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Soul of the Fire

Book Five of the The Sword of Truth series

Soul of the Fire by Terry Goodkind was the fifth book in the Sword of Truth series. It was first released on March 15, 1999, and followed in paperback on March 15, 2000. It follows Temple of the Winds and is followed by Faith of the Fallen.

Synopsis[]

Continuing on from Temple of the Winds, the story began after Richard and Kahlan's wedding in the village of the Mud People.

Strange deaths and the appearance of a 'Chicken That Isn't A Chicken' left Richard fearing the worst. Zedd confided in Richard that the chicken was a Lurk sent by Emperor Jagang's Sisters of the Dark. According to Zedd, the only way to destroy the Lurk was by smashing a bottle from the Wizard's Keep in Aydindril with the Sword of Truth.

However, Zedd was actually lying. He had surmised that a terrible magic known as the Chimes had been released. The chimes would eventually drain all magic from the world of the living, beginning with the Additive Magic. This would cause death to beings that require magic and possibly cause the destruction of the world if additive magic were to completely fail. Zedd determined that he must find a remedy and wanted Richard and Kahlan safely out of the way while he did so.

Richard, Kahlan and Cara, unaware of the truth, set out to accomplish the task of breaking the bottle. Meanwhile, Zedd and Ann set off in separate ways. Zedd recalled some lore that related the chimes to Anderith, and he traveled there to attempt to banish the chimes. Ann infiltrated the Imperial Order in order to save the Sisters of the Light under Jagang's enslavement. However, the Sisters of the Light betrayed Ann to Jagang because they fear his wrath.

Elsewhere, Machiavellian politics of Anderith were introduced. Both the Anders, black-haired people who govern the city, and the Hakens, red-haired people under the boot of Ander oppression, occupied Anderith. From an early age, Hakens were kept under control and disrespected by the Anders and were taught that this oppression was a necessity to protect the Hakens from their violent ancestral ways. Most Hakens had bought into this idea and willingly subjected themselves to the oppression.

Anderith was being wooed by the Imperial Order in the person of Stein, who personified the savage ruthlessness of Jagang's empire. Stein offered double the going rate for any goods that merchants, all of the Ander race, would sell to the Imperial Order. He also plotted with the Minister of Culture, Bertrand Chanboor, to surrender Anderith to the Order. They began infiltrating Imperial Order soldiers into Anderith under the guise of Special Anderian Troops.

Dalton Campbell, aide to the Minister of Culture, had a hand in most events within the Anderith nation. He used his connections, along with his squad of messengers, to accomplish underhanded tasks to ensure that the Minister would ascend to the chair of Sovereign (a religious position similar to the real world pope), when the present one passes on. Dalton treasured his wife, Teresa, above all else.

A kitchen scullion, Fitch, was recruited into the messenger corps by Dalton. Though he was conflicting goals and values, Fitch's gratitude towards Dalton resulted in blind obedience and he smothered his conscience to accomplish Dalton's bidding. Ultimately Dalton betrayed Fitch, who was forced to flee. Fitch determined to redeem himself by becoming The Seeker of Truth, a long time fantasy of his.

The Anderith Army, which was seriously under-trained and little more than children, was also featured in this book. The Anderith Army guarded the Dominie Dirtch, a defensive line of giant bell shaped structures, seemingly made from a solid piece of dark veined stone, which killed anything in front of them when struck.

Elsewhere, Richard realized the chimes are, in fact, loose, and so he sent Cara to Aydindril to retrieve the Sword of Truth while Richard, Kahlan and Du Chaillu (Richard's first "wife" and spirit woman of the Baka Tau Mana) headed to Anderith to banish the chimes. Richard also deduced that the army of the Imperial Order was marching on Anderith. If the Imperial Order conquers Anderith it would be a continuing imminent threat to the rest of the Midlands. Arriving in Anderith first, Zedd attempted to banish the chimes by offering them his soul. This was the cause of the chimes' presence: they didn't have souls, and when Kahlan summoned them, she promised them Richard's soul. However, it is not Zedd's soul the chimes wanted. When Zedd's attempt failed, he undergoes a transformation, becoming a raven.

Richard and Kahlan arrived in Anderith and set out to look for the chimes, but also worked on joining Anderith with the D'Haran Empire. Word spread, and a vote was taken. While Richard made a good plea to the people of Anderith, Dalton Campbell's interference swayed the vote, leaving Richard defeated. At the same time, Kahlan struggled with the knowledge that she was with child, and the trouble that would come because of it.

Meanwhile, Ann found the captive Sisters of the Light and persuaded them to come with her. Since magic was failing, Jagang's abilities as a Dream Walker were null, and Ann informed the Sisters of a bond to Richard, the Lord Rahl, that could keep them safe from the Dream Walker. However the Sisters, fearful of retribution by Jagang, betrayed Ann to the Imperial Order. She was left in her tent by herself when Sister Alessandra, a Sister of the Dark, began visiting her and bringing her food. She attempted to sway Alessandra, at first to no avail but with success in the end.

Cara almost obtained the Sword of Truth, but was beaten to it by Fitch and his friend, Morley. A combination of sheer dumb luck and the fact that the Chimes had deactivated the Wizards' Keep defenses and killed many of its guards allowed Fitch and his accomplice to easily obtain the Sword. Cara chased and killed Morley before following Fitch back to Anderith. When she caught him at the Dominie Dirtch she lost the sword when Imperial Order scouts attacked. The Order's soldiers collected the sword as a prize for Stein to present to Emperor Jagang.

Around this time, Dalton Campbell managed to murder the Sovereign, instead of waiting for the feeble figurehead to pass naturally. This immediately pushed Bertrand Chanboor to the rank of Sovereign. The empowered Chanboor consummated his promotion by sleeping with Dalton's wife, Teresa. Dalton pretended not to be disturbed by this betrayal and even seemingly "joined" the web of infidelity by sleeping with both Teresa and Chanboor's wife in turn. In reality, however, Campbell was livid and even killed the Imperial Order emissary, Stein, (who had "shared" Teresa with Chanboor) gaining possession of the Sword of Truth in turn.

Dalton Campbell, along with help from a Sister of the Dark, set a group of his messengers on Kahlan when she was off by herself pondering on whether or not to keep Richard's child. She was beaten nearly to death, and when she was saved, Richard at first didn't recognize her. When he finally did however, he realized that he wouldn't be able to heal her unless he managed to banish the chimes first.

After studying the actions of Joseph Ander, the ancient founder of Anderith, Richard came to realize that the chimes and the Dominie Dirtch were connected. More specifically, Richard came to understand that Joseph Ander enslaved the Chimes using them to power the Dominie Dirtch. Richard finally came to understand that by using art as a form of intent he could alter the Grace and create a new pathway for magic. Thus Richard countered the magic Ander used to enslave the Chimes and called them forth; giving the chimes a choice: The Soul - his soul, they were promised by Kahlan - or revenge on the spirit of Ander for enslaving them. The chimes chose vengeance, and took Ander to the underworld. Once he was successful in banishing the chimes, Richard set off to heal Kahlan but was stopped by Du Chaillu, who told Richard that his healing powers would kill her due to a hidden subtractive magic spell that had been placed within her.

Alessandra eventually freed Ann, reverted her faith back to The Creator and gave her oath to Richard. The pair soon set off out of Anderith, and when Zedd's soul was returned to his body with the banishment of the chimes, he also departed.

Richard decided to leave for Westland, where he planned to let Kahlan recover from her wounds naturally. Dalton Campbell saw them off with his apologies and informed Richard that Chanboor, himself, and both of their wives had become stricken with an "unfortunate", incurable venereal disease and had doomed themselves to a slow, agonizing demise. He returned the Sword of Truth to Richard before they set off. Richard claimed he would wait in Westland until the people of the world could prove to him that they truly desired freedom.

Resources[]

Wizard's Rule[]

Main Article: Wizard's Rules
Mind what people do, not only what they say, for deeds will betray a lie

Chapter guide[]

Soul of the Fire has a total of 70 chapters.

Characters[]

Here is a list of all the characters who appear in Soul of the Fire:

Creatures[]

Extras[]

Cover[]

The cover painting by Keith Parkinson depicts Richard and Kahlan at the Ovens.

Dedication[]

To James Frenkel, a man of great patience, courage, integrity, and talent

Awards[]

(coming soon)

Facts & trivia[]

  • The title of this book refers to the chime of fire which is able to manipulate all things fire, seemingly as if it were its soul.

Alternate artwork[]

External Links[]

Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind

Prequel: The First Confessor
Prequel: Debt of Bones
Book 1: Wizard's First Rule
Book 2: Stone of Tears
Book 3: Blood of the Fold

Book 4: Temple of the Winds
Book 5: Soul of the Fire
Book 6: Faith of the Fallen
Book 7: Pillars of Creation
Book 8: Naked Empire

Book 9: Chainfire
Book 10: Phantom
Book 11: Confessor
Book 12: The Omen Machine
Book 13: The Third Kingdom

Book 14: Severed Souls
Book 15: Warheart
Book 16: Death's Mistress
Book 17: Shroud of Eternity
Book 18: Siege of Stone
Book 19: Heart Of Black Ice
Sequel: The Law of Nines

Wizard's Rules
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