The Second D’Haran War was a political and military conflict sparked by the Lord Rahl of D’Hara, Darken Rahl, which was aimed at him usurping control of the Midlands. While many Midlanders welcomed Rahl and his army, others both openly and covertly sought to undermine him. Rahl's plans were believed to be foiled by the efforts of Richard Cypher, the Seeker of Truth and secret heir to the D'Haran throne, who tricked him into opening the incorrect Box of Orden; resulting in his death. However, it was later uncovered that Rahl's plans had from the beginning been futile, as Orden was set to consume any who attempted to claim its power with hatred in their heart.
Background[]
The first war between D’Hara and the Midlands raged for many years until, in 0 ACB, First Wizard Zeddicus Zu’l Zorander erected the Boundaries that separated the New World into three distinct territories. As he did this Wizard Zorander sent lethal Wizard’s Fire, touched by the underworld, over the boundary between D’Hara and the Midlands. This deadly magical combination swept across D’Hara to the People’s Palace where it killed the D’Haran leader Panis Rahl and severely injured his son, Darken Rahl.
Darken Rahl became consumed by hatred of the First Wizard and delved deeply into the arcane and dark magical practices his father had begun to tutor him in; eventually becoming far more powerful than even Panis had been. Rahl also succeeded his father as the Master of D'Hara, and as such, used women often as a means of fathering a gifted heir. Whilst Rahl often fathered ungifted offspring, whom he proceeded to hunt down and kill, he was never aware of fathering an heir possessing the gift. Through Rahl’s magical studies, he learnt of an ability that allowed him to travel the underworld as a means of moving through the boundary Wizard Zorander had placed between D’Hara and the Midlands.
During such a trip to the Midlands, Rahl raped a woman, impregnating her. Unknown to him at the time was that this woman was Wizard Zorander’s daughter, and that she gave birth to a son; a son who was gifted. Coupled with a disagreement with the Central Council of the Midlands, this caused Zorander to take his daughter and grandchild through the Boundary to Westland to live a life free of magic. However, he also cast a powerful web that caused every single living person to forget his name and appearance so that Rahl and any other enemies could not hunt him and his family down. Furthermore, Zorander exiled himself from his daughter and grandchild, Richard, pretending to be nothing more than a friendly neighbour.
Thirty nine years after his father death, Rahl believed he was so perfectly schooled in his magical arts that he decided to place the three Boxes of Orden into play; from the moment he did this, he had one year to open a box, lest his life be forfeit. The power of Orden was capable of granting the one to open the correct box unlimited power over life, however, it was also capable of killing the person should they open the incorrect box and even worse; was capable of annihilating every living thing should the other box be chosen. Rahl hoped to open the box that granted him unlimited magical ability, however, as an agent of the Keeper he did not mind should all life be consumed by his folly; as he knew the Keeper would reward him beyond belief for delivering the world of life to the underworld.
At the time that Rahl put the boxes into play, he had in his possession only two of the three. This was seen as particularly foolish as the boxes worked in conjunction with each other, so all three had to be present if one was to be opened. In addition, the Book of Counted Shadows which was believed to be essetial in calculating which box was correct, had been stolen from the Wizard’s Keep in Aydindril by George Cypher; the man who Rahl's unknown son, Richard, grew up believing to be his father. Cypher had learnt from Annalina Aldurren and Nathan Rahl the important role prophecy said Richard would play in future events, and had as such, taught his step son to memorize every word of the book, before destroying it.
The Second War[]
Invading the Midlands[]
After placing the boxes in play, Rahl begun using his prodigious talents to cause the boundary between D’Hara and the Midlands to fail. Though Rahl himself could travel through the boundary into the Midlands, as he had done to rape Wizard Zorander’s daughter and to gain possession of the first two boxes of Orden, his army could not. As such, it was necessary that the boundary be destroyed for him to gain a substantial military foothold within the Midlands.
Rahl's powers forced the boundary to fail; albeit slowly. It begun to fade from the very top at first, which allowed gars from D’Hara to enter the Midlands and ravage its people. However, the people of the Midlands soon learnt to remain in doors after dark. Before long, Rahl's talents forced the boundary to fade completely, which allowed his People’s Peace Army to enter the Midlands.
Even before he had forced the boundary to fail, Darken Rahl had spread propaganda within the Midlands which spoke of how “Father Rahl” was a good and kind man who sought peace with the people of the Midlands. As such, many villages, towns, cities and lands allowed Rahl’s armies to enter their gates unhindered. Many people threw flowers at the feet of the soldiers as they marched through the streets; those who did not were executed, by those who did throw flowers. Though Rahl’s propaganda was wide spread, as was misguided love for him, his armies mostly occupied the largest cities of the most powerful lands.
Some lands however did not bow to Rahl’s wishes, Galea foremost among them. Waves of Rahl’s men battered at the walled Crown city of Ebinissia in the hopes of ending the Galean resistance. However, the soldiers of Galea, under Queen Cyrilla Amnell, were able to hold them at bay.
Rahl ultimately went before the Central Council of the Midlands and declared that any who did not obey the commands of D’Hara were enemies of the people. Those loyal Councillors who refused to appease Rahl, among them the councilor for Galea, were executed by him personally.
Outlawing fire[]
Darken Rahl’s next move was to outlaw fire and declare anyone who did use it as an insurrectionist. This was done because fire was used to kill his father, as well as the burns he received himself that lead to embarrassment. As such fire became a sign of disrespect to the House of Rahl. To have a fire in the wrong place in the Midlands, without Rahl’s approval, became an invitation of death. Even though he outlawed magic and fire, Darken Rahl did not fear the six wizards of the Midlands, as he had become more powerful than any wizard. Though even they could not harm him, Rahl had the Confessors, the rulers of the Midlands, assassinated.
The five wizards, each of the Third Order, who had remained loyal to the Midlands alliance and the Confessors, soon learned that Rahl’s true goal was to gain the power of Orden. It had been a disagreement, with his six wizard students and the Central Council over hiding the boxes of Orden, which had long ago caused the First Wizard to cast the spell causing everyone to forget his name and appearance and exile himself from matters of magic.
Five of the Great Wizards’ six students realized their folly after uncovering Rahl's plot, and hoped to gain redemption in his eyes, so sought him out hoping he would name a Seeker of Truth to help thwart Rahl. However, Rahl himself still hunted the great wizard who had murdered his father and grievously injured him as a child, killing many in his desperate search.
Kahlan Amnell preparing to cross the boundary to Westland.
The five wizards had the entire Midlands searched, however, they could find no trace of their teacher and soon deduced that he had exiled himself to Westland.
The five wizards knew that even together they did not have the power to force the First Wizard to comply with their wishes, and as such, formed a plan to send someone that did to gain his allegiance. The wizards cast a spell over the last of the Confessors, the Mother Confessor Kahlan Amnell, which allowed her to safely travel through the boundary to Westland. After casting the spell, the five wizards killed themselves so that Rahl could not force them to reveal what they had done. Their deaths left only one of the students of the great wizard alive; Giller of the Second Order, who had sold his allegiance to Queen Milena of Tamarang.
Search for the First Wizard[]
As the last Confessor, and the Mother Confessor at that, Kahlan was hunted down by a quad as were her sister Confessors. Demmin Nass, Rahl’s chief lieutenant, believed that the Mother Confessor fled to Westland through the boundary to escape his men, though Rahl knew it to be so that she could find the First Wizard. Nass’ quad cornered Kahlan in Westland, however, she was aided by Richard Cypher, Rahl’s son of whom he was not aware. Together, Kahlan and Richard were able to overcome the quad. Kahlan confessed to Richard her reasons for coming to Wetland (though she did not reveal herself as the Mother Confessor), and in sympathy with her cause, he decided to help her.
The pair met with Richard’s old friend, Zeddicus Zu’l Zorander, who Richard quickly deduced to be none other than the great wizard whom Kahlan sought. Recognising that Richard was the man destined to be the new Seeker of Truth, Zedd officially named him as such and bestowed upon him the Sword of Truth. Zedd also used his powers as a wizard to spell a gar and sent it to hunt down and kill the second quad sent by Nass to kill Kahlan. As it was said that only the Seeker stood a chance of defeating Rahl, both Kahlan and Zedd pledged their lives to his service.
Zedd and Kahlan, with a snake vine infected Richard.
Though Nass considered the Mother Confessor and First Wizard to be particularly dangerous, Rahl prevented him from sending any more quads to deal with them; he intended to use Kahlan as a means of fathering a gifted Confessor son, and hoped to personally torture and kill Zedd for killing his father in the first war. Meanwhile, Rahl had tracked the last box of Orden to Queen Milena of Tamarang, and sent Nass to agree to the entirety of her demands and retrieve the box. Unfortunately for Rahl, Wizard Giller whom all had thought to have forsaken the Midlands in favour of the Queen, had actually taken up a position as her personal wizard so that he could smuggle the box out of her castle and thwart Rahl. Giller achieved this by hiding the box with a young girl named Rachel. Rahl quickly saw through Giller's schemes however, and begun the practice of anthropomacy on him, in the hopes of divining where the wizard had hidden the box.
Wizard Giller nobley proceeded to use a powerful spell however, Wizard’s Life Fire, which cost him his life and prevented Rahl from completing his dark magic which would have betrayed Rachel’s whereabouts.
The Seeker’s quest[]
- “What is the reason, above all others, why you want to kill this man?"
"Because if I don't kill him, he will kill Kahlan.” - ―The Mud People’s spirit ancestors and Richard Rahl on Darken Rahl
Kahlan, Richard and Zedd found an ally in Richard's old friend Chase, who knowing the boundary better than anyone, sought to aid them in bypassing it. However, Zedd and Chase were soon struck ill by the dark magic of the boundary, and Richard and Kahlan were forced to take them to the mysterious bone woman, Adie. Adie proved able to heal the pair, though she believed the process would take time Richard and Kahlan would not have and suggested that they leave them in her care whilst they continued their quest. Richard agreed to this, and in the short time Kahlan spent with Adie, she learnt that the old sorceress had known her mother and given her a bone necklace; similar ones she proceeded to give to Richard and Kahlan to allow them safe passge through the pass in the boundary.
Adie also placed into their keeping a nightstone, which aided the duo in their journey through the pass. In the Midlands, the pair found friendship with the Mud People, who initiated them as honorary members of the tribe, and allowed them to participate in a spirit gathering. The spirits summoned by the Mud People divulged to Richard and Kahlan, that the location of the Box of Orden not possessed by Darken Rahl, was known only by the witch woman Shota. However, Rahl had also tracked the pair to the village, and though he could not harm them whilst they participated in the gathering, he proceeded to murder many Mud People.
Knowing of the witch woman by reputation, Kahlan was apprehensive as to meeting her; legend held that even wizards feared to enter Shota's domain. Whilst guiding Richard through Agaden Reach, Kahlan was captured by the witch woman. Immediately hostile towards the Mother Confessor, Shota covered her in illusory snakes; removing them only at Richard's insistence. Through Shota, the pair learnt that the lost Box of Orden was in the possession of Queen Milena and that Rahl would soon have the box. En route to Tamarang, the pair reunited with Zedd.
Venturing to Tamarang proved opportune to Kahlan and Zedd, as Milena was the same queen who Kahlan’s personal wizard, and Zedd’s former student, Giller, had dishonorably pledged himself to. Keen to deal with Giller, the trio arrived at Tamarang, only to find that he had been killed by Darken Rahl, who had also apparently gained the Box of Orden; however, it soon became apparent that Giller had sacrificed himself to prevent Rahl from discovering the location of the Box.
Whilst leaving Tamarang, the trio met up with Chase, healed by Adie, and the young girl Rachel, whom Giller had entrusted the final Box of Orden. Though their mission seemed complete, it soon became clear that Richard had been spelled with the use of artistry and he was later captured by the Mord-Sith, Denna, whilst dealing with Milena’s henchman responsible for the spell. Kahlan and the others however, followed Richard’s last order to them; to join with his brother Michael’s army, to better protect the Box.
After having met up with the army, Zedd was nearly trapped in the underworld whilst seeking out the nightstone in Richard’s possession to discover his whereabouts, though by using Kahlan's power as a lifeline, he was able to escape the trap set for him by Rahl. Later, whilst making their way to D'Hara, the group had what they believed to be an encounter with Darken Rahl himself, atop a dragon. However, unknown to the trio, this was actually Richard, free of the Mord-Sith, who had had an enemy spell placed on him by Rahl which caused those who were loyal to the Seeker to see him as their greatest enemy; Rahl himself.
Having survived ‘the encounter with Rahl’, the group continued on their way to D’Hara. En route however, they were attacked by a quad led by Demmin Nass himself. Touched by Darken Rahl’s Subtractive Magic, Zedd’s attempts at destroying the quad with magic proved futile and it seemed they would prove successful at their task. However, Nass’s taunts that claimed Richard was dead forced Kahlan into an ancient state known as the Con Dar. A Confessor flew into this when a threat appeared to her true love, in Kahlan's case, Richard. Enraged, Kahlan proceeded to use her new found powers to destroy Nass and the remainder of the quad, before proceeding with Chase and Zedd to attempt to kill Rahl in revenge for the apparent death of Richard.
Endgame[]
Richard Rahl confronts his father with the Sword of Truth.
Once at the People's Palace in D'Hara, Zedd led the still enraged Kahlan to its centre; the Garden of Life. There Kahlan used her power to touch who she believed to be Darken Rahl; though the spell that made this so dissolved immediately, to reveal that it was in fact Richard, as it had been atop the dragon. The spell placed on Richard by Darken Rahl caused his allies to see him as their enemy, but his enemies to see him as himself.
At this, the power of the Con Dar immediately left Kahlan and she, and her allies, were quickly captured by Rahl. Touched by Kahlan's power, and not wishing her to be harmed, Richard proceeded to aid Rahl in the preparation of the spells to invoke the power of Orden, having memorized the magical instruction book the Book of Counted Shadows. However, when Darken Rahl finally chose to open the box he believed would grant him the power of Orden, he was killed, claimed by the power instead. Richard then revealed that he had used the Wizard's First Rule; Rahl had believed that Kahlan's power had touched him, because he wanted to believe it. In actual fact, Richard had learned to love Kahlan unconditionally, and as such, her power was invalid when turned against him, and he was able to fool Darken Rahl into believing he had given the correct instructions as required by one under the power of a Confessor.
Aftermath[]
The aftermath of the war was the tear in the veil that spilt the underworld from the land of the living.
Appearances[]
- Wizard's First Rule (First appearance)