Shady Vale is a small village in the Southland that lies near the center of the Duln Forests. It lies in a valley where the Duln Forests stop and some of the slopes of the valley can be very steep and treacherous.
Characteristics[]
Like most Southland communities Shady Vale is populated by the Race of Man, who generally live in the Vale and rarely ever leave. Individuals from the Vale are often addressed by outsiders as Valeman, Valewoman, Valegirl, and so on.
Homes in the Vale are mostly long, low structures, each containing only a ground floor beneath a slightly sloping roof. The roof often tapers off at one side, to shelter a small veranda on the home. They are mostly constructed of wood with a stone foundation.
The valley is always very cold in the early morning, even during the summer months. It is not till the sun rises above the rim of the surrounding hills that it begins to warm up. Its location within the hills and the Duln Forests makes Shady Vale a community that is well-sheltered from outsiders and harsh weather.
Shady Vale is the traditional home of the heroes from the Ohmsford line and the location of the Ohmsford family's inn. In later times, the traditional home of the Ohmsfords is the airship way station called Patch Run.
Changes Made for the TV Adaptation[]
- In The Shannara Chronicles, Shady Vale is located only about a day away from Storlock, whereas in the novels Storlock is located in the Eastland, many days away from the Duln Forests and the Vale.
- In the TV series, Shady Vale is the place where Shea Ohmsford and the Druid Allanon hid the Warlock Lord's skull, under fields owned by the Ohmsford family which became a lake when a dam burst and flooded parts of the village.