The Elfstones of Shannara

Published in 1982, The Elfstones of Shannara continues the Shannara Trilogy. Wil Ohmsford, grandson of Shea, is now a student of the Stors, who are Gnome healers in the Four Lands. Allanon comes to their village of Storlock badly wounded and bleeding. He tells Wil and his Great Uncle Flick the tale of the Ellcrys and the Forbidding. Long ago there had been a war between good and evil- in this case between Elves and Demons. The Elves eventually won the war by creating the Forbidding- a dark, timeless non-existence that kept the Demons forever imprisoned and away from the Four Lands. Forever, however, would only last as long as the Ellcrys, which was a beautiful tree made from Elven magic that served as the source of the Forbidding magic. Now the Ellcrys was dying and the threat of the Demons returning to the Four Lands was once again a reality. The Ellcrys was tended by a group of Elves called the Chosen. Only one of the Chosen could take the seed of the Ellcrys to the Bloodfire which was the earth's life source. Only with the Bloodfire could the seed be made viable again and
the spell of Forbidding restored.

Unknown to Allanon and the others, the chief demon named Dagda Mor had managed to
break open a hole in the Forbidding. With the Ellcrys dying, the spell was beginning to weaken, and therefore the opportunity to escape was possible. He brought two other demons with him,
the Changeling and the Reaper- both of whom were to be used for his nefarious mission to kill the Chosen and therefore destroy any chance of a new Forbidding. The Demons do manage to kill the Chosen, but unknown to them there is one of the Chosen remaining- Amberle Elessedil. She had ran away from her duties as a Chosen one, and was now living away from her people. Allanon instructs Wil Ohmsford to accompany Amberle on her quest for the Bloodfire. Wil is now the owner of the Elfstones of Shannara and Allanon expects him to use the elfstones as a measure of protection for Amberle and her quest. But of course, Dadga Mor and the Demons have other ideas! So begins the second book of the trilogy.