Stone of Tears
Terry Goodkind
 After the death of Darken Rahl, Richard is afflicted by a series of painful headaches. He also learns from Shota of his lineage as the bastard son of Darken Rahl and the grandson (on his mother's side) of Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander. After having mastered the Wizard's First Rule, Richard learns that the opening of the boxes of Orden has torn the veil between the world of the living and the underworld and thus, he has made a grave mistake; the violation of the Wizard's Second Rule, namely, that "The greatest harm can result from the best intentions". He also learns that only he can close the veil, and if he doesn't the whole world will be in the hands of the Keeper. Richard gets a visit from three Sisters of the Light (Sister Grace, Elizabeth and Verna), who inform him that his headaches are caused by the awakening of the gift within him and are fatal and unstoppable, unless Richard receives magical training. The Sisters tell him that he must go with them and wear a Rada'Han, a magical collar, in order to control his headaches and the gift. They also explain that they will offer him their help three times, and if he refuses each time, the Sisters will not be able to help him ever again. Despite this warning, Richard declines to use the collar (and thereby the help of the Sisters) when Sister Grace offers it to him. After asking for the forgiveness of her fellow Sisters, she kills herself. As the two remaining Sisters tell Richard of the second reason for wearing the collar; so that they can control him. He refuses the collar a second time and tries to prevent the second Sister, Elizabeth, from killing herself. In the riot the third sister, Sister Verna, manages to stick a knife in Sister Elizabeth's back. Seeking guidance on how to repair the veil, Richard and Kahlan request another "gathering"; which involves turning to the "ancestors' spirits" for help in the spirit house of the Mud People. But instead of being able to speak to the spirits Richard and Kahlan are sent down to the underworld and are placed face-to-face with Darken Rahl. He explains that Richard has brought him back through the veil by calling "a gathering of ancestors' spirits." Thus Rahl, as Richard's ancestor, is sent back to the world of the living. Richard has thereby violated the second rule again. This allows Rahl to continue his task of bringing the The Keeper into the world. Rahl touches Richard with the Keeper's mark, making him unconscious and lets Kahlan know that Richard is only minutes away from death. The two of them are sent back to the spirit house from the underworld. As Kahlan desperately tries to save Richard, a glowing spirit emerges in the spirit house. It is the spirit of Denna, who tells Kahlan that she has to force Richard into wearing the collar, and that if he doesn't, the headaches will kill him and everything will be lost. Denna also tells Kahlan in detail about the agonizing torture, pain, and madness, that has been inflicted upon Richard's mind. Denna then puts her hand on Richard's mark and takes his place, and is sent down to the underworld and the Keeper. As the third and final Sister returns, Kahlan tells Richard that he has to put on the collar. When he tries to explain his reluctance, Kahlan makes Richard believe that the only way to prove his love for her is to wear it. Richard reluctantly agrees to wear the collar and reveals to Kahlan that the third reason for wearing the collar is to inflict pain on the wearer. Richard has misinterpreted Kahlan's intentions, and believes that she no longer loves him. He leaves, telling her merely to find Zedd. Devastated, Richard submits to the remaining Sister, and leaves with her to go to the Palace of Prophets. Richard travels with Sister Verna to the Palace of the Prophets, which is located in the Old World. The Sisters see their job as spreading knowledge of the The Creator to the world through the training of wizards. Before reaching the palace, Richard is forced into a battle with thirty Baka Ban Mana blademasters. It is their job it is to teach the Seeker to dance with the spirits by using the Sword of Truth's magic to access the collective knowledge of all previous users of the sword. Be a feather, not a rock. Float on the wind of the storm is the first tactical advice he receives from the Sword's magic. During his stay at the palace Richard comes to terms with the fact that he has the gift of magic. He discovers he is a War Wizard: one who has the gift of both additive and subtractive magic. Later, he learns from Nathan Rahl, another wizard in the Palace of the Prophets, that he is the first to be born with such power in three thousand years. It is revealed that the Prelate brought Richard to the Palace to flush out the Sisters of the Dark, a secret society within the Sisters of the Light dedicated to the task of unleashing the Keeper into the world of the living. As the Prelate herself says, "When your house is overrun with rats the only thing you can do is bring in a cat. This cat sees us all as rats. Maybe with good reason." Richard also finds out that it was the Prelate and Nathan that helped Richard's stepfather, George Cypher, retrieve The Book of Counted Shadows, which contains instructions on how to correctly open the Boxes of Orden. Richard also realizes belatedly that the Palace of the Prophets is the trap in time foretold by Shota the witch woman; the palace is spelled so that those within its walls age at a much slower rate. Nathan Rahl himself is close to one thousand years old. Kahlan embarks on a long trek back to her home of Aydindril along with three Mud People. Along the way they come across a sacked city, Ebinissia, with the inhabitants' corpses filling the streets and the surrounding countryside. Kahlan and the three mud people race to catch up with a band of some five thousand troops that are trailing the enemy which sacked Ebinissia. She is shocked to realize that these soldiers are all younger than expected. She assumes command of this youthful army and begins to strategize tactics for taking on the much larger army of what she now knows to be The Imperial Order. After months of imprisonment, Richard escapes and races to stop a prophecy from coming to pass. Namely, the one he received in the Valley of the Lost: Of all there were, but a single one born of the magic to bring forth truth will remain alive when the shadow's threat is lifted. Therefore comes the greater darkness of the dead. For there to be a chance at life's bond, this one in white must be offered to her people, to bring their joy and good cheer. The prophecy speaks of the beheading of his beloved Kahlan, whom he now realizes was only trying to help him by sending him with the Sisters. Only by fulfilling the prophecy can Richard close the veil and thwart Darken Rahl, casting the Keeper back into the underworld with the eponymous Stone of Tears. After Richard returns the Stone of Tears to the underworld and once again defeats Darken Rahl and the Keeper, he rushes to Aydindril to find Kahlan. Upon finding Kahlan has already been executed, Richard kills all the councillors who sentenced Kahlan to death. He is unaware that Zedd has cast a death spell to make all believe that Kahlan is dead. Denna's spirit visited the both of them and they were reunited in a place between worlds.