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Characters / The Heritage of Shannara

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    Par Ohmsford 

Par Ohmsford

A descendant of Jair Ohmsford, and The Hero of the trilogy, he has inherited Jair's Master of Illusion powers. Initially a travelling storyteller, he and his brother Coll are summoned, along with Walker Boh and Wren to the Hadeshorn, and given a charge by Allanon. Par's is to retrieve The Sword of Shannara. Desperate to be a hero, he is the first Ohmsford to embrace his charge, involving himself not only in the quest for The Sword, but in the free-born effort to throw off the Federation.
  • Badass in Distress: Par spends most of Talismans as Rimmer Dall's prisoner, despite having access to the reality warping power of The Wishsong. Justified by Par being terrified of The Wishsong, and Rimmer Dall being strong enough to tear through its defenses if he has to.
  • Blessed with Suck: The Wishsong is an incredibly powerful, evolving weapon. It's also addictive, unpredictable, and prone to overriding Par's mind, and meddling with his psyche. Not to mention that it attracts Shadowen in the dozens.
  • Break the Cutie/ Corrupt the Cutie: Rimmer Dall tries this on him, through a long series of Mind Screw manipulations that nearly cause Par to snap.
  • The Chosen One: One of three four.
  • Doom Magnet: Justified. Shadowen are drawn to magic, and few people have magic to match Par's.
  • Drunk on the Dark Side: His embracing the Wishsong's power in Talismans leads to this.
  • Glass Cannon: Par for the course with Wishsong users. Par is a not-particularly tough kid, with a tremendous amount of power at his disposal.
  • Grand Theft Me: From the woodswoman to the child on Toffer Ridge to Rimmer Dall, one Shadowen after another tries this on him.
  • The Hero: He's definitely the main character and he leaps at the call to perform heroism.
  • Heroic Wannabe: Downplayed. Par is easily the most enthusiastic of the three Ohmsford heirs, but the least capable. Unlike Wren, who is a capable Action Girl, and Walker who has been living by himself in the Eastland for years, Par has never been more than a storyteller. His Master of Illusion powers come in useful, but he needs a lot more help than he thinks he does, and frequently rushes into danger without thinking, something that Coll ends up pointing out to him near the end of Scions.
  • In the Blood: Inherited his use of the Wishsong from Jair, though it eventually takes on a shape more akin to that used by Brin.
  • Jumped at the Call: He absolutely believes that they need to fullfill Allanon's charges, and leaps at the opportunity.
  • Master of Illusion: Like his ancestor, Jair, Par can use the Wishsong to create lifelike illusions. Initially this is all he can do with it.
  • Person of Mass Destruction: When out of control the Wishsong transforms him into this.
  • Playing with Fire: The Wishsong's preferred method of attack.
  • The Protagonist: In Scions. After that the viewpoint shifts to Walker, then Wren, and ends in an even split in Talismans.
  • Reality Warper: His Wishsong eventually spins completely out of control, reaching levels of reality warping that even Brin never did.

    Coll Ohmsford 

Coll Ohmsford

Par's brother, and the only Ohmsford with no magic. He accompanies Par, having been given no charge himself. Or so we are led to believe. In reality, he's the one destined to wield the Sword of Shannara after Par finds it.
  • Ancestral Weapon: The Sword has been part of the family's legacy for centuries at this point.
  • Brainwashed and Crazy: Courtesy of the Mirrorshroud.
  • The Chosen One: Chosen to bring Par back to normal. Hidden from himself and all others by Allanon.
  • Cool Sword: As it turns out Coll and not Par is the one who has to use The Sword Of Shannara first.
  • Death Faked for You: By Rimmer Dall, who fakes Coll's death to screw with Par, then lets Par discover him alive in order to mess with him even more.
  • Distressed Dude: Coll has no combat skills, and consequently gets into trouble a lot, regularly having to be rescued.
  • The Team Normal: The only Shannara descendent with no magic whatsoever and no charge from Allanon. Subverted in the end by his use of the Sword of Shannara.
  • Unwitting Pawn: Of Rimmer Dall who uses him as part of his campaign to torment Par.

    Walker Boh 

Walker Boh

A distant relative of Par and Coll's, who briefly lived with them in Shady Vale, where he was nicknamed "The Dark Uncle" due to his eerie nature and relationship with Par. Descended from Brin Ohmsford, Walker is tall, pale, and withdrawn, with limited innate magic, including the power to converse with nature and summon a version of the Druid fire. Charged by Allanon with reviving the Druids and Paranor, he is the most reluctant to accept his charge, and initially refuses outright. He returns in Voyage of the Jerle Shannara, where he undertakes the voyage in order to win support for a new Druid council
  • Big Good: Assumes this role near the end of the Heritage tetralogy, and continues it into the Voyage trilogy, stepping into the space vacated by Allanon.
  • Black Eyes of Evil: Subverted as part of his Dark Is Not Evil motif.
  • The Chosen One: Selected to fullfill Brin's pledge to Allanon. And he hates it.
  • Cool Uncle: To Par and Coll, though he's gruffer about it than most.
  • Dark Is Not Evil: A thin, ghostly looking man, with black hair and eyes and a sinister countenance, Walker is nevertheless one of the heroes.
  • Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: Following the loss of his arm and his magic.
  • Determinator: He made it home after losing his arm, he crawls out of his home after Rimmer Dall's attack despite being near dying, he survives half a book with a fatal injury in the sequel; there's not much you can hit Walker with that he hasn't been hit with.
  • Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Walker can't actually tan. The sun just seems to be reflected away from him.
  • The Empath: Can usually read the emotions of others, allowing him to avoid conflict and serve as a mediator when he cares to.
  • Evil Uncle: Invoked and subverted. The people of Shady Vale see him as one, but he's actually trying to be a mentor to Par.
  • Expy: In-universe. After absorbing the memories of all the other Druids, Walker ends up channeling Allanon in particular for all he's worth.
  • Friendless Background: There were no other children at Hearthstone or Darklin Reach where Walker grew up, and by the time he moved to Shady Vale, his chance to learn how to make friends was long gone.
  • Full-Contact Magic: Walker Boh will mess you up with or without his magic.
  • Guile Hero: Though backed by physical and magical power when necessary.
  • Handicapped Badass: Down an arm, but still a badass.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: In The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara. He electrocutes himself overloading Antrax
  • Honorary Uncle: Walker is actually Par and Coll's distant cousin. His relationship with Par, however, is much more uncle/nephew, and Par, Coll, and Wren usually refer to him as their Uncle Walker.
  • I Am Legion: Possibly. He has bits and pieces of all the other Druids inside him after his use of the Black Elfstone on Paranor. It's never made clear how much of Walker is left.
  • Ineffectual Loner: In Scions, when he's doing his best to convince himself that he doesn't want to be a part of society.
  • Irony: The man who hates the Druids more than anybody else ends up becoming the first of their new order.
  • The Leader: Eventually assumes this position in any group he is a part of. Combination Type I and IV.
  • Life-or-Limb Decision: Why he lost his right arm.
  • Loners Are Freaks: How many viewed him.
  • Made of Iron: The amount of physical punishment Walker shrugs off is frankly astonishing.
  • Master of Illusion: He got the idea from Jair, and uses it to defeat the Horsemen.
  • The Mentor: To Par in the backstory; to Bek in The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara.
  • Morality Pet: Par is one for him in Scions; only Par being in trouble can persuade Walker to leave Hearthstone and meet with the shade of Allanon.
  • Parental Abandonment: His mother died when he was a child, his father when he was in his late teens, leaving Walker to spend seven miserable years in Shady Vale.
  • Playing with Fire: He can of course summon Druid fire.
  • The Protagonist: In Druid. Morgan Leah and Pe Ell are also viewpoint characters, but this is Walker's quest and storyline that they are a part of. He shares the role of protagonist in Talismans with Wren and Par, acting as Big Good and mentor figure to the rest of the cast.
  • Really 700 Years Old: By the sequel he's pushing one hundred and fifty.
  • Red Baron: Dark Uncle.
  • Refusal of the Call: Initially. Eventually he decides he has to do something about the Federation and takes up Allanon's charge.
  • Reluctant Hero: Walker does not want to help the Druids, and deeply resents his own magic. Yet in the end he can't turn away from what the Federation and the Shadowen are doing.
  • The Smart Guy: In most groups Walker will be the idea man.
  • Speaks Fluent Animal: Can talk to moor cats and other animals.
  • Squishy Wizard: Look at this trope list. To say that Walker averts this would be putting it lightly.
  • Took a Level in Badass: After becoming the first of the new Druids.

    Wren Ohmsford 

Wren Ohmsford/Elessedil

Par and Coll's cousin, and the bearer of the Elfstones, who lived with them in Shady Vale for a while when she was younger. Raised by the Rovers in the Westland, Wren is charged by Allanon with bringing the Elves back to the Westland. Unbeknownst to her, she is secretly the heir to their throne, being the granddaughter of Queen Ellenroh, who was the offspring of an Ohmsford and an Elessedil.
  • Action Girl: A very competent fighter, and a match for any of the men in series (and a fair sight more capable than Par or Coll).
  • Action Survivor: Of the trek through Morrowindl.
  • Blessed with Suck: How she views the use of the Elfstones.
  • Boom Stick: Averted. Wren could use the power of the Loden Staff to annihilate most of the Shadowen of Morrowindl. Unfortunately, doing so would rob it of the magic needed to restore Arborlon once they reach the Westland so she is forced to refrain.
  • Boyish Short Hair: Always pictured with short hair; it's helpful in combat.
  • The Chains of Commanding: Feels them profoundly after she finds herself taking Ellenroh's place in the command roster.
  • Changeling Fantasy: She's really Wren Elessedil, granddaughter of Ellenroh Elessedil, Queen of the Elves. This leads to a serious identity crisis.
  • The Chosen One: Twice over. Allanon charges her to return the Elves to the Four Lands; at her birth Eowen Cerise prophesied that she would be the one to save the Elves.
  • Doom Magnet: Not to quite the degree of Par, but the magic of the Elfstones attracts Shadowen like nothing else. Luckily it also makes for an effective protection.
  • Fire-Forged Friends: How she describes her friendship with Triss in Talismans.
  • G-Rated Drug: Fears becoming addicted the Elfstones, a fact that frequently handicaps her in Elf Queen.
  • Heroic BSoD: In Elf Queen after one revelation too many causes her to shut down. She gets over it.
  • Heroic Self-Deprecation: Has a very low opinion of herself during the latter part of Elf Queen.
  • Horrible Judge of Character: To some extent with Gavilan but especially Tib Arne. The latter was lampshaded and justified somewhat in-story by her being emotionally vulnerable thanks to losing Garth, but still...
  • I Just Want to Be Normal: Has a lot of this in Elf Queen, as one revelation after another shocks her to the core.
  • Magnetic Hero: Wren attracts Undying Loyalty like magnets attract paper clips.
  • The Protagonist: In Elf Queen where she is the only viewpoint character for the main storyline. She shares the role with Walker and Par in Talismans, acting the Supporting Leader to Walker's Big Good and Par's Hero.
  • Supporting Leader: Takes on this role in Talismans, joining forces with Padishar Creel's free-born and Axhind's Rock Trolls to confront the Federation military in the Westland while her cousins and uncle break into Southwatch to take down Rimmer Dall.
  • Tomboy Princess: Given that she was a Rover long before she knew she was a Princess this is to be expected.
  • Took a Level in Badass: Over the course of Elf Queen she shifts from competent Action Girl to one of the most effective destroyers of Shadowen in the series.
  • You Are in Command Now: When Ellenroh Elessedil is killed during the trip through Morrowindl, Wren ends up in charge of the rapidly Dwindling Party and then the entire Elven nation.

    Morgan Leah 

Morgan Leah

Par and Coll's oldest friend, Morgan has spent most of his life up until now, harassing the Federation officials who occupy his homeland. He tries to protect Par and Coll, using contacts in the Dwarf Resistance and the Freeborn, as well as the battered Sword of Leah to aid them. Then, bad things start happening, and he goes on to become a character in his own right, and a major player in the series, all without really wanting to.
  • Amulet of Dependency: Morgan, like Rone before him, swiftly becomes addicted to the Sword's magic, and nearly BSOD's upon losing it.
  • Ancestral Weapon: The Sword of Leah is Still the Sword of his House.
  • Antimagic: The Sword of Leah has this ability, making it deadly to Shadowen.
  • Heartbroken Badass: Following the death of Quickening.
  • Heroic BSoD: After losing the Sword Of Leah in Scions, Morgan finds himself paralysed by fear and indecision. This will return to haunt him on several occasions.
  • Hot-Blooded: Walker, Horner Dees, and Pe Ell all see him as such. It isn't really true as of partway through Druid.
  • I Let Gwen Stacy Die: His take on being unable to save Quickening.
  • The Kirk: When partnered with Damson and Matty in Talismans.
  • My Greatest Failure: Either letting Freeborn headquarters fall, or failing to prevent Quickening's death. Both haunt him intensely.
  • Reforged Blade: The Sword of Leah is shattered during Morgan's escape from The Pit in the latter third of Scions. His arc in Druid is based around trying to have it fixed, which he succeeds in doing by the end.
  • Reluctant Warrior: Morgan will kill Shadowen without batting an eye, but has serious issues with killing people. It makes for some tension with Matty Roh.
  • Royals Who Actually Do Something: Transitions from a loafer who focuses on making life difficult for the Federation occupiers, to a resistance leader, strategist, and fighter.
  • Second Love: With Matty.
  • The Smart Guy: Morgan is the go-to guy when the Free-born need a planner. He gets them in and out of Federation cities and prisons with seeming ease, figured out Teel was The Mole, and is second only to Padishar and Walker when it comes to going unnoticed.
  • Took a Level in Badass: From practical joker to Shadowen-slayer par excellence.
  • Warrior Prince: His family may not run Leah anymore, but he's close enough for farm use.

    Padishar Creel 

Padishar Creel

The leader of the free-born resistance, and a descendant of Panamon Creel, Padishar saves Par and Coll from Rimmer Dall early on. He is delighted to hear about the Ohmsfords' missions, and does everything in his power to aid both them and Morgan, in the hopes that by destroying the Shadowen, they will cripple the Federation. Probably the most implacable, if odd enemy that The Federation has.
  • Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Padishar is really, really weird. And equally effective.
  • Consummate Liar: A heroic example, Padishar puts his manipulative abilities to work for the Free-born, convincing people from all walks of life to follow him out of the belief that his past mirrors their own.
  • Expy: In-universe. He deliberately modelled himself on Panamon Creel.
  • La Résistance: He's not the founder of the free-born, but he is the man responsible for uniting them into a competent fighting force.
  • The Leader: Of the free-born, having disposed of all the other contenders and gained control over The Movement. He's a Type IV, leading through his charismatic personality, and ruthless will.
  • Multiple-Choice Past: Tells many different stories about who he was before joining La Résistance, and why he hates the Federation.
  • Papa Wolf: Don't touch Damson. Just don't.
  • Supporting Leader: As the leader of the free-born, Padishar is responsible for battling the Federation military while the Ohmsfords try to deal with the Shadowen. In Scions he and his men hold the Federation at The Jut while Par descends into the Pit; in Talismans he and Wren split the role, taking on the Federation's army in the Westland, while Walker, Coll, Par, Morgan, Damson, and Matty break into Southwatch to free Par and confront Rimmer Dall.

    Damson Rhee 

Damson Rhee

A member of the Freeborn, street magician, and Par's Love Interest. She's also Padishar's daughter.
  • Achilles' Heel: Could be said to be this to Padishar because she's his daughter, so he will do anything to save her, including staying behind to be captured and executed.
  • Action Girl: Maybe. It is clear she can fight, though, and there's no questioning her bravery in helping Par, particularly in the last book when she's the only Badass Normal in the group to go into Southwatch (aside from Matty Roh), and without any major weapons with her. Walker gave everyone "a bit of magic" to protect them, something she had no way of knowing how effective it would be or what form it would take, yet she went anyway.
  • Chekhov's Gun: The Skree. Just a bit of harmless street magic she gives to Par to help them reunite when he goes chasing after the Brainwashed and Crazy Coll...but later it helps her and Matty find and save Coll from slavers, and still leads her and the others to Par at Southwatch for the Final Battle, thanks to his magic having "imprinted" a reflection of it on himself.
  • Cooldown Hug: Performs one on Par.
  • Florence Nightingale Effect: Much of her relationship with Par comes about due to nursing him back to health while hiding out from the Federation in the Tyrsis sewers.
  • La Résistance: Is a prominent member, or at least associate, of the free-born.
  • The McCoy: Takes this role when partnered up with Morgan and Matty.
  • We Need a Distraction: No, not for the obvious reason—her street magic serves this purpose quite often, but she also forms one in the mundane sense when she poses as Padishar's wife to get them into the People's Park, and again during their escape from the Pit the second time.

    Garth 

Garth

Wren's protector and guide, Garth has raised her since her early childhood. A Rover, he does his best to teach Wren how to survive in a very cruel world.
  • Badass Normal: Garth has no magic, which doesn't slow him down much.

    Cogline 

Cogline

See The Sword of Shannara Trilogy.

Rumor

Cogline's current moor cat, Rumor has a close relationship with Walker Boh, eventually transferring loyalties to him. Huge, silent, and unstoppable, Rumor faces down Shadowen with a ferocity that few humans can equal.
  • Meaningful Name: "It is said that wherever I go, Rumor often precedes me."
  • Panthera Awesome: Like Whisper, Rumour can, and will, take on beings spawned from dark magic using just his natural weapons.
  • Really 700 Years Old: Is still around by the time of Ilse Witch, putting him somewhere around one hundred fifty years old.
  • Undying Loyalty: To Cogline and Walker

    Rimmer Dall 

Rimmer Dall

Head of the Seekers, the Federation Secret Police, Rimmer Dall is also the leader of the Shadowen, The Big Bad of the series, and an all around bastard. He pursues and harasses the Ohmsfords at every turn, playing with their minds, in an attempt to break them all. He seems to be particularly obsessed with Par and the Wishsong.
  • Animal Motifs: All the Seekers wear a silver wolf's head on their necklace of office. In Dall's case the metaphor is more pronounced then with most.
  • Beard of Evil: A red-goatee.
  • Big Bad: He's the leader of the Shadowen, the mastermind behind the Federation, and the most powerful opponent the protagonists face to boot.
  • Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He can fake Affably Evil with the best of them, but at the core of it he's a monster through and through.
  • Body Surf: The Shadowen are wraiths and regularly switch bodies, draining the victims of magic in the process.
  • The Chessmaster: A fairly competent one, though he's more dependant on emotional manipulation than careful planning.
  • Consummate Liar: Nothing short of the Sword Of Shannara can pierce Rimmer Dall's carefully crafted falsehoods. And since he's aware that Par can't use the Sword, Rimmer Dall's more than willing to hand it over to him, using the Sword's lack of reaction to his lies in order to further Par's confusion. Even better, the reason Par couldn't use the Sword? Just prior to giving him the Sword Dall managed to talk Par into subconsciously believing he couldn't use it.
  • Dark Is Evil: Though he spends most of his page-time trying to convince Par that Dark Is Not Evil.
  • Dystopia Justifies the Means: He's already transformed The Federation into a brutal Police State. His next objective is reducing the Four Lands to nothing more than a magical buffet for the Shadowen. The land will sicken and die, most species will go extinct, the Races will be left as slaves to his hunger, and he's pretty comfortable with all of that.
  • Evil Redhead: Flaming red hair and beard.
  • Evil Sorceror: The strongest one in the Heritage series.
  • Fatal Flaw: Dall's need to possess Par is what does him in by the end. Instead of killing Par when he had the chance, thus dooming Allanon's prophecy, he focuses on trying to subvert the boy so that he can steal his body. This allows Walker and Morgan to launch a rescue effort, which eventually sees Dall dead.
  • Full-Contact Magic: His brawl with Walker in Talismans is both a physical and a magical one.
  • Full-Name Basis: He's always "Rimmer Dall" to the rest of the cast.
  • Grand Theft Me: This is his final plan for Par.
  • The Heartless: Like all the Shadowen.
  • Horror Hunger: The Shadowen are driven by the need to feed on magic. Rimmer Dall, as one of the most powerful, has a worse case of it than most.
  • Immortality Immorality: Will live forever as long as he can keep on finding bodies to jack.
  • Irony: The Seekers are supposed to hunt down practitioners of magic. He, and all the other members of the group, are Shadowen.
  • Klingon Promotion: Murdered his way onto the Council in the backstory.
  • Lack of Empathy: Dall's desire to feed has overridden his capacity to feel for anyone. He doesn't even care about his fellow Shadowen, using them up as he pleases.
  • Large and in Charge: Big enough to make chairs creak when he seats himself.
  • The Man Behind the Man: To the entire Federation, though the Council is largely unaware of it.
  • Manipulative Bastard: By the time he's done with Par and Coll, they can't tell reality from fiction. More than any other villain in series, Rimmer Dall relies on manipulating his victims' emotions for his plans to work.
  • Mind Screw: Loves it. His lectures to Coll and Par are intended to wear them down psychologically until they can no longer tell the real from the false.
  • Perpetual Frowner: "He tried a faint smile, but his mouth refused to put up with it and it disappeared in the tight line of his lips."
  • Puppeteer Parasite: The real Rimmer Dall isn't the man described here. He's the smokey wraith inside of him.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning: His eyes turn into "pinpricks of blood" when he's angered or anticipatory.
  • Red Right Hand: Red Left Hand. It's the one he uses to project his power and is normally kept gloved to conceal the fact that it's both red, and more importantly made of fire.
  • Scarily Competent Tracker: The Seekers are Federation trackers, and being Shadowen, are better than most. Rimmer Dall, as the leader of the Shadowen, is the best of all.
  • Secret Police: It's hard to tell if the Seekers are this or State Sec sometimes. Either way, he's in charge and proud of it.
  • Shadow Dictator: The Federation Council is under Dall's control, with even the Prime Minister dancing to the First Seeker's tune.
  • Social Darwinist: Has some of this in him, believing that those who do not have use of the magic, and who do not embrace it as fully as he has, are not worthy of survival and should be swept aside.
  • Soft-Spoken Sadist: Dall's voice never rises above a smoky whisper.
  • Tomato in the Mirror: Tries to pull this on Par.
  • With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: Dall, like most of the Shadowen, has become badly detatched from what other people would consider objective reality due to his need to feed, which he sees as paramount over all else.

    Teel 

Teel

A member of the Dwarf Resistance. Girlfriend of Steff, Morgan's contact. Tortured by the Federation, she has no face, and speaks very little. Eventually outed as Shadowen, she betrays the group, murders Steff, and is slain by Morgan.
  • Dark Action Girl: She doesn't really show her Action Girl tendencies until taking on Morgan and Steff after her betrayal, so she definitely counts.
  • The Mole: A Shadowen spy.
  • Pet the Dog: The moment when Par is on watch at the camp, and she comes to him asking him to show her how the magic works—specifically, to see what Culhaven was like before the Federation ruined it. Possibly subverted in retrospect, as a clever Foreshadowing of her being a Shadowen, since this was an example of her being drawn to Par's magic as all the others were. But since it isn't clear when exactly she became a Shadowen—she may not have been The Mole to start with but got attacked and possessed sometime after this scene during the journey, it still could count. Even if she was a Shadowen at the time, that doesn't preclude her still having a humanizing side to her. Regardless, the moment certainly acted as a nice deflection from her true loyalties, making her a Red Herring for a while.
  • Waif-Fu: Far, far stronger than she looks, and every bit as fast.

    Quickening 

Quickening

The daughter of The King of the Silver River, she leads Morgan, Walker, Pe Ell, and Horner Dees on a trek north to defeat the Stone King, and recover the Black Elfstone in Druid of Shannara. She has the power to heal the land, and undo the poisons inflicted upon it.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: The only way to defeat Uhl Belk is for her to die, so that her power can be released to restore the land, as well as take out the Maw Grint. That this also restores Morgan's sword to him is her personal reason on top of her duty to her father.
  • I Just Want to Be Normal: Has a moment of this when she considers living a happy life with Morgan instead of sacrificing herself to stop Uhl Belk.
  • The Ingenue: Or is she...?
  • Thanatos Gambit: Her death unleashes her magic, defeating Uhl Belk and The Maw Grint.
  • Wide-Eyed Idealist: Appears at first to be one of these, but it turns out she was far more Genre Savvy than she let on, knowing from the very beginning what Pe Ell was and what he wanted but bringing him anyway, because she needed the Stiehl to pierce her body's magical defenses, so she could become one with the land and undo the Stone King's poison. Very much an I Did What I Had to Do decision from one who seemed naive and far too trusting until The Reveal.

    Pe Ell 

Pe Ell

An assassin for hire, and a favourite of Rimmer Dall's. He possesses the Stiehl, a knife that can cut through anything, including magical defences. He is sent on the journey with Quickening, with instructions from Rimmer Dall to kill her at the first opportunity, but like Walker, Morgan, and Horner Dees, falls under her spell—a fact which only serves to make him more unstable and dangerous. Calling him a sociopath is putting it mildly.
  • Absurd Cutting Power: The first person to wield The Stiehl which can cut through anything, including armour, magic, and solid stone as though it weren't there.
  • Alas, Poor Villain: By the time the Koden reaches him, he's aware of how thoroughly he was used, angry with himself and the world, and uncaring about whether he lives or dies. It's possible to feel a degree of empathy for him, terrible person that he may be.
  • Break the Haughty: The book as a whole is a devastating one for him.
  • The Dragon: "Rimmer Dall's favourite boy" as Horner Dees puts it.
  • Even Evil Has Standards: Believes in killing quickly and cleanly, and consequently, hates The Rake, which kills slowly and suffocatingly.
  • Exit, Pursued by a Bear: Killed by the Koden as he tries to escape.
  • Freudian Excuse: His uncle beat him regularly when he was a child, until Pe Ell found the Stiehl and took him out.
  • Full-Name Basis: He's always Pe Ell, never "Pe" or "Ell".
  • It's Personal: When The Rake comes within milimetres of killing him, Pe Ell becomes determined to hunt the big insect down and kill it.
  • Lack of Empathy: The only way that he can do what he does.
  • The Mole: In Quickening's group.
  • Psycho for Hire: Lives to look into his victim's eyes as they die; he views this as a way to glimpse the afterlife, and it is an act with a borderline religious significance for him.
  • Sanity Slippage: As Druid progresses he loses more and more of his calm, collected demeanor, finally resulting in his Villainous Breakdown.
  • Token Evil Teammate: Even before they know he's a hitman, Quickening's party views him as this.
  • Unwitting Pawn: Of Quickening and The King of the Silver River, who need his magic for her Thanatos Gambit to work.
  • Villainous Breakdown: As he murders Quickening. It continues afterwards.
  • Yandere: Becomes one to Quickening, seeing her as his possession. He's insanely jealous of anyone—Morgan, Walker—who gets too close to her.

    Horner Dees 

Horner Dees

A retired Tracker, hunter, and woodsman, Horner Dees is the only man to have survived entering Eldwist, the city of the Stone King, and is recruited by Quickening to guide her company to Uhl Belk's home. A bearish old man who loves the mountains, Dees is eventually revealed to be a former Federation Tracker with a history with Pe Ell.
  • The Alcoholic: Dees has a serious drinking problem. To his credit, it doesn't interfere with his job.
  • Animal Motifs: Counting the number of times he is compared to a bear would make a good drinking game.
  • Defector from Decadence: In the backstory. Dees wanted no part of being a Seeker.
  • Genius Bruiser: Dees is big, hulking, and quite bright. Even Pe Ell treats him with respect.
  • Intergenerational Friendship: With Morgan Leah, who he becomes quite close to.
  • Nature Hero: Has some definite aspects of this.
  • Retired Badass: Dees was once a Federation Tracker, and was among their best. He left once he realised that Rimmer Dall wanted to make him a Seeker.
  • The Smart Guy: To Quickening's company.

    Uhl Belk 

Uhl Belk, The Stone King

A creature of Faerie, Uhl Belk is brother to the King of the Silver River, and Lord of Eldwist. Fearing change, he seeks to turn all the world to stone. Prior to the events of the series, he stole the Black Elfstone from the Druids; Walker, Quickening, Morgan, Pe Ell, and Horner Dees seek to retrieve it.
  • Abusive Parents: To the Maw Grint. His repeated demands on it, and fusions of magic, have driven it insane.
  • Archnemesis Dad: To his "son", the Maw Grint.
  • Disc-One Final Boss: In his role as Big Bad for Druid. He has powers that rival or exceed that of the combined Shadowen armies, but is defeated halfway through the series.
  • Enemy Civil War: With his son, the Maw Grint.
  • Evil Counterpart: To The King of the Silver River.
  • Face–Heel Turn: Somewhere in the Back Story.
  • Graceful Loser: He takes his defeat and imprisonment at Quickening's hands rather well.
  • Immortality Immorality: Everyone just seems temporary and insignificant to him.
  • Irony: He's terrified by change and chaos, but his plan to convert the entire world to stone is more or less the definition of Chaotic Evil.
  • Omnicidal Maniac: Though he doesn't necessarily see it that way. He wants to turn the world to stone, in order to keep it from changing. He believes that in doing so, he is fullfilling his pledge to the Word.
  • Physical God: Would be, were it not for his immobility, and dependence on the Black Elfstone.
  • Taken for Granite: Resembles an immense, semi-mobile statue, and has the power to turn things to stone with a touch.

    The Maw Grint 

The Maw Grint

Uhl Belk's child, it is a formerly humanoid elemental with the appearance of a monstrous, fanged worm.
  • The Dragon: Formerly to Uhl Belk.
  • Elemental Powers: Over stone.
  • Enemy Civil War: With its father.
  • Evil Counterpart: To Quickening. Like her, it had the power to carry its father's magic wherever it went, changing the land, and it was even described as Uhl Belk's son, i.e. the opposite gender.
  • Graceful Loser: Pauses and allows Quickening's magic to erase it instead of attacking. It almost seems to welcome it, what is almost certainly a moment of I Cannot Self-Terminate based on her earlier statement that there was a small part of it which knew what it had become, was horrified by it, and wanted its existence to end but was too weak to do it.
  • Poisonous Person: Its very touch is deadly poison.
  • Self-Made Orphan: Its life's goal.
  • The Starscream: Currently seeks to usurp its father's position quite openly.
  • Story-Breaker Power: Forget the Shadowen. The Maw Grint's size alone makes it literally unkillable. It's so vast that it fills all of Eldwist during its rampage at the end, making it immune to anything the heroes might throw at it. And that's without getting into the fact that both its touch, and its magic, are deadly poison. In short there is no actual way to stop it, or even fight it. Quickening's Heroic Sacrifice is the only thing that prevents it from taking over the world; a direct confrontation would have resulted in everybody but it dying.
  • Taken for Granite: Whatever it touches turns to stone.
  • Was Once a Man: Or at least a humanoid elemental.
  • With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: It's completely and utterly mad, with no sense of self left, beyond a desire to feed.

    The Wisteron 

The Wisteron

The strongest and most dangerous of Morrowindl's "demons", it has the appearance of a nightmarish spider/monkey hybrid. It lays claim to the entire swamp of the In Ju, and dogs Wren Ohmsford's steps for much of Elf Queen of Shannara.
  • Disc-One Final Boss: The final opponent confronted by Wren in Elf Queen, the Wisteron tests the limits of her abilities more fully than anyone she faces afterwards. It's not connected to the series' Big Bad, and yet it's still a near perfect match for this trope.
  • Nigh-Invulnerability: Shrugs off sword blows and hits from the Elfstones. They finally have to drown it in mud, and even then it's not clear if even THAT killed it, or just trapped it.
  • Super-Persistent Predator: It doesn't give up, no matter what you do. The spidery equivalent of an Implacable Man.

    Tiger Ty & Spirit 

Tiger Ty & Spirit

A Wing Rider and his Roc whom Wren befriend on her journey to Morrowindl. Tiger Ty later becomes one of her staunchest supporters.

    Stresa 

Stresa

A Splinterscat whom Wren and Garth save on their way to Arborlon. He accompanies them back to the Four Lands and serves as a wilderness guide and scout for the Elven Army.
  • Cats Are Snarkers: Unsurprisingly, and one of the few sources of humor in the otherwise dark and bleak third volume. Once they make it back to the (relative) safety of the Westland, this trait both softens some, and also becomes more prevalent.

    Triss 

Triss

Captain of the Elven Home Guard, and one of Wren's closest friends following the events of Elf Queen. He is one of the only Elves to survive the trek from Arborlon to the beach.
  • Action Survivor: One of the few Elves to survive the whole trip across Morrowindl.
  • Fire-Forged Friends: With Wren. As she puts it, "after what they had shared on Morrowindl, Triss could tell her anything."
  • The Quiet One: Triss doesn't talk much, but when he does, he's usually worth listening to.
  • Undying Loyalty: To Ellenroh and especially Wren. Noticing a trend here?

    Gavilan Elessedil 

Gavilan Elessedil

Prince of the Elves and Wren's cousin. Handsome, and with a reputation among the ladies.
  • Character Death: Unsurprisingly, fleeing alone into the In Ju with only a magic staff you can't use, while panicking and half-mad, doesn't end well for him. In fact his being caught by the Wisteron is so inevitable that Wren and the others are actually stymied by how luck seems to keep preserving him far past the point of belief.
  • Dirty Coward: While a case could be made he was influenced into doing so by the whispers of the Drakuls (though Wren eventually dismisses this as wishful thinking), in the end he abandons the group while they are rescuing Wren, kills one of the Elven Hunters, and flees with the Ruhk Staff. Though his other reason for doing this (his belief that the magic was the only means they had to save themselves, and that if they just tried hard enough, the Elves could master it where their ancestors had failed), is itself a form of cowardice.
  • The Evil Prince: Though not initially, and with a Face–Heel Turn that's driven more by cowardice than anything else.
  • Face–Heel Turn: Well, he doesn't exactly become evil, but his fear and panic, plus his belief that he can master the magic and should have been the next Elven ruler, causes him to snap and run away with the Ruhk Staff, which certainly makes him an antagonist to Wren in the end. The fact he kills one of the Hunters who was there to protect him also doesn't make him look good.
  • Kissing Cousins: He kisses Wren despite being her cousin.
  • Prince Charming:Subverted. At first he seems like the real thing, but is revealed to be a coward by the end.

    Matty Roh 

Matty Roh

One of Padishar Creel's top agents, Matty is a very self-possessed and capable young woman. She runs a bar and safehouse for Padishar, and later accompanies Morgan Leah on his trek south in Talismans of Shannara.
  • Action Girl: The best swordsperson in the Free-born, barring Padishar Creel.
  • Actually I Am Her: Morgan asked her (while she was disguised as a boy) where he could find Matty Roh. Several rounds of question dodging later, this gets said.
  • Badass Normal: Has no magic, no special talismans, and no experience with fighting the Shadowen. Not only survives the raid on Southwatch, but more then pulls her own weight, taking out numerous soldiers and Shadowen alike.
  • Battle Couple: Forms one with Morgan. He handles the Shadowen, she handles the normal people.
  • Bifauxnen: Matty is repeatedly described as looking like an especially Bishōnen male teenager, instead of the adult woman she is. This is an obvious help with her boy disguise.
  • Boyish Short Hair: As part of her disguise.
  • Broken Bird: Courtesy of a traumatic backstory that's both believable and very sad.
  • Handicapped Badass: Mild example. Matty's missing almost all the toes on both of her feet, which are badly scarred and burned to boot. While not disabling in the way that losing the entire foot would be, this still has to screw with her sense of balance to at least a slight degree.
  • I Did What I Had to Do: Convinced a Federation officer to give her some information she wanted, then cut his throat before he could...ahem...try and make a move on her. She's convinced that what she did was justified. Morgan's not so sure.
  • Improbable Weapon User: Her broom. She uses a rapier in later fights.
  • La Résistance: A very high-ranking member, somewhere just behind Padishar Creel and Chandos.
  • Master Swordswoman: Second-best swordsperson in the free-born, behind only Padishar himself. She can outfight Morgan, himself an experienced Shadowen-killing machine.
  • Royal Rapier: Brooks doesn't name the weapon she's carrying but it's a slim, light fencing weapon, used with one hand, meaning it's either this or a duelling sabre.
  • Second Love: To Morgan They're definitely falling for one another by the time the book ends.
  • Sweet Polly Oliver: When Morgan first meets her.
  • Survivor's Guilt: Her entire family died of a disease that she herself brought into the house. Somehow she got better. They didn't.
  • Waif-Fu: Very slim, armed with a rapier, and dependent on trying to avoid getting hit. She's quite tall however, and capable of taking a reasonable amount of punishment against normal people. Against the Shadowen, she's absolutely dependent on this style.

    The Four Horsemen 

The Four Horsemen

Four Shadowen, given the appearance of the legends, and sent to harass Walker Boh.
  • Ambiguous Gender: Famine is completely naked, yet genderless.
  • Animated Armor: There's no one inside War's massive suit of spiked armor.
  • Carry a Big Stick: The mace is the weapon he most uses after his axe.
  • Cool Sword: Famine has one made of bone.
  • Dem Bones: Famine is essentially a skeleton, albeit with a little bit of flesh attached.
  • The Evil Genius: The main reason that Death is the last one standing is because he was bright enough to hang back from the fight, realised what Walker was doing with the illusions, and traced the Druid's attack on War back to its source.
  • Evil Is Deathly Cold: Death. His touch is freezing and saps his victims' strength while his scythe leaves frosty trails in the wounds it inflicts.
  • The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Or more accurately, four Shadowen who've taken on their form.
  • Four Is Death: "Names and methods aside, they were all death in one form or another."
  • The Grim Reaper: Death.
  • Half the Man He Used to Be: When Walker tricks them into battling one another, War bisects Pestilence with his axe, and deals Famine such a crushing blow from his mace that it tears him in half.
  • Healing Factor: To the point where they're nearly unkillable.
  • The Heartless: Par for the course with the Shadowen.
  • Hellish Horse: They ride lizard-like creatures with fangs and claws but a distinctly equestrian gait.
  • Hoist by His Own Petard: Or more accurately, by one another's. Unable to overcome their Healing Factor, Walker uses his Master of Illusion abilities to trick them into killing one another. See the trope below.
  • Loophole Abuse: Though it is never made clear exactly how these Shadowen came to have their powers, it is established fairly quickly that they are either outright immune to Walker's magic or can simply recover from it. However, Rimmer Dall didn't think to make them immune to each other's powers...
  • Plaguemaster: Pestilence.
  • Poisonous Person: Famine and Pestilence both spread their respective namesakes through touch, weakening or even killing their targets.
  • Quirky Miniboss Squad: But extremely dangerous nevertheless.
  • Sinister Scythe: Death carries one as his weapon.
  • Spikes of Villainy: War.
  • Walking Armoury: War is armed to the teeth with every concievable weapon.
  • Walking Wasteland: Famine.
  • The Worm That Walks: Pestilence's body is made up of thousands of plague flies trapped within an amorphous yellow body.

    Tib Arne and Gloon 

Tib Arne and Gloon

A very young free-born agent, sent to bring Wren information about Padishar's movements. He later befriends Wren, who he seems to view with a certain amount of reverence. Gloon is his War Shrike and protector. Both are eventually revealed to be Shadowen spies. They kill one of Wren's companions and abduct her, before being slain by the Elf Queen herself.
  • Axe-Crazy: Tib, even by Shadowen standards.
  • Dead Person Impersonation: Did this with the actual Free-born agent Padishar had sent, although only in terms of role rather than identity and appearance. Eventually discovered by Tiger Ty, when it's almost too late.
  • Feathered Fiend: Gloon is a Shadowen possessed bird.
  • The Heartless: Both of them as per usual for Shadowen.
  • Loyal Animal Companion: Gloon follows Tib everywhere, and protects him as best he can. Tib says he's raised the Shrike since infancy, and Gloon seems to believe he owes him.
  • The Mole: He is specifically sent by Rimmer Dall to worm his way into Wren's confidence, taking advantage of her vulnerability over having lost Garth, so as to neutralize her as a threat by either killing or capturing her. He only fails in the end because of Morgan's rescue and Tiger Ty having been suspicious of him from the start.
  • Psychopathic Manchild: Tib the Shadowen is still incredibly childish. It's as though his disguise has begun to affect his personality.
  • Replacement Goldfish: Wren sees him as one for Garth.
  • Sizeshifter: Gloon can grow from normal size to as big as a Roc.
  • Teens Are Monsters: At least when bodyjacked by Shadowen they are.

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