Twenty years after Grianne Ohmsford abandoned her life as the evil Ilse Witch to lead the Druid Council protecting the Four Lands, she disappears, and it is up to her nephew Pen and his comrades to go to her rescue.

With Grianne Ohmsford, the rightful High Druid of Shannara, imprisoned in the Forbidding by Dark Magic, her enemies seize control of the Druid Council and embark on a war against the Free-born.

Shocking revelations challenge the beliefs of the Druids and their comrades as they continue to battle the unspeakable forces of darkness that threaten to engulf them.

"From New York Times bestselling author Terry Brooks comes a thrilling stand-alone novel in his legendary Shannara series--the perfect place for new readers to begin"-- Provided by publisher. "Paxon Leah has joined the Druid Order as a paladin, tasked with protecting the Druids with the aid of his magical sword. But Paxon's toughest assignment will come when he must track down a young musician with newly-manifested magic before a rival sorcerer can...

"In this, the third stand-alone Shannara novel in the Defenders of Shannara series (following The High Druid's Blade and The Darkling Child), the daughter of a reviled sorcerer, Leofur is nothing like her dreaded father. When her life-partner, Paxon Leah, leaves on a dangerous mission, Leofur protects Paxon's sister. When she is abducted Leofur is forced to choose between saving Paxon from a mission gone badly awry, or hiring the services of the best...

A conclusion to the trilogy finds the world's enduring heroes mustering the end of their courage when the magical barrier imprisoning dangerous creatures erodes, unleashing generations of vengeful prisoners on the land.

Druid Order paladin Paxon Leah must protect a magic-wielding musician from the corruptions of a rival sorcerer.

Twenty years after Grianne Ohmsford abandoned her life as the evil Ilse Witch to lead the Druid Council protecting the Four Lands, she disappears, and it is up to her nephew Pen and his comrades to go to her rescue.

"Paxon Leah never thought of the old family sword hanging above his living room hearth as anything other than an intriguing ornament...until his sister is kidnapped by a sorcerer. Following the dark mage with nothing but this piece of steel to protect him, Paxon stumbles into a plot to over throw the Druids and remake the world...and accidentally unlocks the powers of the ancient blade. Now, he must learn to master the sword's power in order to protect...

Paxon Leah attempts to rescue his kidnapped sister using a seemingly insignificant family sword, only to uncover a plot to overthrow the Druids, who reveal the ancient sword's formidable powers.