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Tovi looked the kindly grandmother, but she was a viper.
Nicci[src]

Tovi was a Sister of the Dark involved in the Chainfire plot and was who Samuel stole a Box of Orden from. She was killed by Nicci after having revealed the entirety of the plot masterminded by her and her companions.

Biography[]

Sister of the Dark[]

Instructor[]

Tovi was purposely made one of the instructors of Richard Rahl upon his arrival at the Palace of the Prophets, by Sister Ulicia. Ulicia, the leader of the Sisters of the Dark, wanted to know everything going on with Richard, as he appeared as a threat to her and the fallen Sisters, therefore she made sure each of his instructors was a Sister of the Dark. As always, Tovi put on a demeanor of a kindly grandmother, at all times seeming a relaxed old woman, making it difficult for Richard to view her as a dangerous enemy.

Upon Sister Liliana's failed attempt to drain the gift from Richard, Tovi, Ulicia and the other four surviving women made his instructors, Cecilia, Armina, Merissa and Nicci, were forced to flee the Palace aboard the Lady Sefa, their identities as Sisters of the Dark revealed.

Captive[]

Tovi 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 Each had shared the same dream, in which their Master, the Keeper, had been replaced by a man named Jagang.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, Tovi participated in 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 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 persons mind, their powers were useless against him.

Jagang captured the Sister's 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. Tovi and Cecilia attempted to escape this fate by pointing out their advanced age, but Jagang was not persuaded.

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 the location of his captive wife. Richard agreed and the Sisters believed they had gained their freedom from Jagang. They then made their way to Grafan Harbour and unleashed their fury upon the crew of the Lady Sefa.

The Chainfire Effect[]

Planning stage[]

Though Ulicia and her Sisters may have sworn an oath to Richard, she did not believe that it necessarily meant that they could no longer hold to their original oath, to the Keeper, as well. She recognized that Richard's highest morale has always been; life. To her mind, she believed that this would allow the four free Sisters of the Dark to work for the Keeper as long as they were no threat to Richard's life.

This caused a plan to formulate in Ulicia's mind. When the four Sisters discovered a cache of books, a place known as a central site, under the ruins of the Palace of the Prophets, one book stood out beyond all others:Chainfire.

Chainfire was a book written by the wizards of old, detailing a theory that demonstrated the potential to unravel the world of life. It outlined a web, powerful enough to completely erase a persons existence from the minds of all others, even seconds after having seen this person. The wizards, realizing what a catastrophe Chainfire could be if unleashed, created a counter; the Boxes of Orden. However, this played right into the hands of Ulicia and her Sisters.

Capturing the Mother Confessor[]

After destroying the hidden central site, the Sisters set off to find Richard Rahl and Kahlan Amnell. The Sisters succeeded on discovering the camp while the pair slept and were able to avoid their Mord-Sith guard; Cara. They then cast a web on Richard that increased his drowsiness so as to prevent him from waking. They then captured his wife, Kahlan, before quickly leaving the camp. They also cast magic that erased their tracks.

The Sisters placed a Rada'Han on Kahlan's neck, cutting her off from her Confessors power and then in an act of pure evil unleashed the Chainfire Event upon the world by placing it around Kahlan. In addition to the Chainfire spell, a number of extremely powerful webs were placed upon her, preventing her from escaping the Sisters grasp.

The four Sisters and their captive then set off for the People's Palace in D'Hara. However, along the way they stopped in the city of Aydindril and planted a corpse in a grave marked as Kahlan's.

Stealing the Boxes[]

After arriving at the People's Palace, Ulicia sent Armina to find the entry to the Garden of Life. In the meantime, Tovi, who had found the devotion to the Lord Rahl they had been forced to do particularly draining due to her large size, insisted on resting on a bench for a time.

When Armina returned, Ulicia ordered her and Cecilia to keep watch at the opposite ends of the hallway that led to the Garden. Tovi, Kahlan and Ulicia then made their way towards the heavily guarded Garden of Life. Kahlan then entered, unseen by the guards due to the Chainfire spell that protected her, while Tovi and Ulicia played at admiring the sights of the Palace outside.

When Kahlan returned both Sisters were extremely excited. She had recovered the Boxes of Orden. However, due to her pack being too full to fit all three Boxes, Kahlan had only retrieved one. Ulicia reacted violently; beating Kahlan viciously. She then ordered her to return to the Garden of Life, remove whatever filled her pack and return with the other two Boxes. Before Kahlan did this, Tovi threatened her with a beating from her own hand should she misbehave again.

Death[]

Ulicia then instructed Tovi to leave the Palace with the first Box, as it was far to dangerous to hold it in plain sight. On her way to the rendezvous point, Tovi was intercepted by Samuel, who ran her through with the Sword of Truth, before she had time to use her gift, stealing the Box.

Tovi would be found by the D'Haran Army. The surgical personnel realized that Tovi's wound was mortal but helped to keep her comfortable as she awaited her slow painful death. When Richard Rahl returned to the D'Haran camp having heard the description of the woman the army had found stabbed, on an inkling it may well have been Tovi, Nicci, who had converted to Richard's cause entered Tovi's tent.

Nicci promised to heal Tovi's wounds with her gift, should Tovi reveal the Sister's plans. Tovi did so, confirming Richards "delusions" of his missing wife. When Tovi came near to the end of her story, not realizing Nicci's conversion to good, she detailed Sister Ulicia's earlier physical attack on Kahlan, causing Nicci to lash out and kill her. At the instant of her death, a pitch black darkness filled the D'Haran camp, symbolizing that Sister Tovi had finally joined her Master in the underworld.

Legacy[]

Unbeknownst to Tovi, she and the other Sisters had never truly gained their freedom from Jagang, as the bond they had sworn to Richard had not been sincere. Jagang had been within their minds throughout their plot, and watched furiously as Nicci tortured Tovi through the old womans eyes. This ensured that the dream walker wished to capture the former Sister of the Dark, feeling betrayed that she had joined the cause of Richard Rahl.

In addition, Tovi's Sisters believed her to have journyed to Caska. They themselves trecked to the Deep Nothing, expecting to be reunited with Tovi, only to find Jagang waiting in her place.

Personality and traits[]

Tovi was a heavy set, older woman with deep creases in her face. She was often thought to be a dotting old woman, not unlike a grandmother, but she was quite capable of becoming a viper. At every training session Tovi had with Richard, she always brought a tray of cookies, heightening the illusion of her kindly nature. She delighted in the suffering of others and joined the ranks of the Sisters of the Dark so as to have her body returned to its once youthful beauty.

Appearances[]

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