The High Druid of Shannara Trilogy

The Druid thought about it a moment. “Well, I won’t deny that the Elfstones would help us. But I don’t have possession of them or any reasonable hope of persuading your brother to lend them to me. We will have to find another way.”


“Maybe not.” Khyber reached in her tunic and produced a small pouch. With a determined, almost defiant look, she held it out. “I took them from their hiding place because I wanted you to teach me how to use them. I was going to tell you later, when I found the right way to do so, because I knew you would be angry with me. But I guess I can’t wait any longer, so here they are. If you want to be angry, go ahead.”

She thrust them at her startled uncle, who immediately said, “Khyber, you have gone too far.”

Her lips compressed defiantly. “My brother refuses even to look at them since our father died. They serve no purpose being locked away. Besides, I have as much right to use them as any other member of the family. The Elfstones belong to all the Elves. The Elessedils are caretakers and nothing more. Someone has to learn to use them. Why not me?”

“Because you are not King of the Elves and do not have his permission!” Ahren snapped, balancing the pouch in his palm as if weighing the option of throwing it into the trees. “What will happen when Kellen finds out what you have done? You won’t be making any more trips to Emberen!”

Khyber shrugged. “He won’t find out. I replaced the Elfstones with pebbles. As I said, he never even looks at them. In any case, that’s not what’s important. What’s important is the Ard Rhys. Uncle Ahren, we can use the Elfstones! We can find the tanequil with their magic! You know we can! Don’t you want to help Pen and Tagwen?”

Ahren Elessedil flushed angrily, his composure beginning to slip. “Don’t twist my words, Khyber. I know what matters. I also know a great deal more about the use of the Elfstones than you do. They are a dangerous magic. Using them has consequences you know nothing about. Ask Penderrin about his family history. Why in the world did you think I would agree to this? What makes you think you should be the one who knows how to use them?”

“Because no one else dares!” she snapped. “No one but me! If I am to be a Druid, I should know how magic works in all its forms. You teach me earth magic, and that can have consequences, as well. Aren’t I careful with the earth magic? Don’t you think I would be careful with the Elfstones, too? Don’t you trust me? Anyway, things have changed. I have given you the Stones so that you can help Pen and Tagwen. Are you going to do so or not?”

She glared at him, and Pen found himself holding his breath in astonishment. He would never have dared to talk to the Druid that way. Whatever bond she shared with her uncle, it was much stronger than he had imagined. She wasn’t afraid of him at all—not intimidated in the least. He risked a quick glance at Tagwen, who seemed equally surprised.

“If you use the Elfstones, you can discover if what the King of the Silver River told Pen is true,” she continued insistently. “You can see whether or not there is even a tanequil to be found. Then we can at least know whether there is a chance of helping the Ard Rhys by looking for it.”

It was hard to argue with logic like that, and Ahren Elessedil didn’t even try. He gave his niece a final look of reproof, then opened the pouch and poured the contents into his hands. The Elfstones glimmered a deep blue in the midday sun, their facets mirroring the world about them in prismatic colors. There were three of them, perfectly formed, flawless, and beautiful. Pen remembered the legends. One Elfstone each for the heart, mind, and body, together forming a whole that responded to the strength of the user. Only those born of Elven blood could use them, and only if they were freely given or claimed by the user. Once, they had belonged to the Ohmsfords, and it was Wil Ohmsford’s inadvisable but necessary use of them to help the Elven girl Amberle that had altered his body and passed on to his scions the magic that was dying out with Pen.

“I will use the Stones, Khyber,” Ahren Elessedil said, “because you are right in believing that only by using them can we be certain that the tanequil is real. If the Elfstones reveal it to us, then we know the journey to reach it should be made. But understand something else. I spoke of consequences. By using the Stones, I risk revealing our intentions to Shadea a’Ru and her allies. The Elfstones are a powerful magic, and its release will be detected. When that happens, those we seek to escape will come looking.”

“They will come anyway, Uncle Ahren,” Khyber pointed out defensively. “You just said so.”