Stone 28

Chapter 28
“Naked under the sun's fury, the parched, dead flat ground stretched endlessly before them, in the distance offering up shimmering images to waver and dance in the sun's furnace glare, like phantom hostages surrendered to an omnipotent foe.”
That is the first sentence of Chapter 28. Take a moment to appreciate it.
We learn that this hot place is called the Valley of the Lost, and Richard and Verna intend to cross it. Richard is rather stupid (or ignorant) about climate and temperature, and we learn that the Westland, Midlands and D'Hara compromise the New World, while beyond the Valley of the Lost lies the Old World, “sealed away and forgotten.” I have no clue why the Westland/Midlands/D'Hara trio would be known as “the New World,” nor do I much care just now. Henceforth, they will be collectively referred to as “America,” and the Old World as “Europe.”
Hey, if Terry Goodkind refuses to show any originality, why should I?
Verna infodumps on the Valley of the Lost and Found, which was created in (what else?) an ancient war between wizards. Apparently the war was over “which wizard should rule,” and they fought in this particular place because it was the only land connection between America and Europe. A glance at the map reveals this as a lie; Europe shares a border with D'Hara that has to be hundreds, if not thousands, of miles long. \~/ Or perhaps the Valley is just really, really freaking huge...and not shown on the map. Also, apparently no one had invented boats yet, so it was impossible to travel by sea. \~/
Verna also says that the other ancient wizard war, over whether wizards should rule at all, was after this ancient wizard war, and was between the adherents of both sides trapped in America. The Bad Wizards lay in wait for “centuries” before attacking, but were ultimately defeated. Verna hints that the surviving Bad Wizards spawned the Rahl line, and are therefore Richard's ancestors.
Apparently the Valley of the Lost is full of ancient battle-spells and magical traps, empowered and maintained by the Towers of Perdition. These are a series of powers along the Europe/America border, from sea to sea, built by each side to keep out the other. Wait...I thought the whole point of the war was to control the area, not fence it off. \~/
Oh, and this also makes it sound like the conflict was America vs Europe, but since the conflict itself is extremely vaguely described, that's only speculation.
We're also told that each side built roughly half of the Towers, but neither line of Towers could be completed because they met in the middle...I think. It's somewhat confusing. If I'm reading it right, though, that makes the Ancient Wizards incredibly poor planners. Anyway, the point of all this is that there's a tiny gap where Richard and Verna can squeeze through.
We also learn that the Nuns who are sent to America to hunt wizards can't come twice; after two crossings (one out, one back) the random magics somehow inevitably get them if they try a third time. Not sure why, and it's not explained very well. Oh, and for even more fun, any American wizards they train have to be sent back to America before their powers are fully developed. “The fully developed power of a wizard would draw the spells as a magnet draws iron filings,” since the Towers were built to keep other wizards out. So getting through requires someone who is strong enough to sense the gaps between spells, but weak enough that the spells don't instantly zero in on him.
Richard wonders if anyone could fly over, but Verna says the magic extends up into the air, and also out to sea. Ships have tried to sail around the barrier, but none has ever succeeded. That's one hell of a spell, to span whole oceans. Richard wonders why no one has destroyed the towers, and it's because they were built with Subtractive Magic which is awesome and powerful and better than you. Also, each tower contains the life force of many wizards.
And so, after gathering their courage for a bit, they head in.
Drinks: 3
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