#arborlon

[treechosen]

small one-liner/lyric starter call while i work on icons?

[itachi86]

i still really miss the shannara chronicles

[eventine-elessedill]

You think at one point Shea asked one of his new elf pals in Arborlon if they knew his dad and then they sarcastically asked if he knew their man friend back at him?

[allanonxmareth]

Thinking about things today in no particular order

🌸 On the road in a faraway land where no one knows they’re related and they can be affectionate in public

🔮 Post-canon meetings in dreams where Allanon continues teaching Mareth

🌿 Ellcrys/Allanon; vines, roots, soft young branches, silky petals, aphrodisiacs

✨ A drawn-out, hazy, dreamy summer that forces both of them to dress so light; a heatwave-induced shared madness and fingers itching to touch sun-kissed skin

❤️‍🔥 Mareth actually cheating on Wil with her father; guilt and shame and stolen moments; they need to stay apart or it all comes falling down

🪷 Allanon helping Mareth get dressed in a beautiful dress with intricate fastenings; she never learned to wear such things, and lightly teases him about knowing exactly how to lace her up; rough but light fingertips on her skin (and oh how he looks on his knees helping attach her stockings—)

🔥 Literal carving of runes of devotion in each others’ skin

🖤 D/s parties where Mareth takes her collared sub (.. or hosts them at Arborlon as the Queen)

🤍 Male lactation and adult breastfeeding

💕 DDlg with Mareth as Daddy

💚 A weird, intense quasi-romantic non-sexual relationship where neither knows what kind of love this is, only that they belong together

(.. Many of these have come up in brainstorming chats, or in my fic, and some are just my own things and stuff that never really materialize ..)

[steve-needs-a-hug]

Chapter 2 of my Shannara Chronicles au is up now!

woah i did not intend to take this long to update (damn you perfectionism and other shiny distracting hyperfixations), but the next instalment of my canon-divergent au is finally posted. in this chap, Bandon finally comes face-to-face with Allanon, Wil encounters a strange girl in the woods, and things heat up between Mareth and Jax, as Eretria struggles with the darkness she's grown to crave.

Rating: T

Ships: Bandon x Allanon, Mareth x Jax, Eretria x Amberle (PrincessRover ... or more like QueenCaptain?), Wil x femOC

Word count: 9.8k

Summary: One month after the Warlock-Lord's defeat, Amberle is Queen of Arborlon. Eretria is her Captain of the Black Watch. Wil is a healer and hero. Jax is Queen Lyria's General. Mareth is training to become the next Druid. Allanon is trying to make amends before it's too late. Bandon has just woken up.

[austinswhitewolf]

One of the Last Morrigan Pt. 7

Every time I watch them arrive at Pykon, I laugh when Wil talks about following a creepy little kid. XD

When mountains came into view, you all stopped for a short rest. Crispin was looking through his telescope towards the mountains, talking about Safehold. Wil and you were standing next to each other against a tree. “Am I the only one who thinks staying the course is a bad idea?” “I think it is also. We need to figure something else out.” You speak softly, eyes glancing between Amberle and Crispin as they looked over at the two of you. 

“What do you mean?” Amberle asked with genuine confusion. “That Demon at the fort? It knew we were coming.” Wil stood taller as he spoke. “That’s impossible, ” Crispin responded in disbelief. 

“Allanon said the Dagda Mor had a spy at Arborlon.” When Wil spoke those words, your eyes shot to him.

“A changeling.” “We saw it die.” The two other women spoke, glancing at each other. You were glad you had missed that, you never wanted to come upon one ever. They were nasty Demons. “There could be another.” Wil stated softly. 

“He’s right. We need to find another way to the Wilderun.” Amberle stated with a nod. 

Crispin said there was no other way. That the mountains were impassable. At the next set of words your blood turned to ice. “There’s always Pykon.” Cephelo said, glancing at everyone. “It offers passage through the Rock Spur and into the Wilderun beyond.” Amberle asked about it, confused. “A fairy tale, Princess.” Crispin stated. 

“Pykon’s no fairy tale. My parents died in the dungeons of that stinking Elvin fortress.” Cephelo revealed. Crispin brought up the storm that was growing ever closer to you all. Cephelo responded about how you wanted to spend days walking around the mountain, but he wouldn’t. When he started to walk off, Amberle stopped him, telling him to take everyone there. And that if he tried anything Crispin would finish what he had started. 

When everyone moved to follow the rover, you slowly pushed off the tree. When Wil pushed off the tree, you smelled a coppery scent and your eyes saw the red mark he had left. “Wil, you’re bleeding.” You spoke up, grabbing his wrist gently, turning his hand over, seeing the cut on his palm was bleeding again. You tore off a piece of the cloak and wrapped it around his hand a bit tightly. He thanked you and slid his arm around the small of your back while guiding you forwards after the others. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The wind and snow had picked up as you all moved up the mountain. The path got thinner and thinner until it was just a small ledge against a sheer cliff face. Cephelo was leading the way. Wil was second while he helped you along right behind him. Crispin was behind you, ready to help if needed to you or Amberle who was right behind him. Eretria was following them with the scout taking up the rear. 

When Wil’s foot slipped for a moment, your heart dropped. He caught his footing and began to move forwards over the icy spot. Once over it, he reached back to help you over. When Cephelo stops and starts to argue with Crispin, you and Wil continue past him a few steps. He pulled the dagger from his boot and brought it up to a thickly snow covered part of the rock. Scraping the snow away, he sees some ruins carved into the rock. You both look up and see a huge statue. “Guys.” Wil calls out, they all look over and then up. Everyone started forwards again, coming around a corner and a large frozen stone fortress emerged through the blowing snow in the distance. 

“Nice-looking fairy tail, isn’t it?” Cephelo calls out to Crispin with a grin on his face then laughs shortly. 

Wil helps you along as everyone hurries to get to the fortress, wanting out of the cold blowing wind. The large doors open and once everyone is inside, they are pushed back closed.

Crispin lights two torches, handing one to Wil and keeping the other as they start to look around the entryway. 

“Looks abandoned.” Wil’s voice bounced off the walls. “Looks can be deceiving.” Crispin says as you all continue to turn and look around. 

Wil’s body stops moving and tenses up for a moment, your eyes moving to where he is looking and you see a little girl with blonde hair standing in a hallway. 

Once she starts to turn, you notice her ears are pointed. She then starts down the hallway away from you all without saying anything. You are one of the last to move after her. Wil glanced back, seeing you not moving so he stepped back to your side. “You okay?” “Yeah, let’s follow the creepy little girl who showed up silently. Nothing bad will happen to us.” You murmur quietly so only he can hear. “Anyone else have a problem with this plan?” Eretria spoke up, she was between you and the others in the group. Wil used your words as he responded for the both of you, and you nodded your head agreeing with him. “Following a creepy kid through an abandoned fortress? Not at all.” 

When you all round a corner into a slightly larger room, an elf was starting a fire. Once it flared to life, he turned around to face you, the little girl next to him. 

He welcomed you all, glad to have company after a long while of none. Apparently the little girl, ‘Mag’ had seen you coming up the mountain. Well that made it even more creepy. You backed up a step, this man just looked evil to you. His grin was making you uneasy. 

“Oh god.” You whispered when Crispin introduced himself with his title. “Not good.” “We heard this place might offer passage beyond the mountains.” Wil spoke up. You reached out, grasping the back of his jacket lightly in unease. You would not speak a word, to have this man’s attention on you, the thought made you sick. He could not know what you were. “Shit.” You once again hissed when Amberle spoke up about their mission. 

Hearing how the passage had collapsed in an avalanche two winters ago made your heart sink and clench at the same time. The thought of spending any more time here was making you nauseous. 

When she accepted his offer of staying until the storm passed, you moved closer against Wil’s back and closed your eyes. When the man showed you and the other two women to a room that had bathing pools in, Amberle offered to help you clean up if you wanted. With a nod, you both stepped into the room. 

She helped you undress and down into the water. It was only moments before she was in the water with you, neither minding the other’s nakedness. Amberle helped wash out your hair, the tangles sliding away and the shine coming back to it. You could feel the dirt and knots in your muscles soak away. Once you were cleaned up, she helped you back out of the water. After drying off and helping you dress again, she put a few small braids in your hair. “Thank you.” You said, giving her a small hug. She smiled happily and nodded. “Anything you need, if I can help, let me know.” When you turned to leave, you heard her step back into the water. Once you stepped outside, you saw Eretria walking towards you. “They are out in the entrance hall.” She spoke before stepping into the bathing room. As you got closer you could see the flickering of the torches they still had. 

Wil was up at the doors while Cephelo and Crispin were whispering to each other. He turned and moved down to the two men. “You know, if we found this place, so can the Demons. Maybe we should worry about that and not some Elvin janitor.” 

“This fortress is impenetrable.”

“Is it? We walked right in the front door. I’d feel better if one of us kept watch.” You moved over to Wil as the man came to announce dinner. Cephelo and Crispin followed after the man while you stood next to Wil. “Sure, I’ll take first watch. I don’t need dinner or anything.” 

“I’m staying here with you. I don’t like this place at all. I don’t feel safe here. Something feels really off.” When Wil sits down, you slowly sit down next to him. The two of you sit there in silence for a while before he pulled a shell out of his pocket. Leaning your head on his shoulder you ask him about it. When you learned that it was his moms, you wrapped your arm around his shoulder and gave him a hug. You pull back when you hear steps approaching. Mag has two plates, handing one to each of you before sitting down on the stairs with the two of you. Wil thanked her, setting the shell down on the step. You keep quiet and smell the food, not sure what it was. Wil, being the sweet being he was, started to talk to the girl. While they talked, you took a tiny bite to taste it. When it didn’t taste bad, you took a few slow bites. You set your plate down when Wil does and then listens to him tell the little girl about the ocean. 

Around the time she asks ‘for keeps’ you are starting to feel tired. Your energy was draining at an alarming rate. Your hand shot out to Wil’s knee as you turned your head to look over at him. Before you could even open your mouth to say anything you felt the world tilt and the cold stone of the steps against your back. Wil passed out moments after you. 

[litcityblues]

'Ilse Witch' --A Review

I went to the library about a month ago now not intending for one minute to check out any books. I have a lengthy TBR list for this year and I was trying to stick to it- but as with all trips to the library, other ideas intervened and I find myself with the first volume of The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara Trilogy, Ilse Witch.

Before we plunge into the book itself, I feel like I've got to put a plug-in for Terry Brooks and the Shannara books in general. I feel like if you're serious about reading fantasy, these books have got to appear on your list at some point. (You could probably add things like Ursula K. Leguin's Earthsea and Zelanzy's Chronicles of Amber- the latter of which I haven't read yet- to the list as well and I'd be inclined to include The Belgariad on that list too, but as with The Mists of Avalon, reading those works in light of what we know now changes things.) But, whatever you choose to read- there is a sort of post-Lord of the Rings, pre-Wheel of Time/Game of Thrones generation of fantasy authors that deserve not to be forgotten and are worth reading and I would place Terry Brooks and Shannara firmly on that list.

The biggest criticism I see- especially of The Sword of Shannara, the first of the original trilogy, is that it is essentially, The Lord of The Rings, just, you know, mixed up a bit in a new setting. I will concede that point but also note that parallels with LoTR are not uncommon to see with novelists back then-- and while Sword might be the weakest of the original trilogy in many ways, Brooks more than made up for any deficiencies with the subsequent two novels, The Elfstones of Shannara and The Wishsong of Shannara.

The subsequent series, The Heritage of Shannara is the one I really fell in love with as a kid. I have a compendium volume of all four novels somewhere on one of my bookshelves. After I finished it, however, despite knowing there were more Shannara novels out there, I have not gone back to these books until now.

Ilse Witch opens 130 years after the end of The Heritage of Shannara. The Free Born and the Federation are still at war over control of the Southlands. And, thirty years before, the Elven Prince, Kael Ellessedil led an expedition across the great Blue Divide in search of legendary magic that was supposed to be the oldest and most powerful in the world.

At the start of the book, he's found by a Wing Rider, floating in the sea. A map is with him, but Kael himself is near death and his mind is gone. The Wing Rider, Hunter Predd takes him to a healer and then, knowing who the castaway probably is, takes the map and the Elessedil symbol the castaway carries to Arborlon and the Elven King. He, in turn, sends Hunter on to Paranor to consult with the only remaining druid, Walker Boh.

Walker can read the map and understands what is at stake- but he also knows that someone else does too- the Ilse Witch, a beautiful young woman, twisted by evil magic who views Walker as her enemy and will stop at nothing to get to this magic before he does.

To stop her, Walker gathers a company including the dwarf Panax, Ahren Elessedil, the seer Ryer Ord Star, Quentin Leah, Bek Rowe, and the mysterious shapeshifter Truls Rohk. Together with the Rover Airship Captain, Redden Alt Mer, and his beautiful sister, Rue Meridian, and the help of the Wing Riders, including Hunter Predd, they race into the unknown in search of lost magic that could change everything onboard the swift, fast airship, the Jerle Shannara.

Overall: I cannot emphasize how refreshing this book felt. The original trilogy had a formula of 'Druid finds Ohmsford, Druid Explains Magic Problem, Druid and Ohmsford go solve Magic Problem.' The next series was all about restoring the magic of Shannara- which was a new twist and this is a new twist that I enjoyed greatly.

Y'all, they've got airships. I'm a sucker for airships-- I keep getting excited because I see articles now and again saying airships are making a comeback and yet, they never do.

But even aside from that, Brooks has long played with the idea of science and magic blending with one another and we see the first hints of that returning here. I don't know if I'd say the Four Lands were on the cusp of modernity or anything, but it's definitely advanced from a technological point of view from prior series.

I love that the driving force behind this book is a mystery. Mysterious lands, mysterious magic, mysterious identities, and while some get revealed too soon (in my opinion), they're not predictable nor are they neatly tied up in a bow at the end of this book.

In short, just when I thought I was relatively disinterested in picking up any of the newer Shannara books, it turns out, in fact, that I am more than ready to jump back into this world once more. My Grade: *** out of ****

[gottdeswill]

[not-so-mundane-after-all]

The Elessedil Family Deserved Better

[emilysmovingcastle]

26, 31, 43!

26.is it cute when a boy/girl calls you baby?

I guess? I never had anyone call me baby in like a romantic way so I wouldn’t know? I do like it tho when my friends use “bby or bb” when texting me so i guess that counts!

31.what’s your favorite eye color? 

Probably either hazel or green!

43.what are your favorite memes of the year so far?

The Adele challenge! It’s like those Tiktok videos where there’s like one gummy bear and then it pans out to like a whole room of gummy bears lined up to represent the audience!!

[druid--allanon]

The City of Arborlon

[truessences]

TV Review: The Shannara Chronicles (2016)

TV Review: The Shannara Chronicles (2016)

Summary: Series of adventures, war, and evil that occur throughout the history of the Four Lands.The interesting thing with this show is that when it first came out, I wanted to watch it. I knew it was on MTV, but I had no idea when it came on, so I never caught it. I was interested because I like high fantasy shows like this and it was accessible being on regular TV instead of something you had���

[itachi86]

the shannara chronicles really should've gotten a season 3

[worldofdepth]

More stereopairs extracted from the Shannara Chronicles, S1E5. Aside from the sky and background mountains, it’s all in 3D, including the lens flares!

[steve-needs-a-hug]

Chapter 1 of my Shannara Chronicles au is up now!

it's a canon-divergent au in which Bandon survives. there are 4 main plotlines following Bandon & Allanon, Mareth & Jax, Eretria & Amberle (yes she's back!!!), and Wil & a mysterious new character.

Chapter 2 is almost done and there will be lots of drama, so stay tuned....

Rating: T

Ships: Bandon x Allanon, Mareth x Jax, Eretria x Amberle (PrincessRover ... or more like QueenCaptain?), Wil x femOC

Word count: 3.8k

Summary: One month after the Warlock-Lord's defeat, Amberle is Queen of Arborlon. Eretria is her Captain of the Black Watch. Wil is a healer and hero. Jax is Queen Lyria's General. Mareth is training to become the next Druid. Allanon is trying to make amends before it's too late. Bandon has just woken up.

[austinswhitewolf]

One of the Last Morrigan Pt. 4

Much love to you all! <3

Wil stood next to you while Amberle climbed onto Cricket. When he turned to you, you lowered your head and he swung up. Allanon said you had to move out and continue on to Arborlon. Only stopping when a rest was needed. You slowed down some when a horrible smell reached your nose.

Coming to a stop at the top of a large rocky hill, you reared a small bit in horror. Wil clenched onto your mane and tightened his legs to stay on. The sight before you was where the smell was originating from. There were slaughtered sheep all over the hill. At the bottom was a farm, no activity whatsoever goin on. Allanon looked around before guiding his horse forwards. Amberle and Cricket right behind him. Wil gently stroked your neck trying to calm you down. “It’s okay.” He murmured. You took a deep breath before slowly following after the others, your steps were careful while you moved around the dead sheep. Allanon and Amberle were already walking about looking around when you reached them. Wil slid off and as they rounded the corner of the house, they all froze. You know what they say about curiosity, well you moved over to see why they had stopped. Had you been in your other form, you would have thrown up for sure. As it was, Wil quickly took off into the barn where you heard him throwing up. When they finally emerged from the barn, there was a fourth person with them, a young man. The moment you realize everything you were feeling was emanating from this man, you let out a shriek, rearing up and racing off needing to put distance between him and you. “Ebony!” Wil called after you, watching you stop at the top of the hill. Your head was held high, tail flicking and shifting constantly. ‘Not getting near him Allanon. He’s bad, I can feel it.’ You reach out to Allanon’s mind. “Let her be Wil. When we leave, she will come back. You can wait and follow behind us or ride with me.” He spoke, though his mind was trying to figure out this young man. 

“Will she follow either way?” Wil glanced between you and the Druid.

“Yes.” “I’ll ride with you, we will all get to Arborlon at the same time then.” He spoke though he didn’t want to stray too far from you. True to what Allanon had told Wil, you followed behind them at a distance, never staying in full sight of that man. You refused to let him look at you for too long. The aura you felt coming off him was dark and smokey. Not good at all. When they reached Arborlon, you stayed on the outskirts to wait for them. As night passed, you only dozed making sure to keep aware of your surroundings and possible dangers. It was two days later that a group of elves, the princess, Allanon, the rover girl and Wil came out to where you were waiting. When Amberle spoke to the rover you were barely paying attention, you were too busy trying to figure out why Wil’s scent was not as strong, there seemed to be something mixed with it. He was standing near you talking with Allanon. Though at the words ‘Lover boy can tell you.’ it clicked for you. Tossing your head up in disbelief and backing away from both Wil and Allanon, you laid your ears back and moved to the outside of the group. Allanon caught what had just happened and just shook his head as he watched a confused look fill Wil’s face at you not being behind him anymore. “You will need to choose a path soon Wil otherwise you will end up losing something that has the potential to be special.” The druid spoke before moving off towards you with an elf in a blue coat. Wil had no idea what he was talking about. But he shook his head and turned to Cricket and climbed into the saddle, he could tell you were not too happy about something. As they all walked off leaving you, Allanon and the other elf standing there. The elf in the blue coat turned to go back to the palace while Allanon turned to you. “Stay near them, young one. They will need you before long. Give the Shannara time, he is finding his place. But his choice will be made in the next few nights.” The druid spoke to you, running his hand down your face. “What does a horse have to do with the quest they are going on Allanon?” The elf turned and asked after hearing his words. 

You let out a sigh and bob your head when Allanon looks from you to the elf. “Ander, this is one of the last Morrigan. You can not let her secret be known or spoken of.” He knew that the youngest prince would stay true to his word when he nodded, awe and reverence on his face. “I thought they were all lost in the last war. If you ever need anything, I will do my utmost to make it happen.” Ander spoke with a soft head bow to you.

You return a small bob of your head and then shake your mane out before Allanon pats your shoulder before backing off. “Follow at a distance until you are needed. You will know when that is.” With a nod, you take off at a lope to get back into eyesight of them. Then you stay quite a ways back from them, only bringing them back into sight every so often. 

As the group comes to a stop near a small opening in the woods, you catch sight of them before sinking further back into the forest out of sight of them. Though of course, when things could have just been simple, keep moving to a safer area they decided to stay here for the night. It wasn’t long before the group of Rovers that had taken Wil and Amberle before were popping up and taking the group captive, tying up all but the princess and the woman that Wil had smelled of. Once the group was well out of sight leaving the elf guards, captain and Wil, you slowly moved to the edge of the little clearing they were tied up in just out of sight in the dark shadows. There you just nibbled on the tall grass, watching them out of the corner of your eye.

As darkness fully falls, Wil is bandaging and caring for the wound on the elf captain’s leg. When he wrenches the bandage tighter causing a scream to blast from the man. Within moments howls start to rise up from the woods in the dusk. That causes your head to shoot up, ears flicking around, trying to pinpoint where the howls were coming from. You jump out of the trees and slid to a stop next to Wil and the elf on the ground. The guards all jump but at the reaction from Wil, they focus back on their surroundings and the howls.

“Ebony..” Wil murmurs, his hand reaching out and curling into your mane. 

The guards light torches and spread out into a circle with you, Wil and the wounded captain in the middle. The smell of burning flesh reaches you and it is horrible. Moments after, one of the guards' torch goes out and they get pulled into the darkness. You shift nervously, tail flicking. Screams fill the air, and only out of the corner of your eye do you catch movement. A MarshWolf was sneaking up silently behind Wil and the captain, neither noticing, too focused on the guard that got pulled away. Within moments, you are whipping around, kicking out at the wolf before it can fully reach either man with an angry cry. Your back hoofs crush into its face while it reaches out, clawing your back hip. A loud shriek of pain shifts into a cry as the intensity of the pain causes you to shift forms. This had to be the worst pain you had ever felt, fire flows from the wound through your body as you hit the ground. Wil’s eyes grow wide, his mouth dropping open in shock. He couldn’t believe that you were a shifter. He had heard stories when he was a little kid, but had always thought they were a myth. Within moments he is sliding to your side, eyes flicking over the wound. He had to stop the bleeding, your pale bare skin stark white against the deep red of the blood, his hands hovering over the wound.

The man on the ground next to Wil quickly unclipped his cloak and handed it over to him. “Here, use this to cover her and help stop the bleeding.” His voice was hoarse from the scream of pain, but the respect and awe on his face showed none of that pain now. Every one of the guards left closed ranks and circled around the three of you. They revered your race and held them in very high regard. Wil was so focused on the wound and trying to stop the bleeding after covering you, that he didn’t notice Eretria or Amberle step into the small clearing. Though Amberle moved over towards the three of you when she saw you laying there.

When he pulled the cloth of the cloak back off the wound, blood was still flowing from it, causing a hiss from the sharp pain slip past your lips. “Who is she?” The princess asked, stopping a few steps away. “This is one of the Morrigan.” The captain responded with nothing but awe and respect in his voice, eyes never leaving your form. Amberle moved over and knelt down. “I thought they were all gone.” Her voice was soft, eyes moving over you before offering any help she could.