Bek Ohmsford is a main character in The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara and the High Druid of Shannara trilogies. He possesses the power of the wishsong and is the younger brother of Grianne Ohmsford, who for a time was known as the Ilse Witch.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Bek was born to Araden and Biornlief Ohmsford in the farming community of Jentsen Close. When he was barely a toddler, his parents were killed, his home was destroyed, and his sister was kidnapped. He was only spared because Grianne had hidden him in the cold cellar. Bek was found in the cellar by the half-man, half-shape-shifter Truls Rohk, who took him to the Druid Walker Boh, Bek's distant relative.
Walker took Bek to live with Coran Leah's family in the highlands of Leah. The Druid concealed Bek's heritage, claiming that the boy was the son of Holm Rowe, a cousin of the Highlanders. Bek was raised by Coran and his wife Liria, and he became good friends with their son, his "cousin" Quentin Leah.
Journey to Parkasia[]
Years later, the teenaged Quentin and Bek were hunting together when they were approached by Walker, who wanted to bring both of them along on his voyage to the land of Parkasia. He wanted Quentin to wield the magical Sword of Leah, and Bek to act as a cabin boy. Before Bek and Quentin left, Coran confided to Bek that it was Walker, not Holm Rowe, who had brought the young Bek to the Highlands to be raised by the Leahs, and that it was possible that Bek was not even Holm's son, as Coran had not seen Holm in ten years and had never been able to track down any trace of Holm after Walker had brought Bek to the Highlands.
Walker first sent Quentin and Bek to deliver a message to Truls Rohk, who agreed to accompany them to Parkasia. On the way Bek encountered the King of the Silver River, who gave Bek a warning of his future and presented him with a magical phoenix stone. Upon reaching Arborlon, Bek was introduced to and instructed by the Rover Captain Redden Alt Mer, who taught Bek about airships. Bek also met Redden's sister, Rue Meridian, and became attached to her instantly.
As the journey to Parkasia progressed, Bek became dissatisfied with his role. He did not seem to have any importance in the expedition, he was never allowed off the ship, and Walker would reveal nothing of Bek's mysterious past. This state of dissatisfaction intensified after Walker communicated with Bek, and no one else, when the Druid was in danger. It was only when Truls Rohk enlisted Bek's help on the island of Mephitic and he first used the wishsong that the Druid finally agreed to talk.
Walker revealed to Bek his Ohmsford heritage, his sister's existence, and one of the reasons he had been brought aboard: to wield the Sword of Shannara so the expedition could bypass the obstacle of the Squirm. After doing so successfully, Bek arrived in Parkasia with the others. There he ran into Grianne for the first time since her abduction from Jentsen Close, but she refused to listen when Bek told her the truth of how the Morgawr had deceived and used her. She captured Bek and took him aboard her airship, but he was soon freed by Truls Rohk and the two set about exploring and evading the menaces of Parkasia. They witnessed Walker's death, and vowed to protect Grianne from harm.
After Truls Rohk was mortally wounded, Bek gave permission to a nearby shape-shifter community to destroy Truls' human half, freeing him of his damaged corporeal burden and saving his life by converting him into a pure shape-shifter. Afterwards, Bek reunited with the rest of the company, and he and Rue Meridian admitted their love for each other. He participated in the final battles of the voyage, and even helped Grianne to overcome the evil of the Morgawr. Upon returning to the Four Lands, he and Rue left Grianne to her task of rebuilding the Druid Order and went off to make a life for themselves.
Mutiny in Paranor[]
Twenty years later, Bek's life was greatly changed. He and Rue were married and living in Patch Run, where they were running an airship business. His relationship with his sister was strained, and he had a son named Penderrin. Bek and his wife were away on a business flight when the Dwarven Druid Tagwen came to Patch Run looking for assistance after Grianne was sealed in the Forbidding by treacherous members of the Druid Order. Tagwen recruited their son Pen to the cause; Pen traveled all the way to Stridegate to acquire a talisman from the Tanequil that would allow him to bring Grianne back from the Forbidding.
While Pen was on his quest to find the Tanequil, Bek and Rue were found by the Druid Order while traveling and imprisoned in Paranor by the mutinous Druid faction. They were freed by Trefen Morys and Bellizen, young novice Druids who had remained loyal to Grianne. Working together with Trefen and Bellizen, Bek and Rue were able to help Pen bring Grianne home from the Forbidding so that she could defeat the renegade Druids.