PROLOGUE
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Wil ran his fingers across yet another yellowed page, scanning its contents for the very first time. Allanon had given him the dusty old spell book nearly two years ago but, in the aftermath of their great quest, he'd had no desire to explore the world of magic.
After he had been given the elf stones and found out about his mystical destiny, so many had been lost. The stones had undoubtedly helped to defeat the demons and the Dagda Mor—but the cost had been high, and the girl he had once loved had been lost forever.
Thankfully, even in those dark days, there had been glimmers of hope. Wil had found Eritrea and their feelings for each other had flourished as they struggled to recover from the devastating loss of their friend. They were together now—but neither one of them had any interest in lingering in Aborlon or seeking new adventures. Both had agreed that, after all they had been through, they wanted a quiet life.
Away from magic.
And away from all of the painful memories.
But, even though Wil had found happiness in the small country home he had bought for them, he had never quite been able to put everything out of his mind. He had kept the elf stones (locking them safely away in a large chest) and he had kept the book Allanon had given him when they parted ways.
The book, like the stones, had a long history with the Shannara bloodline—and the druid believed that it rightfully belonged to Wil. The young man had reluctantly accepted but had quickly locked it away in the chest alongside the stones. He hadn't wanted to think about magic, or demons…or elves. Aborlon had enchanted him at first, and he had even been proud to learn that his ancestors had built the elegant palace. But after everything—after Amberle—he had just wanted to put it all out of his mind.
They lived on the edge of a human settlement now. Far from the world he had been briefly tempted to embrace. Their cottage was near a relatively safe town that reminded him of his childhood. For Wil, it provided a comforting feeling of going back to a time in his life when things had been simpler. And Eritrea had been thrilled to finally build a stable home.
He could still remember the wide smile on her face when he had brought her here for the first time, and it warmed him to think that he had made her so happy. Wil loved the former rover. Truly and deeply. It may have taken him a bit of time to make sense of all of his feelings, but the realization that he had nearly lost her forced him to accept what he had known all along.
He couldn't imagine his life without her now.
He was happy to go back to a familiar human life.
And yet…
There were still times when the chest in the corner of his cottage caught his eye. Sometimes he would linger on it for a little bit longer then he would have liked, and he had to force himself to put all thoughts of his brief foray into the world of elven magic out of his mind.
No matter how much time passed or how far he ran, Wil knew that he would never fully be able to purge those thoughts from his mind. Yes, he had fallen back into a familiar pattern of human existence…but, like it or not, he was still part elf.
And not just any elf—an elf from a long line of mystical kings.
Wil feared that he would always feel the call of the stones, no matter how securely they were locked away. And, because of him, he and Eretria would never be able to lead normal lives. To humans, pointed ears meant only one thing—half-breed or not. At first glance, he knew that others saw nothing but an elf, and he knew that he was not welcomed here. Wil only ventured into the village when he absolutely had to and he always made sure to put on a disguise.
Eritrea had assured him several times that she didn't mind their isolation. But Wil was convinced that she was downplaying her loneliness for his sake. They couldn't make friends. They couldn't join in the villages' festivities. It was simply too risky for him, and Eretria did not feel right doing it alone. That sad reality had filled him with a terrible pit of guilt ever since they had arrived and, in recent months, he had found himself wondering if there was anything he could do to fix things.
To give Eritrea the life she deserved.
And that was why, on this particular sleepless night, Wil had found himself in the sitting room finally looking through the book Allanon had insisted on giving him. He had felt both worried and excited as he had opened the heavy chest and his heart had pounded as he placed both the book and stones in front of him on the table.
The text was small and faded. But once his eyes had adjusted to it, he had begun to quickly worked his way through the pages. There were so many different spells in the large old tome—and, apparently, they could be cast by any elf with a command of the stones. Even after everything he had seen and everything he had gone through, Wil found it hard to believe that he had so much power at his fingertips. When he had used the stones during their quest, it had always been in the heat of the moment—as a last resort when a demon was closing it. It had been fast.
Instinctual.
And after the dust had settled he had not spent much time contemplating what else the stones could be used for.
Wil hadn't wanted anything to do with them. He never had, and he was still uncomfortable with the thought of wielding the stones. They had destroyed his father, after all. And they were a painful reminder of a time in his life that he wanted to forget.
But, he had reasoned, if there was a possibility that he could use them to get what he had always wanted, then he had to embrace them—one final time.
Flip.
Flip.
He continued to scan the ancient pages, stopping only for the occasional glance at the blue items he had placed on his right side.
They glinted beautifully in the moonlight and he found himself resisting the urge to reach out and touch them.
Flip.
Flip.
As he reached a page near the back of the book, the young man's tired eyes widened. It was hard to explain, but he had somehow known that the book contained what he desired. Despite hours of fruitless searching, something had pushed him forward. And now he had found exactly what he had been looking for.
Hand shaking with anticipation and trepidation, Wil reached forward and ran his finger across a line of ornate black script.
A Human Disguise, it read.
It was a short spell. Easy to miss on the large and crowded page. But a quick scan of the text told Wil that it was all he needed.
A few simple words, and his life would be completely different…
His life would be normal.
Body now pulsing with a newfound energy, Wil quickly grabbed the stones and held them firmly in his right hand.
This was it.
This was the answer to all of their problems.
The answer to the problem that had plagued him his entire life…
Perhaps it was foolish, and perhaps he should have spent more time thinking over the possible consequences…but there, in that moment, Wil Ohmsford was too excited to care. With a quick and ragged breath, he glanced back down at the page and read out the incantation.
The last thing he remembered was the blue glow of the elf stones.
Everything went black.
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A/N—Please tell me what you think! I hope to continue. It should be a short-ish multi chapter story if there is interest.
