Wing Hove is a small community of Elves in the Westland that lies near the coast of the Blue Divide, well south of the Wilderun. It is the traditional home of the Sky Elves.
History
A small minority of Elves in Arborlon and the surrounding communities did not agree with the Elves' use of magic, and they decided to leave Arborlon and live apart from the rest of the Elves. They established a community on the south coast of the Westland, where the sea cliffs were populated with large birds called Rocs.
Over the years the Elves learned to tame and ride these Rocs: those who rode Rocs were called Wing Riders, and the Elven community was named Wing Hove. The Elves of Wing Hove soon saw themselves as a separate people and referred to themselves as the Sky Elves, differentiating themselves from the Land Elves of Arborlon who used magic and were not able to ride Rocs.
In the time of Wren Elessedil, Wing Hove had disappeared. About a century earlier the Land Elves had moved Arborlon and the entire Elven nation to the island of Morrowindl, a few days' ride off the coast of the Blue Divide, in order to escape Federation aggression. Twenty years later, Sky Elves left Wing Hove for the same reasons, and they settled on smaller islands closer to the coast. When Wren and her mentor Garth went to Wing Hove, all they found were the abandoned plots of land where homes used to be.
Once Wren restored Arborlon and the Elves to their rightful place back in the Westland, she led the Elves and their allies in a successful defense of the Westland against the Federation. The Sky Elves moved back to Wing Hove and repopulated the community. Although the Land Elves and Sky Elves traditionally never had much interaction with each other, Wren established a lasting alliance between both groups, one that remains strong centuries later. Pursuant to a contract drawn up in the early years of Wren's rule, the Wing Riders serve the Land Elves as scouts and messengers along the coast of the Blue Divide, in exchange for goods and money.
Changes Made for the TV Adaptation
- In The Shannara Chronicles Wing Hove is not a community of Elves but merely a place on the coast where Pyria Elessedil, the estranged sister of Eventine Elessedil, lives by herself. There is no mention of other Elves living nearby and no reference to Wing Riders or Rocs.
- Although Wing Hove lies far away from Arborlon and well beyond the treacherous country of the Wilderun, in the TV series Amberle Elessedil, Wil Ohmsford, and Allanon travel between Arborlon and Wing Hove fairly quickly and easily, whereas Safehold, which lies within the Wilderun, is depicted as being much farther away and harder to get to.