Blood 25

**Chapter 25**

Verna and Warren head into the gravediggers' shop, which is described as *“dim,” “dusty,” “cluttered,” “sloppy,” “rickety,”* and *“disorderly”* all in two sentences. The narrative establishes that this is a cheap-ass place patronized by poor people who can't afford much more than *“a plain box and a hole to put it in.”*

They meet Milton Sproul, who proves surprisingly sympathetic. He offers his condolences on their loss in a *“surprisingly sincere”* voice, and when asked why he's not off watching Murderball, he explains that folks don't much like seeing a gravedigger at a sporting event, but he's not resentful. This immediately establishes Sproul as someone I like, since he's more empathic than nearly anyone else in this series.

Verna asks to see a *“tally”* the Big Stone Witch House was sent, saying she wants to confirm the identities of the deceased. Sproul insists that it's in order, that both he and his partner Benstent are honest men and wouldn't cheat the Nuns. Actually, make that ex-partner, as Benstent quit the business not long ago. Verna persists, but Sproul insists that Benstent handled that particular job and he, Sproul, can't help her.

Verna suggests that Warren take a walk, then threatens to torture Sproul by melting his file and surrounding him with molten metal. \~/ This woman is the spiritual leader of Europe. Isn't it great when the heroes resort to threats of violence at the slightest provocation? Sproul, naturally, “remembers” a bit more information, though at this point I imagine he'd tell the crazy woman whatever he thought she wanted to hear in order to make her go away. Short version: Bernstent was paid by someone from the Big Stone Witch House to dig up two corpses, dress them in clean burial shrouds, and deliver them to the palace. Any guesses on why?

Verna erases his memory of the event, as well as her visit, because free will is only important for the protagonists. She then stomps off in a rage, bitches at Warren, refuses to tell him anything useful, and orders him to dig up everything he can involving the most recent prophecy. Warren is naturally upset and leaves in a huff, so Verna heads back to the Popette's Super Secret Clubhouse (No Boys) for some angst and backstory.

Here, Verna dashes off a note to Pope Ann whatever mysterious person has the other IM book, then sulks for a bit. We get a reiteration of the last book, where Ann explains her reasons for selecting Verna to find Richard, as well as some general backstory. Verna notes that her mother *“didn't have the gift, and so was of no use to the palace.”* Ah, discrimination; isn't it wonderful?

*“When her mother did travel to the palace for a visit, she was frightened because Verna didn't age to her eyes, the way a normal person aged. She could never understand it, no matter how many times Verna tried to explain the spell. Verna knew it was because her mother feared to really listen. She feared magic.”*

The Nuns are famous as sorceresses and religious authorities. We've been told that rulers come and go, but the Nuns and the BSWH have endured for *millenia.* Nathan has been imprisoned there for *nine hundred years.* I would think the agelessness of the Nuns would be common knowledge, sort of like the Pope's big hat, or the Dalai Lama's simple robes. \~/

Also, how hard is this to explain? “There's a spell on the palace that keeps me young.” Boom. If Verna's nameless mother couldn't understand that, she wasn't afraid; she was mentally impaired.

“*Though the [Nuns] made no attempt to conceal the existence of the spell about the palace that slowed their aging, people without the gift had difficulty fathoming it. It was magic that had no meaning to their lives.”*

Space travel has no direct meaning in my life, but I find that I can comprehend it just fine. I may not know the specific mechanical details of the Space Shuttle, or the chemical composition of the most efficient rocket fuel, but the fact that I'm not an astronaut doesn't mean it's incomprehensible. And this is something that has existed for only a few decades, not *centuries!*

Also, notice a pattern here, which will only become more apparent as the series progresses: the Elite and the Unwashed Masses. People *“without the gift”* have trouble understanding that magic keeps you from aging, despite the fact that long life has been a goal of humanity pretty much since there has been a “humanity” to have goals. Only those with the gift – the elite, the intelligent, the important – can rise above the unreasoning fear of the masses and embrace logic. This is a very Randian viewpoint, which will graduate from being annoying to being downright maddening as we continue.

In fact, let's take a brief tally of the important people in this series as of Book 3:

* **Richard:** Wizard
* **Kahlan:** Confessor. Has magic.
* **Zedd:** Wizard.
* **Adie:** Sorceress.
* **Chase:** No magic. Also, has disappeared from the series.
* **Chandelier:** Has no personal magic. Is initially an antagonist until bullied into submission by Kahlan.
* **General Rei:** No magic
* **Darken Rahl:** Wizard.
* **Shota:** Witch-woman.
* **Verna:** Sorceress.
* **Warren:** Wizard.
* **Jagang:** Dream walker. Has magic.
* **Brogan:** **HUGE SPOILER:** has magic.
* **Lunetta:** Sorceress.
* **The Dominatrices:** Have magic.
* **The Nuns:** Sorceresses.
* **The Bad Nuns:** Sorceresses.

Pretty much every important person has magic of some form or another. I've probably missed a few, but the overwhelming majority of relevant characters, both heroes and villains, are among the magic-using elite.

Anyway . . . Verna angsts for a while about her backstory, which is frankly unimportant for our purposes. \~/ Then she heads back to her office, only to magically sense that someone has been snooping around in her place. OH NOES!

Drinks: 3

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