He decided to send the story to del Rey to get his opinion on what the end should be. When Brooks finished three-quarters of the tale in fall 1977 after writing around his law practice hours, he found himself stuck and could not think of a suitable ending. Brooks outlined about three-quarters of the story before beginning to write he refused an attempt by Lester del Rey to see it because Brooks wanted to impress the editor. The plot he originally chose featured the son of Menion Leah as the protagonist and a girl with a Siren-like song that could manipulate the properties of objects around her. The second plotline focuses on the efforts of the Elven army and their allies to slow a massive Demon invasion, made possible by the dying of the current Ellcrys, to give Wil and Amberle enough time to complete their quest.Īfter Terry Brooks had completed all work on his first novel, The Sword of Shannara, in fall 1975-having begun it in 1967-he began work on another book soon after. To do this, they must locate a specific place in the Four Lands called Safehold, where the process of creating a new Ellcrys can begin.

The first plotline follows the quest of protagonists Wil Ohmsford and Amberle Elessedil to create a new Ellcrys, a magical tree that serves to banish all Demons from the Four Lands. The novel, set in a fictional world called the Four Lands, consists of two intertwining plotlines. It expands upon the history of the Elves, which was only hinted at in the preceding story, and follows Wil Ohmsford, grandson of Shea (the hero of the first book) and inheritor of the Shannara Elfstones. It is the first sequel to The Sword of Shannara and the second book in The Original Shannara Trilogy.

The Elfstones of Shannara is a 1982 epic fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks.

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