Dark who command those boxes will make it so. One way or another, they will make sure of it. The only way Richard can lead us is for him to have the boxes in play. In that way, he truly is the fulfillment of prophecy: fuer grissa ost drauka —the bringer of death.
“But this is more than prophecy. Prophecy only expresses what we already know, that Richard is the one who has been leading us in defending the values we hold dear, the values that promote life.
“Richard himself named the terms of the engagement when he spoke to the D’Haran troops. As the Lord Rahl, the leader of the D’Haran Empire, he told those men how the war would be fought from now on: All or nothing.
“This can be no different. Richard is true to the core and would not expect everyone else to do what he himself would not do. He is the heart of all we believe. He would not betray us.
“We are now in it all the way. It now truly is all or nothing.”
Zedd threw his arms up. “But naming Richard the player is not the only way he can lead this battle, not the only way for him to succeed—but it very well might instead be the cause of him failing. What you have done could lead us all to ruin.”
Nicci’s blue eyes filled with the kind of conviction, resolve, and rage that told him she might reduce him to ash if he stood in the way of what she believed was necessary. For the first time he was seeing Death’s Mistress as those who stood in her way, stood before her full fury, saw her.
“Your love for your grandson is blinding you. He is more than your grandson.”
“My love for him doesn’t—”
Nicci thrust an arm out to point to the east, toward D’Hara. “Those Sisters of the Dark ignited the Chainfire event! Chainfire is burning unchecked through all of our memories. Such an event means far more than simply losing our memory of Kahlan.
“Who we are, what we are, what we can be, is moment by moment disintegrating. It’s not just about forgetting Kahlan. The vortex of that spell grows daily. The damage is multiplying on itself. We are unaware of the full extent of all we have lost already while day by day we lose yet more. Our very minds, or ability to think, to reason, are being eroded by that vile spell.
“Worse, the Chainfire spell is contaminated. Richard himself showed it to us. The contamination of the chimes is buried deep within the Chainfire spell that has infected everyone. The contamination carried by the Chainfire spellis burning through the world of life. Besides destroying the nature of who and what we are, it’s destroying the fabric of magic itself. Without Richard we wouldn’t even be aware of it.
“The world not only stands at the brink due to Jagang and the Imperial Order, but it is being destroyed by the silent, unseen work of the Chainfire spell and the contamination within it.”
Nicci jabbed a finger at her temple. “Has that contamination already destroyed your ability to see what is at stake? Has it already taken your ability to think?
“The only counter to the Chainfire event is the boxes of Orden. That is the reason the boxes were created—they were created specifically as the only salvation should the Chainfire event ever be ignited.
“Those Sisters ignited Chainfire. To compound what they did, to make it irreversible, they themselves put the boxes in play, put the counter in play, naming themselves as the player. They believe that there is now no way for anyone to stop them. They may be right. I’ve read The Book of Life, the instructions for how Orden functions. It provides no way to halt the play once initiated. We can’t shut down Chainfire. We can’t halt the play of Orden. The world of life is about to spin out of control—just as they want.
“What is Richard fighting for? What are we all fighting for? Should we simply give up, say that it’s too hard, too risky to try to prevent our total annihilation? Should we shrink from the only chance we have? Shall we surrender everything
“But this is more than prophecy. Prophecy only expresses what we already know, that Richard is the one who has been leading us in defending the values we hold dear, the values that promote life.
“Richard himself named the terms of the engagement when he spoke to the D’Haran troops. As the Lord Rahl, the leader of the D’Haran Empire, he told those men how the war would be fought from now on: All or nothing.
“This can be no different. Richard is true to the core and would not expect everyone else to do what he himself would not do. He is the heart of all we believe. He would not betray us.
“We are now in it all the way. It now truly is all or nothing.”
Zedd threw his arms up. “But naming Richard the player is not the only way he can lead this battle, not the only way for him to succeed—but it very well might instead be the cause of him failing. What you have done could lead us all to ruin.”
Nicci’s blue eyes filled with the kind of conviction, resolve, and rage that told him she might reduce him to ash if he stood in the way of what she believed was necessary. For the first time he was seeing Death’s Mistress as those who stood in her way, stood before her full fury, saw her.
“Your love for your grandson is blinding you. He is more than your grandson.”
“My love for him doesn’t—”
Nicci thrust an arm out to point to the east, toward D’Hara. “Those Sisters of the Dark ignited the Chainfire event! Chainfire is burning unchecked through all of our memories. Such an event means far more than simply losing our memory of Kahlan.
“Who we are, what we are, what we can be, is moment by moment disintegrating. It’s not just about forgetting Kahlan. The vortex of that spell grows daily. The damage is multiplying on itself. We are unaware of the full extent of all we have lost already while day by day we lose yet more. Our very minds, or ability to think, to reason, are being eroded by that vile spell.
“Worse, the Chainfire spell is contaminated. Richard himself showed it to us. The contamination of the chimes is buried deep within the Chainfire spell that has infected everyone. The contamination carried by the Chainfire spellis burning through the world of life. Besides destroying the nature of who and what we are, it’s destroying the fabric of magic itself. Without Richard we wouldn’t even be aware of it.
“The world not only stands at the brink due to Jagang and the Imperial Order, but it is being destroyed by the silent, unseen work of the Chainfire spell and the contamination within it.”
Nicci jabbed a finger at her temple. “Has that contamination already destroyed your ability to see what is at stake? Has it already taken your ability to think?
“The only counter to the Chainfire event is the boxes of Orden. That is the reason the boxes were created—they were created specifically as the only salvation should the Chainfire event ever be ignited.
“Those Sisters ignited Chainfire. To compound what they did, to make it irreversible, they themselves put the boxes in play, put the counter in play, naming themselves as the player. They believe that there is now no way for anyone to stop them. They may be right. I’ve read The Book of Life, the instructions for how Orden functions. It provides no way to halt the play once initiated. We can’t shut down Chainfire. We can’t halt the play of Orden. The world of life is about to spin out of control—just as they want.
“What is Richard fighting for? What are we all fighting for? Should we simply give up, say that it’s too hard, too risky to try to prevent our total annihilation? Should we shrink from the only chance we have? Shall we surrender everything
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