Darcon Leah, or Dar Leah for short, is a major character in The Fall of Shannara tetralogy. He serves Paranor as the Blade of the Ard Rhys wielding the legendary Sword of Leah. He is a skilled paladin warrior and experienced airship pilot.
Biography[]
Background[]
Darcon Leah joined the Fourth Druid Order as a paladin when Drisker Arc, then Ard Rhys, offered him the opportunity. He was quickly elevated to the role of Blade of the Ard Rhys. While serving as Blade, he entered a relationship with the druid seer Zia Amarodian and the two fell in love. However, Dar worried about the dangers of his position and how that could effect Zia, so he eventually chose to end the relationship, despite Zia's protests.
When Drisker Arc stepped down as Ard Rhys and was then cast out by Ober Balronen, Dar was tempted to leave the druid order as well, but ultimately decided to keep serving as Blade.
The Mysterious Invaders[]
When an unknown enemy begins wreaking havoc amongst the trolls of the Northland, wielding magic unfamiliar even to the Druid Order, Ober Balronen and the Druid Council sends Dar and a small diplomatic party to confront the mysterious, encroaching force and discover its purpose. However, Ruis Quince, the party's leader and Zia's newest romantic partner, chooses to sideline Dar in a foolish show of authority. Ruis, Zia, and some members of the Druid Guard confront the mysterious invaders, while Dar was forced to stay on the airship. Though he is unable to hear the exchange, it becomes immediately clear to the highlander that Ruis had grossly misjudged the situation, choosing a poor tactic and attitude to engage the invaders. When the mysterious army attacks, Dar charges out of the airship to the defense of the druids. The enemy soldiers, who are able to disappear at will, overwhelm Ruis and the guards before Dar can get to them, but he manages to reach Zia before her magic defenses give out. Wielding the Sword of Leah's power, he cuts down the attackers, managing to get Zia and himself back to the airship, flying away in a hurry.
Dar pilots the druid airship, with Zia and the remaining survivors onboard, while three enemy ships give chase. After attempting to lose the pursuers for some time, it becomes evident to Dar that the enemy ships will catch up to them. Dar navigates into the perilous Charnal Mountains, managing to get the drop on two of the pursuing airships and destroy them. The largest pursuing vessel however, overwhelms the druid ship, blasting it out of the sky.
Only Dar narrowly survives the ship's destruction, managing to cling to the side of a mountain. Just as Dar is able to pull himself up on a ledge, a two-man flit appears in front of him. Facing him is a hooded figure that Dar instinctively knows to be the leader of the mysterious army. Although Dar cannot see the hooded leader's face, an understanding passes between them as they stare one another down. Dar is left unharmed as the enemy ship departs. The Blade then descends the cliff and travels back to Paranor alone to warn the druids of the mysterious invaders.
The Fall of Paranor[]
When Darcon returns to Paranor and reports what had happened to the Druid Council, Ober Balronen assigns Dar all of the blame. He is stripped of the Sword of Leah and kept in his room. Before he can attempt an escape on his own, Clizia Porse, a senior druid on the Council, helps him escape and returns to him the Sword of Leah. Unsure of what to do next, Clizia suggests that Dar seek out Drisker Arc in the Elven village of Emberen, and he decides to do just that. Just as Dar is leaving, he encounters Kassen Drue, a new druid trainee that Dar immediately distrusts.
When Dar arrives in Emberen, he meets Tarsha Kaynin, Drisker's apprentice. Dar and Drisker go over everything that has happened to them recently in the hopes of piecing things together. Doing so, they conclude that Kassen Drue must be the same man that hired Orsis Guild to kill Drisker, and that Clizia lied about it. Kassen also has the same abilities to those of the mysterious invaders, meaning that he likely intends to betray the druid order. Armed with these new insights, Drisker and Dar decide to return to Paranor, while Tarsha splits off to find her brother, Tavo.
The highlander is continually bothered by the memory of the hooded enemy leader choosing to spare his life; Drisker too fails to bring any insight. When they arrive near Paranor, Drisker contacts Clizia with the scye orb warning her of Kassen's treachery but she ignores the warning. Later that night, Drisker tries again and Clizia informs them that the enemy invaders have taken Paranor, killing most of the druids and guards before even realizing they were under attack. The pair enter Paranor through a secret entrance, noting signs of its recent use.
Once inside, they meet up with Clizia who insists on summoning the Keep's Guardian to kill all of the invaders at once. Drisker agrees and the three head for the druid vaults to recover the Black Elfstone. While nearly there, they witness the enemy soldiers, now revealed to be the Skaar, celebrate their victory by kiling Ober Balronen. Among the Skaar are Kassen and the hooded Skaar leader. Dar decides to follow Kassen instead of continuing with Drisker. After a quick warning to leave Paranor when he sees the green mist of the Keep's Guardian, Dar trails Kassen and the hooded Skaar leader from the shadows.
When the hooded Skaar leader finally leaves Kassen behind, Darcon tries to catch him in a sneak attack but the traitor is too quick. Kassen admits to having betrayed the druids, revealing himself to actually be Kol'dre, an advance scout for the Skaar military known as a Penetrator. The two men standoff, taunting and challenging one another until Kol'dre vanishes just as the green mist begins to appear. Unable to stop Kol'dre from escaping, Dar flees Paranor, hiding in the forest near the secret entrance and waiting for Drisker. Several moments later, Clizia exits the secret passage and begins summoning magic. Suddenly, Paranor vanishes and Clizia flees, unaware that Dar Leah witnessed her seal the keep away. Dar quickly realizes that the hooded Skaar leader just managed to escape Paranor before it vanished and he seizes her, sword in hand, and finally sees the face under the hood. To Dar's surprise, the Skaar military leader is a beautiful young woman named Ajin d'Amphere.
While Dar attempts to put aside his attraction to Ajin, her interest in him is expressed almost immediately with her claiming that they are fated together. Dar contemplates killing her, thereby crippling the Skaar army, but ultimately choses to let her live. Dar justifies this decision by considering the two of them even, both now having spared the life of the other.
Rescuing Tarsha[]
Dar next determines that he needs to find out if Drisker is alive, and if so rescue him, but he recognises that he can't do this alone and should find Tarsha. He doesn't know where she is, however, only that she went look for her brother. He decides to travel to Arborlon and his friend Brecon Elessedil and compell him to use the Blue Elfstones to find Tasha. After finding Brecon, the elven prince informs the highlander that the Skaar have already reached out to his father, desiring to form an alliance. Dar attempts to speak to the elven king, Gerrendren Elessedil, but encounters Ajin. While she continues to insist that she and Dar are fated for each other, it becomes clear that she has seduced King Gerrendren, who is hoping to have an affair with the Skaar princess.
It takes some convincing from Dar, but Brecon steals the blue Elfstones from his father's hiding place and calls upon their magic to find Tarsha Kaynin. He and Dar fly across the Westland after her, but hey quickly realize that she too is flying and eventually locate her back in Drisker's home in Emberen. When they arrive, they find that Tarsha has been drugged and held prisioner by Clizia and Tavo. Before they can make a rescue attempt, they are found by Flinc, a forest imp offering to help them rescue Tarsha.
Flinc's plan to rescue Tarsha involves Dar distracting Clizia by approaching loudly and challenging her while Flinc and Brecon enter the house through the back and grab Tarsha. When Dar challenges Clizia with the Sword of Leah, he admits that he saw her leave Paranor alone and seal it away. While Clizia's power exceeds his own, his speed and reflexes keep him alive long enough for Brecon to use the Elfstones and the Moor Cat Fade to knock Clizia unconscience. Brecon and Dar soon realize that Flinc has disappeared with Tarsha but use the Elfstones to find his underground home in the forest. They arrive at Flinc's home moments before Clizia and Tavo. Flinc directs Dar, Brecon, and Tarsha to the back way out and stays behind to confront Clizia. Dar didn't think much of the forest imp but respects his sacrifice.
With Tarsha rescued, the three fly back to the former site of Paranor and camp in the forest nearby. The wait for a few days until Paranor suddenly reappears as though it had never left. Drisker Arc walks free of the keep, happy to see Darcon and Tarsha. Moments later, Tavo suddenly appears and attempts to kill Tarsha with the Stiehl but they were ready for the attack, Drisker creating an illusion to trick Tavo. Once Tavo is disarmed, Clizia strikes them all with a powerful gale, takes back the Stiehl, and flees yet again.
Reuniting with Ajin[]
Once the druid has tamed Tavo, the five travel to the Hadeshorn so that Drisker can speak with the dead and get some insight on their next move. Once there, Darcon is nervous about leaving the airship behind, believing someone might come upon it and steal it from them. While Drisker goes to the shores of the Hadeshorn, the rest stay up on the surrounding cliffs. After a few hours of waiting, Dar is unable to resist his fears any longer and goes to check on the ship, Tarsha coming with him. As they near their ship, they witness another, much larger, airship fall out of the sky. Both Tarsha and Dar immediately go toward the crashsite looking for survivors, finding Ajin d'Amphere trapped under a fallen mast.
Ajin claims that she somehow knew Dar would come to save her, and the fact that he did reenforces her belief that the two of them are fated to be together. Dar claims this to be a coincidence but can't deny to himself that there might be something to it because they can't stop running into each other. Tarsha frees Ajin from the mast with her Wishsong magic and then uses it again to heal Ajin's injuries. At dawn, they all meet back up with Drisker, Tavo, and Brecon, with Drisker completely unsurprised at Ajin's arrival. Drisker informs everyone that Ajin is an important figure to their quest and they must find Shea Ohmsford. Brecon uses the Elfstones and an image of Shea appears in the rover village of Aperex. Ajin agrees to accompany them, pleased to be traveling with Dar.
When they find Shea in Aperex, Drisker convinces the boy to reveal the secret machine known as Annabelle, which can influence and change the weather. They then aproach Rocan Arneas and the scientist Tindall, attempting to convince them to take Annabelle and the airship Behemoth to Skaarsland in order to change the Skaar's worsening climate and perhaps reverse their invasion of the Four Lands. While waiting overnight for their answer, Dar asks Drisker if the druid is certain that this is the right plan. Drisker confirms his certainty but Dar remains unsure. Later that night, Ajin crawls into Dar's bed and cuddles against him for several hours. Dar does not protest her presence but makes no move to encourage her either.
Sailing the Tiderace[]
After some debate, Tindall and Rocan agree to fly the Behemoth and Annabelle to Skaarsland, Tindall believing that the best kinds of tests of Annabelle's abilities are the most difficult ones. It is agreed that Rocan, Tindall, Shea, Brecon, Darcon and a crew of rovers will sail across the Tiderace, with Ajin guiding them. However, Drisker and the Kaynin siblings will stay behind. Dar isn't pleased that Drisker won't be coming with them but understands that the druid has other things to accomplish.
While flying east, Dar and Ajin have a sparring match that becomes a specticle for the entire ship to watch. The Skaar princess wins the first match but Dar wins the second match, and then they decide to leave it at a tie for now. Dar's feelings for Ajin become more and more complicated. He can feel his attraction for the Skaar princess growing but he still sees her as a member of an enemy army, the one who destroyed Paranor and killed Zia, and can't seem to get past that. Almost every night as they travel east, Ajin sneaks into his bed and cuddles with him for a few hours each night, the highlander continuing to passively let it happen and secretly enjoying it.
The Island[]
After several days of flying over the Tiderace, the Behemoth is caught in a major storm which damages the ship and blows them several hundreds of miles south of their destination. They find an island on which to make repairs, which Ajin indentifies as part of the Nambizi island chain. Dar decides to scout the nearby area and Ajin accompanies him and they share a passionate kiss. Just after kiss, they are chased by an enormous rhinoceros-like creature. While attempting to flee, the highlander is in awe by just how massive the beast is, noting that it is the largest creature he has ever seen. Unable to outrun it, Darcon draws the Sword of Leah and stands to fight the juggernaut beast. Just as they are about to engage the beast, it comes to stop, its aggression suddenly gone. They then see a Nambizi boy sitting in a nearby tree, able to tame the beast with a series of whistling sounds. They take the boy's hint and go back to the ship.
A few nights later, the Behemoth is attacked by a band of local raiders flying on large bat-like creatures in the same manner of Wing Riders of the Westland. After repelling the attackers, Dar and Ajin board a two-man gunship and chase after them but soon crash deeper into the island after taking damage. Dar is hit on the head during the crash and is knocked unconscience momentarily until the ship lands in the middle of a lake within a large valley and is woken up by the water. He manages to cut himself and Ajin free of the ship's safety lines and swims them to the lakeshore. Dar and Ajin kiss again, with Dar beginning to believe Ajin's assertions that they are meant to be together.
The two travel for four days, making slow progress getting out of the valley, when they are captured by a group of natives. Ajin identiifies the men as exciles from the Jute nation and knows enough of their language to speak to them. It soon becomes clear that these Jute exciles are cannibals and intend to eat them both. Ajin and Dar go along peacefully but wait for an opportunity to escape. Their opportunity arrives when Seelah, Shea and the Nambizi boy that saved them earlier (his name is Borshawk) ambush the Jute savages while riding a large war shrike. Borshawk insists that they all ride the war shrike back to safety while he walks back, since the shrike cannot carry all five of them out. Dar marvels at Borshawk's ability to command and tame the shrike even when the boy isn't with it. After the Behemoth is repaired and begins flying away from the island, Borshawk appears again next to the airship on the war shrike's back, waving farewell to Shea, Dar, and the airship crew.
Skaarsland[]
Eventually, the Behemoth makes it to the continent of Eurodia and then the isle of Skaarsland. Ajin guides them, allowing them to avoid detection and has the ship land by a river downstream from the Skaar's palace and city center. Ajin soon leaves for the city to find out what has happened to her mother, while Dar the rest of the party begin working to set up Annabelle so that they can run the machine and see if it will work in altering Skaarsland's perpetual winter.
Dar waits for Ajin to return for four days before he and Brecon decide to go into the Skaar city and find her. Using the Elfstones to locate her, Brecon discovers that Ajin and her mother were captured in a secret underground prison in the derlect part of the city. The underground prison is guarded by mutanous half-man half-wolf monsters created and control by Ajin's stepmother, Queen Agathien d'Amphere. Dar and Brecon brake into the prison that was suspciously absent of wolf-men until both Ajin and her mother Orestiana were out of the holding cell, and then the wolf-men all appeared and attacked. Dar has all four of them go back into the cell, hoping to use the walls and single point of entry to their advantage. Just then, Agathien arrives and threatens to have all of them forcably transformed into her subserviant wolf-men.
As the wolf-men threaten to overwhelm them, Dar has the idea for Brecon to use the elfstones to project images of the wolf-men's former-selves. Just before Brecon calls forth the magic, Darcon confesses his love for Ajin. The power of the elfstones and their visions immediately have an effect on the wolf-men, remembering the horror of their transformation and finding their free will. The wolf-men turn on Agathien, quickly swarming her and tearing her apart. Dar carried Orestiana out as they fled the prison, traping the wolf-men inside. Once out, Ajin assumes control of the city, her dismissal in the Four Lands by her father unknown to those in Skaarsland.
After Ajin learns that her father was assassinated in the Four Lands, she recalls his troops back to their home country, since her people's motivation to find a new home has vanished now that the climate is back to normal thanks to the combined power of Annabelle and Shea's unexpected use of the wishsong. Darcon is disheartened that he is unable to spend this time or even be seen with Ajin during this time and his insecurities grow, leading to a big arguement with Ajin the night before her coronation.
When the army was fully returned from the Four Lands, Ajin is crowned Queen of Skaarsland. While watching the coronation, Dar realizes that he cannot stay in Skaarsland and be with Ajin as queen, as her advisors and people would never allow them to be together. He vows to leave the next morning. That night, Ajin joins him in his bed just as she had aboard the Behemoth, and Dar tries to tell her of his plan to leave in the morning but she asks to just enjoy the night together and not speak of the future. The next morning he commandeers an airship and, along with Brecon and Shea, sails back to the Four Lands without saying goodbye to Ajin.
Protector to the Queen[]
Upon returning to the Four Lands, all three travel to Emberen and reunite with Tarsha. Darcon is sad to learn of Drisker's death but takes joy in knowing that Clizia is also dead. After departing Emberen, Dar spends a month with Brecon in Arborlon. Dar tries to distract himself from the pain of being without Ajin and Brecon encourages him to go back to her. Dar eventually travels back home to Leah, reuniting with his family. He tells them of all that has happened to him, minus anything about Ajin. After another month of trying to keep busy and distract himself, he goes to a hunting cabin to be alone. After a few days there, he finds Ajin waiting for him.
Ajin asks Dar to come back to Skaarsland and be with her. She cites her early success as queen as proof that she can be with whomever she wants and her advisors cannot let her abdicate. She offers him the role as her personal protector, meaning that Dar will have to be with her wherever she goes. Dar accepts and the two share their most passionate kiss yet.
Physical Appearance[]
Like most Leahs of the latter Shannara novels, Darcon has reddish hair and blue eyes. He's described as being tall, muscular, and striking.