Traunt Rowan is a character in the High Druid of Shannara trilogy. He was part of the mutinous Druid faction who banished their Ard Rhys Grianne Ohmsford into the Forbidding. Unlike the majority of the traitors, he did not necessarily want to see Grianne harmed, just replaced, and he even made an effort to stave off the coup by asking Grianne to resign.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Traunt was the son of Dannon and Cela Scio, who were both at one time members of the Federation's Coalition Council. Due to the Ilse Witch's machinations, the Scios were destroyed politically, and they died broken and alone, despised even by their closest friends.
As an adult Traunt joined the Druid Order but changed his last name to his mother's family name so that Grianne would not be able to place him. He later told Grianne that the only reason he joined the order was to make sure that Grianne had truly reformed, and that she was truly acting as an Ard Rhys and not the Ilse Witch.
The Coup[]
However, despite Grianne changing her ways, Traunt came to believe that it wasn't enough. In his view, Grianne was too hampered by her history as the Ilse Witch to ever be an effective Ard Rhys or maintain a successful and happy Druid Order.
Traunt came to visit Grianne shortly before the coup and asked her to resign. When Grianne pointed out that it didn't seem like Traunt wanted to be Ard Rhys himself, Traunt surprised Grianne by offering to support whomever she chose to replace her if she stepped down, despite the fact that he had to have known that she would never have chosen his associates Shadea a'Ru or Iridia Eleri as her successor.
The Ard Rhys refused to make a decision right away on whether to listen to Traunt, to which he responded with the implication that she didn't have that kind of time. However, when Grianne pressed Traunt on what he knew that was causing his sense of urgency, he left her room without telling her anything. Shortly after their meeting, Shadea, Iridia, and the rest of the mutinous faction banished Grianne into the Forbidding.
While Grianne was trapped in the Forbidding, Traunt and Pyson Wence tracked and pursued Pen Ohmsford, Grianne's nephew, in order to keep him from doing anything that might aid the Ard Rhys. Traunt found Pen at the ruins of Stridegate and took the boy back to Paranor as a prisoner. He also confiscated the darkwand that Pen had received from the tanequil.
However, Pen managed to escape, and with the help of the darkwand he was able to find and save Grianne from the Forbidding. When Grianne returned to Paranor, she confronted Shadea, Traunt, and Pyson, the three who were left of the coup plotters.
Shadea and Pyson were prepared to battle Grianne, but Traunt announced his surrender, saying that he would be leaving Paranor. He stated that although he still believed that Grianne was not the right person to lead the Druid Order, he would not stand in the way of someone lucky enough and powerful enough to come back out of the Forbidding alive. He walked away, urging Shadea to give up.
Enraged, Shadea screamed at Traunt, calling him a traitor. She struck him in the back with the full force of her Druid magic, killing him. Shadea and Pyson were then killed by Grianne and Kermadec, which brought the coup to an end.
Legacy[]
Once the dust had settled, Grianne herself came to believe that she was not the right person to lead the Druids. After she had put to rights everything that had been disrupted by the coup plotters, she dissolved the Druid Order in her final act as Ard Rhys, sending most of her remaining Druids back to their homes. Before she set out for Stridegate with Pen Ohmsford, she left Paranor in the hands of Khyber Elessedil and two young Druids who had supported her steadfastly: Bellizen and Trefen Morys. To this young trio she gave the task of restoring the Druid Order when the time was right. Years later, Khyber became the first Ard Rhys of the fourth Druid Order.
Physical Appearance[]
Traunt was tall and broad-shouldered, and to Grianne he looked more like a warlock and less like a Druid. He had a strong-featured face and a calm, cool demeanor that hid a deeply intense nature.