Merissa

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Merissa was a Sister of the Dark and one of Richard Rahl's instructors at the Palace of the Prophets. She was killed by Richard, while within the sliph.

[edit] Biography

Merissa was one of the six Sisters of the Dark who were Richard Rahl's instructors at the Palace of the Prophets. When she attempted to teach him to touch his Han, she never sat on the ground like four of the other Sisters did. Instead, she sat in a chair and gently held Richard's hands across a table. She never laughed or smiled openly, but instead bestowed on Richard rare, subdued smiles while making eye contact. When she frst entered the room where she would be teaching Richard, Richard "almost swallowed his tongue" when he saw her. Richard immediately had the feeling that Merissa would gladly sleep with him, although she had never said anything that indicated this.

Later, when Sister Liliana attempted to steal Richard's gift and lost her life, but revealed the Sisters of the Dark, Merissa fled the Palace aboard the Lady Sefa, along with Sisters Ulicia, Tovi, Armina, Cecilia and Nicci.

Merissa awoke at the same time as the other five Sisters, aboard the Lady Sefa. Each had shared the same dream, in which their Master, the Keeper, had been replaced by a man named Jagang. Jagang tortured each woman before ordering them to make their way to his fortress immediately.

The Sister's discussed the situation, deciding that it would be best to follow Jagang's instructions; for the time being. Along the journey, Merissa initiated the torturing of some of the Lady Sefa's crew so as to encourage the other sailors to make haste.

Sister Ulicia, as the leader of the Sisters of the Dark, came up with a plan to link the powers of the five Sisters, with her as the the director of the dangerous force, in an attempt to assassinate Emperor Jagang. When the Sisters arrived at Jagang's fortress Ulicia wasted no time in unleashing the full destructive force of the Sister's combined powers. However, it was to no avail; Jagang was a dream walker, meaning that as long as he was in a gifted person's mind, their powers were useless against him.

Jagang captured the Sisters and informed them that they were his in every aspect. He gave them to the crew of the Lady Sefa to fulfill their sexual needs. Merissa replaced Christabel as Jagang's personal slave.

Later the Sister's were sent back to the Palace of the Prophets, where Verna Sauventreen has been falsely convicted as a Sister of the Dark, clearing their names. The Sisters, with the exception of Nicci, surprised Richard Rahl and informed him that in exchange for allowing them to swear loyalty to him, they would reveal to him his wifes (who had been captured) location. Richard agreed and the Sisters believd they had gained their freedom.

However, Merissa's hate for Richard outweighed her fear of Jagang and she attempted to kill him and his wife Kahlan Amnell. When the pair fled through the sliph, Merissa followed, however, Richard and Kahlan arrived at the Wizard's Keep quicker than Merissa. Richard stabbed the Sword of Truth into the sliph as the magic of it was incompatible with that of the sliph. This killed Merissa, who was still inside it.

[edit] Personality and traits

Merissa was around the same age as Nicci and said to be on par with her extraordinary beauty. Her hair was full and dark brown and her eyes were cold and dark. She was often clothed in dresses that were red in color. Merissa rarely allowed emotion to touch the attractive features of her face and her heart was said to be made of black ice. It was said that her dark eyes were a window into her black heart. She delighted in the pain of others, something she demonstrated twice on the journey aboard the Lady Sefa.

[edit] Appearances

• Stone of Tears (First appearance)
• Blood of the Fold