Nicci

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Nicci was a former Sister of the Light and Dark, who withdrew her support of both factions in favour of the D'Haran Empire. However, before hand Nicci was an important supporter of the Imperial Order who earnt herself the titles Deaths Mistress and the Slave Queen.

Originally among Richard Rahl's instructors at the Palace of the Prophets, Nicci fled along with his other teachers after being revealed as Sisters of the Dark. After being captured by Emperor Jagang, Nicci became his most feared lieutenant; eventually capturing Richard Rahl in an attempt to convince him that the Order stood for the greater good.

However, it was Richard who ultimately altered Nicci's views on the Order and life itself, converting her to his cause. Nicci served as Richard's closest friend and chief supporter throughout the remainder of the Imperial Order War, and the search for his missing wife Kahlan Amnell, who had been made the subject of the Chainfire spell.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Early Life 1.2 Sister of the Dark 1.2.1 Instructor 1.2.2 Capture 1.3 Imperial Order War 1.3.1 Death's Mistress 1.3.1.1 Making an example 1.3.1.2 Personal mission 1.3.1.3 Maternity spell 1.3.1.4 Taking a prisoner 1.3.1.5 A new outlook 1.3.2 The Chainfire Effect 1.3.2.1 Richard's delirium 1.3.2.2 Defense of Altur'Rang 1.3.2.3 Search for Kahlan 1.3.2.4 Verification web 1.3.2.5 Naming the Player 1.3.2.6 Recapture 1.3.2.7 Rescue 1.3.2.8 End of the war 1.4 Aftermath 2 Personality and traits 3 Powers and Abilities 4 Appearances 5 Notes and references

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early Life

As a young girl, Nicci was often told by her mother of her fathers evil nature. Nicci's father was a successful businessman who had acquired vast wealth, which her mother believed he should give charitably to others. Nicci's father let her mother do as she wished, since they had agreed before her birth that her mother would have sole responsibility of the child's upbringing if she was a gifted daughter.

Eventually, Nicci's mother introduced her to Brother Narev and his Fellowship of Order. Nicci became a member of the Order and proceeded to spend most of her time working for others, to help with their needs.

After several years, Nicci's mother was approached by Sister Alessandra who wished to take Nicci to become a Sister of the Light. Despite Nicci's fathers objections, Nicci was taken to Tanimura to train to be a Sister.

Nicci was said to be the most selfless novice at the Palace of the Prophets and she worked hard to help others. Nicci eventually came across Brother Narev, working as a stablehand in the Sisters' stable. He asked that Nicci not inform the Sisters that he was gifted, so he could continue to live under the spell that slowed aging.

Eventually, Nicci's father died, and she managed to attend his funeral. Her mother told her that he had begged to see her for the last six months, but that she had thought he would 'get better'. It was the first time that Nicci had felt any emotion in some time.

Many years later, Nicci's mother died. After acquiring a beautiful black dress from a tailor, whom she had to 'give favors', in order to receive the dress, she attended her mother's funeral. It inspired no feelings such as her father's had.

From that day forth, Nicci always wore black.

After becoming a Sister, Nicci was eventually persuaded by Sister Alessandra to join the secretive Sisters of the Dark, as she herself had.

[edit] Sister of the Dark

[edit] Instructor

Nicci became one of Richard Rahl's instructors upon his arrival at the Palace of the Prophets. When she first saw him enter the room, she swore to herself that she would become one of his teachers no matter what. She had to make promises and trade favors that she never would have dreamed of granting before in order to achieve this.When she tried to teach Richard to touch his Han, she never sat on the floor like all the other sisters (except Merissa) did; instead she sat opposite him in a chair and held his hands across a table. Richard immediately noticed how attractive she was and was brought under the impression that she would be willing to sleep with him. although she never said anything to hint at that. She never laughed but instead gave him small, reserved smiles while looking at him in the eye.

Richard brought Nicci a flower from a forbidden section of the Palace and she was perplexed as to whether this was a simple gesture of kindness or a threat to her life. Confused, she hid this behind a mask and simply gave him one of her subdued smiles while saying, "Why, thank you, Richard." Nicci was able to see something in Richards eyes that none of the other Sisters could and grappled to discover what this was.

When the Sisters of the Dark were discovered, Nicci fled the Palace by boat along with Sisters Ulicia, Armina, Merissa, Tovi and Cecilia.

[edit] Capture

Nicci and the other five Sisters all awoke screaming aboard the Lady Sefa. Each had dreamed a dream that was not a dream. But rather than the Keeper appearing, Emperor Jagang had. He ordered they arrive at his stronghold immediately. The Sisters were quick to oblige, fearing to feel the pain they suffered in their dream.

The Sisters ordered the boat be turned around and Sister Merissa made an example of two of the sailors. The Sisters discussed their predicament and decided that the blame of their troubles lied at the feet of Richard Rahl. Nicci agreed with the other Sisters that they should rid themselves of Jagang and then Richard.

Having linked their powers, with Sister Ulicia as the director of the force, the Sisters arrived at Jagang's stronghold. Ulicia unleashed the combined powers of the Sisters, but while Jagang was embedded in their minds, their gifts could not avail them. Nicci and her companions became the property of Jagang and each had a golden ring placed through their lower lips to mark them as such.

The Sisters were sent back to the Palace of the Prophets with instructions to ready the arrival of the Emperor, however Ulicia concocted a plan to swear loyalty to Richard and escape Jagang's power as a dream walker. Ulicia and the other four Sisters succeed at this, however they failed to find Nicci in time to include her.

[edit] Imperial Order War

[edit] Death's Mistress

[edit] Making an example

The D'Haran Army quickly began noticing that there was something very strange going on in Anderith, the land that had rejected the D'Haran Empire in favor of the brutal Imperial Order. The army had received reports about a powerful gifted woman who had become even more feared than Emperor Jagang himself, by the people of Anderith. She was known as Death's Mistress. She was blond of hair and blue of eye. It was said that she looked like "a vision of the good spirits, though they themselves would fear her". She always wore a beautiful black dress. Nicci was not like the other gifted controlled by the dream walker. She acted as an agent, not as a tool.

Nicci had been sent to a small country town to punish the selfish people who resided there. She had the entire town stand in a line in the town square and proceeded to lecture them on the evils of selfishness.

Among the people was a small, plain girl. Nicci, as she had found herself doing many times before, grabbed the child's chin and stared deep into her eyes. Like every other time she had done this, she didn't find what she was looking for. The child was simple. However, Nicci did notice that the girl was ridden with lice. Nicci took her to the wash house and roughly scrubbed her hair, getting soap in the girls eyes. When she was done, Nicci ordered the girl to burn her linen.

When Nicci returned to the town square, the girl ran for her mother. The commander that had accompanied her, Jagang's second in command, Kadar Kardeef, then demanded that she ended her games and that it was time for the townspeople to learn the true meaning of ruthlessness.

Nicci agreed and ordered two men to seize Kadar. The commander was obviously confused, but Nicci explained that true ruthlessness could be seen in having a hero of the Imperial Order strapped to a pole and left to roast for no particular reason. Kadar ordered his men to take Nicci, but the sorceress unleashed almost simultaneous blasts of her power on the men nearest her, stopping the other soldiers from even attempting to capture her, lest they be next.

The men took the commander, though not without casualties, strapped him to a pole and stuck him over a fire to roast. Jagang entered the mind of a nearby soldier, furious and through him ordered Nicci to return to Fairfield immediately. It interested Nicci to note that Jagang did not always have free access to her mind as he did his other gifted slaves.

[edit] Personal mission

On the way back to Fairfield, Nicci finally realized why Jagang could not always enter her mind; her preoccupation with Richard Rahl. Some how she was partially bonded to him.

When Nicci returned to Fairfield she learnt from Sisters Georgia, Aubrey and Rochelle that Annalina Aldurren had recently been captured by Jagang but had disappeared along with Sister Alessandra. She also learnt that the chimes had been released into the world, but had then been successfully banished.

Before being on her way to see Jagang, Nicci also had to deal with a D'Haran prisoner. This prisoner was a Mord-Sith named Hania. Hania asked Nicci to kill her, because she would never betray information about the Lord Rahl's battle plans. Nicci then told Hania she would kill her, if she told her all she knew about Richard's time with a woman named Denna.

On her way through the Minister of Culture's mansion, which Jagang had made his own, Nicci ran into a venerable Sister of the Light; Sister Lidmilla. When Nicci had been at the Palace of the Prophets, Lidmilla had often told her that she was the one Sister, that she thought could handle learning some of the arcane magic she had knowledge of.

With this in mind Nicci asked Lidmilla if she could take her up on her offer, in particular in regards to the Maternity Spell. Lidmilla agreed to this and then Nicci made her way to Jagang.

Jagang beat Nicci and then had his way with her for the rest of the night. He told Nicci that he loved her and wanted her to come be his queen at the grand palace that was being built for him in Altur'Rang. Nicci denied him, saying that she was leaving, that his power of a dream walker no longer held over her.

She said she may return one day, before releasing a thread of Subtractive Magic into the gold ring that pierced her lip, marking her as Jagang's slave. The ring ceased to exist. When Jagang asked where she was going, she said she was going to eliminate Richard Rahl.

Before leaving Fairfield, Nicci had her lesson with Sister Lidmilla, focusing especially on the casting of the maternity spell. She then made her way to the mountain country of Westland.

[edit] Maternity spell

Nicci rode into Richard Rahl and his wife Kahlan Amnell's small haven unexpectedly. While the Mord-Sith Cara was bathing and while Richard was busy elsewhere, Nicci confronted Kahlan. She rose her arms and begun to cast the maternity spell. A strange hum was emitted and a milky white thread of light ran between the chests of the two women.

Alerted by the humming set of by Nicci's magic, Richard quickly returned to his small camp. He noticed that the magic Nicci was casting was not only hurting Kahlan, but herself too.

Cara too was alerted by the sound of Nicci's power and rushed her. Using her Agiel, Cara brought Nicci to ground. Richard immediately realized something was wrong when the pain Nicci felt at the hands of Cara was mimicked by Kahlan.

After Richard forced Cara off of her, Nicci explained the concept of the maternity spell. It linked the two lives of the caster and the victim. If one should feel a pain, then so would the other. If the caster should die, then so would her victim. At the same time, the caster had the ability to end the victim's life at any moment. However, the drawback was that the caster's gift was useless until the spell was withdrawn or the victim was killed.

Nicci then informed Richard that if he wished for Kahlan to remain alive, he would come with her immediately. Kahlan told Richard not to obey, to kill Nicci, even if it meant ending her own life. Richard told her he couldn't do that and went with Nicci.

[edit] Taking a prisoner

Nicci took Richard to Altur'Rang, in the heart of the Old World, to show him that he was wrong in fighting the ideals of the Imperial Order. She also hoped to discover what it was that had preoccupied her about him for so long. They lived in the guise of a loving husband and wife, with Richard working as a labouror.

For an entire year they lived in the capital of the Old World. Richard befriended many a people, including a blacksmith named Victor Cascella, who lent him a beautiful chunk of marble to carve a statue out of.

When the spiritual leader of the Order, Brother Narev, an old acquaintance of Nicci's, happened to see the carving, he hired Richard to carve a statue to stand outside the Emperor's Palace.

Several times during the year that Richard and Nicci would spend together, she would lose hope and think that what she had seen within Richard's eyes had been nothing and resigned herself to kill him. But each time she would go to do so, he would intrigue her once again, causing her to believe that there was hope after all.

Walking through the crowded streets of Altur'Rang, Nicci saw a familiar face in the crowd; Sister Alessandra. She knew that her former mentor was there looking for her and quickly disappeared from sight.

Walking down an alley, Nicci found herself come face to face with another person from her past, though no longer familiar looking. None other than Kadar Kadeef. It turned out that the young girl she had ridden of lice over a year ago had pleaded with the towns people to save Kadar's life and had nursed him back to health. Nicci quickly fled the alley.

[edit] A new outlook

During the time she had Richard captive she began to fall in love with him and even once try to offer herself to him but he refused so she grabed the nearest guy and let him use her, there for making Kahlan feel what she felt as revenge against Richard for not taking her.

When Richard's carving for the palace was finally unveiled, Nicci was present in the crowd. It was the moment that would forever alter the course of her life. Looking upon the stone, Nicci finally saw what it was that she had so long sought within Richard. It was life. Simply life. At that moment, Nicci broke down into tears, in horror at what she had done and in joy at what she had discovered.

She quickly left to find Richard, to tell him of her revelation and to plead forgiveness. When she caught up with him, she found him to be gravely injured, with the bodies of Sister Alessandra, Brothers Narev and Neal beside him. Kahlan and Cara were miraculously also with him. Nicci quickly ran forward to sever the link between her and Kahlan, so she would once again have access to her gift and be able to heal Richard.

However, Kadar Kadeef surprised her and began to choke her. Just as Nicci thought she was to die, Cara came to her rescue, under the orders of a dying Richard. Kahlan at first didn't trust Nicci, but after realizing putting her trust in her could save Richard's life, she let Nicci do as she must.

When Richard came through, Nicci informed him that she was no longer a Sister of the Dark, but nor was she a Sister of the Light. She was simply Nicci. She apologized to Richard and Kahlan for her wrong doing and pledged herself to their cause.

Like Nicci, the people of Altur'Rang were able to see the meaning within the statue carved by Richard and as such revolted against the rule of the Order. Nicci proved instrumental in aiding the people of Altur'Rang put down efforts by officials of the Order who saught to take power into their own hands, as she was well acquainted with the methods of Jagang's followers.

Later, Nicci encountered one of her former fellows, a Sister of the Dark, and after defeating her learnt that Jagang had succeeded in forcing the Sisters of the Dark to reawaken the lost art of altering people to make them into human weapons. Nicci was horrified to learn that one such creature was a Slide, and was further disturbed by learning that Jagang considered such a dangerous weapon as insignificant compared to another weapon he had had created; before the Sister died, Nicci only learnt that "it" was coming for Richard.

Sometime after Richard and Kahlan left Altur'Rang, Nicci was due to meet with them at a rendezvous point, however, they never appeared. Nicci surmised that they had been caught up with an important issue, and not having the time herself to take the journey to them, sent a young man named Sabar to them with a letter detailing the important information she had learnt from the deceased Sister and a dangerous object she had discovered whilst waiting for the pair. Nicci was able to discover that the object she found was a beacon that served as a warning to Richard and Kahlan.

[edit] The Chainfire Effect

[edit] Richard's delirium

When Richard was nearly killed by a crossbow bolt, Nicci took a great risk in saving his life by using Subtractive magic to remove the bolt, as it had not gone completely through and pulling it out would have caused much more damage. She also removed the blood that had pooled in his lung by using Subtractive magic. These two actions are significant to later events.

After Richard woke from unconsciousness in the aftermath of being shot, he asked Nicci and Cara where Kahlan was. Neither woman knew who or what he was talking about. Nicci thought that Richard had simply been dreaming. Over time she developed the belief that because of the trauma Richard had gone through with his injury, he invented a woman in whom he could find comfort. She maintained this belief even as Richard tried many times to prove Kahlan existed.

Once Richard realized that there was a problem, he set out immediately to the site where he was injured and where he had last seen Kahlan accompanied by Nicci, Cara, the blacksmith Victor and a group of townsfolk turned freedom fighters, including Victor’s apprentice Feren. There, he meticulously scoured the site for hours while the others wait.

Eventually Richard asked Nicci, Cara and Victor to join him as he pointed out tracks and the lack of tracks made by himself, Cara, and Kahlan as they journeyed from the former empire of Bandakar. The others were curious as he showed them how to spot the tracks but stupefied when he pointed out what was not there. Richard even showed them an overturned rock as proof that someone else was in the area when Kahlan disappeared. In the end, the three felt that Richard was going insane.

They returned to Altur’Rang and learned that an army is coming to take back the city for Jagang. The townsfolk were extremely disappointed when Richard told them he had to leave. With Nicci’s aid, he convinced them that he could not always be there to offer aid and at some point they needed to take responsibility for their choice to fight for freedom.

Nicci grew increasingly distressed by Richard’s decline into delusion and was alarmed when Richard started focusing more and more effort into chasing a ‘phantom’ to the exclusion of all else. She was very troubled when he decided to leave Altur'Rang, where his presence many felt was paramount to the defense of the city, to seek out Shota the witch woman.

Although she very much disagreed with him, she didn’t argue too much against it. Two events probably had much to do with this; Richard’s extraordinary healing of Cara and a conversation the two women had afterwards. In it, Cara told Nicci of the terrible loneliness she sensed in Richard during the healing but confessed her ‘feelings’ for General Miefertt and conveyed the belief that she was not the one to fill that loneliness. Cara felt that because of common attributes shared by Nicci and Richard that Nicci could fill that void.

[edit] Defense of Altur'Rang

While Richard was offering words of comfort to the families of the men killed when Richard was searching for clues, two spies were brought in by soldiers of the new uprising. Seeing an opportunity to escape, one of the spies grabbed a little girl and threatened to cut her throat unless they did as he said. Richard, wasting no time, took action that resulted in the man losing most of his head.

Before the other spy could be killed, Nicci claimed to be the mayor's wife and chastised both the blacksmith (Victor) and the carpenter (Richard) for going against the Order. She exxplained to the group, for the benefit of the spy, that if they ever wanted to get back into the Order’s good graces they could not take such matters into their own hands. Nicci ordered the surviving spy to be let go so he could take the message of their wishes along with him, thus laying the groundwork for a swift and total defeat of the Imperial Order’s army.

Just before Richard left Altur’Rang, Nicci gave him a gift while providing a means in which to locate him after he left. She gave him a kiss on the cheek she imbued with magic, leaving Richard filled with joy and happiness. Nicci explained to him the she had caused him a great deal of pain in his life by using magic and she wanted him to leave with with the memory of a time that her magic had not harmed him. Richard and Cara left with a promise from Nicci that she would join them after seeing to the defense of the city. The campaign was to be short and brutal.

After Richard and Cara’s departure, a contingent of the army arrived with Brother Kronos’s demand that the mayor turn over his wife (Nicci) as a sign of their intentions to renounce their sinful ways. Victor and Ishaq were very angry and worried when Nicci ordered them to bind her to her horse while she explained her plan. Because Nicci was once part of the army, she feared she would be recognized. To negate that, she pulled the top of her dress down, thus giving the soldiers something else to look at other than her face.

All went according to plan until she arrived at the army camp and realized that it is no rabble but made up of battle-tested and seasoned troops. Once brought to the center of camp a Brother of the Fellowship of Order stepped out of his tent. Nicci wasted little time killing him. She killed a few more soldiers that surrounded her but was slammed off her horse and fell face-first onto the ground. It is then she realized that the Brother she killed was not Brother Kronos.

Stunned and unable to get a breath, Nicci struggled to find a way to get out of her mistake of underestimating the situation. Luckily, Brother Kronos gaves her that time by launching into rhetoric. Finally, Nicci was able to pull air into her lungs, and she dispatched Brother Kronos despite his shields of Additive Magic. She then scythed through the soldiers surrounding her while sending her magic around the camp to create confusion and disorder. The way clear, she mounted up and made her escape, killing any soldiers she could. The incensed army followed her, including the cavalry, as was her goal.

Nicci led the cavalry into the city and through prepositioned traps. The cavalry was cut down quickly. She then went back to encourage the foot soldiers into a reckless charge, taking the time to re-button the top of her dress. The following battle was a bit bloodier than expected for the freedom fighters, and at one point looked as if they would lose it. It was soon discovered that there was a third wizard with the Fellowship of Order and their army. Nicci and Victor rallied and were able to destroy each and every member of the attacking army, thus preventing word of the battle from ever reaching Jagang.

[edit] Search for Kahlan

Nicci was not able to catch up with Richard and Cara before they saw Shota, so she joined them at the Wizard’s Keep. There she combined her efforts with Zedd, both of them trying to get Richard to see through his delusion of Kahlan's existence. They even went so far as to allow him to dig up the grave of the Mother Confessor, Kahlan Amnell, that he was so sure would be empty. It was not.

After that discovery, Richard was crushed and grew despondent and reclusive, mostly because of Zedd’s reaction of disappointment in Richard. He was also depressed because of his hold on what was clearly fantasy and the loss of the Sword of Truth, which he had given to Shota in exchange for information. It greatly pained Nicci to see him so.

After several days, she could no longer bear it and approached him. Nicci argued that though she did not believe in Kahlan's existence as he did, he had in the past stuck to what he knew to be the truth and despite what anybody thought, he always fought for what he believed. She asked him why wasn’t he doing so now, igniting the fire in him again.

She later learned of the empty pages in books of prophecy after the arrival of Nathan and Ann. Richard forgot that to decipher prophecy was to invoke his magic, which would allow the beast Shota warned him about to track him. The beast arrived to kill him. Chased through the Keep, Richard, with Nicci in tow, ended the beast's pursuit temporarily by passing through a defensive shield in the lower levels of the Keep, causing the beast to crash into it and dissipate.

Richard and Nicci found themselves near the sliph’s well. Nicci then confronted Richard with a different theory she had come to about what had caused him to believe so adamantly in this dream woman. She told him that it was possible that the bolt she removed from his shoulder had contained a glamour spell, which would cause him to become obsessed with an object, usually a living woman, but in this case a fantasy.

She felt that maybe the intent behind this would be to cause those who followed him to begin to doubt him, thus causing everything he had worked toward to be torn asunder. She told him she had no way to prove or to counter such magic as she had obliterated the bolt with Subtractive Magic.

Several more days passed and the anxiety everyone felt about Richard rose to such a level that Nathan, Zedd, and Ann, pushed by Ann’s tenacious adherence to prophecy, called Nicci to them and asked her to use Subtractive magic to remove the memory of Kahlan from Richard’s mind. She agreed, but only to buy her time.

She found Richard and told him what was planned, forcing him to flee the Keep. He asked that Nicci join him and Cara. Using the sliph to escape, the arrived at the ruins of Caska, also called the Deep Nothing. There, aided by the Priestess of the Bones Jillian, Richard found a book entitled Chainfire.

Nicci used the time during Richard’s search to rid the area of Imperial Order scouts. She conducted an experiment on one them by removing the memory of Jagang from the scout with Subtractive Magic. He died very soon after. Nicci was appalled that she considered doing this to Richard.

After finding the book, Richard also found a snake vine growing near the sliph’s well. Knowing all too well what that had meant, they went to the People's Palace and discovered the Boxes of Orden were missing. They also found Kahlan’s tracks and the statue Spirit, which Richard had carved for her as a representation of Kahlan's spirit. Alerted to a mysterious incident involving an old woman being stabbed near the D’Haran army, they rode out to investigate.

The old woman turned out to be Sister Tovi, a Sister of the Dark and, like Nicci, a former teacher of Richard’s during his stay at the Palace of Prophets. She had been stabbed by the Sword of Truth carried now by Samuel. She had carried one of the Boxes of Orden before Samuel ambushed her and stole it. Rescued by the D'Haran army, who could not heal her, she was found by Nicci.

Playing on Tovi's assumtions that Nicci was still a Sister of the Dark and providing just enough healing magic to prevent her from dying, Nicci learned the truth behind all the strange events that had been happening. Nicci found out that Richard had been right all along when he insisted that Kahlan existed, and Nicci despaired that she had fought him every step of the way. Sister Tovi told Nicci of the treatment Kahlan received from the four-headed viper, made up of Sisters Cecilia, Armina, Ulicia, and Tovi herself. They had ignited the Chainfire spell, which had destroyed the memories everyone had of Kahlan and prevented anyone from seeing or remembering her besides the Sisters of the Dark who had started the spell, Jagang, and apparently Richard.

Finding Richard in his tent, Nicci threw herself at his feet and begged him to kill her for the anguish she thought she had caused him when she refused to believe him and battled him whenever he tried to prove Kahlan's existence. Richard forgave her easily and told Nicci that if not for her, they would have never found out the truth. Once arrived back at the Keep, Nicci was instrumental in convincing the others of that same truth.

[edit] Verification web

In order to gather more information about the Chainfire event, the gifted aligned with Richard decided to run a verification web from an interior perspective to gain as much information about the spell as possible. Nicci was the one to cast this web because of both her prodigious ability, as well as her specific ability with Subtractive Magic. Richard was able to intuitively decipher that the spell, and therefore the web, were terribly corrupted - most likely by the residual influence of the chimes' presence in the world of the living. He further understood that the corruption was harming if not killing Nicci. Richard was able to intuitively shut down the web and save Nicci's life, but at the cost of attracting and getting attacked once again by the blood beast. After a brief and ineffective clash with the beast by the others present, Nicci was able to defeat it by causing a bolt of lightning to reflect across both the Additive and Subtractive worlds and strike the beast in both worlds at once. While she defeated the beast for a time, her power also greatly damaged the containment field protecting the room as it shattered several of the magically-enhanced windows.

[edit] Naming the Player

After Rachel came to the Keep with a Box of Orden, Nicci thought for a while about the prophecy about the ending of the war with the the Order. She believed something was missing from her logic, and after going to a devotion with Cara, she understood. She and Cara left for the Keep in the middle of devotion, She asked Cara and Zedd if they trusted Richard with their lives, satisfied when they agreed. This was pivotal in her decision to act upon the realization she had while saying the line of the devotion, "Our lives are yours."

Nicci locked herself in the room where she, Richard, and Zedd had discovered the taint of the Chimes by using the verification web - telling Cara that it was for magical purposes - and barred the door with a lock of Additive and Subtractive Magic. She used The to guide her in the process of putting the Boxes of Orden into play again, as they had already been put into play by Sister Ulicia. When Orden asked her to name the player, Nicci named Richard, saying, "The player is Richard Rahl. Heed his will. Do his bidding if he proves worthy, kill him if he does not, destroy us all if he fails."

Nicci realized that the prophecy said that Richard - as fuer grissa ost drauka, the bringer of death - had to lead the final battle against the Order. Since they were fighting a war against beliefs instead of a war against people, she thought that they way they would completely trust Richard's leadership would be to give him a chance to end the war with the power of Orden.

On the dawn of the next day, the first day of winter, Richard, who was a captive of the Order in the guise of Ruben Rybnik, and Sister Ulicia received a message that the year a player was given to figure out which Box of Orden to open had started over again.

[edit] Recapture

Nicci asked Nathan if she could see Panis Rahl's tomb because she had heard that it was melting. Ann offered to go with her, and while they were walking they discussed Ann's feelings for Nathan and Nicci's feelings for Richard. Ann didn't believe that Richard would manage to save Kahlan from Jagang, and even if he saved her, she would not have her memories of him. Ann told Nicci that she believed Nicci should be Richard's wife like Kahlan had been. She said that they had a lot in common, such as their gifts of Subtractive Magic, and that Kahlan could not understand if Richard spoke to her about magic. Nicci argued that for Richard to love Kahlan, she had to be a very special woman. As they talked, Ann and Nicci became friends.

In a hallway, they met Sister Armina, Sister Julia, and Sister Greta - three Sisters of the Dark who worked for Jagang. Ann told Nicci to run, but Nicci didn't obey because she knew from experience that running would be a foolhardy action. Nicci tried to use her magic to attack the Sisters, but she realized that in the People's Palace her gift was greatly diminished by the spell woven into the palace walls. This spell reduced the power of any wizard or sorceress who was not a Rahl. However, the Sisters of the Dark combined their powers to create lightning. Ann dove in front of Nicci, sacrificing herself to save Nicci's life.

At that point, Nicci cast the strongest shield she could and ran, not even taking three steps before she was hit by a rope of compacted air summoned by the Sisters. Nicci attempted to fight the Sisters again, but it was to no avail. Jagang took over Sister Armina's mind, putting a Rada'Han around Nicci's neck. She was taken out of the palace through the catacombs, which was how the Sisters had gotten into the People's Palace without being noticed.

As Nicci entered the camp of the Order, she once again took up the mantle of Death's Mistress and the Slave Queen, making herself cold and indifferent to life again. She knew that when she met Jagang, that was the only protection she had.

When Nicci entered Jagang's tent, she saw Kahlan on the carpet with a Rada'Han around her neck. As she had put the Boxes of Orden into play, she could see Kahlan. Nicci could tell at a glance that Kahlan was the only woman who belonged at Richard's side.

Jagang greeted her again, and they soon got into an arguement about the Order's beliefs and whether or not Richard was wrong. Nicci revealed that she had turned to Richard's side, and Jagang asked her many times whether she loved Richard or not. Nicci continually asked him in return why he wanted to know, realizing that Jagang was jealous. Jagang threw her onto the bed when she told him as much, piercing her lower lip with a gold ring that marked her as his property, and beat her while he violated her. Nicci did not notice the pain, as she blanked out like she had done when she was Death's Mistress.

When Jagang was finished with her, he looked at her injuries and said he was sorry, then went out of the tent to fetch a Sister of the Dark to heal her. Kahlan gave Nicci water to drink and comforted her while waiting for the Sister of the Dark, and they became friends. They talked about Richard, who Kahlan knew by the name of "Ruben" from the Ja'La games. Kahlan realized that Nicci loved Richard.

[edit] Rescue

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[edit] End of the war

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[edit] Aftermath

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[edit] Personality and traits

Nicci was an exceptionally beautiful woman who was said to look alike to "a good spirit in the flesh".^[1] She had long blond hair and intelligent, piercing blue eyes. Nicci had a soft, silken voice and was always clothed in a fine black dress. She never grinned, instead she produced disarmingly subdued smiles.

Having grown up under the influence of the Fellowship of Order, Nicci felt that mankind was filled with nothing but selfish desires. She selflessly submitted herself to the will of others, less advantaged than herself and felt that her resentment was proof of her wickedness.

As she became ever deeper immersed in the ideals of the Order, Nicci's emotional state slowly changed. She no longer possessed the ability to feel emotion and she became nothing but indifferent toward life. Any emotion that succeeded in breaching her mental barrier faded quickly and Nicci no longer cared whether she continued to live or die.

That changed after she left the Order to aid and serve Richard Rahl. During her time with him, she came to value all that he valued, and love all that he loved. She would still put on her old ways as a mask in times of desperate need, such as in the defense of Altur'Rang and during her brief recapture by Jagang. In the end, she fell deeply in love with Richard and went to extraordinary lengths to protect and assist him in everything that he did. In fact, so deep was her commitment to him and his ideals that the mere thought that she had failed him drove her to offer her life in supplication for her failure.

[edit] Powers and Abilities

Even whilst still a young girl Nicci was recognised as being prodigiously talented with the gift. The Sister of the Light who discovered her, Alessandra, noted that she had never before met a female with whom the gift was so strong. Through her studies with the Sisters of the Light, Nicci became a powerful sorceress, though it was actually through her dealings with the Sisters of the Dark that she began to wield true power. By becoming a Sister of the Dark, Nicci was granted the gift of a wizard in addition to her own, and was even gifted with limited use of Subtractive Magic.

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[edit] Appearances

• Stone of Tears (First appearance)
• Blood of the Fold
• Faith of the Fallen
• Naked Empire (Mentioned only)
• Chainfire
• Phantom
• Confessor

[edit] Notes and references

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