is unique to him or true of all Splinterscats, but it may be worth noting that none of the Elves in Wren's party seem to find it odd.
* [[Wacky Wayside Tribe]]: Literally with the Urdas in ''Druid'', though [[Downer Ending|not particularly wacky]].
* [[What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?|What Kind Of Lame Power Is Truth]]: Subverted, while the Sword of Shannara still has only the lameish sounding power of "truth", it is the only way {{spoiler|to break through all the deceits, lies, mind rape, and manipulations Rimmer Dall uses to try and turn Par into a Shadowen.}}
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Fantasy Literature]]
[[Category:The Heritage
[[Category:Literature]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heritage of Shannara, The}}
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