BLOOD OF THE FOLD

BOOK DETAILS

Author(s)              Terry Goodkind
Cover artist           Kevin Murphy
Country                United States
Language              English Hebrew
Series                   The Sword of Truth
Genre(s)               Epic fantasy

Publisher              Tor Fantasy
Publication date    July 1997
Pages                   623
LC Classification  PS3557.O5826 B57 1996
Preceded by        Stone of Tears
Followed by        Temple of the Winds



SYNOPSIS

Blood of the Fold resumes from the preceding novel, Stone of Tears, when Richard Rahl has just reunited with his future wife, Kahlan Amnell, the Mother Confessor, in a place between worlds. Upon returning to Aydindril in the real world he realizes that seizing power for himself is the only way to halt the continuous advance of the Imperial Order through the Midlands. Richard ends the Midlands alliance and the rule of the Confessors, taking control of Aydindril and issuing a demand for unconditional surrender of Midlands nations to D'haran rule.

Meanwhile, in the Old World, trouble courses through the Palace of the Prophets. Sister Verna, the newly named Prelate, discovers the former Prelate, Annalina, isn't really dead, but has fled with Nathan Rahl.

The lands of the Midlands must decide whether to surrender to D'Hara or the Imperial Order. In his neverending search for banelings, what the Blood call those with some form of the gift, Tobias Brogan, the Lord General of the Blood of the Fold, captures Kahlan Amnell and Adie and takes them, following the instructions of Creator, to the Palace of the Prophets. Lord General Brogan and his streganicha (gifted person of magic) sister Lunetta were given a choice, to surrender to Lord Richard Rahl on the side of peace, or go to war with him. Brogan gave Lord Rahl his knife and unconditional surrender in exchange for a piece of silver because it is Brogan's peoples custom..or so he says. The silver Richard has is from the Old World and no one in the New World has ever seen the coins before in circulation; asides from Brogan himself when he pulled an old lady and little girl off the street Richard has been generous to in order to question them. During harsh questioning the old lady flipped Brogan the coin and told her who it was from. Lunetta then casts a circle spell on the Duchess of Lumholtz as well as the Duke so when they are headed home to their Palace they will go in circles yet think they have been traveling in a straight line.

Lunetta and Brogan plus Brogan's right hand man Galtero went to the midden heap in town where Lunetta previously cast the circle spell. Once atop the midden heap they waited in the blistering cold and heavy snow fall till the Duchess and Duke came around. The Duke and Duchess pass by like they are on a street or something and exchange a rude greeting to the 3 waiting for them. Brogan and his party of 2 waited for them to pass by a couple more times until they got scared that they were being followed and then got violent. Lunetta froze the Duke solid like a statue and Galtero grabbed the Duchess and held her in place. After an untimely rude remark from the Duchess Brogan grabbed the white lace of her corset and pulled it open and down to her waist exposing her nipples to the bitter cold air. The Duke's eyes darted about as he stood there immobilized. Brogan grabbed the Duchess's nipple between his first knuckle and thumb and then cut it off with a sawing motion with his sword, since he gave Richard his knife as a rouse for surrender. Lunetta then took the nipple and made the attractive Duchess Brogan's minion until her death, Lunetta and Brogan then take the Duke to go spill his guts out and say a monster known as the Mriswith did it while Galtero gets his reward for helping by raping the Duchess in the snow.

Richard, who finds out his wife-to-be is in the Old World, uses an ancient means of transportation, the Sliph, to travel to her almost immediately. There, fooled by the ability to become invisible, Richard releases the Mriswith Queen, who then flees to Aydindril back through the Sliph.

Brought back to his senses, Richard then destroys the Palace of the Prophets to prevent Jagang from receiving the treasures inside, saves Kahlan, and hurries back to Aydindril in the New World, where He discovers the mriswith queen nesting in the Wizard's keep preparing to hatch a new batch of mriswith in the new world. After smashing her eggs and a difficult battle with her, Richard and Kahlan defeat the Mriswith Queen. They then discover a battle in the City is being lost by Richard's D'haran army but with his arrival he leads his soldiers to a victory over the Blood of the Fold and the mriswith.