The Sword of Shannara Timeline

The following are timelines for The Sword of Shannara. The first timeline is in years and concerns events that happen to the characters before and after the actual events of the book (with the events of the book being Year 0), while the second timeline is day-by-day and follows in detail the characters' journeys. You can view the main timeline here. Also, don't take these timelines as 100% canon, as there have been some parts in the book where Brooks was rather vague about the dates, so I had to assume when something happened.

In addition, I do not want to see these timelines popping up anywhere else - whether it be your own personal Shannara site, Wikipedia, or wherever. I spent a very long time going through the books and painstakingly recording each incident and trying to figure out where everything went. Needless to say, if I find these at some other site, I will be angry. (Not to mention I could probably tell fairly easily if someone copied off of mine, since I doubt anyone will be making the same guesses as I did about what happened when Brooks was being vague.) If you want to point people in the direction of this timeline, just link directly to this page. (See the FAQ for more info.) And, of course, these timelines are no substitute for reading the books themselves; they're just detailed outlines. That said, enjoy. XP

Special note concerning the Sword timeline: the date that Panamon comes to the Vale with the Elfstones is arbitrary - Brooks just said "weeks later" so I chose a random time. Heh.

General Timeline

Year	Event
‑2000	The Great Wars take place.
‑1000	The first Druid Council, led by Galaphile, is established.
‑850	The First War of the Races takes place.
‑700	The Outer Wall of Tyrsis is built.
‑500	The Second War of the Races takes place. The Border Legion is formed.
‑100	The Elessedils come to power. The Buckhannahs come to power.
‑5	Flick and Menion meet each other for the first time.
‑2	Panamon Creel supposedly meets Keltset.
‑1	Shea, Flick, and Menion take a trip into the Black Oaks and are almost killed. Skull Bearers come to Norbane and attempt to take over the village. They kill Keltset's family and burn the Troll's voice out.
‑2 months	Panamon Creel finds Keltset wandering around in the Northland and takes him in.
0	The events of The Sword of Shannara take place.
10 days	The members of the company say their goodbyes to each other. The Sword of Shannara is implanted in a block of red marble, which is then placed in a vault in the People's Park in Tyrsis.
1 month	Panamon comes to Shady Vale with the missing Elfstones.

Day-by-Day Timeline

Day	Event
1	Flick is walking home to the Vale when he realizes that the evening has become unnaturally silent. Allanon appears and tells Flick to hide; as they do so, a Skull Bearer reveals itself but does not see them. Once it is gone, Flick and Allanon continue for Shady Vale and eat. Shea arrives and Allanon tells the Ohmsfords his name and that Shea is the reason he has come.
2	Allanon tells Shea and Flick about the history of Man, namely, the Great War and both Wars of the Races and how Jerle Shannara failed to destroy Brona in the second one. He reveals also that Shea is an heir to the Sword of Shannara, the only weapon that can defeat Brona - thus placing Shea in great danger, as the Skull Bearers are hunting for him. After talking to the Druid, Shea and Flick do some chores and then return to find Allanon again, but he has left. Instead, they find a note from him telling them to go to Culhaven and to trust Balinor if their safety is threatened, along with three Blue Elfstones. The note also warns them to look out for those bearing a skull marking.
3	It begins to rain. Shea and Flick talk about what Allanon has told them.
4	The rain continues to fall.
5	The rain continues to fall.
6	The rain continues to fall.
7	The rain continues to fall.
8	The rain continues to fall.
9	The rain continues to fall.
10	The rain continues to fall.
11	The rain continues to fall.
12	The rain continues to fall.
13	The rain continues to fall.
14	The rain finally lets up.
15	Shea makes a habit out of carrying the Elfstones around with him. He and Flick continue to survey their surroundings for anyone with a skull marking.
16	Shea continues to look out for people with a skull marking.
17	Shea continues to look out for people with a skull marking.
18	Shea continues to look out for people with a skull marking.
19	Shea continues to look out for people with a skull marking.
20	Shea continues to look out for people with a skull marking.
21	Shea continues to look out for people with a skull marking.
22	Shea continues to look out for people with a skull marking.
23	Shea continues to look out for people with a skull marking.
24	Shea continues to look out for people with a skull marking.
25	A letter arrives from Menion, asking Shea and Flick to come visit him in Leah. Balinor arrives in Shady Vale and tells Shea and Flick to flee.
26	Several hours before dawn, Flick wakes Shea up and tells him that there is a Skull Bearer prowling the Vale. The two of them make a run for it to Leah. Near the Duln, a Skull Bearer almost sees them trying to escape, but dawn arrives just in time and the Skull Bearer is forced to leave. Shea and Flick cross the Rappahalladran in the late afternoon and sleep afterwards. Palance Buckhannah assumes the throne as King of Callahorn.
27	At midnight, they begin walking east again until sunrise, then sleep until the late afternoon. They eat and talk about Menion and continue east.
28	Shea and Flick reach the edge of the Duln in the early hours of the morning. They sleep shortly before daybreak but almost immediately wake up again, realizing that a Skull Bearer is nearby, slowly making its way to where they are hiding. They make a run for it. The Skull Bearer almost finds their abandoned camp but dawn comes and it leaves. Shea and Flick reach Leah in the late afternoon. There, Shea tells Menion about everything that has happened to them so far and asks him to take them to Culhaven, which Menion agrees to do. They spend the rest of the evening preparing for the trip, then sleep.
29	Shea, Flick, and Menion head east. They reach the Lowlands of Clete by that evening, set up camp, and rest.
30	Shea, Flick, and Menion continue heading east.
31	Shea, Flick, and Menion continue heading east.
32	Shea, Flick, and Menion continue heading east.
33	Shea uses the Elfstones to find their way out of the lowlands. They finally make it to the Black Oaks. They talk about the Elfstones, then rest.
34	Flick climbs a tree to figure out which in which direction they should head. They set off and reach the Mist Marsh by that evening. Rather than spend the night there, they decide to keep on going, tying themselves to each other to make sure they do not get separated. On the way, a Mist Wraith attacks them and Shea is forced to use the magic of the Elfstones on it. They keep on going after that, this time not tied up to each other. Shea realizes that they have lost Menion. The two Ohmsfords collapse in fatigue and fall asleep after escaping the Black Oaks.
35	Shea and Flick wake up at noon and make their way to the Silver River, which they reach at dusk. They make camp there and fall asleep. Later, they wake up suddenly and see a Skull Bearer nearing their camp, but it is lured away by the King of the Silver River's flashing lamp. The King of the Silver River then approaches Shea and Flick and puts them to sleep. They wake up to find themselves in the Anar with Balinor and the Dwarves. At dawn, Menion breaks free of the Black Oaks. He falls asleep, then wakes up later and goes north. He finds Shea and Flick's trail before dusk, keeps on going, then finally makes camp south of the Silver River.
36	Menion wakes up and goes on. He finds a singing girl, discovers belatedly that it is a Siren in disguise, and is drugged by its needles and is about to be killed by the tree when Hendel arrives and saves him from it. Just before Menion passes out, he tells Hendel that he must go to the Anar; Hendel takes him there, meeting up with a Dwarven search party as he does so.
37	Hendel arrives at Culhaven with Menion.
38	Menion wakes up and he, Shea, and Flick talk. Allanon arrives. A council meeting is held, where he tells them that Paranor has fallen. A company is assembled to go to Paranor and to retrieve the Sword of Shannara. Later, Shea, Flick, Menion, and Balinor talk with Allanon, who tells them about everything except for the secret of the sword.
39	At dawn, Durin, Dayel, Allanon, Balinor, Hendel, Menion, Shea, and Flick set off for Paranor. They cross the Silver River and camp that night north of it. Shea, Flick, and Menion talk to Durin and Dayel about Dayel's marriage, Eventine, and the Sword of Shannara.
40	The company enters the Wolfsktaag. The Gnomes, seeking to trap them, set fire to the forest around the Pass of Noose and forces them to go into the Knot, where they find the rope bridge - their only means of crossing - cut down. Flick suggests shooting an arrow into the remains of the bridge and bringing it back. Menion does so, and they are able to cross and thus escape from the Gnomes. Allanon tells Flick that he has earned his right to be part of the company. They continue into the Wolfsktaag and make camp that evening.
41	After midnight, Allanon leaves to scout ahead. At daybreak, he reaches a fork in the road and realizes that the wider trail leads to something evil, marking it appropriately with a red marker, then continues on. However, an hour later the creature comes and removes the markers. The rest of the company sets out at dawn. They arrive at the fork and find no marker; after a brief argument, they decide to take the wider path as it provides the quickest route to the Pass of Jade. At the bottom of the trail, they find a valley which contains the remains of a city from the Old World. While taking a few minutes to rest and explore, the monster, a Creeper, reveals itself and attacks the company, poisoning Shea and Flick as it does so. The others fight back and cause it to retreat. They begin a forced march, carrying Shea and Flick in makeshift stretchers. They arrive at the Pass of Jade and discover that a Gnome ceremony is taking place there, positioned in such a way that the company cannot get past without being seen. Balinor comes up with a plan to shoot the chieftain. Menion makes the shot and Hendel stays behind to act as a scapegoat. The others cross the Pass of Jade and continue into the Anar. Hendel, alone, places his own cloak onto an unsuspecting Gnome. The other Gnomes see the cloak and attack it, thinking it's Hendel. While they do so, the Dwarf makes his escape.
42	The company continues to carry its burden without rest into the night. Allanon, accompanied by several Stors, finds them and takes them to Storlock. Menion discovers that Hendel was supposedly torn into pieces. That afternoon, Shea and Flick wake up. Menion tells them about their escape from the Pass of Jade and Hendel's fate. The three of them go to visit the Blue Pond with Durin and Dayel. Shortly afterwards, Balinor and Allanon come. Allanon talks about the route they will take next, which will lead them through the Hall of Kings. Everyone goes back to their beds to rest.
43	The company sets off at midnight and reaches the Dragon's Teeth just before daybreak. Balinor and Menion stay behind to find out who's following them. The others continue heading toward the Valley of Shale. Allanon summons the shade of Bremen, who makes two prophesies. Meanwhile, Menion and Balinor, who are in hiding, hear someone approaching and jump out to attack the intruder, but it turns out to be Hendel. The company regroups and they go on to the Hall of Kings, which they reach at midday. Under Allanon's guidance, they pass through the Sphinxes, the Corridor of Winds, and the Tomb of the Kings. Once they reach the Assembly and the Pyre of the Dead, Valg attacks. A battle ensues. Valg is severely injured and the others are able to escape. They arrive at the Dragon's Crease and keep on going, but then a violent tremor shakes the earth and part of the trail Shea is standing on breaks off, and he falls into the river below. He is found by a Gnome patrol, which begins to take him to Paranor after relieving him of the Elfstones. Allanon determines that Shea is still alive and they decide to go on.
44	Several hours before dawn, the company reaches Paranor and enters via a hidden passageway. A Skull Bearer reveals itself in the furnace room; Allanon fights it. Everyone else but Flick flees. They make their way to the room that holds the Sword of Shannara but find nothing and realize quickly that it was a decoy. They then head for the tower, avoiding two traps as they do so. There, they find the Sword of Shannara - but then it dissolves, and they belatedly realize that this was the third trap they had sprung. The door closes on them and they are stuck in the tower. Both the Skull Bearer and Allanon fall into the furnace, and Flick leaves in shock but quickly finds himself lost. He notices a secret passageway that a Gnome has just come out of, so he knocks the Gnome unconscious and is about to go through when Allanon catches up with him. Together, they go up to free Durin, Dayel, Balinor, Hendel, and Menion, and the seven of them escape Paranor that evening. At dawn, Panamon and Keltset come upon the Gnome camp, free Shea, and take the Elfstones. Shea persuades them to take him to Paranor. Panamon agrees and they set off, reaching the Streleheim Plains at midday, where they find the remains of a battle between Elves and Gnomes. A Skull Bearer appears and they all fight. Shea uses the Elfstones and kills it. Later, they find Orl Fane hiding in the bushes. Panamon, Keltset, and Shea take him with them. When they make camp that evening, they tie him up to a tree. Panamon tells Shea the truth about Keltset while the latter is off making false trails, and Shea tells both Panamon and Keltset about the quest for the Sword.
45	Shea wakes up to find that Orl Fane has escaped. They notice that a sword is gone from the bag of junk and belatedly realize that it must have been the Sword of Shannara. They head north, following Orl Fane's trail, and see Brona's wall of darkness, which they enter, tying themselves to each other as they do so. They emerge on the other side after almost dying, having been saved only by Shea's Elfstones. After finding the trail again, they continue the hunt and almost catch up to him when a huge storm arrives. Panamon, Keltset, and Shea are forced to wait it out. While Keltset is sleeping, Shea and Panamon talk. The company breaks up. Balinor, Durin, Dayel, and Hendel head south to Tyrsis while Menion, Flick, and Allanon continue to search for Shea and the Sword. The latter group comes upon the remains of the Gnome/Elf battle, the ashes of the Skull Bearer, and the false trails made by Keltset. They head west and make camp near the Impregnable Forest.
46	Shea, Panamon, and Keltset continue to stay hidden within the rocks, waiting out the rain. Menion, Flick, and Allanon follow the Northland army south, catching up with them by that evening. Allanon sends Menion off to warn Balinor that it is right above Callahorn, then disguises Flick as a Gnome and sends him into the enemy camp to see if he can find out anything. Balinor, Durin, Dayel, and Hendel continue heading south for Tyrsis.
47	[ Extra day added for Shea, Panamon, and Keltset to make timeline work ] After several hours of wandering, Flick finds a tent which contains a Skull Bearer and Eventine Elessedil, who he gives a one-word message: "Allanon." He then stays with the army for the rest of the day, being unable to escape, and with the other Gnomes and Trolls, reaches the Mermidon by that afternoon. They camp there for the night since they cannot cross due to the rain, and Flick goes back to Eventine's tent. Menion reaches the Mermidon north of Kern at dawn. He sees Stenmin and four Trolls handling a bag containing something alive in it. Stenmin leaves, and, thinking that the thing in the bag might be Shea, Menion decides to ambush the Trolls and save the bundle. As he frees the captive, he discovers that it's a woman - Shirl Ravenlock, who brings him to Kern after he passes out from fatigue. Balinor, Durin, Dayel, and Hendel reach Tyrsis that evening. Balinor tells Durin and Dayel about Palance and head into the city, while Hendel leaves for the Anar. Balinor quickly notices that no soldiers of the Border Legion are in sight. Sheelon arrives and tells them what has happened. Balinor gives him instructions on what to do if he doesn't return and goes into the palace with the two Elves. They find Palance, who springs a trap and imprisons them in the tunnels below.
48	[ Extra day added for Shea, Panamon, and Keltset to make timeline work ] Flick spends several minutes in the hours before dawn making a long vertical slit in the canvas of the tent and saves Eventine. The two of them run. An alarm is sounded and the Northlanders attack, but Allanon rescues them just in time. [ Extra day added for Menion to make timeline work ] Balinor, Durin, and Dayel remain locked up. Hendel reaches Varfleet that morning and sleeps until the afternoon. A Dwarf patrol comes in; Hendel sends them to the Anar to warn them of the coming invasion, then goes back to Tyrsis to warn Balinor.
49	[ Extra day added for Shea, Panamon, and Keltset to make timeline work ] Menion wakes up, finding himself in one of the rooms of the palace. Shirl comes and they talk for a while. Later, Menion meets with the council and tells them of the danger the Northland army presents and proposes an idea for a mass evacuation. The strike is carried out that evening and the people of Kern are boated to Tyrsis. Palance comes and talks to Balinor. Hendel arrives at Tyrsis that morning, waits until it is dark, and then heads in to rescue Balinor, Durin, and Dayel. He finds them but ends up getting trapped as well.
50	[ Extra day added for Shea, Panamon, and Keltset to make timeline work ] Several hours before dawn, Menion, Shirl, and Janus Senpre escape Kern, which is set on fire by the army. They arrive at Tyrsis that morning. Menion and Shirl are taken to the palace where Palance receives them with a fancy ceremony. When the two are alone, they express their feelings for each other. Menion then rests but wakes up suddenly when he realizes that Stenmin has entered his room and is about to kill him. Stenmin makes some weak excuses; Menion, seizing his chance, takes the mystic to where Balinor and the Elves are locked up, hoping to use him to persuade the guards. However, Palance comes and they are forced to wait him out as he struggles with himself, but then Stenmin kills him and runs off. Balinor, Durin, and Dayel give chase immediately, but the soldiers of the Border Legion, which Senpre had reformed earlier that day, arrive just in time to prevent Balinor from going further. Durin and Dayel are met with failure as Stenmin escapes through a secret passage. Balinor goes to fight the Northland army and to hold the Mermidon, but comes back later that evening, having failed to do so.
51	Shea, Panamon, and Keltset continue the hunt. They find one of the sleeves of Orl Fane's tunic, but the Gnome himself is still out of their reach by that evening. Palance Buckhannah dies at dawn. The assault on Tyrsis begins. There is a lull at midday, but then the battle continues. Acton dies that night from a stray arrow.
52	Shea, Panamon, and Keltset continue the hunt. They find Orl Fane's tracks again and follow them until dusk, when the tracks abruptly end. A group of Trolls find them and take them to an encampment, where they are tied up in separate tents. Shea sleeps. At dawn, the Northlanders attack again. Fandwick dies during the battle. That evening, Eventine and a small Elven force arrives and burns down two siege towers.
53	Shea and Panamon are taken to Keltset's trial. Keltset reveals that he has the Black Irix and tells the other Trolls that they must accompany Shea to the Skull Kingdom so that he can kill the Warlock Lord. The three of them are then escorted to Skull Mountain, pretending to be prisoners. They are taken to a cell containing Orl Fane, who is knocked out by Panamon. Shea finally obtains the Sword of Shannara and realizes that the Sword's power is truth. Brona arrives and they confront each other. Shea successfully turns the Sword onto him, and the Warlock Lord is finally destroyed. However, this triggers a massive earthquake which causes the mountain to collapse. While Shea, Keltset, and Panamon make their escape, they come across a narrow passageway whose ceiling falls down as they pass under it. Keltset holds it up while Shea and Panamon run on and is crushed underneath. The two remaining men are almost out when Panamon injures his leg. A Muten arrives, and Panamon stays to fight it, urging Shea to run on. Shea does so and finally escapes. He runs into Allanon, who tells him more about the Sword of Shannara, among other things. Shea then falls asleep and Allanon leaves. The death watch is issued. Hendel realizes that there must be another force coming into the city via the secret tunnels, so he and Menion go to secure them as fast as possible. They find the trapdoor open and, going down, find Stenmin's guards stationed there; the Northland army has not yet arrived. Hendel and Menion kill all the guards and secure the tunnel, but Hendel dies from his wounds. Stenmin, who was knocked out, comes back to consciousness and attempts to escape, but Menion beheads him. Meanwhile, Balinor checks out the gatehouse and finds Sheelon dead. Stenmin's soldiers attack him and jam the machinery that operates the gates while the Trolls use a battering ram on it. The Border Legion makes a stand inside the city itself. Durin is knocked out with a mace thrown by a Troll, and Ginnison is killed. After several hours of fighting, the Elven army finally arrives.
54	Eventine's men find Shea and take him to Tyrsis.

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