The Scions of Shannara

The Scions of Shannara

Cover art of The Scions of Shannara
Author	Terry Brooks
Cover artist	Keith Parkinson
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	Heritage of Shannara
Genre	Fantasy
Publisher	Del Rey Books
Publication date	March 1990
Media type	Print (Paperback)
Pages	419 pp
ISBN
OCLC	23250182
Preceded by	The Wishsong of Shannara
Followed by	The Druid 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).

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 of the past about the adventures of the Ohmsfords and the druids in a tavern through the use of Par's magic, the wishsong. The wishsong is but 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.