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Leah, also known as the Kingdom of Leah and the Highlands of Leah, is a small highland country in the Southland that lies just south of Rainbow Lake and east of the Lowlands of Clete and the Black Oaks. The name refer to both the country and its capital.

Characteristics

Like most Southland communities Leah is populated by the Race of Man. Individuals from Leah are often addressed by outsiders as Highlanders.

The kingdom was forcibly annexed by the Federation after the time of the Druid Allanon. Many years later, the Highlands regained their right to self-governance after the Federation's aggressive push for dominance was stopped by Par Ohmsford, Walker Boh, Wren Elessedil, and Morgan Leah, a descendant of the former royal family. After the Federation left Leah to its own devices, an elected council became the governing body of the country.

According to The World of Shannara, Leah was a kingdom founded by a small minority of Southlanders who chose not to support the Warlock Lord in the First War of the Races.

House of Leah

The House of Leah is a pivotal family in the history of Leah and the Four Lands. Originally the ruling family of the kingdom, the Leahs in later times are regular people, having lost their royal status when the Federation first annexed the kingdom. For a time generations of Leahs served on the governing council, but by the time of Paxon Leah, no Leah had served on the council in years, and the Leah family were running a struggling small business shipping goods via airship freighters.

Members of the House of Leah have throughout history been the close friends and protectors of the House of Shannara, most famously with Menion Leah protecting Shea Ohmsford and Rone Leah protecting Brin Ohmsford. Members of the House of Leah since the time of Menion have used the Sword of Leah in their quests.

On more than one occasion, the House of Leah merged with the House of Shannara. Walker Boh and Paxon Leah are examples of those who are part of both the Leah and Shannara bloodlines.

Changes Made for the TV Adaptation

  • In The Shannara Chronicles, Leah is presented as an opulent, lush kingdom with a massive, gilded palace. In the novels, Leah is portrayed as a small-time, unassuming kingdom, with members of the royal family behaving and being treated no differently than average middle-class folk.
  • In the TV series the palace of Leah sits atop a massive dam controlling the flow of the Silver River; this dam does not exist in the novels. Also in the TV series, the House of Leah are the traditional stewards of Heaven's Well, the source of the Silver River. This is reminiscent of Capaal, a citadel of the Dwarves in The Wishsong of Shannara which had multiple locks and dams holding back the waters of the Cillidellan, a lake that feeds into the lower portion of the Silver River. In the novels, it is the Dwarves who are the traditional caretakers of the river and the lands around it.

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