Bremen
From The World of Shannara
| Bremen | |
|---|---|
| |
| Race: | Man |
| Gender: | Male |
| Hair color: | White |
| Eye color: | Gray, Vaguely Green |
| Loyalty: | Four Lands, Kinson, Tay, Risca , Mareth, Allanon |
| First appearance: | First King of Shannara |
| Birth: | Unknown |
| Death: | Old Age, taken to the Hadeshorn |
Bremen lived during the time of the Second War of the Races, and appears in the novel First King of Shannara. He was one of the only Druids during his time to research and seek out the lost means and uses of magic. He foresaw the coming of the Warlock Lord and tried unsuccessfully to warn and save the Druids at Paranor. It was his leadership that guided many of the heroes in combating the Warlock Lord. He was instrumental in forging the Sword of Shannara with which Jerle Shannara used to defeat the Warlock Lord. He adopts Allanon as his son and teaches him to become the next and only Druid after his death.
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Description
Bremen is described as:
| “ | He wore black, like all the Druids, cloaked and hooded, wrapped darker than the shadows he passed through. He was not a big man, neither tall nor well muscled, but he gave the impression of being hard and fixed of purpose. His eyes, when visible, were vaguely green. But at times they seemed as white as bone... They gleamed like an animal's caught in a fragment of the light - feral, piercing, hypnotic. Light illuminated the old man's face as well, carving out the deep lines that creased it from forehead to chin, playing across the ridges and valleys of the ancient skin. The old man's hair and beard were gray going fast toward white, the strands wispy and thin like tangled spiderwebs. | „ |
| -- First King of Shannara (1996), pp. 3-4 | ||
Origin and History
Born to parents who where never able to settle in one spot for very long, Bremen was given over to his grandfather to be raised in the hill country below Leah. Bremen remembers his grandfather with fondness, referring to him as a "fine man."[1] Resentful at his parents for some time, he eventually comes to terms that they tried to do what is best for him.
Bremen joined the Druid Council as a young man, though the time frame is unknown to all, as Bremen was much older than any during his time. Over time, he watched with frustration, as the Druid Council pulled more and more back from the rest of the world. It was during this time, that Bremen began to look towards magic as a possible alternative to re-creating the old sciences. As he states:
| “ | Magic could provide a more manageable and durable form of power than that found through science. It has untapped potential beyond that of the sciences, even at the levels of scientific advancement found in the Old World. | „ |
| -- The World of Shannara (2001), pp. 25 | ||
Bremen was warned against the research and practice of magic. The fact that Brona and his followers used magic to ill effect in the First War of the Races did nothing to help Bremen cause. Though there where a few, Risca and Tay Trefenwyd, that believed in what Bremen was doing and studied with him, the vast majority frowned upon his experiments.
Bremen refused to back down from his belief in the benefits in magic. This stubborn refusal to play by the rules of the Council, got him exiled from Paranor. After his banishment, Bremen traveled to the Westland and Arborlon. There he was given access to all the ancient tomes and means of Elven magic from the time of Faerie. The Elves believed in Bremen's work and he made many friends among the Elves. [2]
After spending years with the Elves Bremen, began traveling the rest of the lands looking for other sources of magic. Most where lost in understanding to even though who used it, but Bremen sought it all out. It was during this time, that Bremen began to suspect that Brona did in fact survive the First War of the Races. Enlisting the help of Kinson Ravenlock Bremen spend the next few years unearthing clues to confirm the existing of Brona. [2]
Second War of the Races
Unheeded Warning
Before the war even began Bremen had been seeking out confirmation of the reality of the Warlock Lord. He finally travels to the Northland, to Skull Mountain, to see for himself. He disguises himself using his magic as a thing of darkness like the Skull Bearers and is able to see Brona himself.
From there he travels to the Streleheim Plains to meet up with Kinson Ravenlock, his friend and companion. They then travel to Paranor to warn the Druids of the danger and to see if Bremen can get them to help the Four Lands.
On reaching Paranor he was able to talk to the Captain of the Druid Guard, an Elf Caerid Lock, to get an audience with Athabasca the High Druid. Taken through secret passages so as to not be seen, Caerid takes Bremen to the office of Athabasca. With Caerid outside Bremen has his meeting with Athabasca, which does not go well.
Athabasca leaves to discuss the news with the Druid Council. When Athabasca returns to his office and Bremen, he dismisses Bremen saying the affairs of the outside world are no longer a concern of the Druid Council. Bremen is shocked by the cursory nature of his dismissal and called Athabasca a fool as he leaves the office with Caerid.
Caerid lets Bremen meet with Tay Trefenwyd and Risca on the way through the castle. Bremen speaks to the threat, and his former students pledge their support and desire to go with him. They will meet him outside. Bremen then is allowed to meet with Kahle Reese the keeper of the Druid Histories. He warns Kahle and gives him a bag of magical dust with which to hid the Histories should the need arise. From there Bremen sneaks away from Caerid and goes to the Druid's Well. With a spell he reawakens the magic lying in the well for the protection of the keep.
Hadeshorn
In the morning he, the Druid apprentice Mareth asks to come with him. She desires to be with Bremen to help him with her innate magic. Despite the objections of the rest of his company, Bremen agrees to let her come with them.
There journey south through the Kennon Pass and the Dragon's Teeth Mountains to the Valley of Shale. Bremen speaks with the shade of the Druid Galaphile asking for help. Galaphile gives Bremen four visions. The first of the fall of Paranor through treachery within. The second of the location in the Black Elfstone within the Westland mountains of the Breakline. The third of a man wielding a magical sword in combat with the Warlock Lord out on a battlefield. In the hilt of the sword is the Eilt Druin, the symbol of office for the High Druid]]. The fourth vision is of Bremen and a young boy with intense eyes standing at the lake of the Hadeshorn in front of Galaphile.
The Eilt Druin
The vision of the fall of Paranor and the sword wielded by the elf, lead Bremen to believe that Paranor had in fact already fallen and he needed to return to the Druid Keep and retrieve the Eilt Druin. He asked Risca to travel to the Eastland to warn Raybur and the Dwarves of the threat of the Warlock Lord and to let what magic he had. He then sent Tay to the Westland and to the Elves, to search out the Black Elfstone and have the Elves bring help to the Dwarves. He took Kinson and Mareth with him back north to the Paranor.
Once at Paranor they discovered Caerid Lock barely alive. He told of the betrayal of the keep from within and of the three that waited for the Druids return. Bremen told Kinson and Mareth to wait and cautiously entered the keep in search of the Eilt Druin. He was able to find it in the Bedroom of Athabasca, forgotten in the nights commotion. He also checked the library of the Druid Histories satisfied that Kahle has used the magical dust to cover the Druid Histories.
On his way out, down one of the spiral stair cases, he became trapped between two creatures left by the Warlock Lord. A third he destroyed as it dropped from the ceiling, but the expenditure of magic at the Hadeshorn in destroying it left him spent. He was saved when Mareth and Kinson showed up, with Mareth using her magic to destroy the two remaining creatures. Afterwards they quickly fled the keep as the magic protecting the keep stirred to life.
To Darklin Reach
Bremen sent Kinson and Mareth ahead to Storlock to look for word on a man named Cogline. He meanwhile went back to the Hadeshorn in an attempt to learn more of what to do. The waters of the lake did not respond kindly and no shades appeared to council the Druid.
The three traveled into Darklin Reach to Hearthstone and paid a visit to Cogline. Bremen was able to talk a reluctant Cogline into giving him a formula for a metal alloy that would create an extremely light yet incredibly strong sword.
Forging and Empowering the Sword
After Darklin Reach, the company travels south to the Southland town Dechtera to find someone to forge a sword. While Kinson is off in the town looking for a smith, Mareth tells Bremen the whole truth of her history. She tells him of her belief that he is her father. She is ready for a fight and confrontation with Bremen letting her feelings take over. Bremen's response is calm and measured. He makes it clear that due to usage of the Druid sleep that he is unable to sire children. He speculates that it would seem logical that her father might in fact be a Skull Bearer. Ultimately he says that he is proud of her and would be happy to be her father, would he be able.
When Kinson returns, he leads to other two to see a smith named Urprox Screl the finest craftsman that Kinson has ever seen. Bremen talks to the smith and convinces him to come out of retirement and forge this one sword that will help save the Four Lands. Bremen gives him the formula for the alloy for the blade. On the night of the forging, Bremen uses his magic to help make the fire hot enough and infuse the sword with what magic that he can. In the morning they leave, heading north to the Hadeshorn once more.
On crossing the Silver River they encounter the Northland army of the Warlock Lord. Kinson leaves to scout for the night. During the night Bremen is visited by the King of the Silver River, he offers Bremen assurance in following his own counsel and the path that he is following. He tells him of the death of the Elven Royal family, and lets him and Mareth sleep a peaceful unwatched night.
In the morning Bremen sends Kinson and Mareth to the Eastland to fetch the Dwarves. He continues to the Hadeshorn. When there the Galaphile orders him to hold the sword aloft. In turn, each of the Druids gone past come forward and touch the sword on the Eilt Druin, thus empowering the sword with what little part of themselves they have left, the truth.
To Arborlon and the King of the Elves
Bremen next headed west to Arborlon as that was the direction the Northland army was headed in. His journey took him through Varfleet, which had been completely razed to the ground by the Northland army. Nothing appeared to be living, when he sensed a presence. Moving to investigate he discovered a boy of about twelve years of age. Though unwilling to communicate with him, Bremen becomes instantly curious of the boy when he sees that the boy has the same intense eyes of the youth he saw in the fourth vision given to him from Galaphile. The boy follows him, and after three days the boy camps with Bremen and begins to talk to him finally. He learns that the boys name is Allanon.[3]
When Bremen reaches Arborlon he immediately seeks out the Elven King, Jerle Shannara, and secretly enters his study. Immediately when seeing the kings battle stance, Bremen knows that he has found the one who is to wield the sword against the Warlock Lord. He learns of the Black Elfstone, the death of Tay Trefenwyd, and the assassination of the Elven Royal family. He gives Jerle the sword and shares with him the magic to be used against the Warlock Lord. Bremen finds himself in need of encouraging Jerle and trying to bolster the doubt that he carries.[4]
The Battle of Rhenn
The next day Allanon and Bremen join the King as he marches with the rest of the Elven Army into defensive positions in the Valley of Rhenn. Bremen's magic is instrumental at numerous times during the ensuing battle against the Northland army.
Early Allanon stated that he wanted to be taught to use the Druid magic and to be a Druid like Bremen. Given small tasks by Bremen, Allanon mastered them with great ease, agility and single minded determination.
During the first night's sneak attack, it is Bremen that saves Jerle Shannara from a dark creature from the netherworld. Most importantly Bremen allows it so that the Elves can withstand the attack conducted by the dark creatures. Be uses Druid magic to coat the weapons of the Elves so that their weapons may harm the creatures. Then he is very involved in the fury of the battle saving one whole flank of the Elven Army from collapse. Allanon used his fledgling magic to save Bremen during a battle in the Battle of Rhenn. Bremen was being grabbed by the forearms by a creature from the netherworld. Being overpowered, Allanon leaped on the creatures back, put both hands over its eyes and and Druid fire exploded from his hands, wild and uncontrolled. In pain the creature let go of Bremen and he killed the creature.[5]
On the final day of battle in the Rhenn the Northland Army brings up all it's siege engines. With the Elves near the breaking point, the prospects do not look good. Bremen uses Allanon to channel his own magic. Holding the boy, the Druid fire raced through him to the boy and then to his outstretched hands. Druid fire arced forth burning the siege machines that the Northland army had brought up. It completely burned up the towers and weapons, and their handlers. Then the magic moved to the troops of the Northland army, causing such destruction that they routed from the Valley of Rhenn.[6]
Finally during the night of that fateful day, Bremen uses his magic to mark all the Elven forces to more easily distinguish them during a planned night battle. Bremen accompanies the forces during this time. Through these last fights Bremen expends so much magic that he is irreparably harmed. Though he accompanies Jerle on his chase of the Warlock Lord, he has so little strength that he is not of much use during the final confrontation.
Epilogue
Bremen takes Allanon under is wing as his apprentice and successor of the Druid Order. He spends three years with the boy training him in the arts of the Druids. However given that Bremen only started using the Druid sleep very late in his life, the extreme expenditure of energy and magic that he used during the Second War of the Races cost him greatly, from which he was unable to really recover from.
Bremen called the boy to him and let him know that his lessons where at an end and they would be leaving Paranor for the Hadeshorn. One leaving the Druid Keep, Bremen summoned the magic from the Druid's Well so that it would envelope the Keep and take it to another world, though it would appear from time to time at irregular intervals.
Bremen then took Allanon to the Hadeshorn. Before going before the lake, Bremen imparted to the boy that the Warlock Lord had not been defeated. He did not feel a need to tell Jerle something that he could not have done anything about. But Allanon needed to know for it fell on his shoulders to protect the future generations as he saw fit.
As they neared the lake's edge Bremen passed the Black Elftone to Allanon for safe keeping. Then he summoned the shade of Galaphile. Galaphile gathered up Bremen in his arms and took him away into the depths of the Hadeshorn. [7]
After Death
Bremen appears in all three novels of the Original Shannara Trilogy. Every time Allanon visits the Hadeshorn, it is Bremen who is summoned and speaks to the Druid of the future and what needs to get done. After The Wishsong of Shannara when Allanon dies, Bremen no longer appears, with Allanon taking his place as the Shade that is spoken to when the Hadeshorn is visited.
References
- ^ Brooks, Terry (1996). First King of Shannara pp. 301-302
- ^ 2.0 2.1 Brooks, Terry and Patterson, Teresa (2001). The World of Shannara pp. 26
- ^ Brooks, Terry (1996). First King of Shannara pp. 374-376
- ^ Brooks, Terry (1996). First King of Shannara pp. 389-392
- ^ Brooks, Terry (1996). First King of Shannara pp. 443
- ^ Brooks, Terry (1996). First King of Shannara pp. 448-449
- ^ Brooks, Terry (1996). First King of Shannara pp. 484-489
| Major Characters in First King of Shannara |
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|
Bremen · Jerle · Kinson · Mareth · Risca · Tay · Minor Characters |
| Druids in Shannara |
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Allanon · Athabasca · Bremen · Brona · Cogline · Galaphile · Grianne · Kahle Reese · Mareth · Risca · Tay · Walker Boh |
