Wizard's First Rule - Terry Goodkind [31]
“Anyway, then the gars started coming over the boundary. They killed a lot of people before everyone learned to stay inside at night.”
“But how did they get across the boundary?”
“It was weakening, only no one knew it. As it weakened, it faded from the top first, so the gars could fly over. In the spring it faded completely away. Then the People’s Peace Army, Darken Rahl’s army, marched right into the bigger cities. Instead of fighting him, crowds of Midlanders threw flowers at them wherever they went. People who didn’t throw flowers were hung.”
Richard stared wide-eyed. “The army killed them?”
She looked at him hard. “No. The flower throwers did. Said they were a threat to peace, so they killed them. The People’s Peace Army never had to lift a finger. The movement said that proved Darken Rahl only wanted peace, since his army didn’t kill the dissenters. After a time, the army stepped in and stopped the killing. Instead, the dissenters were sent to the schools of enlightenment to learn about the greatness of Father Rahl, about what a man of peace he is.”
“And did they learn at these schools of enlightenment how great Darken Rahl is?”
“No one is as fanatical as a convert. Most just sit around all day, chanting his name.”
“So the Midlands didn’t fight back?”
“Darken Rahl went before the council and asked them to join him in an alliance of peace. Those who did were held up as champions of harmony. Those who did not were held up as traitors, and publicly executed on the spot by Darken Rahl himself.”
“How did…”
She held up her hand and closed her eyes. “Darken Rahl has a curved knife he keeps at his belt. He takes great pleasure in using it. Please, Richard, do not ask me to tell you what he did to those men. My stomach cannot bear its recounting.”
“I was going to ask how the wizards reacted to all this.”
“Oh. Well, it started to open their eyes.
“Rahl then outlawed the use of all magic and declared anyone using it an insurrectionist. You must understand that in the Midlands magic is a part of many people, many creatures. It would be like saying you are a criminal for having two arms and two legs, and must have them cut them off. Then he outlawed fire.”
His eyes came up from the soup. “Fire? Why?”
“Darken Rahl does not explain his orders. But wizards use fire. Even so he does not fear wizards. He has more power than his father ever did, more than any wizard. His followers give all kinds of reasons, the main one being that it was used against Darken Rahl’s father, so fire is a sign of disrespect to the house of Rahl.”
“That’s why you wanted to sit in front of a fire.”
She nodded “To have a fire in the wrong place in the Midlands, without the approval of Darken Rahl or his followers, is to invite death.” She pushed at the dirt with a stick. “Maybe in Westland, too. Your brother seems close to outlawing fire. Maybe…”
He cut her off. “Our mother was burned to death in a fire.” His tone was a hot warning. “That’s why Michael is concerned about fire. That’s the only reason. And he never said anything about outlawing it, only that he wanted to do something so others wouldn’t be hurt like she was. There’s nothing wrong with wanting people not to be hurt.”
She looked up at him from under her eyebrows. “He didn’t seem to care about hurting you.”
Richard let his anger die as he took a deep breath. “I know it seemed that way, but you don’t understand him. That’s just his way. I know it isn’t his intention to hurt me.” Richard pulled his knees up and folded his arms across them. “After our mother died, Michael spent more and more time with his friends. He would make friends with anyone he thought was important. Some of them were pompous and arrogant. Father didn’t like some of Michael’s friends, and told him so. They would argue about it.
“One time Father came home with a vase that had these little figures sculpted around the top, like they were dancing on the rim. He was proud of it. He said it was old, and