Stone 9

**Chapter 9**

Kahlan is freaked out by the appearance of the Sisters of Light (or Nuns, as they shall hereafter be called). Apparently they have something to do with wizards, specifically, wizards who have the gift. Wizard Giller had the calling, but not the gift, whatever that means. He once told Kahlan he was glad he didn't have the gift, because if he did he would have to face the Nuns.

Kahlan wants to flee, but Richard decides to face the Nuns. They head to the Youth Hostel and we get a description of the Nuns' clothing. One Nun is tall and has brown hair *“with some curl and body to it.”* Nun #2 has straight black hair, and Nun #3 has curly dark hair with streaks of gray.

Nun #1 asks if they are Richard's parents (she apparently speaks English). Richard replies that he is Richard; his parents are dead. For some reason Richard is *“bleeding magic from the sword without even drawing it,”* and is incredibly angry. This makes Kahlan angry as well. Yeah! How dare those Nuns...come here! And...exist! Who do they think they are?

The Nuns introduce themselves. Nun #1 is Sister Verna Sauventreen, Nun #2 is Sister Grace Rendall, and Nun #3 is Sister Elizabeth Myric. I shall continue to refer to them as Nun #1, Nun #2 and Nun #3 for reasons that will become clear.

Kahlan tells them that she is the Mother Confessor. The Nuns Three nod at her, so she demands that they get down on one knee. When they hesitate, Richard whips out the Sword of the Homicidal Hobo, and the Nuns bow.

Richard informs the Nuns that he is the Seeker, which rightfully alarms them. They tell him they've come because he has the gift, and they're here to help him. Richard lies that he doesn't have the gift, so the Nuns start mentioning things like his headaches, his recent changes in eating habits, and the fact that he now sleeps with his eyes open.

Richard, being a mature adult who values knowledge, and unsure of the exact intentions of these three...tells them to leave immediately and storms out of the hostel. \~/

Kahlan goes after him, and Richard tells her that he senses danger from the Nuns, the same way he senses the screeling and Slopey. Kahlan sweet-talks him into at least listening to the Nuns, who insist that Richard address them as Sister. We learn that the Nuns *”are the ones who train wizards.”* They live at the Palace of the Prophets, in a city called Tanimura. The Nuns are surprised at Richard's age; they expected him to be *“At the very most, a third your age.”* Which tells us nothing about what age Richard actually is. He could still be anywhere from 15 to 50.

More chatter. The Nuns say that there are three things that must be done to trigger the gift: save someone's life with it, save one's own life with it, and kill someone with it. These occurred for Richard when he, respectively, talked Kahlan out of her panic attack (in chapter 5 of book 1), partitioned his mind, and tricked Darken Rahl.

If Richard doesn't get help, the headaches will inevitably kill him. Apparently the strength of the headaches is proportionate to the strength of the gift, and Richard's headache is uber-mega-strong. Which, naturally, means his gift is uber-mega-strong, as are all Sues.

Remember Frodo Baggins? Frodo didn't have any uber-powers. Frodo was just a guy. Frodo was awesome *because* he didn't have any uber-powers, and he got the job done anyway.

Anyhoo, we learn that the Nuns have a Magic Book: when something is written in it, it appears in a copy of the book back home. That's actually kind of neat, although it does effectively give the Nuns a magical two-way radio.

The Nuns tell Richard that he must come with them to the Palace of the Prophets alone, and remain there *“until it is finished.”* No one can visit him. Finally, he has to wear a Rada'Han, which is a metal collar. I'm not sure why it's capitalized or why it has an apostrophe in the middle, but I'm sure there's a very good reason.

Nun #2 then says *“The rules begin. Discussion is over. This is no game. From now on, it can go only by the rules. Listen carefully, Richard.”* She explains that each of the Nuns will offer Richard the collar once, and give him one of the three reasons for it. If he refuses it all three times. It will never be offered again, and the Nuns won't help him.

Nun #2 offers Richard the collar, telling him that it will control the headaches caused by his gift. One put on, it can only be removed by a Nun. Unsurprisingly, Richard declares that he will never wear a collar for anyone. Kahlan and Nun #2 are surprised, and I have to give Mr Goodkind credit for a small bit of characterization here: Richard wore a collar when he was being tortured by Denna, so it makes perfect sense that he wouldn't ever want to wear one again.

So Nuns #1 and #3 kiss Nun #2 on each cheek, and Nun #2 pulls out a knife. *“But rather than a blade, it had what seemed to be a pointed, round rod coming from the silver handle.”*

…

It's a metal dildo?

I'm going to ignore that for now.

Nun #2 stabs herself in the heart (*“between her breasts”*), light flashes from her eyes, and she drops dead.

Nun #1 informs Richard that he has to bury Nun #2's body personally or else he will have nightmares for the rest of his life. After delivering this blatant threat, the Nuns Two slink away, and Richard leaves to bury the body.

End chapter. Well, that was...weird.

Drinks: 1

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