The Sword of Truth - The First Law of Magic
The Sword of Truth - The First Law of Magic is a fantasy novel by Terry Goodkind published in 1994. The English original title is: Wizard's First Rule . The book is the author's first published novel and the prelude to an 11-part series (in the American original, only 17 parts in the German edition, recently also 11 parts), with which Goodkind became internationally known. The television series Legend of the Seeker , which was filmed in 2008, is based on the series .
The novel was first published in German in two parts in the "paperback" format, the first part under the same (!) Title, the second as Der Schatten des Magiers . The first half of the novel was published in a special edition as a cheaper paperback, and later as one of ten works in the fantasy library of Bild am Sonntag , which was published as the magazine's first book series since 2006. The divided novels later appeared undivided, initially also in paperback format as "Two episodes in one volume".
action
In Westland
The three countries Midland, Westland and D'Hara are separated from each other by a magical barrier. The Midlands are threatened by the power-hungry wizard and ruler of D'Hara, Darken Rahl. With the help of magicians, the Confessor Kahlan Amnell succeeds in overcoming the magical border to Westland (which, unlike the Midlands, has no magic). She is pursued by a Quadron (consisting of four D'Haras mercenaries). Richard Cypher, whose father was recently murdered, runs into her by chance and helps her escape the Quadron. Richard has no idea who Kahlan really is and what her mission is. Kahlan wants to find the powerful and last magician of the 1st order and ask him - if necessary also to force them by means of their confessor power - to appoint the seeker. According to an ancient prophecy, only the Seeker can defeat Darken Rahl.
Richard and Kahlan finally get to Zedd (Zeddicus Z'ul Zorander), who in Richard's eyes had been a simple cloud interpreter and fatherly friend. Richard finds out that Zedd is the wizard he is looking for. Kahlan informs Zedd about the desperate situation in the Midlands: Those who oppose Darken Rahl will be killed, the common people suffer from hunger. Darken Rahl strives for a magical object of great power, the three boxes of order. Two boxes are already in his hands, the third one is still missing. If Rahl does not open the right box on the 1st day of winter, he will be defeated for all time. However, if he opens the right box, he becomes invincible and master of all life. Zedd explains to Kahlan that the seeker she is looking for and whom he should appoint must reveal himself - a wizard only confirms this. Finally it turns out that Richard has the gift of the seeker. Zedd hands him the sword of truth, the seeker's weapon.
The three set off to make their way to the Midlands. On the way they go to the border post Chase, a friend of Richard and Zedd, who is supposed to help them penetrate the magical barrier. Indeed, there is a secret gate in the south of Westland, the King's Gate. However, the four are hunted by heart dogs on the way and finally attacked by an unknown creature with tentacles. Chase and Zedd are injured. Richard and Kahlan manage to house the two wounded with Adie, a magician. Adie knows the magic limit better than anyone else. She describes the two of them the dangers and how they can overcome the limit.
In the Midlands
With the time approaching the first day of winter, Richard and Kahlan leave without Chase and Zedd. They manage to get to the Midlands. There they begin their search for the third box of order, which Darken Rahl does not yet have. They seek out the Mud People because they can talk to the souls of their ancestors. Richard learns from the souls of the Mudman ancestors that the witch Shota knows where the third box of order is. Since Shota is dangerous and hates confessors, Kahlan has great reservations about going to see her. However, they have no other choice and so they set off into the agades. The witch Shota subjects Richard to a test, which he passes. Shota, like all other magical creatures of Darken Rahl, is threatened with danger, so she decides to help Richard by revealing that the third box of order is in Queen Milena's treasury in Tamarang.
On the way to Tamarang, Richard finally learns from Kahlan what a Confessor is with the help of a ruse. Confessors can change anyone through their touch. A changed person becomes a slave to the Confessor, he no longer has a will of his own. In the Midlands it is common for a convicted criminal to have the right to be touched by a Confessor and thus to prove his guilt or innocence. After the change, he tells the truth at the request of the confessor. An innocent person stays alive, but loses his own will. A confessor cannot enter into a normal marriage, because at the latest during the act of love a confessor cannot hold back his magic and will change the man with it. In earlier times there were also male confessors, but since they lacked compassionate compassion, they were power-obsessed and vicious. They are therefore killed as babies. Kahlan is the Mother Confessor, the head of your association. The Mother Confessor is above everyone else in the Midlands, even above kings and queens. Its job is to protect smaller peoples who are not represented on the Midlands Council in Aydindril. Darken Rahl had all the confessors killed by quadrons. Kahlan is the last remaining Confessor, whom Darken Rahl needs alive, because in the Book of Counted Shadows, the instructions on how to open and use the boxes of order, there is talk of a Confessor as an examiner.
Since Kahlan and Richard have now fallen in love, the opening that he can't love Kahlan comes as a big shock to Richard.
In the meantime, Queen Milena is negotiating with Darken Rahl. She wants to enter into an alliance with him and hand him the third box of order. The magician of the 2nd order, Giller, also lingers at her court, thinking of a way to remove the box from Rahl's reach. For this he befriends the orphan Rachel, a little girl who is the playmate of Violet, Queen Milena's daughter. Giller succeeds in winning Rachel's trust. He tells her about his plan to hide the box in a piece of bread and smuggle it out of the palace. The palace guards are used to the fact that Rachel is often punished for trifles and has to spend a night outside the palace and therefore let her out - despite orders to the contrary. The plan is working. However, Giller himself does not manage to escape, as Rahl arrives at the queen's court earlier than announced. Darken Rahl discovers that the box has been replaced by a fake. During the torture, Giller kills himself with a wizard fire in order not to reveal Rachel and the whereabouts of the box, who is meanwhile further and further away from the courtyard.
In the wilderness, Kahlan and Richard meet Rachel. Rachel does not trust Kahlan, however, because Kahlan is recognizable as a member of the upper class by her long hair (in the Midlands the length of the hair reveals the social class). Rachel has had too bad experiences with Milena and Violet. She also overhears Richard and Kahlan talking about Giller, whom they believe to be a traitor who has served Queen Milena. Rachel runs away at night. Meanwhile, Kahlan and Richard meet Zedd again. The three of them set off to Queen Milena's court, but they can only find out that Giller is dead and cannot find out anything about the whereabouts of the box.
On the way back they meet Chase, who has Rachel with him. He saved her from a gar, a man-sized, flying monster that hunts people. They convince Rachel that they misjudged Giller and that they are enemies of Queen Milena. They plan to visit Richard's brother, who has left for the Midlands with a Westland army. There, they believe, the box is safe.
In D'Hara
Richard is captured by a murder Sith named Denna on the way to see his brother. She cruelly tortures Richard with her punisher, the Mord-Sith's torture tool, and brings him to D'Hara. Richard is almost about to break from the torture. Nevertheless, he manages to develop pity for Denna. This enables him to turn the sword of truth white and kill Denna. Darken Rahl finds out beforehand that Richard memorized the book of the numbered shadows in his childhood and then burned it - so he absolutely needs Richard to open the three boxes. Richard can walk unhindered out of the People's Palace, because Darken Rahl has placed a magic net on him, a network of enemies, and knows that Richard cannot finally escape him. To other people, he automatically looks like their enemy.
Richard wants to find his friends as soon as possible, but they are still several days' ride away. Richard seeks out Scarlet, a red dragon. Darken Rahl has kidnapped Scarlet's egg and blackmailed her in order to force Scarlet to fly Rahl to the desired locations. Richard manages to save Scarlet's egg. In return, Scarlet is ready to transport Richard. During conversations with Scarlet, Richard finds out that Draken Rahl was with Scarlet at the house of his foster father Georg Cypher (who, as Darken Rahl previously revealed, was not his biological father), but also at another house in the Westlands. Richard finally meets Zedd and Kahlan, but since he is covered by the enemy network, he looks like Darken Rahl to his friends, and they no longer understand his language. Richard then decides to visit his brother Michael. Michael recognizes Richard despite the enemy spell, which makes it clear to Richard that Michael must be a friend of Rahl's, otherwise Michael would not have been able to recognize him. Michael delivered the third box to Rahl and it was his house that Rahl had previously visited with Scarlet's help. Richard manages to escape with Scarlet and he makes his way back to the People's Palace.
Meanwhile, Zedd, Chase and Kahlan are picked up by Demmin Nass, the brutal General Rahls. Nass' people want to rape Kahlan, but Kahlan conjures up the Con Dar, the bloodlust of a confessor. She can change Demmin Nass and orders him to kill his remaining soldiers. The three of them are now heading to the People's Palace. When they arrive in the Garden of Life, Richard is already there. However, since he is still covered with an enemy spell, Kahlan takes him for Darken Rahl and changes Richard. Now Darken Rahl arrives himself. Kahlan, who has since realized that she has changed Richard, is devastated. Your Con Dar is over. Rahl now wants to force Richard to tell him the secrets from the secret book of the numbered shadows by threatening to kill Kahlan. Now that Richard has walked, he is ready to do anything to save Kahlan. So he reads the contents of the book. These efforts serve to open the right box. Finally, after an examination by Richard, whose presentation deviates from Rahl's previous knowledge of the boxes on one important point, Rahl opens the box that casts two shadows. But it's wrong. It turns out that Richard was only faking the change to fool Darken Rahl. Since Richard feels true love for Kahlan, he is not susceptible to the magic of a Confessor - but he was not allowed to know this beforehand, because prior knowledge of this possibility of loving a Confessor would have tainted the magic.
He beat Rahl using the first law of magic. The first law of magic says that people believe everything, either because they want to believe it or because they are afraid it might be true. Richard also learns that he is the son of Darken Rahl. Rahl once raped Richard's mother, who was Zedd's daughter. Richard is also Zedd's grandson. Before Darken Rahl dies, he reveals to Zedd that he was just an agent of the Keeper.
Text output
- Terry Goodkind: Wizard's First Rule . TOR Fantasy, 1994.
German editions
- Terry Goodkind: The First Law of Magic . Blanvalet, 1995, ISBN 3-442-24614-8 (German first edition in two volumes, paperback).
- Terry Goodkind: Shadow of the Magician . Blanvalet, 1995, ISBN 3-442-24658-X .
- Terry Goodkind: The First Law of Magic . Blanvalet, 2003, ISBN 3-442-24255-X (paperback edition).
- Terry Goodkind: The First Law of Magic. The magician's shadow. Two episodes in one volume . Blanvalet, 2006, ISBN 3-442-24397-1 .
- Terry Goodkind: Fantasy Library 7 - The First Law of Magic . Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 2006 (special print) ISBN 3-89897-527-4 .
- Terry Goodkind: Sword of Truth - The First Law of Magic . Blanvalet, 2008, ISBN 3-442-24614-8 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Legend of the Seeker ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. in the Internet Movie Database
- ↑ "Bild am Sonntag" starts a ten-volume fantasy library . Die Welt, October 12, 2006
