Garet Jax

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Garet Jax Shannara character
Other names	The Weapons Master
Race	Human
Gender	Male
Hair colour	Light(almost silver)
Eye colour	Flint Gray
Loyalty	Himself, Jair Ohmsford
First appearance	The Wishsong of Shannara
Magic item or equipment	none
Birth	Unknown
Death	Was killed fighting a Jachyra at the Croagh

Garet Jax is a fictional character from Terry Brooks' epic fantasy^[1] novel The Wishsong of Shannara. He is known as the "Weapons Master", and it is said that no matter what weapon you choose, even your hands and feet, Garet Jax is better with it.^{[citation needed]} He claims to have never lost a fight, and all who have seen him fight stand by that statement. He is seeking the one opponent who can finally defeat him in a battle.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 The Wishsong of Shannara 1.2 Dark Wraith of Shannara 2 Is he Stee Jans? 3 References 4 External Links

[edit] Biography

[edit] The Wishsong of Shannara

Garet first appears when he rescues Jair Ohmsford from a band of nine Gnome Hunters, defeating eight of them single-handedly--he killed six, knocked out their leader, and one fled. The ninth, Slanter, doesn't even attempt to fight, saying that he was only working with them because he had to. When Jair asked Garet why he rescued him, Garet says that Jair interests him, something that few things do anymore. The three travel together to the Eastland, to Cullhaven.

Along the way Garet receives a vision of him fighting a creature of flame, and he knew that this was the one creature who could give him a "run for his money" in battle. This is the main reason that convinces him on to join Jair in his quest to save his sister Brin. Though he did agree to accompany Jair to Cullhaven before he received the aforementioned vision, this may have been from an influence from the King of the Silver River.^{[citation needed]}

At the Croagh leading to Heaven's Well, where Brin will be found, Garet, Jair and Slanter are stopped by a Jachyra, a lethal creature from the Old World. Garet realizes that this fiery-red monster is the battle promised him in his vision, and orders Jair and Slanter to go ahead and save Brin while he fights the Jachyra.

When Jair and Slanter return, having saved Brin, they find Garet Jax sitting against a wall, his sword still held in his hand and looking like he might even be sleeping, but on closer inspection they realize the Weapons Master is dead. Of the Jachyra there is no sign--the magic that brought it to the Four Lands has been destroyed--but Jair is convinced the Weapons Master slew his foe before succumbing to his wounds. When asked who it was that won, Terry Brooks responded that it was up to the reader to decide and refuses to give a more definitive answer.^{[citation needed]}

Because of the collapse of the Croagh, Garet Jax's body was never recovered. However, Jair thought that this seemed appropriate, that Garet Jax should be where no other mortal could go, that he should be no different in death than in life.

[edit] Dark Wraith of Shannara

Garet Jax himself does not make a true appearance in Dark Wraith of Shannara, but is still a main character. Jair Ohmsfored uses the Wishsong in the book in order to meld him and his memories of Garet Jax into one sentient being. Jair still thinks like himself, but moves and fights as though he were the weapons master.

We first see Jair use the Wishsong to become Garet Jax when he is confronted by Mwellrets while attempting to steal a page of the Ildatch. He uses the Wishsong to appear as though he is Garet Jax. But when his life is actually threatened, he succumbs to the power lust and truly combines his spirit with Garet Jax's.

The next time we see Jair use the wishsong to become Garet Jax is when he is confronted by a Koden while traversing the Charnal region. He doesn't want to use the wishsong, because of the promise he made to his sister Brin. But once again succumbs and becomes Garet Jax once more.

The third and final time Jair uses the wishsong to become Garet Jax is near the end of his journey when he is locked in combat with numerous Mwellrets and the dreaded Croton Witch. Jair initially prevails, and talks about how easy it would have been for him to fully give in, and ust become Garet Jax forever.

The appearance of Garet Jax in Dark Wraith of Shannara is much different than it is described in The Elfstones of Shannara, in the Elfstones book, he has almost white hair and flint gray eyes. But in Dark Wraith, he appears to have brown hair, and darker (possible green) eyes.

Terry Brooks expressed his desire in the beginning of the book to further explore the relationship between Jair and Garet Jax. Does this mean that the weapons master will appear in more Shannara books? Perhaps, but the future is unclear.

[edit] Is he Stee Jans?

Many rumors have been discussed about the possibility of Garet Jax actually being Stee Jans, the Iron Man from The Elfstones of Shannara.^{[citation needed]} This can most likely be attributed to the talk of it in the book World of Shannara. However, this is highly unlikely as Stee Jans was red headed with a beard and Garet Jax was described as having hair almost silver in color with no beard.^{[citation needed]} While there is a possibility of his hair turning white with age, there is no mention of how old Garet Jax is and Jair's initial impression of him mentioned nothing about him looking old enough to have a full head of gray hair. The one feature that almost conclusively proves that they are not the same person the books mention that Garet Jax has gray eyes while Stee Jans's are described as hazel.^{[citation needed]}

Some people believe that Garet Jax may be the son of Stee Jans, a rumor that holds more credibility but ultimately is unprovable either way.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] References

[edit] External Links

[1] Information on the book straight from the authors homepage.