by Terry Brooks
They were destroyed when the trapped earth magic was set free.
The King ordered a wall of stone built around the Arborlon. Once it was in place, he powered it with the magic of the Loden, creating a protective barrier of magic to keep the Demons out. It was called the Keel. The Demons grew stronger and began to feed off the life force of the island, draining its magic until the entire island grew sick and the once dormant volcano began to rumble ominously.
Queen Ellenroh Elessedil inherited the besieged kingdom when her brother Asheron was killed by the Demons. As the magic of the island drained away, the Demons were drawn to the magic that protected the city, and she was faced with a nation trapped within walls of failing magic as the island turned to a world of horrors around them. They would have perished there but for the arrival of Wren Ohmsford and her mentor, Garth of the Rovers. Wren had come to Morrowindl in answer to a charge from Allanon’s shade, not knowing that she was Ellenroh’s granddaughter or that her true name was Wren Elessedil.
The Elves decided to return to the Westland and face the Federation. The Queen asked Wren to assist her in transporting Arborlon and her people safely away from the island. Nine people (the Elven number for luck) made up the Queen’s party. Arborlon was returned to the Loden’s protection and carried across the island. By the time the Wing Riders rescued them from the beach, only Wren and the Captain of the Home Guard still lived.
Wren continued her grandmother’s quest and returned Arborlon to the Westland. She ascended to the throne and led the Elves against the Federation and the Shadowen, who immediately moved to destroy them. Her army held the Federation long enough for her cousins to release the magic the Shadowen had imprisoned. The resulting backlash destroyed the Shadowen, allowing the Elven army to defeat the remains of the Federation forces and drive them from the Westland.
The Loden
The Loden was an Elfstone that had been hidden and preserved by the Elves for use in time of need. Unlike most Elfstones, it was designed to be used for a specific purpose; it could be used only for that purpose and for defense, and only a limited number of times. The Loden enabled the Elves to transport the entire city of Arborlon and its people to Morrowindl and back. Its defensive properties were used to power the magic of the Keel that kept the city safe on the island.
Elven lore states that the city was actually removed to the inside of the stone, but many scholars believe that the stone simply created a doorway to the same dimension that had once held Paranor, then replaced the city on the chosen site once that door was reopened.
The Loden was affixed to a polished black walnut staff known as the Ruhk Staff, itself imbued with Elven magic. The staff channeled the earth magic within the stone.
Queen Wren Elessedil destroyed both the Loden and the Ruhk Staff after she returned the Elves to the Westland.
The Loden and the Ruhk Staff, magic enough to save a nation.
Wren Elessedil, greatest of the Elven rulers, and her mentor, the Rover Garth.
Wren Elessedil
The greatest of the Elven rulers, Wren Elessedil grew to womanhood believing she was the daughter of an Ohmsford and a Rover. Raised by the Ohmsfords until she was five, she was trained by the Rovers in the arts of survival. Her mentor and constant companion was a deaf Rover named Garth.
She discovered her true lineage only while fulfilling a charge given her by Allanon’s shade. She was the granddaughter of Queen Ellenroh Elessedil, the child of an Elven princess and a Wing Rider, destined to fulfill a prophecy.
Wren returned the Elves to the Westland and became both the Warrior Queen and the engineer of a new age of Elven outreach and peace. Under her guidance, the Elves reaffirmed their vows to be caretakers of the land and expanded them to include the whole of the land, rather than limiting it to Elven territories.
Once the Federation threat was ended, Queen Wren restored the ancient Elven healing tradition and sent Elves from among the Chosen out into the Four Lands as Healers to be caretakers of all the earth. She also established a long-term alliance, a contract, with the Elves of the Wing Hove to serve as scouts and messengers for the Land Elves.
But the Elves were still a cautious people. Years later, when Walker Boh approached Wren’s great-granddaughter Aine to rebuild the Druid Council at Paranor, she refused to support an autonomous council. She feared the power of the Druid Council and the magic they might wield, as her ancestors had feared the Federation and the Shadowen. A few years later Aine sent her son and heir Kael on a voyage to recover a great treasure of magic that had been reported to survive the Great Wars. Kael and the Elfstones he carried were lost. Queen Aine died with a broken heart. Kael was found thirty years later, ruined and drifting in the waters of the Blue Divide. He died a few days later.
Aine’s surviving son, Allardon, finally agreed to support Walker’s new Druid Council, but only if the Druid would undertake a quest to discover the truth of what Kael had found. Allardon was killed the day he made the agreement. The expedition he commissioned set sail aboard the airship Jerle Shannara, carrying with it the hopes of the Elven people and the future of the Druids.
Arborlon
The homeland of the Elves spans the area from the Valley of Rhenn in the east to the Hoare Flats and the Great Divide in the west. To the south, the Westland extends to the Myriam Lake at the edge of the Irrybis Mountains, and north to the Breakline. The capital city of Arborlon sits nestled within a wood atop the heights of the Carolan, a towering wall of rock that rises abruptly from the east bank of the Rill Song River and protects the western approach to the city. Access to the top of the Carolan is provided by the Elfitch, a hooked, spiral stone-block rampway that drops along the forested cliffs through seven walled gates, one for each level of the rampway. For protection, battlements ring each gate to close off passage to the gates and ramps above. The turns of the Elfitch are set back and measured to allow each gate and ramp to be defended from the one above. In peacetime, the gates stand open and the ancient stone is thick with flowering vines. The Elfitch was destroyed during the War of the Forbidding and was not rebuilt until late in Queen Wren’s reign.
Amberle Elessedil and the Ellcrys.
The Ellcrys
During the Demon Wars in the Age of Faerie, the Elves were faced with a terrible dilemma: they needed to defeat the Demons to save the earth, but their existence was based on the preservation of life. They could not destroy the Demons outright and be true to their own sacred purpose—despite the fact that the Demons intended to annihilate all of them. They decided to banish the Demons. The magic required to create such a powerful banishment had to be something that would last for thousands of years, and that could be renewed at need. The Elven Wizards managed to create a magic that would bind the Demons forever outside the world, but to work it had to be powered by the greatest sacrifice of all, the willing gift of a life. They bonded an Elven life with the Bloodfire to create the Ellcrys, a living tree whose inherent magic would forbid the Demons access to the world. The Ellcrys had to be a woman, so that she could produce a seed to insure the continuation of the magic. The silver bark and bloodred leaves of the resulting tree became the symbol of Elven dedication to the land. Her formation was the culmination of the Elven belief that one must give back to the land for the life that has been taken.
Unlike a normal tree, the Ellcrys has the power to remove living parts of herself. During the War of the Forbidding, the Ellcrys stripped a living limb from herself to serve as a staff—a magic talisman—to help protect her people as they battled the Demons. While the Ellcrys lived, the staff was warm as if lifeblood flowed within it. It was her right hand, with her magic, carried forth to support her defenders.
The Ellcrys has always been tended by the Order of the Chosen in a tradition as old as the Ellcrys herself. Candidates for the Chosen are selected from the young Elves who have crossed into maturity the year before. At dawn of the New Year, the candidates are brought to the tree. One by one, they pass beneath her limbs, pausi
ng momentarily. The tree chooses her caretakers by touching them upon the shoulders with her branches and whispering their names within their minds. Most years, only young men are chosen, but if the Ellcrys fears a decline in her health, or believes that death approaches, she will select a girl to follow her as the next Ellcrys. If death is certain, the Ellcrys will call the girl to her and give her the Seed, to be taken and immersed within the Bloodfire. During the year of the Second War of the Races, the Ellcrys selected a woman as a member of the Chosen, possibly because she could feel the earth’s magic being subverted in the North and feared her demise. The Ellcrys did not fail, however, and the girl simply served her year and returned to her life.
The Chosen spend their year of service living within the Compound of the Chosen near the Gardens of Life. They spend most of each day in service to the tree. Designated by traditional white robes, they are her companions and caretakers. They speak to her and nurture her, though she rarely speaks to them after their Choosing. Once they have served, they are exempt from the traditional Elven duty of service to the land, and are honored as former Chosen.
The name of the first Ellcrys has been lost in the shrouds of time, as was the exact manner of the rebirth, but the current Ellcrys’ former incarnation is well known. She was Amberle Elessedil, granddaughter of the famed king Eventine, who was himself a member of the Chosen. Amberle, driven by fear, was the only Chosen one to leave the Order. Her leaving brought disgrace on herself and her family, but it saved her life. All the remaining Chosen were slaughtered by an escaped Demon. Amberle’s return and her harrowing journey to find her destiny are now legendary. She gave up her life and the love of young Wil Ohmsford to save her people. Today her name is honored even as the Ellcrys she has become is honored.
Though the Elfitch is the primary access route, there is a series of smaller stairways winding upward through wooded sections of the cliff further south. In time of war, these stairways are destroyed.
The plateau of the Carolan runs back to the deep forest in a broad, rolling plain spotted with woods, isolated cottages, and the solitary closure of the Gardens of Life. Arborlon lies within the fringe of trees to the east, and beyond Arborlon is the Valley of Rhenn. The Rhenn provided the Elves with a natural defensive position to the east. Thick forests and mountainous terrain prevent access from anywhere outside the valley, which begins as a gentle stretch of grassland spread between clusters of low foothills and quickly narrows and rises until it is a slender vise flanked by steep bluffs. The valley has always been guarded. In the entire history of the Westland, no enemy has ever successfully reached Arborlon from the Rhenn.
The city is centered on the compound of the Gardens of Life, the home of the Ellcrys. Tending the Ellcrys is the most sacred post within the Elven culture, and is done by the Order of the Chosen, young people who are selected by the tree herself to serve as her caretakers for a year. The Ellcrys sits in silver and crimson splendor in the center of the gardens, symbolic of the central role the tree plays in the hearts of the Elven People. Beyond her role as the source of the Forbidding, the Ellcrys and the Gardens of Life are the symbols of the land and her sacred magic—the magic of life. The Elves’ entire existence is focused on reverence for that life. Their duty has always included the nurturing and sustenance of every living thing that grows within or walks upon the earth.
The Gardens are walled with ivy-covered stone and guarded by the Black Watch, a traditional unit of Elven Hunters uniformed in black and crimson and armed with pikes. The sole purpose of the Black Watch is to protect the gardens and their sacred tree. Within, special gardeners assist the Chosen in caring for the Ellcrys and the lush plants and flowers that adorn her resting place. Both the Ellcrys and the Gardens of Life have existed since the War of the Demons in the age of Faerie, though their locations have been changed from time to time through the ages to keep them safe.
The Gardens of Life are flanked on one side by the home of the Chosen, a walled compound surrounded by evergreens and adorned by flower gardens and vegetable patches. On the other side stands the Palace of the Elven Rulers, a three-story manor house of wood and stone connected to outbuildings and surrounded by a stone wall. The area is under the watchful eyes of the Home Guard, the elite corps assigned to the protection of the ruler and the royal family. The Home Guard are usually impossible to spot unless they wish to be seen, blending into their surroundings as only Elves can.
Beyond the palace are the administration buildings of the High Council. Within the largest of these is the Council Chamber, the heart of the Elven government. Built of oak and stone, the cavernous chamber is hexagonal in shape, with a high ceiling arched with wooden crossbeams that form a star at their joining. The front of the chamber is dominated by the royal throne, a great hand-carved oaken chair set atop a riser of steps and flanked by the banners of the houses of the Elven kings. The Shannara arms are among them. The Elessedil crest, the spreading boughs of the sacred Ellcrys surrounded by a ring of Bloodfire, hangs above the throne.
Large wooden entry doors lead into the chamber. Gallery seats, a dozen rows deep and fronted by a low iron railing, border the surrounding walls. In the center of the chamber is a large oval table of carved wood with twenty-one chairs for the members of the High Council. The King rules the Elves, but the council must approve all major decisions. The Elves were the first people within the Four Lands to crown a king, and they are the last to still use a monarchy as their preferred form of government. It has worked well for the Elves; they have rarely had a poor or weak leader, and the strongest of them has been tempered by the advice of the council. It is here that the Elven rulers receive the traditional pledge of loyalty, the right hand over the heart.
Cyan Elessedil, first Elven Queen.
Outside the government compound, the rest of Arborlon consists of homes and shops built to blend in with the natural lay of the forest and plain. Treeways thread through the upper boughs of the largest trees, and cottages nestle into their trunks. Gardens and bright colors abound, with stone walkways and bright flowers guiding the path to even the lowest dwelling. South of the city, the woods open onto the bluff that holds the airfield for the Elven airships. There are usually at least a half dozen airships moored at the field at any given time.
Elven Women
In the early years of the Elven nation, women did not participate in war or government. Their skills were usually focused on the primary duty of all Elves—that of nurturing and healing the land and people. Some few women were Trackers, scouts, and trainers of the war horses, but women did not fight in battle until Queen Preia Starle, the finest Elven Tracker of her day, joined her king in the front lines during the battle for the Rhenn. She fought at his side right up to his confrontation with the Warlock Lord, despite being severely wounded. During Jerle’s reign, Preia encouraged Elven women to become active in every aspect of Elven life and government, and sponsored several to the Home Guard. Since that time, women have had an increasingly strong role in defending, and eventually ruling, the Elves.
The first queen of the Elven nation was Cyan Elessedil, who ascended to the throne approximately 130 years after the War of the Forbidding. Since her time, many of the greatest rulers of the Elves have been women, including Ellenroh, Aine, and the great Wren Elessedil. Though the majority of the Elven army is still male, the women who do choose to serve within its ranks are highly skilled and valued.
Arborlon’s main road passes across the Carolan in front of the Gardens of Life and the palace. It leads to the Valley of the Rhenn in the east and the Elfitch to the west. Many visitors who have seen only the cities of the Southland marvel at the fact that such a large city can coexist so harmoniously and unobtrusively with the land around it. But it is that reverence for the land that sets the Elves apart from the other Races.
Below the Carolan, a solitary bridge spans the Rill Song. The main road passes through miles of forest before opening into the wide sweep of the Sarandanon Valley, the breadbasket for the E
lves.
The Sarandanon is a fertile stretch of level farmland dotted with small clumps of trees and pockets of spring water. Sandwiched between woodlands on the south and east, the Kensrowe Mountains on the north, and the broad expanse of the Innisbore Lake on the west, the valley is filled with farms growing corn, wheat, barley, and other seed crops. It has served for generation as the principal source of food for the Elven people.
At the far end of the Sarandanon, the Rill Song River ends in the Innisbore Lake. Beyond the lake, the jagged ridges of the Breakline Mountains stand tall against the horizon, curving north above the Kensrowe into the wilderness of the Kershalt Territory. Between the Innisbore and the Kensrowe, Baen Draw leads to the rugged hill country below the Breakline.
Only two passes split the Breakline to tie the land of the Elves to the Hoare Flats beyond. South lies Halys Cut. North lies Worl Run. During the War of the Forbidding, the Demons came into the world at Hoare Flats. The Elven Army fought bravely to hold the passes. The defile at Halys Cut is still partially blocked by the avalanche triggered by Allanon’s magic during that battle.
The Fortress of the Chew Magna
North of the Kensrowe is the range of mountains believed to be the oldest in the land. One of the few ranges to remain untouched by the cataclysms of the Great Wars, the Breakline Mountains are still largely unexplored. Within these ancient peaks lies the ruined crater that once held the Fortress of the Chew Magna. It was hidden from human eyes for untold millennia.