My ipad is in need of repair so in order to read before bed I need to use something else. I have a few books uploaded on my Kindle so I moved to the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. I love this series and first read the books cause of the television series (Legend of the Seeker) made from the books. They are not exactly the same as the books (whatever is) but its close enough that a well-loved television show and changed to a well-loved series of novels.
This book is the first in a series of 13 novels centering around Richard Cypher and Kahlan Amnell. The series takes them on a journey to save the Midlands from rule of tyranny in several forms through the series. Both make transformations of character which cause them to evolve. The thing I love the most about these novels is each one holds a moral or phrase at its heart that can be used by the reader in their own life.
The first book, Wizards First Rule, starts them on their journey. Kahlan goes from the Midlands into Westland to find a old and wise wizard to help free the Midlands from the tyrannical rule of D'hara and Darken Rahl who leads D'Hara. The remaining wizards in the Midlands helped Kahlan to cross the boundary between the Midlands and Westland, with the help of a night wisp, before killing themselves to protect Kahlan's mission and whereabouts. Kahlan believes the wizard is in hiding in Westlan after abandoned the Midlands because of his students rejection of his advice. She needs his help to fight Darken Rahl who is out to collect the boxes of Orden which if put together and opened properly will make Darken Rahl too powerful to destroy.
**************************Warning, reading below will reveal spoilers*********************
The story follows Richard for the most part as he meets Kahlan and protects her from a quad, a group of four men, sent to kill her by Darken Rahl. He befriends her and takes her to his old friend Zedd who is revealed to be the old wizard she is looking for. She asks Zedd to name a seeker, Zedd then named Richard seeker and tasks him with a final task and gives him the sword of truth which has magic. The travel Westland for the pass to the Midlands and is accompanied by Chase, the leader of the boundary wardens. Chase and Zedd are injured during an attack and Richard and Kahlan left them with a bone woman named Adie who told them of a pass in the mountains where the boundary has a gap in it. Richard and Kahlan traveled through the boundary and sought the help of the mud people and their spirits to locate the third box of Orden. The spirits told them to seek the witch woman Shota. Shota did reveal where the third box was but also told Richard that both Zedd and Kahlan would attack Richard. Zedd with wizards fire and Kahlan with her confessor magic. Kahlan tried many times to kill herself because of what Shota said but ultimately agreed with Richard that nothing is set in stone. They traveled to Tamarang, where the third box was almost ready to be given to Darken Rahl as a token in a peace treaty with D'Hara.
The story does for a time follow a little girl named Rachel who lives in Tamarang as the princess' playmate. She is treated horribly by the princess and ends up helping the wizard Giller to steal the last box before Darken Rahl gets ahold of it and she escapes the palace. Giller gave his life in a wizard life force in an attempt to kill Darken Rahl who realizes the box in the vault was a fake and Giller was behind the switch. Rachel was found by Richard and Kahlan after escaping but did not know she had the box and she did not tell them because she did not know they were friends. Kahlan's long hair made her scary to Rachel and her comments about Giller made Rachel run away from them during the night.
Richard and Kahlan, deciding one little girl was not as important as the box, prayed Rachel would be fine as the continued to Tamarang. On the road the found Zedd and the three of them entered Tamarang to learn the box was gone, and then left after freeing all the prisoners. They found Siddlin in the dungeons of Tamarang and rescued him. After leaving Tamarang they ran into Chase who had found Rachel. It was then revealed Rachel had the box. They all decided to gather where Richard's brother had assembled an army in order to have plenty of men in case Darken Rahl came for the box. As they crossed a bridge, Richard was knocked from his horse due to hitting some kind of invisible wall. Everyone else could walk through it except Richard. Zedd told him it was a spell done by the court artist in Tamarang, James, as an attempt to capture or kill Richard. Zedd told Richard where to find the cave James used to draw his spells. The rest went off towards the army.
Richard found the cave and altered the drawing with the tools Zedd gave him and released him from the spell and put James in his place. Richard was then captured by Mord'Sith, who are a group of women with the power to inflict pain to a person who has used their magic on a Mord'Sith. Deanna was the Mord'Sith that captured him under the command of Darken Rahl and she brought him to the dungeons of Tamarang for some "training" which is just the Mord'Sith's version of inflicting pain to bring certain behaviors. She had captured Richard's magic of the sword as he used it to kill her to inflict pain. Before leaving Tamarang, the princess visited the dungeons to return some humiliation she received while he visited with Kahlan earlier. Richard managed to dull the pain long enough to kick the princess in the jaw, shattering her jaw and severing her tongue. As Deana was leaving with Richard the queen demanded that Richard be released to her for execution for his crimes against the princess. Deanna killed the queen with her Agiel, which is a short rod used to inflict pain. Once they returned to D'Hara, Deanna continued the training and learned even through all the torture Richard had a special kind soul. After one night of Darken Rahl beating Deanna for her softness on Richard, Richard showed compassion Deanna had never known before and this allowed him to kill Deanna by turning the sword of truth's blade white and kill with love which is a magic that had not be captured by the Mord'Sith. Richard learned he could do this after a meeting with Darken Rahl in which Darken Rahl revealed that he wanted the Book of Counted Shadows which in an instruction book to the boxes of Orden. Richard had memorized the book and burnt it with the help of his father before he had been killed by Darken Rahl.
Richard was spelled by Darken Rahl that no friend would see Richard, they would only see an enemy. He also told Richard a friend has betrayed him as he had the last box. After killing Deanna and escaping the palace, Richard enlisted the help of a red dragon Darken Rahl had captured to find his friends who had left his brother on their way to rescue him. He found his friends but they didn't recognize him and Zedd used wizards fire on him as Shota had said he would. Richard, not being able to make his friends understand him, left to find his brother. He found him but also learned his brother betrayed him. Zedd, Chase, and Kahlan were then found by Darken Rahl's men and assaulted. The men had been spelled to protect them from Kahlan and Zedd's magic. When Kahlan was told Richard was dead she went into a rage known as the Con Dar, or blood rage, and sought revenge on Darken Rahl.
Richard, Kahlan, Zedd, and Chase all arrived at the palace at about the same time. Darken Rahl tricked Kahlan into using her power on Richard, imbolized Zedd and Chase, and demanded Richard recite the book of counted shadows. Beleiveing Richard to be under the spell of Kahlan's magic, Darken Rahl believed Richard when he lied about which box would bring him power. Darken Rahl claimed to have forknowledge on which box would instantly kill him, but dismissed it as true because he believed Richard could not lie. Darken Rahl then opened the wrong box and died.
