The most powerful of the Demons was the creature who called himself the Dagda Mor. A creature born of the integral darkness of creation, he was made of the darkness intended to balance the light of the world. It was gathered to extreme within his being, creating a Demon who parodied Man but shared nothing of his life. The darkness within him shaped his body so that his resemblance to a man was slight. The dark magic had warped his back into a massive hump. Greenish hair protruded from his body in large tufts, and reptilian scales covered his forearms and lower legs. Both his hands and feet ended in claws. In his time, he was a brilliant warlock, but his affinity for the darkness twisted his body and corrupted his brilliance. He was not the most powerful of the Demons, though his power was far greater than most, but he was the smartest. He ruled the others, having broken in grisly fashion those who opposed him.
Staff of Power
The Dagda Mor’s Staff of Power channeled the Demon’s magic. He was one of the only Demons known to use magic in the manner of the Druids. Most Demons were themselves magic and did not make separate use of it. The Staff of Power allowed the Dagda Mor to direct his magic into red Demon fire. When in use, the staff glowed red. Unlike Druids, the Dagda Mor could not direct Demon fire without the staff.
The staff also served to call creatures that could be bent to the Demon’s will, such as the great Northland bat brought down to serve as a mount during the Demon War.
The Dagda Mor was aided in his dark magic by his Staff of Power.
Imprisoned within the Forbidding, the Dagda Mor’s hatred of those who had imprisoned him became madness. When the Forbidding weakened, he was the first to exploit that weakness and return to the world, hungry for vengeance. His Staff of Power channeled his dark magic and allowed him to pull from the earth’s own magic to enhance his own. He believed that the world rightfully belonged to the Demons and that all who lived upon it were trespassers.
The Changeling
One of the Reaper’s favored minions, the Changeling was a creature of Faerie who could take on any form and become anything, alive or dead. Unlike shape-shifters or Mwellrets, his transformation was undetectable. Though he lacked the raw power of the Dagda Mor, his intelligence and ability to deceive made him one of the most feared of Demons. His natural form is reported to be that of a sleek, spidery primate with a misshapen head and fierce jaws.
The Reaper
Cloaked in robes the color of damp ashes, the Reaper was the most powerful of all the Demons. It was a killer, all the dark impulses of predation concentrated into one being and given life. Killing was the sole function of its existence. In the age of Faerie, it was the most feared of all the Demons. In the new age, it was almost invincible. Wil Ohmsford is the only man to have looked upon the Reaper’s face and lived.
A Fury, one of the Demons of the Forbidding.
The Reaper served the Dagda Mor only out of whim. In the dark void of the Forbidding, it killed other Demons, kept in check only by the promise of an entire world filled with victims.
Protected by the eternal prison of the Forbidding, the Demons did not change and die out, as did their earthbound counterparts. All the legends of demonic creatures that have survived as tales were based upon the ancient memories of the dark creatures, burned into racial consciousness. The Demon War allowed those who fought it a chance to see firsthand the Furies and Ogres, Dragons and Demon Wolves that had previously been relegated to those stories. Fortunately, the Dagda Mor, Reaper, and Changeling were destroyed, and the Demons that survived the war were imprisoned anew behind the Forbidding.
The Furies
One of the few Demons with a definite sex, Furies were always female. A Demon from the age of Faerie, they wore the faces of beautiful women, but had jaws and voices of monstrous cats. Their bodies were a sinuous combination of human and feline, with razor-tipped claws on hands and feet. Though they were usually small, no larger than a large dog or a child, they were very deadly. Born of madness and bloodlust, Furies lived on human flesh and hunted in packs. Their numbers and ferocity compensated easily for their small size. They usually walked on all fours, but in battle could stand on their hind limbs and attack with jaws and tearing forelimbs.
A distinctive mewling sound usually heralded their presence, though few victims survived to tell of it. Their favored tactic was to overwhelm a victim with the sheer weight of their numbers, dragging it down to be shredded and devoured.
The existence of such Demons is proof of the duality of the world and its magic. Throughout the history of the land, the magic has promised great power. It is both a power for good and a power for evil. The magic can be safely used only by those creatures born to its use and mindful of their own limits. Originally, only those born of Faerie could touch the magic. In this age, innate magic has been interwoven into certain humans even as it has left the Elves. But for all, whether they are born to the magic or simply learn to use it as the Druids do, there is always danger. The magic is power. It creates its own addiction. If misused, even by those born to it, it can change and corrupt the user.
The history of the Four Lands is defined by the misuse of magic and the resulting corruption, even as it is salvaged by those who embraced the magic, and its dangers, to combat that darkness. The difference between the heroes and the villains is often defined by the difference in their character as well as their ability to remain focused on the good of the land. The heroes are those intrinsically bonded to the charge given by the Word long before they were even born—the same trust that was given to the first of the Faeries at the dawn of time. Though many do not even know of the formal charge, these heroes have often paid with their lives to protect and preserve the world and those who live within it.
Parkasía:
Voyage to a New World
In a far distant land of Old World science and primitive cultures, the most amazing thing I discovered was my own truth. —Bek Ohmsford
ar to the west of the Four Lands, over the expanse of the Blue Divide, lies a mostly unexplored land of ancient ruins, shape-shifters, and primitive hunter-gatherers. What little we know of this land came from Walker Boh’s expedition across the Blue Divide aboard the airship Jerle Shannara. The Druid led a group of Men, Elves, a Dwarf, and a shape-shifter in search of a treasure of unimaginable value—a treasure of ancient magic. The survivors returned, after enduring great loss and hardship, with a different treasure: the discovery of a new land and new people. They called the land Parkasia, the name the natives had given it.
Walker’s company was not the first to attempt the crossing. Thirty years before the Jerle Shannara sailed, Prince Kael Elessedil, heir to the Elven throne, had convinced his mother, Queen Aine, to allow him to lead an Elven expedition of three ships along the same course. None of those ships ever returned.
Thirty years later, Kael Elessedil was discovered adrift in the Blue Divide. Barely alive, he had been blinded and his tongue cut out. Only a bracelet bearing the Elessedil crest—the spreading boughs of the sacred Ellcrys surrounded by a ring of Bloodfire—gave any clue to his identity. His single other possession was a map, written in his own hand in an indecipherable language. The last of his doomed expedition, Kael did not survive long enough to return to Arborlon.
The Great Rover captain Redden Alt Mer, known as Big Red.
Kael’s map spurred a renewed interest in the mysterious land across the ocean. Kael’s brother Allardon was determined to discover the truth about the fate of his sibling’s expedition as well as the treasure he had set out to find. King Allardon was forced to turn for answers to the Druid named Walker Boh, the only one who could decipher the ancient language of the map. That map became the guide for Walker Boh’s expedition. Authorized by King Allardon just before he died and reluctantly supported by his son, Kylen, the second expedition’s official charge was to search for the remains of the first while attempting to find the treasure described on Kael’s map.
Kylen sent his younger brother Ahren along, as well as Ard Patrinell, the captain of the
guard who had failed to save his father. It was well known that Kylen had no faith in the success of the expedition, and that he supported it only because he had no choice but to honor his father’s agreement. Many believed he was deliberately sending Ard Patrinell and Ahren to their deaths.
After months of difficult travel and narrow escapes from the islands of Flay Creech, Shatterstone, Shrike, and Mephitic, the Jerle Shannara reached Ice Henge on the southern tip of Parkasia. Three of the islands held keys described in the map as being essential to the quest. On each of those islands, only the Druid’s magic allowed the company to collect the necessary keys and escape. They also discovered they were not alone. The Ilse Witch hounded them in a ship called Black Moclips with a crew of mercenary Rovers and Mwellrets. Unknown to both, her mentor the Morgawr followed close behind with an entire fleet of ships crewed by Mwellrets and dead men. The Ilse Witch and the Morgawr each intended to have the treasure for themselves.
Upon reaching the mainland, Walker’s expedition discovered a land warded by miles of impenetrable cliffs of ice-covered rock. This was Ice Henge. Shrikes roosted in caverns and on ledges along the cliffs watching for prey, while the unpredictable winds and icy mists made flight over the tops impossible. The cliffs formed a frozen barrier around the entire southern tip of the peninsula. After several more days of sailing, the voyagers followed the map, finally discovering a break in the wall on the northeastern edge of the peninsula.
There, the cliffs receded, opening into a large protected bay backed by a towering range of snowcapped peaks. Glaciers ran through the mountains down into the water. Small mountains of ice that had broken off the glaciers floated in the bay like huge islands. Within the protection of the bay, the winds stilled. The first bay led to a channel through the mountains, a second bay, and a narrower channel. Spurred by a mass of warm moist air from the peninsula’s interior, the mists grew heavier as the expedition sailed upriver, reducing visibility to dangerously low levels.
The Crew of the Jerle Shannara
The first expedition to Parkasia sailed with three ships. The second, under the Druid Walker Boh, had only one: the Jerle Shannara, with thirty-five men and women aboard her. But while the first, failed expedition had been completely manned by Elves, the Druid’s company was extremely diverse. He chose Rovers to crew and handle the ship. The great Rover captain Redden Alt Mer, known as Big Red, was put in command of the ship. His sister, Rue Meridian or Little Red, served as navigator. The shipwright Spanner Frew, who had overseen the design and building of the Jerle Shannara, was charged with handling repairs along the way. Furl Hawken and ten other Rovers filled out the crew.
The Elven King sent his younger brother Ahren Elessedil as the representative of the Elven crown; the former Captain of the Home Guard, Ard Patrinell; the Healer Joad Rish; the Tracker Tamis; and a company of Elven Hunters.
But the Druid wanted more than strong arms and willing fighters. He needed magic that could back up his own. He selected young Bek Ohmsford, heir to the Ohmsford magic and the magic of the Sword of Shannara; Quentin Leah, holder of the famed Sword of Leah; the seer Ryer Ord Star; and the halfling shape-shifter Truls Rohk.
To aid with hunting and reconnaissance, Walker enlisted the aid of Hunter Predd and two other Wing Riders. He also recruited the Dwarf Panax, a skilled warrior.
Of this number, only a few returned. Included among the survivors were Bek Ohmsford, Quentin Leah, Ahren Elessedil, the Rovers Redden Alt Mer, Rue Meridian, and Spanner Frew, and the Wing Riders Hunter Predd and Po Kelles. But added to their number was their former enemy Grianne Ohmsford, Bek’s sister and the woman who would one day rebuild the Druid order.
Bek Ohmsford and Rue Meridian married shortly after their return, giving birth to a son, Penderrin Ohmsford. Quentin Leah became a respected leader in Leah, but he never fully recovered from injuries sustained during the voyage, and eventually died from their complications.
But the channel was blocked. Huge pillars of ice stood side by side like floating sentries guarding the interior. At first the pillars floated calmly, seeming much the same as the glacier ice in the bay. There was enough room between them to allow a ship tight passage. But then they suddenly came to life, crashing against each other as if they were caught up in some furious quest to destroy each other. Any hapless sailors foolish enough to attempt passage during the deceptive calm would be crushed by these pillars. Called the Squirm, they warded the single sure way into the interior. Only magic could guarantee safe passage. Kael had used the Elfstones to secure passage for the first expedition; Bek Ohmsford used the magic of the Sword of Shannara to secure safety for the second.
Bek Ohmsford wields the Sword of Shannara at the Squirm.
Castledown
Beyond the Squirm, the land changed. Ice and bitter winds gave way to temperate breezes and calm waters. Greenery and forests replaced the barren rocks of Ice Henge. The voyagers marveled at the sudden change. They did not realize the temperate weather was caused by the machine-mind Antrax, hidden deep within the bowels of the earth.
After anchoring in a large bay, Walker led all but the Rovers inland seeking the place called Castledown and the safehold it protected. Several miles inland, Walker’s party discovered the ruins of a city built during the time of the Old World. Made entirely of metal, the city covered the whole valley floor, ten miles wide and five long. The buildings were low and flat. Some appeared to be large raised platforms rather than buildings, and none looked as if it had ever been a dwelling, at least not for humans. Even some of the streets were made of metal. Machinery with cables and dials filled many of the structures. It was a city of warehouses and factories. A city that had once been made for machines.
The whole city bore the scars of an ancient conflict. Much of the metal was twisted and burned out. Many of the structures had gaping holes in their thick metal walls, and debris littered the streets. The ruins of Castledown were a mute memorial to the ferocity of the Great Wars and the technology that had spawned them.
Deep inside the city, the expedition discovered a broad metal-carpeted clearing, surprisingly free of any debris or scarring. The area was roughly square in shape, studded here and there with oddly shaped walls and partitions of various heights. In the center, an obelisk more than a hundred feet tall towered over the square, with a single door recessed into its front panel. Depressions set into the door’s surface matched the keys taken from the islands. A red light blinked steadily above a single door in the obelisk, the only sign of life in ruins that appeared otherwise dead and deserted.
Realizing that the obelisk marked the entrance to Castledown, Walker attempted to reach the door, triggering a defense grid that reacted instantly to his intrusion. Laser ports set into the walls and partitions throughout the square released beams of fire that raked the trespassers. Creepers appeared from unseen hatches and rushed to attack the company. Partitions rose and fell to create traps for those caught out on the square. The people who had created Castledown were long dead, but the machine they’d built to ward it, the thing called Antrax, was still functional—and very deadly.
Most scholars believe that the machine-mind, Antrax, was not intended to be harmful. Built during the decade before the Great Wars broke out, Antrax was originally designed as a receptacle to protect human knowledge. Its creators wanted to be certain that the knowledge built up over the ages could be preserved, even if humans themselves could not.
The city may once have been an industrial complex. Those who built the machine-mind used the complex both as a place to work and as a decoy to pull unwanted attention away from the true nature of their project. They appeared to be designing machinery—possibly for military use—while they were actually constructing the underground storage complex.
It took many years, and many lives, to complete the project. The complex, once finished, extended a mile beneath the surface and more than five miles in every direction. All the corridors contained surveillance eyes and sensors to ensure complete securit
y. The machine-mind itself was formed of many separate components linked together over the vast site. The information was stored as recorded energy, possibly within crystals, and was cycled constantly.
When the builders’ worst fears were realized and the Great Wars ravaged the world, the machine-mind remained safe, unaware in its subterranean domain, keeping its treasure in trust for those who would one day come to claim it. At this time, it knew nothing of the weapons that had been secretly installed in the complex. It did not yet have control over them or any reason to use such things.
There are indications that, shortly after the Great Wars ended, one of the creators, a lone survivor, returned to the complex. He had the codes and used them to change the directives governing the machine-mind. He told it of the war and of the end of the world. Then he told it of the weapons and directed it to use any means necessary to survive and protect the data within its banks—to kill anyone or anything that trespassed without the proper codes. The machine was directed to expand and develop in whatever way was needed to guarantee the safety of itself and its data. It is probable that any previous instructions for the method and time of releasing the data to the heirs of humanity were lost when the new directives were installed. So far as the machine-mind knew, no one could be allowed access to the protected knowledge. Ever.
While the machine-mind was created by Men, it used technology we no longer understand. It could think and plan. It learned how to fight and how to grow, expanding itself into new areas and building new weapons to fulfill its directive. It had access to all the knowledge Men had amassed, and could use that knowledge to build whatever it needed. When creatures and humans appeared again and started exploring the ruins, it first fought them with the weapons it had been given, then used its store of knowledge to create better weapons.