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I'm the Lord Rahl's favorite.
―Berdine[src]

Berdine was a Mord-Sith of considerable skill, who joined with Richard Rahl and became a close friend and protector of him. Berdine was the lover of Raina. She was spelled by Lunetta Brogan, but Richard was able to remove the enchantment. Berdine helped Richard with books written in High D'Haran through the crisis of the plague epidemic, which claimed the life of her beloved Raina. Berdine stayed in Aydindril, until it was evacuated, at which time she travelled to the People's Palace and helped Verna Sauventreen to study Books of Prophecy. All the time Berdine continue to do research for Richard following leads she got from Kolo's journal she and Richards found in the Wizard Keep.

Biography[]

Berdine is described to have blue eyes like Cara, and a loose braid of wavy brown hair.

Early life[]

One of the reasons Berdine was chosen as a Mord-Sith was due to the fact that she was taught to read and understand High D'Haran, by her father. Darken Rahl did not like others being able to understand the ancient language because many of his powerful spells were written in High D'Haran. Thus, choosing Berdine to be Mord-Sith would give him the loyalty and control of a High D'Haran speaker, as well as eliminate a speaker of High D'Haran, as the Mord-Sith training required the death of the Mord-Sith's parents.

New Lord Rahl[]

After Richard Rahl killed Darken Rahl and became the new Lord Rahl, the Mord-Sith feared that he would have them all killed because of the training he had undergone from Denna. To their great surprise he set all of them free, ordered that they be found new work and have their Agiels destroyed. Berdine, like the other sisters, twisted this order by continuing to serve Lord Rahl, not as a personal torturer, but as a willing protector, and by not destroying her agiel. After the Boxes of Orden were opened and Darken Rahl killed, Berdine with her other sisters of the Agiel waited in the People's Palace for Richard to return. Where she (unnamed but alluded to in chapter 8 of Blood of the Fold) helped escort Richard quickly past the D'Harans loyal to the Spirit of Darken Rahl and brought him to the Garden of Life. Berdine like all the Mord-Sith sided with Richard and she was one of the Mord-Sith who went with Cara to protect him when he came to the Palace to stop Darken Rahl again. After Cara convined him there were on his side they got to where he needed to be.

Following Lord Rahl[]

Berdine, Cara, Raina and Hally with Ulic and Egan of the First File went after Richard, when he went off to Aydindril. They got to him in time and helped him take command of the D'Haran Army and Aydindril. It was at this time that Berdine and her sisters of the Agiel began trying to get a reaction out of Richard for fun. This is when Berdine began declaring herself Lord Rahl's favorite.

Spelled[]

Berdine was spelled by the removal of one of her nipples by a brother-sister team in the Blood of the Fold. Richard Rahl healed her through Additive magic, and in doing so, removed the spell which was directed to kill him. She is the only known Mord'Sith to understand High D'Haran, a little known dialect of the language spoken in Old D'Hara. She helps Richard to translate journals written by a wizard they call Koloblicin ('Strong advisor' in High D'Haran, Kolo for short) that lived nearly 3000 years ago. It helped Richard to find the Temple of the Winds and the Sliph, which can transport anyone with both sides of the gift to any site that has a Sliph well. Berdine is revealed to be a lesbian in the third book of the series Blood of the Fold when she tells Richard that she and Raina are in love. She goes on to explain to Richard that she has always taken more of a liking to girls since childhood and saying "boys didn't interest me that way".

Personality and traits[]

Berdine was a tall, beautiful woman. She had long brown hair, always tied into a braid, marking her profession of Mord-Sith. Her blue eyes were piercing and intelligent. Berdine was always dressed in skin tight leather, either red, brown, or white in color. Her Mord-Sith uniform complimented Berdine's exquisite figure perfectly and was a warning to all people.

Being Mord-Sith, Berdine was never without her Agiel at the ready, should trouble present itself.

Energetic and excitable, Berdine was probably the most good natured of the Mord-Sith, though more formidable than most. Despite this, Berdine was capable of becoming as cold as ice if the life of the Lord Rahl was in danger. She once feared that Richard would look down on her because of her relationship with Raina, another woman, but discovered that her fears were unfounded. Berdine made a point of telling all new people she met in Lord Rahl's company, especially women, that she was Lord Rahl's favorite bodyguard. She started this joke as she originally believed it would discourage Richard from desiring her; her previous Lord Rahl, Darken Rahl, had relished taking her to bed upon discovering her unwillingness (as she was only attracted to women) and Berdine had assumed Richard had similar predilections. By making clear her availability to him she hoped to avoid exciting his interest, but she continued the joke even after she confirmed her fear was unfounded as her way of showing her love and respect for him.

Appearances[]

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