Headscratchers / The Sword of Shannara Trilogy

• Why did Allanon not bother to restart the Druid order or seek out potential Druid candidates? The original trilogy keeps stating that he is the last of the Druids plus The First King establishes that five hundred years passed between that book and the Sword. You'd think that with a few centuries to spare, Allanon could have made an effort to find new Druids to aid him and the land.
  • In the Shannara trilogy, we have three distinct quests, but these provide a good answer for the above question. Why not? Well, Brona was busy corrupting Druids with his power. That's not a good time, and this is a sizeable part of those years. He spent some of the time in Druid Sleep. He spent a great deal of this time trying to protect the potential heirs of Shannara as well, so that doesn't leave much time to be scouting potential Druids. Then a few years later, the Ellcrys is about to breathe its last, and he's busy fighting demons. After that, he has to Druid Sleep because his magic spent his youth up. Then there's the Illdatch. In fact, this being here is a prime reason why he can't set up a new Druid order, as long as it's around, it corrupts people who are potential Druids into Brona clones.
• Why are these no compasses? Much is made of the fact that the characters can't figure out what way they're going without using the sun or stars to guide them. However the compass, like the wheel, is such a crucial and simple piece of technology that it's nearly impossible for it to be forgotten. This is especially glaring since the Druids spent time trying to restore science and technology to the Four Lands, but even Cogline doesn't carry one.