Confessor

: “We are the final arbiters of truth. It is how we serve the people.”
: ―Kahlan Amnell
Confessors were an order of women first created during the Great War as a means of ascertaining the truth beyond doubt. They were created by Wizard Merritt using the Shrakiah, tools of great magical prowess. The first Confessor was Magda Searus. The magic of the Confessors destroyed the person touched by their power, in the sense that such a person would lose their free will, and would submit their lives to the Confessor.
The Confessors were soon instigated as the rulers of the Midlands, with their leader, the Mother Confessor, acting as the First Chair of the Central Council. However, after a three thousand year long reign, the Confessors were hunted down and murdered in their entirety, excepting the last Mother Confessor Kahlan Amnell.
== Contents ==
* 1History
** 1.1Great War
** 1.2Dark Times
** 1.3Later years
* 2Confessor's magic
* 3Life of a Confessor
* 4Known Confessors
* 5Appearances
== History ==
=== Great War ===
The Confessors were created in an effort to ensure that truth could be ascertained during situations that called for it. The first Confessor, Magda Searus, volunteered to gain such experimental powers so as to personally discover the reasons behind the death of her husband, First Wizard Barracus, near to the conclusion of the Great War. Wizard Merrit's magical experiment on Magda Searus proved extremely successful, and as such an entire order of women was founded for the cultivation and protection of this amazing power. Their order became symbolic of truth as they were vested with the informal power to rule over the Midlands.
Many rulers tried to force Confessors under their command, which caused the Mother Confessor to dethrone these rulers and replace them with ones who understood that Confessors were independent individuals. Removing these rulers required a group of Confessors who would use their power to infiltrate a castle by confessing people of lower rank and working their way up until they reached the King or Queen. The dethroned rulers were forced to live as slaves to the Confessors in Aydindril. They were often brought along on a Confessor's travels as a reminder to everyone they met of a Confessor's power.
=== Dark Times ===
Unfortunately, the full consequences of the powers invested within a Confessor had not been foreseen. For reasons unknown, the Confessors' magic manifested itself differently within the male offspring of the original Confessors than in the females.
As a protection, the Confessors' magic had been designed to ensure that after having been used, the Confessor would require an interval of recovery before their power would return, preventing them from having an unlimited power. However, the male offspring of the Confessors for some reason did not require a period of recovery after having used their magic, removing this limit.
Before their gender genocide, male Confessors caused chaos through the New World because they could not control their power, and an age of darkness was said to have followed. The male Confessors and the wizards of the New World engaged each other in a horrible war. By its conclusion, all male Confessors were dead as were most of the wizards who killed them in an effort to restore the balance of power.
Following this, a new mandate was issued. In the television series, any male offspring of a Confessor would immediately be put to death with The Ritual of the Water so their souls are purified when they go to the underworld by drowning. In the book series, any male offspring of a Confessor would immediately be put to death by having the confessor order her mate to place the child on an altar, and stand on a pole that rests on the child's neck, effectively crushing the child's spine (the male confessor's unquenchable thirst for power and control began prior to adolescence).
With great power came a great personal sacrifice for the remaining female confessors. A Confessor's power is always "on" and it is only because a Confessor is trained from birth to use her power "at will" that she does not Confess all around her. However, Confessors can lose control and confess people they do not intend to. Most notably, whenever Confessors made love with someone that caused a Confessor to enjoy great physical ecstasy, the Confessor lost her ability to control her power. Thus, a Confessor's loved one would lose their individuality after mating with a Confessor. After only one intimate experience, the mate becomes the Confessor's pawn and the mate loses any sense of individuality until the day the confessed person died.
Sadly, the most ethical of Confessors chose to never make love to the man she really loved out of deep respect for his individuality. Confessors, instead, would pick mates for procreation purposes while remaining emotionally close to their true soul mate.
=== Later years ===
After three thousand years in power, the Confessors would fall victim to the evil wizard Darken Rahl, who ordered his quads to hunt them down in their entirety and brutally murder them. Though throughout the reign of the Confessors they did little but sacrifice their lives for the people of the Midlands, these same people had come to hate and fear them due to rumors of the awful power at their disposal.
The one Confessor known to have escaped Rahl's plot was the Mother Confessor at the time, Kahlan Amnell, who proved instrumental in defeating him. Kahlan Amnell used her authority to dissolve the Midlands Alliance and ally the willing Midlands territories with the D'Haran Empire in interest of defending them all from the Imperial Order. Effectively, the rule of the Confessor order was ended, however it possible that Kahlan revived the Confessor line by having daughters with her husband, Richard Rahl.
== Confessor's magic ==
: Main article: Confessor's touch
: “Don't let her touch you. She's deadlier than a poison dart.”
: ―A D'Haran soldier about a Confessor[src]
A Confessor's power was described as the power of love. If a Confessor could obtain contact with a person, she could release her power into that person at the speed of thought. After having been touched, a person lost his or her sense of self and would do anything and everything demanded by the Confessor.
One of the drawbacks of the Confessor's magic was the fact that after its application, the Confessor became physically weak and required time for recovery before her power and strength were regained. The speed at which she recovered as well as the level of control she had over one touched by her power determined the strength of her magic. In addition, Confessors with an exceptionally strong power were capable of tapping into the opposing portion of their magic, the Con Dar, also known as the "Blood Rage," which has its origin in vengeance and hate.
A Confessor's natural state is one in which her powers are active, so she must be trained to constantly hold them in or accidentally unleash the power. This meant that a Confessor could never marry for love.
== Life of a Confessor ==
Confessors wore simple black dresses with square necklines, except for the Mother Confessor, who always wore white in order to show her power and authority. They had the longest hair in the Midlands, which indicated their unparalleled societal status. Their magic prevents them from cutting their hair themselves, causing them extreme pain if they try, although every Confessor eventually attempts to do so. Someone other than the Confessor herself must trim her hair when necessary.
The Confessors resided in the Confessors' Palace in Aydindril.
A Confessor learned from a young age how to "hold in" her power, such that it was only released when she relaxed her grip on it. Confessors were educated meticulously in politics, history, warfare, languages, and magic.
Confessors held ranking within their order according to the strength of their power and the length of their recovery time. There was no jealousy or disloyalty among Confessors due to rank, and any Confessor would sacrifice herself without hesitation for one of higher rank.
Grown Confessors traveled the Midlands to take confessions. Sometimes the leaders of towns asked them to confess criminals in order to execute justice fully. Sometimes innocent convicts asked for a Confessor in order to prove their innocence. Otherwise Confessors investigated matters of justice according to their own designs, always looking to insure fairness and order. Confessors were always welcomed into any town or village she wished to enter, for refusing a Confessor was seen as a direct threat or even admission to guilt. Each Confessor traveled with a wizard, assigned to her in Aydindril, whose task was to protect her during the recovery period following confessions.
In addition to these duties, the cardinal law of the Confessors was, if the true Seeker arise, to protect him with her life. In Legend of the Seeker, one Confessor was assigned to accompany and personally protect the Seeker on his mission.
Confessors were often the cause of fear, and sometimes hate, among the people of the Midlands. Their power was a constant threat to anyone near them, and its magical nature made people suspicious. Their interference with local law and independence upset tradition. Their method of choosing mates also aroused intense animosity.
A Confessor could not love in the traditional sense. This was because if a Confessor was in the throes of passion, she would lose control of her power and consequently destroy her lover's self. When a Confessor wanted to bear a child, she would choose any man in the Midlands for her mate, all powers being unable to refuse her the man she chose. A Confessor's mate was usually just a person the Confessor believed would provide her a strong daughter, and oftentimes a person guilty of some injustice.
There existed only one way for a man to remain unaffected by the touch of a Confessor; should a man learn to love a Confessor unconditionally and have no foreknowledge that the Confessor's touch would have no effect upon him if he fully loves her, he would not be affected by the Confessor's power as he could not become more devoted to her. Of course, such a person would only be immune to the touch of the specific Confessor with whom they are in love. There are only two known men to have fulfilled these requirements: Richard Rahl, who was eventually able to marry his love, Kahlan Amnell; and Wizard Merrit, who after creating the first confessor Magda Searus eventually fell in love with her and married her. Madga Searus being the first confessor, she and Wizard Merrit obviously had no knowledge of this loophole to the Confessor's touch, and due to this it became something very few knew.
: “I guess it was a feeling of love, but words are so hollow, next to the power of the wanting of her.”
: ―Brophy, a confessed man[src]
The Confessor's touch, Confessor's magic or Confession, was the power wielded by all Confessors. Simply put, it made the victim completely, unconditionally loyal to the Confessor, to the point where they no longer had any sense of self.
== Contents ==
* 1Confessor's magic
** 1.1Accidental usage
* 2Victim's experience
* 3Recovery period
* 4Male Confessors
* 5Application of the touch
* 6Reversal and immunities
* 7The Con Dar
* 8Behind the scenes
== Confessor's magic ==
A Confessor's power wasn't activated so much as unleashed. As long as the Confessor could touch the victim directly (clothing and armor posed no obstacle) the power could be delivered with absolutely no defense. When touched, the magic amplified the capacity for love that all humans had and directed it towards the Confessor; as such, this power was considered Additive Magic. Upon being unleashed, the power also produced a significant concussive force, often described as "thunder without sound". The force at close range was described as being powerful enough to finish off an already injured individual at close range. Although it was never explained thoroughly, there appeared to be negative consequences for anyone making contact with the victim at the time they are touched.
The result of the victim's love being amplified in such a way was complete, unquestioning, irreversible loyalty towards the Confessor. The person touched would do anything, namely revealing deeply-buried truths, but even things like dying on the spot. As part of this transformation, the victim's persona and free will was stripped away, effectively killing the person while only leaving the memories and body intact. Despite this, victims did retain their normal amount of intellect and could take initiative with instructions (when ordered to protect the Confessor, for instance, they will intelligently assess and respond to threats). However, the victim was stripped of all will to deceive the Confessor, and thus took all questions for their literal meaning, and answered with the clear truth.
Confessor's magic stretches over any amount of distance between the Confessor and the confessed, and remains until the death of the Confessor. As stated in in the television series, (although it isn't elaborated upon much), a Confessor's power comes from spirit not blood. As such, when Dennee's spirit was resurrected by Denna and placed into a new body, Dennee was still able to confess people and sense the truth.
A Confessor's touch is fatal to Mord-Sith, as their power derives from hate and suffering opposing a Confessor's
power, which derives from love. In the short time they live post-confession, they suffer excruciating pain, but experience the normal effects of a Confessor's touch.
=== Accidental usage ===
: “Like holding your stomach in.”
: ―Richard describes restraining the Confessor magic[src]
A Confessor's powers manifested in childhood, and from that time onward, their power must be kept under active restraint. A Confessor's natural state is one in which her powers are relaxed and active, so she must be trained to constantly hold them in. Kahlan Amnell warned Nissel that drugs that interfere with consciousness, such as strong painkillers, could cause an accidental release of power. Regular sleep, however, would not cause an accidental unleashing.
The major cause of accidental release was sexual intercourse - when in the throes of passion, a Confessor would inevitably lose control of her power, destroying the essence of the person they are with. This meant that a Confessor could never marry for love.
== Victim's experience ==
The following is an example of what the victim of a Confessor's touch experiences. It is a testimony by Brophy, a man wrongly accused of murdering a boy, in Wizard's First Rule.
"It's hard to remember everything of that time, but I will try to explain it the best I can. Pain. I remember the pain. It was exquisite, beyond anything you could imagine. The first thing I remember after the pain is fear. Overpowering fear I might be breathing wrong, and it would somehow displease her. I almost died from fear that I would displease her. And then when she told me what she wanted to know, it was a flush of the greatest joy I had ever known. Joy, because then I knew what I could do to please her. I was overjoyed that she made a request of me, that there was something I could do to satisfy her. That's what I remember the most, the desperate, frantic need to do as she wanted, to satisfy her, and make her happy. Nothing else was in my mind, only to please her. To be in her presence was beyond bliss. The pleasure of being in her presence made me cry with elation. She told me to tell the truth, and I was so happy, because I knew I could do that. I was thrilled to have a task within my power. I started talking as fast as I could, to tell her all the truth I could. She had to tell me to slow down, because she couldn't understand me. If I had had a knife, I would have used it on myself for displeasing her. Then she told me it was all right, and I cried because she was not displeased with me. I told her what happened. After I told her I hadn't killed the boy, I remembered she put her hand on my arm - the touch nearly made me faint with pleasure - and she said she was sorry. I misunderstood. I thought she meant she was sorry I hadn't killed the boy. I begged her to let me go kill another boy for her. Then she explained that what she meant was that she was sorry for me, for me being accused wrongly of the murder. I remember crying uncontrollably, because she had shown me a kindness, she was sorry for me, she cared for me. I remember what it felt like to be near her, to be in her presence. I guess it was a feeling of love, but words are so hollow, next to the power of the wanting of her."
== Recovery period ==
A female Confessor's power could not be used indefinitely - use left them feeling physically fatigued, and the power itself took some time to recharge. The exact time varied between Confessors - Kahlan Amnell's power recharged within a few hours, which was unusually fast, as the average Confessor required up to a day for their power to return.
== Male Confessors ==
A confessor's child will always be born a confessor with the exception of the Pristinely ungifted. As magic manifests itself differently in men and women, male confessors' touches are much stronger and require no recharge time. This may appear to be useful, but almost all male confessors are so overwhelmed by their powers that they do not have the restraint or compassion to use them wisely. These Confessors had no regard for justice and duty, and were often power-hungry and bloodthirsty. They eventually led the Midlands into the dark times where Confessors ruled, a period that ended around 60 BCB. After these dark times, it became a solemn law of the Confessor order that every newborn male confessor be taken to a special place in Aydindril where his mother would order her mate to place a rod on the baby's neck and step down on either end of it, killing the child.
== Application of the touch ==
Confessors were created as human weapons during the Great War, and their intended use continued through history - to discern the ultimate truth. At a criminal trial, a convicted offender or sufficiently powerful authority figure could request the accused be touched by a Confessor, who would then ask the accused to speak the truth. Since the victim of the touch was unable to lie, the absolute truth of the case would be found, either way, and the case could be decided accordingly.
The Confessor's touch was also used in self-defense - Confessors being the target of much animosity, they could turn an assailant into a bodyguard prepared to die for his intended target, by touching such an assailant with their power. All Confessors were trained to shut out distractions and 'make time theirs' to slip through the victim's guard and deliver the touch.
== Reversal and immunities ==
Under normal circumstances, the touch of a Confessor could not be undone - it was absolute in every sense of the term. However, being transformed into an animal, which did not have the same basic capacity for love as a human, would lessen the degree of devotion the victim felt. This was the protocol for a person touched during a trial who was proven innocent by the act.
Only one exception existed to the finality of the touch - if the intended target already loved their Confessor unconditionally and totally, the touch could be overwhelmed and rendered ineffective. The power of the touch would be exhausted trying to amplify this excess of love, leaving nothing with which to affect the target's free will, personality, etc. The Confessor would in turn suffer a concussion in addition to the usual exhaustion following the use of her touch.
First Wizard Zeddicus was touched once by the Confessor's power, however he avoided it's effects because his soul was partially in the underworld, where it could not be totally manipulated. He stated that he used the power as an "anchor" to drag his soul back to the world of life.
== The Con Dar ==
Main article: Con Dar
With the touch of a Confessor being an Additive power, the power's balance was found in its opposite, the Subtractive Con Dar, a power invoked to protect someone the Confessor held dear. Unlike the touch, it was a learned skill. The Confessor in the midst of the Con Dar became single-minded in her desire to protect, marching for days without rest and doing all but leveling buildings that stood in her way. Such a Confessor could not be reasoned with and would kill or invoke her magic without a second thought.
== Behind the scenes ==
* In Legend of the Seeker a Confessor's touch causes both the Confessor and her victim's pupils to expand so as to ensure the audience is aware that some sort of magic passes between the two.