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Contents 1 Shannara 1.1 Armies of the Four Lands 1.1.1 Druid Guard 1.1.2 Elven Army 1.1.2.1 Home Guard 1.1.2.2 Black Watch 1.1.2.3 Hunters 1.1.2.4 Phalangites 1.1.2.5 Archers 1.1.2.6 Peltasts 1.1.2.7 Heavy Cavalry 1.1.2.8 Light Cavalry 1.1.2.9 Artillery 1.1.2.10 Engineers 1.1.2.11 Commissary 1.1.2.12 Logistics 1.1.2.13 Medical Corps 1.1.2.14 Legionary 1.1.3 Northland Army 1.1.3.1 Skull Bearers 1.1.3.2 Mutens 1.1.4 Dwarven Army 1.1.5 Battle Ragers 1.1.6 Border Legion 1.1.6.1 Free Corps 1.1.7 The Federation Army 1.1.7.1 Seekers 1.1.7.2 Creepers 1.1.8 The Rovers (Mercenaries) 1.1.9 Airships 1.1.10 Varfleet Vigilantes 1.2 Source

[edit] Shannara

[edit] Armies of the Four Lands

[edit] Druid Guard

Not large enough to be considered an army, nor unknown enough to not be one, the Druid Guard have protected the Druids since the formation of the Druid Council. A collection of the Four Land's greatest fighters, the men come to Paranor, usually of their own free will, to ensure the safety of those who would protect the lands. Of late, most of their recruits live in Paralon for a time, trained by Starke Bar, Mayor of the town within the forests surrounding Paranor. When Starke believes them ready, they are sent to Paranor to be initiated as a Druid Guard, where they will then be under the command of Jon Faloon, Captain of the Guard. They then live and reside within Paranor, tending to their duties as the protectors of the Druids.

[edit] Elven Army

Although lacking in the strength of the rock trolls, the Elves instead worked with their natural skills of combat: archery, tracking, horse-riding, all were employed to help the Elves rebuild their army. They tend to work on the defensive, allowing the enemy to attack a fortified position. Most are armored in light chain or leather armor, so as not to impede their speed and mobility.

[edit] Home Guard

Protectors to the King, the Home Guard are perhaps the most elite fighters, these men and women were trained to always be around the King, but were never seen unless they wanted to be seen.

[edit] Black Watch

Guards of the Ellcrys and the Gardens of Life, the Black Guard ensure that the great tree does not come under any harm.

[edit] Hunters

Reconnaissance and stealth specialists, the elite Elven Hunters are the cutting edge of the army. These shadow warriors of the Elven military are experts at insurgency, tracking and irregular operations.

[edit] Phalangites

The phalangite forms the rank and file of the army and is armed with an eighteen foot pike (the sarissa), with the short sword (xiphos) as his secondary weapon. He wears mail armor and is further protected by a body shield that is slung from the shoulder. Additional defense is provided by a steel helmet. The phalangite uses the phalanx formation in battle, presenting a wall of spear tips to the enemy. Deadly in advance or in defense, the phalanx is vulnerable to attacks from the flank and rear. In recent times, this division has seen increased numbers of female recruits.

[edit] Archers

The archer, being the most famous wing of the Elven army, has nearly become synonymous with the Elven nation. Armed with the great yew longbow, the archers volley raining fire on enemy formations to disrupt and at times break them before hand-to-hand combat is joined. The archer has a personal weapon, typically a short sword or long knife. A situation would indeed be dire if the archer were left to this weapon as last defense.

[edit] Peltasts

The peltasts provide a skirmishing capability; lightly armed with short sword and javelins, these mobile, versatile troops can screen the flanks of the phalanx, disrupt enemy formations, and provide close support in hand-to-hand combat.

[edit] Heavy Cavalry

The heavy cavalry serve as the hammer to the phalanx's anvil and are traditionally recruited from the aristocracy, though recent times have seen an influx of titleless soldiers. Armed with sword and lance, the heavy cavalry can smash enemy formations to pieces with its combination of speed, powerful arms, and solid armor.

[edit] Light Cavalry

The light cavalry are essentially mounted peltasts and provide reconnaissance for the armies of Arborlon. They are also employed to screen the flanks of the march. In battle, the light cavlary have a number of applications, including flank protection to the phalanx, harassing the enemy, and riding down a routing foe.

[edit] Artillery

The artillery soldiers provide heavy and light bombardment on enemy fortifications and formations using such instruments as ballista and onager.

[edit] Engineers

The engineers work in close concert with the artillery, providing a sapping capability to the army. Additionally, these are the surveyors of the military, bridge-builders, road-makers and wall-builders of Arborlon's fighting force.

[edit] Commissary

The cooks; hardly providers of gourmet fare, the commissariat can be relied upon to provide wholesome food for the soldiers.

[edit] Logistics

The logistics division are the unsung heroes of the Elven military. These dedicated men and women ensure that the soldiers of Arborlon are supplied with weapons with which to fight, boots in which to walk, food to eat, and anything else necessary for livelihood and battle.

[edit] Medical Corps

The medical corps consists of a full staff from combat medicus to full surgeon. Their purpose is to ensure the wellbeing and health of the combat soldier.

[edit] Legionary

Presently only an experiment, the Elven legionary is the brainchild of General Kassandra Denaris. Denaris, convinced that the phalanx is outmoded in the modern age, devised what she felt to be a more flexible heavy infantry soldier. The legionaire wears the new lorica segmentata armor and steel galea helmet. Additional protection is provided by the large, convex shield known as the scutum. Offensive weaponry is two-fold; the legionaire goes to battle carrying two javelins and a Elven xiphos short sword. The javelins are called pila (singular pilum) and are cast at the enemy before closing to engage. An experimental weapon designed by Denaris herself, the pilum has an iron-tipped warhead attached to a wooden haft--if the weapon fails to kill its target and penetrates a shield, the tip will bend, locking the pilum in and rendering the shield useless and the pilum unrecyclable. There are no female legionaires; volunteers from the phalangite regiments are being drilled in these new and as yet untested units.

[edit] Northland Army

Composed of Rock Trolls, Gnomes, and netherworld creatures summoned by the Warlock lord, the Northland Army was at one point in time, the most feared army in the Four Lands. Once the horns of war sounded, nothing but death would stop the fearsome trolls that made up the bulk of the enemy force. Drums manned by Gnomes, helped to both whip their people into a frenzy and to also beat fear into those they marched against.

[edit] Skull Bearers

Followers of Brona, who left Paranor with the Warlock, were drawn to the magic and were consumed by it, changing them into the hideous creatures of the Dark Magic. Terror filled those who came near one of the dreaded Skull Bearers, and some had even been known to be able to change their appearances. Unaffected by normal weapons, only powerful magic could destroy them. With the destruction of Brona, the Skull Bearers were finally destroyed.

[edit] Mutens

Once Trolls, these creatures were altered by the Warlock Lord into large, misshapen and mindless creatures. Powerful when attacking and hard to kill, these creatures were composed of a chalky skin that felt like rubber; their voices were barely audible, speaking in a low, raspy voice. They were the guardians of the Warlock Lord's domain, and did not die out with his death.

[edit] Dwarven Army

The Dwarves were well known to be impressive fighters in their homeland, using guerilla tactics against their foes who would invade their lands. Many of their forces are garrisoned within their capitol city of Culhaven, although there are many more stationed within the Fortress of Capaal.

[edit] Battle Ragers

An outcast Group of Dwarves that were forced from Culhaven, starting their own community in the Wolfsktaag. Rare to ever remove their armor, battle ragers lose all sense of themselves and their surroundings once unleashed upon a foe; death or defeat of their enemy is the only known cause to stop their rampage. They number only one hundred in number, and each man and woman are a battle rager for life. Armored in barbed plate and whatever personal weapon they have, the Battle Ragers throw themselves into battle, their bodies as much a weapon as those they wield. Currently led by Pwent, the Battle Ragers make their home in the Anar, constantly in a struggle against the Gnomes that threaten to invade the Dwarven settlements.

[edit] Border Legion

The precise fighting machine of the Borderlands, the Border Legion's skill and ferocity was unmatched for centuries. Never having lost a battle, the Border Legion has been known to fight to the last soldier to ensure that victory. As the primary defense of the Southland, although they did not consider themselves a part of the Southland, no enemy had ever gotten past the Border Legion. To this day, there are only two known defeats, both that were caused by the Legion being prevented by taking the field. The First case was with the Fall of Kern, and the second was with the defeat of the Federation, and the fealty of the Borderlands to their rule.

[edit] Free Corps

Back in the War of the Forbidding, the Borderlands did not believe the collapse of the Forbidding "their" problem, and so refused to send the Legion to the aid of the Elves. When the cries for help became desperate, the Borderlands sent the elite fighting group of the Border Legion, known as the Legion Free Corps. They were led by the Iron Man Stee Jans, and the Corps was trained to fight to the death; fear was not an obstacle these men had to face. When Stee Jans mysteriously disappeared one day, the Legion Free Corps began to deteriorate as well. Without their "Iron Man" to lead them, the Free Corps disbanded, and faded into old memories and History books. What happened to the Iron Man is still a mystery, although some believe that he changed his name, and that he and Garet Jax, the Weapons Master, were one and the same.

[edit] The Federation Army

Said to have become the best-trained army in the Four Lands during the Shadowen Wars, the Federation Army was the first and only army to have one uniform of the same style and design for all its soldiers. Each portion of the army was drilled to fight in formations, deadly to all who had to battle against them.

[edit] Seekers

Charged by the Federation to eliminate magic within the four lands and their practitioners. In battle situations, the Seekers controlled the massive Creepers and were the primary defense against magical attacks. Those who were taken by the Seekers were never seen again. Rimmer Dall was their leader, and he also served on the Coalition Council. His fighting ability was feared, and he was the driving force behind the Federation expansion. It was later made known that the Seekers were slaves to the magic they were to eliminate, Shadowen to the last.

[edit] Creepers

Remainders of Old World Technology, Creepers were powerfully built machines that were nearly indestructible. They came in any and all sizes and shapes, and could travel over any surface. Their firepower and armor were made of materials that were impervious to most attacks. The difference between these Creepers and those used in the Great Wars, is that these Creepers used by the Shadowen were alive. The last known Creepers disappeared after the Shadowen War.

[edit] The Rovers (Mercenaries)

As the creators of the Airship, it was only fitting that the Border Wars between the Federation and the Borderlands ended up hiring out willing Rovers and their airship crews.

[edit] Airships

Resembling a ship that travels through the air instead of the water, an Airship draws its power from its radian draws,. Diapson crystals, the heart of the engines, are made from a crystallized mineral that is common within the Four Lands. Once crafted by a master craftsman, the crystals can produce thrust that will send the ship through the air. Druids of Paranor has not yet adopted the concept of Airships.

[edit] Varfleet Vigilantes

A group of wild men that station themselves within the forests northeast of Varfleet, this mercenary band is led by their Warlord, a grizzled bear of a man called Bohath. They are ruled by their Warlord, who lives by the rules of strength, whereas the strongest and greatest fighter gains the title of Warlord after he defeats the previous Warlord. Rumors say that the Vigilantes were created from a splinter faction of the Border Legion, and that these men will fight to the death to protect the Borderlands. Although their help is scarcely recorded in texts, Bohath and his Vigilantes played a pivotal role in the defeat of Turin Kognas during the Union of Odium.

[edit] Source

Druids of Paranor.org---the site is now down/gone (I have no idea why) but I apparently saved this on my computer while browsing awhile ago...I wish that I had saved more than just this and this...here for reference for anyone who needs it.