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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_sword_of_shannara.jpg]]
2Often referred to as the "classic trilogy" or simply the "Shannara trilogy", these three loosely-linked {{Doorstopper}} HighFantasy novels launched Terry Brooks' writing career. Set in Brooks' now famous ''Literature/{{Shannara}}'' universe, the three novels deal with three different generations of the Ohmsford family, their ties to the Elven House of Shannara and its magic, and their relationship with the enigmatic Druid, Allanon.
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4In ''Sword Of Shannara'', Allanon arrives in the sleepy hamlet of Shady Vale with the news that [[BigBad The Warlock Lord]], [[FallenHero Brona]], an evil former Druid, has returned to life. Only the fabled (and eponymous) Sword of Shannara can rid the world of his threat for good, and only a member of the House of Shannara can wield the sword. As it turns out, [[TheHero Shea Ohmsford]] is the last living heir of the house. Along with his brother Flick, their friend Menion Leah, and diverse others, Shea and Allanon set out to look for the Sword.
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6On their way to Paranor, home of the Druids, disaster strikes. Shea is separated from the group. Forced to team with thieves Panamon Creel and [[GeniusBruiser Keltset]], Shea sets off to recover the sword on his own, while his friends attempt to avert Brona's conquest of the Four Lands. Many adventures and one Hell of a twist ending later, Shea recovers the Sword and puts Brona in his grave permanently.
7
8Flashforward fifty years to ''Elfstones of Shannara''. The Ellcrys, the tree that keeps the Demons of legend sealed up within the Forbidding, is dying, and her Chosen are massacred by the escaping Demons. The sole Chosen remaining, Elven Princess Amberle, must travel to the mythical Bloodfire and resurrect the Ellcrys. Realising that he will be needed to help the Elves defend their home from the Demons, Allanon visits the Gnome town of Storlock, intent on strong-arming Shea's grandson Wil into serving as Amberle's bodyguard, since he inherited his grandfather's magic-destroying Elfstones.
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10Wil soon agrees. He and Amberle set off, with the NightmareFuel-inspiring [[TheDragon Reaper]] in hot pursuit. In the meantime, Allanon, Elf King Eventine, and Eventine's son Ander gather what few allies they have and prepare to fight a delaying action against the armies of the Demon Lord known as [[BigBad The Dagda Mor]]. In the end, a new Ellcrys is created, the Demons are banished, and all is well.
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12Twenty years after that, in ''The Wishsong of Shannara'', the Mord Wraiths appear. In possession of the Ildatch, the same TomeOfEldritchLore that corrupted Brona, they seem poised to destroy the Four Lands. Even Allanon cannot penetrate the defences they have raised around the book, and all seems hopeless. Falling back into his old habits, Allanon calls upon Brin Ohmsford, who, thanks to her father's use of the Elfstones, possesses the [[RealityWarper Reality Warping]] Wishsong. Unlike Allanon, Brin will be able to use the Wishsong to enter the [[GardenOfEvil Maelmord]] and destroy the Ildatch; she and her LoveInterest Rone Leah set off with Allanon in order to do so.
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14Meanwhile, her brother Jair, who possesses a lesser version of the Wishsong, is told by [[DungeonMaster The King of The Silver River]] that Brin will fail if he does not go to her aid. Alongside reluctant Gnome Tracker [[TheLancer Slanter]], and uber-badass Garet Jax, as well as numerous others, Jair goes after Brin. In the end, Brin is saved, and the Ildatch destroyed, albeit at tremendous cost. TheMagicGoesAway...at least until the next series.
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16While the first book has been criticised for being too similar to ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', the later books are generally regarded as better, and the trilogy as a whole was very successful. It's best described as good quality pop-fantasy. There are now a number of stories set within, just before, or just after the books in the trilogy. They include the short stories ''Allanon's Quest'', ''The Weapon Master's Choice'', and ''The Black Irix'' (collectively known as ''Paladins of Shannara''), the novella ''Indomitable'', and the graphic novel ''Dark Wraith of Shannara''.
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18For those interested in the history of the fantasy genre, it should be noted that ''The Sword of Shannara'' was the first high fantasy novel not written for children to be a commercial success in its own time (that's right; ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' was not a commercial success until many years after it was published), and ''Elfstones'' and ''Wishsong'' were numbers two and three, respectively; all three spent weeks on the ''New York Times'' best-seller list. This was largely what convinced publishers that fantasy could be a commercially viable genre separate from sci-fi, causing an explosion in the publication of fantasy.
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20See [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/Shannara here]] for the character sheet.
21----
22'''Tropes associated with the original trilogy (separated due to the loose nature of the series) include:'''\
23
24[[foldercontrol]]
25
26[[folder:The Sword of Shannara]]
27* AfterTheEnd: The book's universe is implied to be our world after a WorldWarThree that had destroyed human civilization and caused the creation of new races. The heroes even stumble upon metal ruins of an old city and fight an insectoid cyborg.
28* TheAlliance: The Border Legion, and the Elven and Dwarven armies form the bulk of the alliance against Brona.
29* AsYouKnow: To truly epic levels at the start, where the entire history of the world is monologued to the main character.
30** Though not entirely played straight, while everyone knew the general gist of what was told, this is the first time anyone but Allanon had heard the whole story, unaltered by propaganda and bias.
31* TheAtoner: Allanon reveals that he's been working to correct [[spoiler: his father's failure to defeat the Warlock Lord.]]
32* AttackOfTheMonsterAppendage: The Swamp monster in the first book is a Type 1.
33* BadassNormal: Panamon Creel, Balinor and Hendel. Menion Leah above all.
34* BattleAmongstTheFlames: Variation, Allanon and a Skull Bearer fight ''above'' the flames, on a catwalk in the furnace beneath Paranor (albeit with the added danger of eventually being surrounded, as the furnace is kicking into full heating mode as the castle wakes above them). And it is indeed epic.
35* BigBad: The Warlock Lord
36* BigCreepyCrawlies: The giant bug monster they meet in the ruins of the old city.
37* CainAndAbel: Balinor and Palance. It's largely because of the latter's raging inferiority complex.
38* CharacterDeath: [[spoiler: Palance Buckhannah, Hendel, Stenmin (good riddance), Orl Fane, Brona, Keltset]].
39* CharacterTic: Stenmin tends to stroke his BeardOfEvil. Unfortunately for him, [[SpottingTheThread this helps Menion recognize him]] as the one who kidnapped Shirl and tried to sell her to the Warlock Lord.
40* CitadelCity: Tyrsis, being built into a mountain, walled with a thick gate, and [[BadassArmy Border Legion of Callahorn]] defending the place.
41* ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve: Only a Shannara heir can use the Sword, because the legends ''say'' only a Shannara heir can use the Sword.
42* ContrivedCoincidence: Several, but the two biggest have to be Panamon, Shea, and Keltset happening to come upon Orl Fane after he has stolen the Sword of Shannara from the Warlock Lord's Gnome party and Menion traveling to Kern to warn Callahorn about the invading army at just the right time to see Shirl's kidnapping and rescue her.
43* {{Cyborg}}: The insectoid monster they meet in the ruins is at least half machine. Might be a [[Literature/TheHeritageOfShannara Creeper]] actually, going from the description.
44* DeadAllAlong: [[spoiler: Brona]] is revealed to be this, in one of the biggest twists in FantasyLiterature.
45* DontGoInTheWoods: The Black Oaks are avoided by anyone with half a brain. Unfortunately, avoiding them sends Shea, Menion, and Flick into the Mist Marsh.
46* DressingAsTheEnemy: Allanon disguises Flick as a Gnome and sends him to infiltrate Brona's army in hopes of getting some information; he ends up freeing the captured Elven king, Eventine, a sequence which is both hysterically funny, and very awesome.
47* EvilChancellor: Stenmin, to Balinor's brother, Palance.
48* FreudianTrio: Shea (Ego), Panamon Creel (Id), and Keltset (Superego)
49* GoodWingsEvilWings: The Skull Bearers have leathery, batlike wings.
50* HalfHumanHybrid: Shea is part human, part Elf.
51* HappyEnding: The only unambiguously happy ending in the whole blasted franchise.
52* HonourAmongThieves: Panamon Creel's belief that he owes Shea for saving his life is the reason he agrees to assist him in finding the Sword. And given Creel's peculiar sense of honour that means he'll take him to the ends of the earth to do it.
53* InformedAbility: Stenmin, the EvilChancellor, is said to be a mystic. He never shows any sign of magical powers, though it's possible he was some sort of astrologer/fortuneteller/alchemist, and consequently didn't ''have'' any (or at least, not that would have helped him against the heroes). To be fair, however, it is very possible to infer that Stenmin's influence over Palance might have some partly mystical cause. Also, the word "mystic" technically does not mean the same thing as "magician."
54* ItCanThink: While Allanon detects the creature in the Pass of Jade, he dismisses it as a simple danger to be avoided and marks the trail as such. Unfortunately for the party, it was no mere beast and was far more intelligent than Allanon gave it credit for with it later tampering with his markings to trick the party right into its lair.
55* KeystoneArmy: The Skull Bearers exist only through [[spoiler: Brona's magic]]. When it goes, so do they.
56* LastStand: Aside from the larger conflict between Callahorn and the Warlock Lord's army during TheSiege of Tyrsis, there's one for Menion and Hendel in the cellars of the palace, keeping the army from overrunning them after Stenmin lets them in. [[spoiler:It costs Hendel his life.]]
57* LoadBearingBoss: Brona.
58* LoadBearingHero: Keltset.
59* LoveTriangle: Of a sort between Menion, Shirl, and Palance. Made more complicated by Menion saving Shirl's life (and [[RescueRomance falling for her]]) while also becoming Palance's (only) friend. The triangle is actually based solely on Shirl having been promised to Palance as part of an ArrangedMarriage, since Shirl only feels affection and sympathy for the prince and by the time the reader meets Palance any genuine feelings he may once have had have turned into borderline obsession. Thankfully, Stenmin is not aware of this or else he would surely have tried to reveal it to turn Palance against Menion. In the end Palance ends up fatally stabbed, [[PietaPlagiarism dying in Menion's arms]], still loving Shirl, but eventually dies without ever learning the truth, freeing Shirl to be with Menion.
60* MagicIsAMonsterMagnet: Allanon gives Shea the Elfstones with which to protect himself, but only warns him much later that using the Elfstones will alert the Warlock Lord and his Skull Bearers of Shea's location. He does this precisely so that Shea will not be afraid to use the stones if he really needs them, and because the stones themselves are an effective defense against the Skull Bearers.
61* McGuffin: The eponymous Sword, which obsesses most of the characters for the duration of the book.
62* MissingMom: The Ohmsfords and Menion Leah.
63* MistakenIdentity: At Paranor, one of the Skull Bearers mistakes Flick as the heir of Shannara.
64* TheMole: Stenmin, who not only succeeds in drugging and manipulating the weak-willed Palance into disbanding the Legion and leaving Callahorn defenseless but actually lets the army of the Warlock Lord in through the sewers and tunnels beneath the city, directly into the basement of the palace. He also had poisoned the old king and, when Palance loses his mind completely and breaks free of his hold, he fatally stabs him.
65* {{Mordor}}: The Skull Kingdom is a wreck, with a skull-faced mountain at its core, and is surrounded by poisonous rivers, lethal deserts, and a mountain range filled with poisonous spiders.
66* NearVillainVictory:
67** The Warlock Lord's massive army nearly succeeds in capturing Callahorn, annihilating the Border Legion and invading the Southlands. Only Shea destroying the Warlock Lord prevents this.
68** Deconstructed in the later books as this near victory has far-reaching consequences. The following book ''Elfstones'' describes how the Southlanders panicked over the near capture of Callahorn and formed the Federation. Initially meant as a defensive alliance, they become [[TheEmpire a major antagonist]] in later Shannara books.
69* NeverAcceptedInHisHometown: The tiny village of Shady Vale apparently managed to miss the fact that a Third War of the Races was fought that summer. When Shea and Flick make it back home, their father shows absolutely no knowledge of the fact that his biological son saved the life of the Elven King or that his adoptive son killed the most evil wizard in recorded history. All he has to say is "You boys have been acting strange since you got back from that hunting trip in Leah."
70* NoOneCouldSurviveThat: Several times characters are thought to be dead due to the circumstances, only for them to turn out to be very much alive--Allanon, falling off the catwalk into the Paranor furnace with the Skull Bearer (he caught hold of a rung out of Flick's sight, and the latter couldn't hear him yelling because of the sound of the flames), Shea falling off the Dragon's Crease into a raging river, and Hendel seemingly torn apart by Gnomes in the Pass of Jade. The second one is immediately subverted however since Allanon uses Bremen's prophecy to prove Shea is still alive, and Hendel turns up alive while the party is waiting at the Valley of Shale. [[spoiler:Hendel doesn't make it the second time his life is in danger, however.]]
71* OddFriendship: Hendel (gruff, taciturn Dwarf) and Menion Leah (irresponsible hothead).
72* OffWithHisHead: Stenmin's extremely satisfying fate.
73* OurDragonsAreDifferent: Valg, the giant, fire and poison breathing serpent that haunts the Hall of the Kings is essentially a wingless, water-dwelling Dragon, despite never being identified as such.
74* OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame: Subverted, in that Hendel dislikes being underground, preferring to be out in the woodlands.
75* OurSirensAreDifferent: Menion has the misfortune to run across a siren when looking for the Ohmsford brothers. They are in fact a kind of tree that lures in passersby's with illusions of beautiful singing women before snagging the victim in their roots and then injecting a paralyzing venom through their spines.
76* PropheticFallacy: Bremen's shade tells Allanon that in a few days' time, the party would stand before the Sword of Shannara, yet it would be the one member who would not make it to Paranor who would first lay hands on the blade. [[spoiler:Turns out when they "stand before the sword" it's just an illusion trap created by the Warlock Lord, and the real sword has been carried away by the Gnomes where it will eventually be found by Shea in Orl Fane's possession.]]
77* ProphecyTwist: When Allanon first learns from Bremen that one of the party will not make it to Paranor, Shea thinks this must mean Hendel, since he was presumed killed by the Gnomes at the Pass of Jade. [[spoiler:But not only does Hendel show up alive, Allanon tells him Bremen specifically pointed to one of them in the valley as being the prophecy's target, and it ends up being Shea after he falls off the Dragon's Crease.]]
78* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Allanon.
79* RescueSex: Menion and Shirl Ravenlock, in a PG-rated sort of way.
80* {{Seers}}: Although they can also be used to defend against/destroy evil like the Skull Bearers, the main purpose of the blue Elfstones is as "seeking stones" that can show the bearer the path to/from a place or an item. They only get used once in this manner, to help Shea, Flick, and Menion make it out of the Lowlands of Clete; the seeking function doesn't turn up again until ''Elfstones'' (interestingly in combination with combat, when it destroys the Reaper by "seeking its face"), after which it isn't seen again until ''Heritage'' (used by Par's wishsong to find the Sword's vault in ''Scions'', then by [[spoiler:Wren in ''Elf Queen'' to find the way out of Eden's Murk]].
81* SingleLineOfDescent: Shea is the sole living descendant of Jerle Shannara, a king who had three daughters and two adoptive sons who lived 500 years previously. Justified in that Brona had apparently spent quite some time removing all the others before the start of the book.
82* TheSmurfettePrinciple: Shirl Ravenlock is almost literally the only female character to appear in the novel. This is something Brooks made sure to avert in the next books, especially ''Elfstones''.
83* SorcerousOverlord: Brona
84* SpottingTheThread: When a Skull Bearer confronts Panamon, Keltset, and Shea, it insists it can feel the Sword of Shannara nearby so they must have it, which confuses all of them. [[spoiler:Orl Fane was hiding in the underbrush nearby and had the sword in his sack.]] Subverted, however, in that they don't realize the significance of this until after [[spoiler:Orl Fane has already fled with the sword]].
85* StayOnThePath: Variation in the Hall of Kings--in order to make it through alive and sane, travelers must refuse to look in the eyes of the Sphinxes (no matter how much their voices beg and demand that they do so) or else they will be TakenForGranite, and they must have their ears blocked to keep from being driven mad by the cries of the Banshees.
86* SupernaturalFearInducer: The Warlock Lord, Brona, attacks Shea's mind with fear, nearly shattering the young man's psyche with vision after vision of Brona breaking or killing him.
87* SwampsAreEvil: The Mist Marsh. It's miserably damp, filled with pools of brackish water, and oh yeah, there's the Mist Wraith, a Kraken-esque spirit that would desperately like to eat you.
88* WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway: Shea is understandably distressed when he learns that [[spoiler: the Sword's power is to make any living being it touches accept the truth about itself. Of course since Brona is DeadAllAlong...]]
89* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle:
90** The party from Culhaven (sans Shea, Flick, and Allanon) make their way to the tower where the Sword of Shannara has been moved and find it glowing on its pedestal, just as Bremen had predicted. But then [[spoiler:it vanishes, just an illusion to trap them, since the real sword had been taken north by the Gnomes]].
91** Both Menion and Flick rescue people thinking/hoping they are Shea; Menion has saved Shirl Ravenlock instead, while Flick has found the missing Elven King Eventine. Played with in that while they are both disappointed not to have found Shea, these rescues are not pointless but actually extremely critical to the story, since without Shirl Palance could not have been broken free of Stenmin's control and without Eventine the leaderless Elves would have been paralyzed and not helped until it was too late for Callahorn.
92[[/folder]]
93
94[[folder:The Elfstones of Shannara]]
95* TheAlliance: The army arrayed against the Demons ultimately includes the Elven Army, [[OneManArmy Allanon]], the Wing Riders (Sky Elves), the Border Legion (Men), numerous Dwarven engineers and sappers, and 1500 Kershalt Trolls. The latter's arrival at Arborlon and agreement to lend aid is particularly cheerworthy, both in-story to Ander and considering the enmity there had been between the Trolls and the other Races as seen in the previous book.
96* ArmyOfThievesAndWhores: The Legion Free Corps is an army made up of all kinds of people, from the most noble at the top of the lowest scum, from fugitives to thieves and rapists, all who joined the legion to get a new start away from their pasts. [[spoiler:By the end of the conflict the army is dissolved simply from the fact that there are hardly anyone of it left, having been reduced to barely ten, half of which of that are no longer in fighting condition]].
97* AsskickingLeadsToLeadership: The Demons are led by the most brutal among their ranks, with [[EvilSorcerer The Dagda Mor]], [[VoluntaryShapeShifting The Changeling]], and [[TheJuggernaut The Reaper]] at the very top.
98* BadassArmy: The Legion Free Corps is made up entirely of men who would rather that their pasts not be questioned too closely. In exchange they serve as a sort of expendable unit of desperate fighters. Then there's the Trolls, the Elves, and yes, the [[TheLegionsOfHell Demons]]. Not a lot of un-Badass armies in this book actually.
99* BadassNormal: Stee Jans, the leader of the Border Legion Free Corps.
100* BatOutOfHell: The Dagda Mor's method of transport.
101* BeastMan: Many of the Demons are part animal, including LizardFolk, {{Cat Girl}}s, and many more.
102* TheBerserker: The Furies are utterly crazed with rage, hatred, and bloodlust.
103* BigBad: [[DemonLordsAndArchDevils The Dagda Mor]].
104* BittersweetEnding: Sure, the Demons get sealed up again. But [[spoiler: Eventine is dead and Amberle is transformed into the Ellcrys, with Wil being left devastated by her loss and damaged from his use of the Elfstones]].
105* BodyguardCrush: Wil ''may'' have had one on Amberle. It's never made entirely clear just what his feelings are about her.
106* CainAndAbel: Morag and Mallenroh, the twin witches of the Wilderun. Also to some degree a colder and more understated version of this has existed between Arion and Ander since the death of Aine, Amberle's father.
107* CarryABigStick: Those Demons that don't go unarmed, either loot the bodies of the Elven dead, or arm themselves with clubs. There are mentions of everything from Goblins to Ogres carrying them, rating the placement of this trope here.
108* CatGirl: The Furies. [[BeastMan Half human, half cat]], with human faces and bodies, but cat muzzles, [[FemmeFatalons claws]], and limbs.
109** Also, CatsAreMean: Or at least batshit insane. The Furies are psycho-killers, with [[TheBerserker Berserker]] tendencies and no regard for their own safety. The Dagda Mor uses them as his personal killers when The Reaper is absent.
110* TheCavalry:
111** Personified by the Legion Free Corps with them routinely charging to aid their allies whenever the time is dire.
112** During the siege of Arborlon there are repeated reinforcements from unlikely sources as the situation looks increasingly grim. First from the dwarves who had traveled a long way to reach the city, and then against all odds the trolls arrive from the north as well with their commander Amantar intent on burying the hatchet between them and the elves.
113* CharacterDeath: [[spoiler: The Chosen, Arion Elessedil, Kael Pindannon, Cephelo and his band, [[MutualKill Morag and Mallenroh]], The Changeling, The Reaper, The Dagda Mor, Eventine Elessedil]].
114* ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve: Wil's initial difficulties with the Stones cause him to form a psychological block that prevents him from using them; he effectively convinces himself that he can't use them, and so they stop responding.
115* CoDragons: The Reaper and the Changeling to the Dagda Mor.
116* DelayingAction: The entire War of the Forbidding is a delaying action, meant to give Wil and Amberle enough time to save the Ellcrys.
117* DemonLordsAndArchDevils: The Dagda Mor, leader of the [[LegionsOfHell Demon army]] is described as a Demon Lord, in an AsskickingLeadsToLeadership sort of way.
118* DeusExMachina: Wil, Amberle, Hebel, and Eretria escape Safehold, only to find the sun is already setting--on the last day [[ChildProdigy Perk]] said he would fly over the Wilderun. Wil, worn out from overuse of the Elfstones, tells Eretria to blow the whistle. Nothing seems to happen...then, at last, just when the sun has vanished and it seems they can never make it back to Arborlon, Genewen appears: Perk just couldn't leave them, especially after he saw the smoke from Mallenroh's tower, so he waited an extra day, and even past sunset. This rescue, in turn, allows them to be the DeusExMachina for the defenders of Arborlon, winging in just as they're about to succumb to the Demon horde.
119* DubNameChange: In the Swedish editions of the book, the Ellcrys is renamed to Allman.
120* DwindlingParty: The Reaper does this to Wil and Amberle's party, ending with Crispin.
121* DyingMomentOfAwesome: Elven Hunter Crispin's futile LastStand against The Reaper. He actually manages to [[YouShallNotPass slow down]] the [[TheJuggernaut unstoppable monster]] for a few moments, enabling Wil and Amberle to escape it.
122* EliteMooks: The Furies, who are The Dagda Mor's best killers after [[TheDragon The Reaper]]. A large group of them almost manage to kill Allanon.
123* FemmeFatale: Eretria. At first it isn't clear whether she is a villain (her anger at being spurned almost costs them the Elfstones when she doesn't warn Wil of Cephelo's plan to steal them), a SpannerInTheWorks, or just an annoyance during the [[WackyWaysideTribe Rover sideplot]]. By the end it's clear that she is the heroic version of this trope.
124* FemmeFatalons: The Furies.
125* FinalBattle: The Demon assault on Arborlon is shaping up to be this. The Ellcrys is reborn just in time.
126* {{Foreshadowing}}: The vision/dream the King of the Silver River gives to Wil and Amberle respectively: [[spoiler:he finds himself in a gorgeous garden, but when he turns to show it to Amberle she is nowhere to be found; she finds herself standing in an empty darkness, desperately calling out to Wil, but he is unable to see or hear her]].
127* FromBadToWorse: [[spoiler:As the Witch Sisters kill each other they end up starting a fire that soon turns into a firestorm that begins engulfing the tower with the heroes still inside. And as they struggle to find a way out the doors suddenly fly open and the Reaper makes its way inside]].
128* GiantFlyer: The Wing Riders and their Rocs make their first appearance in this book.
129* GiantMook: The Ogres, and a huge, lizard-headed Demon all serve this roll on occasion, breaking through the Elven lines and inflicting serious damage until they encounter one of the main characters. The Dragon may actually be the closest example, relying solely on brute force and utterly destroying the Elves until Allanon confronts it.
130* GondorCallsForAid: And is eventually answered by Trolls, Dwarves, and The Free Corps.
131* {{Hellhound}}s: The Demon Wolves. The Dagda Mor uses them as scouts for his army.
132* HeroicResolve: After [[spoiler: killing the Dagda Mor]] Allanon appears to calmly mount up and ride back to the Elven lines. The fight had taken every last bit of energy he had and it was only through sheer force of will that he stayed upright, because he knew the only thing keeping the Demons from swarming over the outnumbered Elves at that point was their fear of him.
133* HeroSecretService: Wil to Amberle, [[MauveShirt Crispin]] and his Elven Hunters to both of them.
134* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Amberle]] gives up everything in order to become the next [[spoiler: Ellcrys]]. [[TearJerker Sniff...]]
135* HighAltitudeBattle: Between Allanon and [[GiantFlyer Dancer]] on the one hand, and the Dagda Mor and his [[BatOutOfHell bat]] on the other.
136* KillAndReplace: The Changeling's M.O., naturally. It does this first to the gardener Went, then [[spoiler:Eventine's trusted wolfhound, Manx]].
137* LeaveHimToMe: Allanon about [[GiantMook The Dragon]], and then [[TheBigBad The Dagda Mor]].
138* TheLegionsOfHell: The description of the Demon army is pretty close to this. There are dozens of types too.
139* LikeBrotherAndSister: Possibly Wil and Amberle. They certainly use it as their cover often enough.
140* TheMole: The Changeling serves as the Dagda Mor's, replacing [[spoiler: Eventine's dog, Manx]] and listening on every conversation the Elven High Command has.
141* NothingIsScarier: Part of what makes The Reaper so frightening, as it is utterly silent (and most likely [[TheSpeechless cannot even speak]]), has a hood which may very well be completely empty, and it will always [[ImplacableMan inexorably pursue]] until it catches you--but you will never know where or when it is coming. Crossing this with the silent, empty darkness of the Pykon may explain why that chapter is so subtly terrifying to some.
142* NotNowKiddo: Although Wil Ohmsford doesn't say the trope name, he does pretty much ignore [[TheWoobie poor little Wisp]], who keeps trying to tell him something—but he's so set on getting the Elfstones back from Mallenroh so he can prove himself Amberle's protector that he doesn't even pay attention to the hysterical shrieking. Cue Eretria finally grabbing his arm and jerking him back, revealing that the box the Elfstones were in was trapped with a deadly viper inside:
143-->'''Eretria''': He was trying to warn you! ''[She] pointed to Wisp. The little fellow had collapsed in tears.''
144* OneManArmy: With the Ellcrys staff neutralising the Demons' powers, Allanon is able to become one, as only The Dagda Mor (who has [[EvilSorcerer Druidic powers]] in addition to his own innate magic) is able to challenge him magically.
145* OurDemonsAreDifferent: Evil beings of Faerie exiled before the modern world began, they've been corrupted by hatred into various types of monster:
146** OurDragonsAreDifferent: The one Allanon fights has six legs, one eye, and can't fly or breathe fire.
147** OurGoblinsAreDifferent: A species of Demon, described as lean, black, and armed with razor-sharp talons. Fairly numerous, their physical description is pretty close to that usually associated with [[OurOrcsAreDifferent Orcs]].
148** OurMonstersAreDifferent: In addition to Ogres, Goblins, and the Dragon, many other mythical and fairy tale beings, including Imps, Gremlins, [[OurGhoulsAreDifferent Ghouls]], Harpies, and of course, the [[CatsAreMean Furies]], are mentioned as being a part of the Demon army, although only a few are described in detail.
149** OurOgresAreHungrier: Another Demon species, used as the brute force of the Dagda Mor's army on several occasions. All we're really told is that they're big, scaly, and that it took the presence of the Trolls to successfully repel them.
150* PowerNullifier[=/=]BroughtDownToNormal: The Ellcrys equips the Elves with a staff that both renders the Demons mortal, and turns off their innate powers. Only [[EvilSorceror The Dagda Mor]] is left with any workable magic. Sadly it doesn't do anything about their physical advantages (eg, armoured hides, [[SuperStrength superstrength]], sheer size and bulk).
151* ThePowerOfHate: The Demon army is made of this trope. Years trapped within the Forbidding have completely warped the minds and bodies of the dark Fae, with their numbers, powers, and mutations only increasing as their loathing of all life (and the Elves and the Ellcrys in particular) grow. The Dagda Mor and Allanon both reference the trope on occasion, stating flat out that it is the power of their hatred/rage and not their superior numbers that truly makes the Demons dangerous.
152* RedshirtArmy: Basically the point of the Free Corps in the eyes of the Border Legions, and they suffer the usual fate of one as well. Over the course of a two-week war, they suffer ''98% casualties''.
153* ReptilesAreAbhorrent: Many demons are scaled. One of them, a huge monster with the head of a lizard, nearly breaks into Arborlon before Stee Jans stops it.
154* RiddleMeThis: Completely unintentional, but because of the Ellcrys' poor memory and the many changes in the world since the Great Wars, Wil and Amberle are left not knowing where Safehold can be found (until Allanon finds the location in the Druid Histories) and even then they still need to find the Bloodfire's exact location behind "a door make of glass that will not break"--which turns out to be a waterfall.
155* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: The Elessedils are ''very'' active. Between Amberle being sent on the quest for the Bloodfire, Eventine, Arion, and Ander acting as war leaders, and in Ander's case, more or less holding the alliance together, they're more involved in the events of the story than anyone else.
156* SealedEvilInACan: The Demons were sealed up by the good Fairies long before the series ever began. As long as the Ellcrys tree lives, they remain sealed.
157* SecondLove: Possibly [[spoiler: Wil]] and Eretria. We're not sure what he thought of [[spoiler: Amberle]].
158* ScarilyCompetentTracker: The Reaper follows Wil and Amberle across the entire Westland, never losing them for more than a few days at a time.
159* SlasherMovie: The Reaper's pursuit of Wil, Amberle and Crispin's men through the Pykon is so very much this. The horrific discovery and chase at Drey Wood also counts.
160* SleepCute: Amberle and Wil get a moment like this in the Matted Brakes.
161* SuperPersistentPredator: [[TheJuggernaut The Reaper]] is somewhere between this and the more human ImplacableMan, refusing to give up even after Wil and Amberle cross a whole mountain range on Roc-back.
162* SuperStrength: Many Demons have this in one form or another, even with their powers turned off. The examples aren't ludcriously unbelievable, but even average Demons are able to inflict a great deal of punishment on armoured men using only clubs or their bare hands. The Ogres, the Dragon, and various other monsters can of course do even more. And then there's [[TheJuggernaut The Reaper]].
163* SupportingLeader: Ander and Allanon.
164* SwampsAreEvil: The Matted Brakes, a godforsaken tangle of swampland, deadwood forest, scrub, and stagnant water, populated by some of the most unpleasant creatures imaginable, including The Things, which kills two members of Amberle's bodyguard.
165* TakenForGranite: Well wood instead of granite, but old man Hebel and his dog ends up suffering the fate of becoming wooden figurines at the hands of the witch Mallenroh. Apparently this is a common thing for her.
166* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: [[DistressedDamsel Amberle]] and [[FemmeFatale Eretria]] have some of this going on.
167* TooDumbToLive: Cephelo, leader of the Rover caravan, demonstrates both stupidity and {{Genre Blind}}ness when he steals the Elfstones from Wil. He is killed soon after by The Reaper.
168* TheUnfavourite: Ander's position as this is a huge plot point.
169* VainSorceress: Morag and Mallenroh are identical twin {{Vain Sorceress}}es. Each is convinced that she is the most beautiful and the other is a hag; this is the source of their rivalry and leads to the death of a human who [[LoveTriangle got between them]] and eventually their own MutualKill.
170* VoluntaryShapeShifting: The Changeling.
171* [[WhamEpisode Wham Chapter]]: Chapter 24, the flight through the Pykon.
172* WhatTheHellHero: Wil gives quite the example of this speech to Allanon after [[spoiler:Amberle has become the Ellcrys]].
173* WickedWitch: Morag and Mallenroh again.
174* WizardDuel: Between Allanon and The Dagda Mor. It's epic.
175* WretchedHive: Grimpen Ward. Although the innkeeper Wil and Amberle meet is nice enough once he heals her bad leg, the ultimate result of the attention this brings is the two of them almost being robbed and murdered, forcing them to flee the town. If Perk being warned to stay out of it by his grandfather calling it this isn't clear enough, the fact they end up needing to be rescued by Eretria and the Rovers should do the job.
176* YouAreInCommandNow: Happens to Ander multiple times, after first his brother and then Kael Pindanon are killed, then after his father is badly injured and has to be relieved of duty.
177* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Not Amberle]], but the Bloodfire--the group finds the room within Safehold where the Bloodfire is supposed to be, only it's empty. [[SubvertedTrope But then]] Amberle senses its magic, pushes aside a boulder, and suddenly the flames burst upward and turn red.
178* YouShallNotPass: Elven guardsman Crispin pulls what he knows will be a futile one against The Reaper. He manages to buy enough time for Wil and Amberle to destroy the bridge it's standing on though. Easily his DyingMomentOfAwesome.
179* ZergRush: The demons preferred method of combat is to simply overwhelm the defenders through sheer weight of numbers. When they attack it is like a wave of bodies with cutting claws and gnashing teeth with zero regard for self preservation.
180[[/folder]]
181
182[[folder:The Wishsong of Shannara]]
183* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: Beneath Graymark. Although the fortress was originally built by Gnomes at the order of the Mwellrets, who are Troll relatives, the latter are not hugely larger than the other Races the way regular Trolls are, so such size being needed seems a bit excessive. Then again, it is [[{{Pride}} the Mwellrets]].
184* AlasPoorVillain: [[spoiler:Despite how vile he was, Jair can't help but pity the way Stythys died as no matter how you look at it, death by Procks is a grisly way to go]].
185* ArtifactOfDoom: [[TomeOfEldritchLore The Ildatch]] is very close to this.
186* AttemptedRape: At one point while Rone is wounded a couple of drunkards attempts to rape Brin. In a blind fury Brin uses the wishsong to drive them off. This incident ends up terrifying Brin as it makes her realize just what kind of power the wishsong truly posesses.
187* BadassNormal: Garet Jax may well have been Franchise/{{Batman}} in another life. Helt is also a tank, briefly holding his own against almost all of the Gnomes in Greymark.
188* BigBad: We're set up to believe that it's the Mord Wraiths, but it's really [[spoiler: The Ildatch itself]].
189* TheBigGuy: Helt.
190** BigGuyFatalitySyndrome: He's the first of the DwindlingParty to die.
191* BittersweetEnding: The heroes win. They really, really do. [[spoiler: But pretty much everyone dies to make it happen]].
192* BodyguardCrush: Inverted. Rone Leah volunteers to be Brin's bodyguard ''because'' of his crush on her.
193* BondOneLiner: Brin, after using the wishsong to destroy the Ildatch: [[spoiler:[[MeaningfulEcho "Here is your dark child."]]]]
194* CassandraTruth: None of the Dwarven Council of Culhaven believes Jair's story thanks to a bit of ArbitrarySkepticism (yes, Allanon hasn't been seen in twenty years, but they know as a Druid and practitioner of magic he is long-lived, and legends of the King of the Silver River have been around for a very long time) and Allanon taking Rone and Brin a different route. It takes a demonstration of Jair's magic, revealing that he has seen Allanon's image, to prove he is telling the truth.
195* ChangedMyMindKid: This is pretty much Slanter's MO after Garet Jax rescues Jair from the other Gnomes and he is free to go at any time (although Jair begging him to help and Garet idly threatening him make it a bit less clear-cut this is the case). The very first chance Slanter gets to leave (and Jair and Garet both think he has), he shows back up having gone to hunt down breakfast for them--something the reader knows to be an outright lie from a previous POV section where the Gnome was intending to leave. The second time is after Capaal, when being separated from Jair after the latter has been captured by Stythys leads him to consider leaving both to save his own skin and because he thinks there's nothing he can do; here his decision is left far more uncertain, making it less of a surprise when he shows up with the others for the rescue at Dun Fee Aran. The first time a case could be made he was "persuaded" to return by the King of the Silver River who had just visited the night before, but the second time seems far more likely to be due to Slanter's genuine caring for the Valeman.
196%%* CharacterDeath
197* CombatSadomasochist: Both [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Jachyras]] are hardwired by the magic to be this. It makes them very, ''very'' dangerous.
198* CoolSword: This is the one where Allanon changes the Sword of Leah into the anti-magic weapon we all know and love.
199* TheCorrupter: [[spoiler: The Ildatch]] of whoever uses it.
200** The Wishsong has the potential to be this as well, if the user becomes too dependent on it or uses it for malicious ends. The "savior vs. destroyer" dichotomy is a huge part of the plot, and is only mirrored with Par in ''Heritage''.
201* [[TrailersAlwaysSpoil Covers Always Spoil]]: [[spoiler: The blurb on the soft cover gives away The Ildatch's identity as TheBigBad]].
202* DarkestHour: Things look pretty bleak about mid-book. On the one hand, [[spoiler:Allanon has been killed]], the Sword of Leah has been lost, and Brin is left alone trying to nurse the poisoned and dying Rone back to health. On the other hand, Capaal falls to the Gnomes thanks to the Mord Wraiths calling a Kraken (which seems to kill Garet Jax); Foraker, Edain, and Helt all seem to die; Jair gets separated from Slanter, who seems to abandon him; and [[InTheEndYouAreOnYourOwn he's captured by Stythys and taken to the prisons at Dun Fee Aran]]. The latter is subverted, however, when all the party members turn up alive and rescue Jair, and even Brin is able to heal Rone, then get her quest back on track by finding Cogline and Kimber Boh.
203* DeathSeeker: [[BloodKnight Garet Jax]] accompanies Jair because a prophecy promises him that if he does so he will meet his ultimate opponent; namely someone who can kill him.
204* DefectorFromDecadence: Slanter.
205* DrivenToSuicide: Helt, due to [[TheCorruption the poison of the winged creature]] in the cellars of Graymark, brings down the gate to cut the rest of the party off from the Mord Wraiths and their forces, a YouShallNotPass brought on by incipient BodyHorror.
206* DwindlingParty: Jair's party is reduced to [[spoiler: him and Slanter]] by the end. Played with at first, however--Brooks makes it look like each of the party members have died fighting the Kraken or the Gnomes at Capaal, thus [[InTheEndYouAreOnYourOwn leaving Jair alone]] as he ends up captured by Stythys and taken to Dun Fee Aran. Then [[SubvertedTrope all of them show up alive]] to break him out of prison. It isn't until the final assault on Graymark that the trope is DoubleSubverted. The trope was somewhat lampshaded by WordOfGod when Brooks noted in a foreword that his intention with Jair's party was to make a ShoutOut to both the Magnificent Seven and the shoot-out at the O.K. Corral.
207* EnemyMine: Even aside from Slanter having once been working for the Gnomes serving the Mord Wraiths, he (and his people) is considered an enemy by the Dwarves of Culhaven and Elb Foraker in particular, but his knowledge of the territory makes it necessary to work with him to reach Heaven's Well, and he in turn is compelled to help by threats to his life (and his growing caring for Jair). By the end of the journey, though, he is at least no longer an enemy to Jair and Garet, if not the others. Played absolutely straight with Stythys, who is captured during the rescue of Jair from Dun Fee Aran and forced to come along as insurance, then to take them through the Caves of Night so they can reach Graymark in time. He, of course, betrays them at the first opportunity...and [[LaserGuidedKarma pays for it]].
208* EquivalentExchange: Of a sorts. The King of the Silver River asks for the Elfstones from Jair (since having stolen them he cannot use them), and gives him the Silver Dust (which is of no use to the King) so he can take it to purify the river. Taken a step further however when, because there were three Elfstones, the King gives Jair three magics in return for each of the things the Stones symbolize: mind (the vision crystal), body (strength in each of his companions, but especially Garet who "will always come for you"), and heart (a true wish in which his wishsong brings not illusion but reality). And on top of that, after the quest is successfully completed, and since all the King's magics were used as intended, the King even brings the Elfstones back to Shady Vale.
209* TheFaceless: The Mord Wraiths, due to a combination of BlackCloak and InTheHood.
210* FightingDownMemoryLane: To restore [[spoiler: Brin]] to herself.
211* GardenOfEvil: The Maelmord is a sentient garden that protects the Ildatch.
212* GreenAesop: The King of the Silver River sends Jair on a quest to stop the Mord Wraiths from polluting the Silver River.
213* HeroKiller: Jachyras. Only two of them show up, and each of them ends up killing an established badass: [[spoiler:Allanon and Garet Jax, respectively]].
214* HeroSecretService: Jair's party.
215* IOweYouMyLife: Because Browork and the Dwarf sappers were so instrumental in saving Arborlon from the Demons, King Ander sends his son Edain to help the Dwarves in defending against the Gnomes; Edain takes this even further by choosing to go to Heaven's Well to protect Jair, since it was ''his'' father protecting Amberle that even more directly saved the Elves. [[spoiler:Sadly, the trope becomes a true trade, since Edain ends up giving his life to protect Jair.]]
216* IronicName: After seeing how the Mord Wraiths have polluted it, Jair comments on how the name Heaven's Well seems "horribly perverse." Of course after he uses the Silver Dust, the name is absolutely fitting.
217* KrakenAndLeviathan: The Mord Wraiths summon a Kraken to help them take Capaal. Garet Jax kills it with a spear.
218* LamarckWasRight: Using magic created by another race, when you've only got maybe one-quarter blood of the creator race in the first place, can cause some problems. Wil Ohmsford was actually damaged by use of the Elfstones, along with passing on some of the magic to his children in the form of the Wishsong. {{Justified|Trope}}, since this is magic we're dealing with.
219* TheLancer: Slanter slowly evolves into Jair's.
220* LeaveHimToMe: Allanon and Garet Jax both say this when confronted by the Jachyras.
221* LizardFolk: The Mwellrets are first introduced in this book, as a species of reptillian Troll that survived in the swamps instead of the mountains.
222* TheMagicGoesAway: The finale. The Ildatch is dust, Allanon is dead, Paranor is sealed away, and Brin and Jair are told to never use the Wishsong again.
223* TheManBehindTheMan: Turns out the Warlock Lord, BigBad of the first book was actually the puppet of his [[spoiler: sentient TomeOfEldritchLore cum ArtifactOfDoom, the Ildatch]]. Whether he was aware of this is unknown.
224* MoreThanMindControl: TheBigBad pulls this on [[spoiler:Brin]]. It takes ThePowerOfLove to fix things.
225* MultiArmedAndDangerous: The Kraken of course.
226* ObfuscatingInsanity: Seemingly the only explanation for Cogline's behavior in this book versus the ''Heritage'' trilogy (and actually stated in-universe by Kimber). Also makes for a huge number of SugarWiki/FunnyMoments, a rarity in this sort of HighFantasy. According to WordOfGod, however, he really was insane, courtesy of a screw-up with the Druid Sleep. By the time ''Heritage'' rolls around, he's back to normal and considers that time period his OldShame[=/=]OnceDoneNeverForgotten moment. Makes it even funnier in a way.
227* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: The climactic duel between [[spoiler:Garet Jax and the second Jachyra]].
228** TakingYouWithMe: It is believed that this was the end result of said duel. It can't be proven because [[spoiler:the Jachyra, dead or alive, disappeared when the Ildatch was destroyed]], but Jair and Slanter refuse to believe that [[spoiler:Garet Jax]] could be killed without mortally wounding his enemy first.
229* PantheraAwesome: Whisper, Cogline and Kimber Boh's moor cat, who attacks the Mord Wraiths and their monsters with only his teeth and claws. He may be more badass than any of the human characters.
230* PlayingWithFire: The Mord Wraiths' usual attack involves red flames.
231* PlotParallel: Jair's growing friendship with Edain Elessedil is mirrored by Brin's with Kimber Boh. Edain eventually gives his life to save Jair so he can get to Heaven's Well; Kimber would have done the same, and even tried to, only to be tricked by Brin into being separated and left behind in a hopeless fight with her grandfather and Rone against the Mord Wraiths. The choices the Ohmsford siblings make, and the different results, are telling.
232* ThePowerOfLove: How [[spoiler: Jair brings his sister back to her senses]] after TheBigBad's MoreThanMindControl leads to a bit of WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity. Lampshaded by Allanon when his Shade visits Brin.
233* RealityWarper: Brin's Wishsong allows her to force the world around her to comply with how she wants it to be. See the [[Literature/{{Shannara}} main page]] for more details.
234* RefugeInAudacity: During the Culhaven company's encounter with the Gnome army at Capaal, Slanter and Helt accidentally tumble off a cliffside and land right in the middle of the enemy troops. What do they do? [[DressingAsTheEnemy Dress Helt up in dark robes like a Mord Wraith]], with Slanter as his Gnome attendant, then walk right through the camp until they can get to the fortress walls and reveal their identities to be let inside. ''And it works''.
235* ReptilesAreAbhorrent: The first book to introduce the [[LizardFolk Mwellrets]], in the form of the treacherous Stythys.
236* {{Seers}}: Aside from the King of the Silver River foreseeing what will happen to Brin if Jair is not there to save her, the Grimpond can see the future too, although it either [[{{Troll}} tauntingly refuses to reveal it]] or [[TruthAndLies couches all its information in riddles and half-truths]]. It is Brin forcing it to tell her the truth outright about the location of the Sword of Leah and how to get to the Maelmord unseen that earns the spirit's enmity and desire for {{Revenge}} on the Shannara/Ohmsford line that carries all the way to Walker Boh in ''Heritage''--and also shows how she is already SlowlySlippingIntoEvil, of course.
237* SuicideMission: Jair's quest is effectively this. Of the six men who leave Culhaven to go to Heaven's Well and [[GreenAesop halt the pollution of the Silver River]], four of them die on the way.
238* TakeUpMySword: [[spoiler: Allanon does this to Brin after he dies, charging one of her [[Literature/TheHeritageOfShannara descendents]] with becoming the next Druid and rebuilding the order]].
239* ThisIsSomethingHesGotToDoHimself: Believing this is why Brin uses the wishsong to trick Kimber and the others into going a different direction in the sewers of Graymark so she can go into the Maelmord alone (although Allanon's shade implies, and Brin does not deny, that some part of her also knew [[spoiler:what the Ildatch was doing to her]] and so was just trying to protect her friends from herself, not just the Mord Wraiths).
240* TomeOfEldritchLore: The Ildatch is an ancient book, surviving from the time of Faerie, and containing the secrets of many of their darker magics. Reading it subverted Brona, the Skull Bearers, and the Mord Wraiths; as such, Allanon has decided it must be destroyed.
241* TwoLinesNoWaiting: Unlike ''Sword'', which had one party that got split up by circumstances in a parallel to Tolkien, or ''Elfstones'' where the action switched between the adventuring heroes (Wil and Amberle) and the home front fighting DelayingAction, this book has two independent plotlines with Brin's quest to the Maelmord (diverted several times) and Jair's quest to Heaven's Well to save her (also diverted a few times).
242* UnusualEuphemism: Rone Leah's "...for cat's sake!" which he says frequently enough for it to be considered his [[CatchPhrase catchphrase]].
243* VitriolicBestBuds: Jair and Slanter evolve into the Type II version.
244* WorthyOpponent: Garet Jax's entire life has been a search for one. He agrees to join on Jair's quest because the King of the Silver River promised that he would find one during his quest, which he ultimately does against the Jachyra at Heaven's Well. [[spoiler: It kills him, but Jair and Slanter choose to believe that he took it down with him, though they can't prove it because the Jachyra's body was dispelled when the Ildatch was destroyed]].
245* YouShallNotPass: Jair's party do a number of these; the most notable is Helt's LastStand against an entire Gnome army.
246* YourDaysAreNumbered: Allanon is informed in advance by Bremen that he will not live to see the outcome of the quest. Allanon's obviously not too thrilled with this news, but it doesn't deter him from continuing on the quest.
247[[/folder]]
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