Faith of the Fallen
Terry Goodkind
 Faith of the Fallen begins right where Soul of the Fire leaves off. Richard is taking Cara and an injured Kahlan to the high mountains of his homeland, Westland. At the end of the Soul of the Fire Richard realizes that he cannot win against Emperor Jagang until the people themselves want to fight for freedom. Because of this mindset Richard isolates himself in the woods, to allow Kahlan time to heal, and refuses to give orders to the D'Haran army. He insists that the fight against the Imperial Order is a doomed cause and further resistance can only result in the loss of more lives. After Kahlan has made a significant recovery, the trio is reintroduced to Nicci, an impassive Sister of the Dark who was one of Richard’s instructors at the Palace of the Prophets in Stone of Tears. She provides great insight into the goals of the Order and about the Dreamwalker, Jagang himself. Nicci believes fully in the goal of the Order: to have everyone live in equality with no one person attaining more "gifts" than another. Nicci achieves her goal in capturing Richard, something that she accomplishes using the rare and difficult maternity spell linking herself to Kahlan and enabling Nicci to kill Kahlan at any time. Anything that happens to Nicci now happens to Kahlan. Faced with a hopeless situation, Richard chooses the life of Kahlan over his own and is forced to go with Nicci into the Old World. Leaving Kahlan, Cara, and the Sword of Truth to rejoin the D'Haran army. Kahlan and Cara, despite knowing Richard's objections, leave the Upper Ven in search of help from Zedd and Sister Verna. Seeing the plight of her troops fighting against the Order, Kahlan takes command of the combined armies of D'Hara and the Midlands in a desperate attempt to halt the Order's advance into the New World. While Kahlan and Richard's friends do battle in the New World, Richard is put to work in the Old World capital of Altur'Rang, first as a delivery man of steel and timber for construction, and then as a sculptor at the new palace being built. Nicci is stringent on her teachings of the poor and needy in the Old World, and frequently informs Richard that it is his duty to ensure all are provided for. She expects Richard to not only see the pains of the poor, but feel the pains as well. Hoping, in the end, that he will be moved to the side of the Order. Ever so slowly, the opposite effect emerges. Nicci begins to see the Order for what it really is, slavery. She sees that Richard freely helps others and shows that one can take pride in his work, himself, and his surroundings. The people around him begin to take notice of his efforts and soon find their own purposes in life. Purposes, they can build upon and work for themselves. They find that it is only they who can make their life better. Soon, the people around Richard change their lives and their outlook for the better. Richard is commanded to erect a sculpture for the center of the New Palace as a punishment. Brother Narev, a self proclaimed leader of the Order, gives him the statue he is to carve. It is a hideous depiction of human existence showing the full pains of humanity. When Richard sees this he is repulsed to a point where a light fizzles out in his eyes. After sleeping on the idea, he wakes up the next day with a new idea. He will carve a statue, but it will be one of his own choosing. Richard works tirelessly to create his own depiction of Life. He carves in deep white marble the very nature of humanity and finally reveals the statue for all to see in a grand ceremony. Grown men and women fell to their knees in absolute awe-inspired wonder at the two individuals so proud in their humanity that they step forward into the hearts of the masses. "LIFE" is inscribed as the title. Shock and amazement draw record crowds as everyone wishes to glimpse on the beauty of true humanity. Brother Narev, when he finally arrives to see the statue, orders Richard to destroy the statue. Richard takes up the hammer and points to the crowd, telling them that the Order only wishes to destroy beauty, only wishes to enslave humanity under the doctrine of faith unsupported by the true value of life. He swings the hammer and shatters the statue in one blast. The people are in outraged shock, looking at a pile of rubble where once stood the most glorious object they have ever seen. Immediately they revolt, proclaiming that the Order will not enslave them any longer. They attack the Imperial Order, and Altur'Rang falls to the hands of the rebels. After fighting many battles against the Imperial Order, overseeing the wedding of Verna to the Wizard Warren, the subsequent death of Warren, and a major blow to the ranks of the Order, Kahlan and Cara leave to find Richard. They enter Altur'Rang in time to see the statue's absolute perfection, and watch as Richard shatters that perfection in one blow. As the rebellion begins Richard enters the palace to find brother Narev. He immediately finds and kills another brother and uses that brother's robes as a disguise. While working his way through the dark corridors he encounters Kahlan, the Sword of Truth over her shoulder. He runs towards her with a sword he claimed off a fallen Order soldier and forces Kahlan into immediate combat, although it's dark enough that she has no idea who she's fighting. Playing on the very moves he taught her earlier in the book, he forces Kahlan into giving him a death blow, and only then does she realize Richard is the one she's stabbed. Richard had realized that this was the only way to force Nicci to choose - to heal him and save him from the wound (which would require severing the link to Kahlan), or to continue to live in slavery. Nicci has seen the absolute glory and beauty of "Life," and long before seeing Richard injured has already pledged herself to her new doctrine: to live her life for herself. She had already vowed to undo the wrong she had done, and pledge loyalty to the man that returned her life to her. Nicci removes the maternity bond to Kahlan and heals Richard just in time. Altur'Rang is free, for a time, from the grasp of the Order, and the people have found a determination not to serve the system as slaves.