Chainfire pg. 511-607

When Ann and Nathan arrive at the Wizard's Keep, Richard is there along with Zed, Nicci, Cara, and Rikka. Ann and Nathan ask Zed about the prophecy and learn that they are damage here too, but Zed explains he believes he has the answer. Zed shows them the book about prophetic worms and says that due to the decrease in births of prophets after the Great War, Wizards believed that prophecy would eventually not have enough prophets to support it and would begin to deteriorate. Nathan and Ann also try to present Richard with the prophecy that says he must go to lead the final battle which they believe will happen soon. Richard still looking for Kahlan looks at the prophecy and begins to analyze problems with it, but by doing so, he is using his gift and summoned the beast. All of them try to stop them beast, but nothing worked. Richard made the beast follow him away from everyone else, and went through one of the strongest shields in the Wizard's Keep which required both sides of the gift which stopped the beast.

In that place, Richard found valuable books, but he found a place to think, something more valuable. During the time he stayed there Zed, Nathan, and Ann decided that to save other and to get him to lead the final battle so they would win they must erase his memory of Kahlan.

Kahlan was in the People Palace during this time with the remaining four Sisters of the Dark that are not under the control of Jagang. They used Kahlan, who is unnoticed by anyone because of the spell, to remove the Boxes of Orden from the Garden of Life.

As Nicci approached Richard to warn him of Zed, Ann, and Nathan's plan, he figured out what happened. He figured that the remaining Sisters of the Dark had Kahlan from thinking about the day that she was taken. He remembered something moving in the trees, but there being no wind, and that he could not open his eyes even if he tried because of a sleep spell. To escape the Keep and Zed they went to the sliph. Richard asked the sliph if it could take them to a place called the Deep Nothing and it did.

The mystery is beginning to dissolve. Richard will learn what he needs at the Deep Nothing, and then he will be able to have proof of Kahlan's existence. Throughout the book we have seen slight changes in personalities because of Kahlan's disappearance, but the effect on Zed and Ann have seen to be more apparent. I do not think Zed would have questioned Richard in such a way if he had the memories of Kahlan, and Ann never became less faithful of following prophecy blindly without Kahlan's confrontation. I shows the impact that people make on others even though sometimes it is not realized. The removal of one person can change many others even if everything else remains constant. It reminds me of something that The Doctor from Doctor Who said, "I've never met anyone who wasn't important."

2.28 Diction Excerise

a. gashes

lapping

scurried

shoals

wilderness

warbles

underbrush

fangs

b. Elevation: potent and compelling
Connotation: emblematic and denotative
Sound: metamorphose and fluctuating
Concreteness: corporeal and tangible

The metamorphic nature of Carl Sanburg's potent, emblematic diction along with the ending voice in The Wilderness exudes a sense of subjugating the internal chaos of the man in the poem.

Chainfire pg 438-510

We learn where the Deep Nothing is in the next chapter, and what is happening there. It is a small village of people surviving in an inhospitable area with ruins. The ruins possess some information about the powerful group of people that use to live there, but have not been there in a long time. The Imperial Order has just discovered the place and has begun to take over, but they have had a prophecy that says that Richard Rahl will come after hordes of evil men come to overthrow them. A girl named Jillian was named priestess of the bones, and is to wait for Richard to come.

Richard reached the Wizard's Keep the same time as Nicci did. Nicci told Richard that the people at Althur'rang were successful in defending against the Imperial Order. Richard went to see if Zed could shed some light on the recent clues or events. Zed like the others did not remember Kahlan and Richard tried to prove it by showing Zed the grave of Kahlan, the Mother Confessor, was empty and she was not dead, but they was a body there. The body did not have any recognizable features but its presence destroyed Richard faith. Zed gave the Wizard's Ninth Rule: A contradiction can not exist in part or in reality.

Richard went into depression believing that Kahlan might very well be only in his imagination. Nicci, knowing that this state was worst than the delusion she believed he had prior, encouraged him to see how he was giving up and that she did not believe Kahlan was real but he needed to remain steadfast in his conviction or accept reality. Richard gained back his determination, and approached the visitors arriving at the Keep, Nathan and Ann.

The Deep Nothing must be a central location with book like the one found by Nathan in the beginning of the book. Chainfire must be there among the bones, and the priestess of the bones will be there to help Richard. The Wizard's Ninth Rule must be true like all of the wizard's rules, so the contradiction cause by the spell cast that erased Kahlan is causing a contradiction, so this must be the source of one of the problems. It also means that there can only be one truth when one excludes the other. We must be firm in the correct conviction because if it is true it will not be contradicted. Nicci showed the qualities of a good friend that we have been seeing. She helped Richard back to the place he needed to be even though she did not want him to be there. She did what she had to for him and was there for him when he needed her the most. The depression also shows the waste of time Richard spent feeling a loss of motivation. He ended in the same place he began with just a bunch of wasted time. Constructive thought to solve problems is necessary not sulking.

Chainfire pg. 324-437

Zed has began to find the problem that is occurring in the prophecy too. Chase and Rachel are getting ready to leave to bring their family to the Wizard's Keep. Rikka notices Zed's frustration and gets Zed to explain the problem. Zed believes he knows what may be the source and rushes to find a book on the something called a prophecy worm. Rikka follows him and convinces him to show her down there in case Zed is never able to show Richard.

Richard is almost at Shota when he wakes up noticing that something is moving around him. By the time Cara rushes back from watch to see the disturbance, Richard has already figured out he was surrounded in some kind of web that burnt through any organic tissue it touched and was slowly constricting. He tried to cut his way out with the Sword of Truth, but it just became more and more reinforced. Before it was too late, Richard realized to cut down a tree next to him to make a bridge out of the web to escape.

After that encounter, they went on till they reached Shota's home. There Shota told Richard more about the beast chasing him. It made to not have a nature so that Richard cannot learn how to counter it. It randomly attacks at different times in different ways until it succeed. It is not rushed by time or angered by failure, so it may not attack for a while then attack with no warning. It also may try failed tactics multiple times or a new one each time. It is in essence suppose to be completely random with a single goal to kill him. Using his gift though does give an exact location of where he is, so he that does increase the chance of an attack. Shota did not know about Kahlan like everyone else, and in exchange she made him trade the Sword of Truth for the information he wanted. She told him "Chainfire" was important to what he seeked, What you seek is long buried, You must find the place of the bones in the Deep Nothing, and Beware the viper with four heads.
Richard and Cara then started heading towards the Wizard's Keep to see if Zed could shed some light on the clues.

I think Chainfire has to do with the spell that was evoked. It sounds like a spell to me, and almost sounds like it would cause a chain effect that is unpredictable and destructive, like erasing someone from everyone's memories. I think the vipers has something to do with the Boxes of Orden because the door to the Garden of Life had snakes on it as a warning not to go that way, but it did not really describe it to look like a 4 headed snake still they seem connected. I do not think the prophetic worm theory is any good because it does not seem to have to do with Chainfire. The doubts of people in Richard's abilities to lead will continue to increase especially after giving up the Sword of Truth to Shota, but I think Shota demanded it for his benefit because he constantly uses it as a form of his gift without trying, so by removing the only part of his gift he has complete control over will reduce encounters with the beast. This book also shows the aspect of true friends. Although Cara and Nicci do not believe in Richard and think he is delusional from his injury they are still following him, and being what he needs the most in his journey.

Chainfire pg 283-323

Verna is in at the People's Palace with Berdine to look check the volumes of prophecy there to see if the same discrepancy is present in the prophecy blanks are appearing in all books of prophecy. Verna does not tell Berdine what is wrong, and then asked her questions about a few books in one of the libraries to see if she see the same problem without planting a suggestion which could influence the perception. Berdine found the same problem in the prophecy proving what we already know that Kahlan has gone missing in the prophecies too.

Verna was forced into a devotion because she was at the People's Palace at the proper time, and through it she found meaning in her life again. She found was she was really fighting for and finally found reassurance in Warren's death.

Then she checked to make sure the Boxes of Orden were safe, and they were. The First File guarding them now has weapons that can penetrate any magic barrier to eliminate wizards. As far as Verna could tell, everything was fine.

Many of the characters have found resolve and meaning in the devotions, and I think it is trying to show the value of just stopping and thinking for a part of your day to analyze things and find meaning for yourself. The Boxes of Orden keep getting mentioned and they have not been a concern since the first book, so I think they are soon going to be involved with the solution to one of the problems.

2.23 Diction Exercise

a.) dark slate
treacherously
stocky
taciturn
hewn
sharply
amidst
lean

b.) Elevation: Intelligible and unequivocal
Connotation: Literal and methodical
Sound: Monotone and dryness
Concreteness: Objective and definite

c.) Neil Gaiman's diction in "Stardust" is intelligibly methodical with objective dryness conveying the seriousness of the informative passage.

Chainfire pg 222-282

Richard packed his things and left with Cara to find Shota while Nicci remained in Althur'rang. Nicci took over the preparations for battle, and made the Imperial Order's army believe that a group of them wanted to surrender. She went as a gift of the people who did not want to fight, so that she could get close enough to kill their wizard's and force them into attacking right before night causing disorder. Although she killed the wrong wizard on accident at first, The wizard which was the leader foolishly gave her a chance to remove him to. Thinking she got all of the wizards, she retreated to Althur'rang with the remaining army that was not killed in her fight with the wizards following her. She lead them into the traps set up causing disorder among there ranks. At the end of the chapter, she realizes that there is a third wizard that she must find and deal with before he causes to many problems.
The Imperial Order let their emotions of anger at Nicci's attack overrule the reason that should have made them question charging after her. They allowed themselves to fall into a planned trap by blindly seeking retribution. Using reason in stressful situations is the difference between success and failure sometimes. We must be aware of traps that surround us and defend against them.

Chainfire pg 174-222

Richard, Nicci, and Cara retire to a inn owned by Ishaq. They eat a quick meal and then head to bed for the night. Nicci stayed on the first floor and Cara stayed on the second floor in the room next to Richard. Suddenly, Richard heard a crash coming from a few rooms down. When he turned, he show something coming at him breaking everything in his way, and the he had to dive out of the window and grab onto the edge to prevent from falling. After he had escaped whatever it was, some misty inky cloud came out of the window and disappear. The guards place around the building came rushing from all sides. They helped Richard back up through the window, but Cara in the next room did not dodge the mass. She was frozen in a defensive stance and was not moving; when they reach her they felt that she was frigid, and quickly moved her to Nicci's room to try and figure  out the problem. Nicci spent a few hours working on healing Cara, but the cause of her suffering and wound was unknown and seemed to still be killing her. Nicci could not do anymore. Richard unable to accept Cara's death went into the room, and while trying to encourage her to fight, his gift allowed him to sink into Cara, and bring her back from the brink of death and save her. Nicci was surprised when she saw Richard emerge from the room with Cara, but as worried as surprised. When she left Cara was beyond the reach of her magic, yet Richard was able to use his gift to save her without trying, and by using his gift he alerted the beast of his presence there. Richard decides that he need to continue his journey especially now that the beast knows of his presence. While Richard was healing Cara, she was able to prob him as well, and she show that without Kahlen is we lonely in his core, so she suggested to Nicci to maybe try and she if he was open to relation with her because she did not want Richard to remain so lonely.
 I was surprised on the new side of Cara that quickly emerged in these chapters. There were hints that she had a different nature that the rigid determined protection of Richard that was her duty, but it really emerged in this chapter. Evidence of Kahlen disappear keeps accumulating, but people are still dismissing Richard. I am not sure I would believe him at first, but the holes in others memories when he makes some points would have been strong evidence to me. I believe that I have a good memory, so suddenly forgetting things would draw more concern from me.

Chainfire pg 127-173

Ann and Nathan found a prophecy that indicates the final battle which will decide the fate of both worlds is coming soon, and only with Richard leading them they have a chance of success. They immediately rush off to find Richard taking Tom with them and leaving Jennsen to watch over their new discovery and the Bandakar people.
Richard has arrived at Altur'rang and tries once more to convince them of the reality of Kahlen. They still do not concede to the point, but soon he finds other important matters at hand. The Imperial Order is coming to take back Altur'rang with a sizable force and they have a wizard with them. Richard decides that Nicci needs to stay and help them defend the city while he continues his journey.
I think Richard in his despair is missing things. In his argument for Kahlen's existence he did not push key points that would they could not have explained, and an easy solution of finding someone who can back him up is Jennsen because she is not effected by normal magic. Even if she cannot remember that reduces the causes down significantly. He is breaking the Wizard's Third Rule: Passion rules Reason. His is allowing himself to become distraught because of worrying which is distracting him from key pieces of the puzzle that he normally observes.

Chainfire pg 60-126

Richard raced back to his allies who had made a perimeter and found them all brutally decimated. Richard investigated the area, but found no tracks. Nicci, Cara, Victor, and he started heading to Altur'Rang to get horses because Richard plans to go somewhere. They traveled through the forest to not be tracked, and when they stopped for the night Richard asked Nicci what she knew about this thing. Nicci explained that she believes it is another contraption of magic manipulating people to form a weapon as Nicholas was. When she was investigating Jagang's use of magic to make people into weapons, she found that Nicholas was just a stepping stone to make some invincible monster. She thinks they may have succeed.
Nathan back in Owen's homeland found a concealed storage of prophecies, but something is unusual about them. He knows some of the books, but they have blank area's that he did not remember, but he cannot remember and other word that are there although he knows there should be. He tries to show Ann to see if she can explain the discrepancy, but she does not know what is happening either.
The beast is worrisome because that is most likely the cause of Kahlen's disappearance. When I was reading the the problem that Nathen knew was there but could not figure out, the problem occurred to me. Kahlen is in prophecy along with Richard, so the missing blanks in the books of Richard's prophecy are Kahlen. She did not only disappear from peoples memory, but she disappeared from the existence even in the books that were written over 3000 years before this point. The cause of her disappearance is strong. I think since Richard was near death when the magic to cause people to forget Kahlen was released it did not effect him, and that is why only he remembers her, or the bond between which prevents the confessor power from affecting him also wards this magic as well.

Eating Fiber Increases Life Span

http://www.usatoday.com/yourlife/food/diet-nutrition/2011-02-14-fiber_N.htm

High Fiber Diets have been linked with lower chances of heart disease, infectious and respiratory illness, cancer, and an overall longer life span in this study. People with high fiber diets were 22% less likely to die from any cause compared to those who had lower amounts. Confounding variables such as weight, education level, smoking and health status were taken into account. They suggest about 38 grams of fiber a day for men and 25 grams for women. 


I knew fiber is a necessary nutrient we need daily , but I did not think it would have such a large impact on our health that this study suggests. It even says that fiber may have strong immune benefits. More insight into how the study was preformed is found at http://www.cbs6albany.com/news/fiber-1282873-grams-study.html showing it was a prospective study with  31,000 participents. Although these results strongly show correlation, I am sure more evidence is still being complied to help support or verify causation.

Observations on the Walton Ford painting Buddha Purnima

In the painting “Buddha Purnima” by Walter Ford the monkey carrying fruit on the crocodile’s back with small monkey bones nearby on the island alludes to the folly of the monkey and the crocodile’s seduction which will help fill its belly. The scene of the picture at first glance appears lighthearted with the monkey and the crocodile cooperating to see the monkey to the shore safely, but when carefully inspected the crocodile’s seductiveness is revealed. The first clue is the mingled pieces of bones in the right corner of the painting suggesting the hostile intent. The detail that captures the intent is in the distances, and it is what looks like a crocodile’s mouth with a monkey fearfully flailing to escape its fate. The threat is not realized by the monkey which has a reassuring hand on the back of the crocodile suggesting the monkey’s unfailing trust in its ferry. The monkey is also clutching the fruits it has scavenged like a precious treasure. The value of his cargo seems to distract the monkey of his surroundings allowing him to fall into obvious trap. The obliviousness of the monkey due to the distraction of his treasure implies that we to may fail victim to allowing perceived valuables distract us from hostile surroundings and lead to misfortune.

The picture reminds me of the fable of the crocodile and the monkey in which a crocodile becomes friends with a monkey, and the crocodile’s wife demands for him to get the monkey’s heart, so he takes the monkey on the water to eat him, but the monkey tricks the crocodile to get back to land. Except in this painting, it appears the crocodile gets the heart.

Chainfire pg 1-60

Richard appears in the beginning of this book critically injured. He is being rushed to Nicci to be healed, but the whole time he is trying to indicate something to the men carrying him. At the end before he passes out he tells them one word "Kahlen". When he wakes up he is healed, but no one know who Kahlen is. Richard believes that she is in some kind of danger and immediately without concern for his current weakened state starts searching for her. Nicci and Cara worried about the injuries effecting Richard's mind follow him to look out for him, and in hope to talk some senses into him. When he arrives at the battle site where he was injured, he looks and finds all of Kahlen's footprints are erased. He continues and finds that one area seems perfectly untouched by even nature except for what looks like a slightly disturbed rock. Richard believes that all of Kahlen's footprints have been erased in a similar method to the one used by Zed in the first book, and that magic must have also been used to erase the memory of Kahlen through something similiar to a death spell. At the end of the chapter Richard notices something is wrong, and ravens immediately start flying away due to a disturbance.

I believe, of course, that Kahlen is real because I can not even begin to conceive how all of the events in the previous eight books would have occurred without her. Magic is definitely the cause and the Imperial order is related, but the question is how did Jagang accomplish such a feat. Due to the little information it is difficult to predict what is happening next. Without tracks to follow Kahlen could be anywhere. It is an interesting start to one of this author's books because of how quickly problems and events happened.

Naked Empire pg 689-725

Richard told everyone at the camp he had a plan and would reveal it in 2 hours and that in the mean time he needed to sleep. He used this as a distraction to make Nicholas stop watching him for about an hour, so he could sneak into Nicholas's room when the 2 hours ran up. When Nicholas used his soul to visit the camp again to learn the plan Richard went into his room about kill him before he realized what was happening to his body. Since Richard finally understood the problem his gift was back and he used it to return Kahlan to her body. Shortly after they opened the gate to the city from the inside, and eliminated the remained Imperial Order forces. Richard on the verge of death from the poison had his gift take over which told others how the make the antidote to save him. They were successful, and Richard survived. At the end Kahlan, Cara, and Richard resume on their way to Nicci, but Jennsen and Tom stay in Owen's land to help organize it and protect it for a while.

Zed in the New World has recaptured the Wizard's Keep with the help of Chase and Rikka. He plans to get the has some boundary wardens to protect the keep along with him because of his inability to deal with pristinely ungifted, and to get the Wizard's Keep more lively as it once was when the gift was a common trait.

Richard's gift began to fail because he held reservations on his actions. His perception of believing in his values were being questioned by himself, and it was creating the imbalance inflicting him.

The main theme of this book was to "Deserve Victory". This means two different things. It means that we cannot wait for things to be given to us, but must work for what is important for us. We cannot expect others to be our saviors, but we need to take our goals and fight for them ourselves. The other idea is we must not hold reservations in what we fight for because a little doubt can grow beyond control. That reservation can cause hesitation which means defeat. We must be determined and convicted in our actions and fight for them the best we can.

Naked Empire pg 640-686

Kahlan exchanged herself for the fake antidote. Nicholas took her into their fortified base and captured her soul to end her resistance. Richard woke up in time to realize that his location was about to be hit by wizard's fire, and he moved everyone around. When they avoided the danger Richard realized that Kahlan was not there, and learned what had happened. In the morning he attacked the base to recover Kahlan, but Nicholas had already fled. They were successful in the attack against the base with the help of Ann and Nathan who arrived at the end of the fight. Nathan tried to straighten out Richard's problem with the gift, but couldn't, so Richard decided to use the little time he had left to go save Kahlan. They perused Nicholas relentlessly and caught up to him. While planning the attack, Richard went out to think and realized what he was missing. The key to his problems. "Deserve Victory" the meaning of the wizard's eighth rule was for him not Owen's people, and he now knew why.

He did not tell us why it is the key yet and I lack solid speculation on the meaning it was trying to communicate to Richard. I definitely has something to do with unlocking his gift, but I am unsure what. Nathan gave him advice that a Slide is vulnerable when outside his body, so Richard will try to use that to hi advantage, but I do not know how he will get Nicholas outside his body when Richard is close because he knows right where Richard is all the time through following him.

Naked Empire pg. 601-640

Zed was once again being lead to objects, when he noticed one particularly useful not only to the Order, but to him ending destroying all of the objects from the keep along with himself. He activated the spell without the Order knowing, and lied about its purpose. Zed had already accepted his fate of being extinguished by the spell along with the objects, but as predicted the familiar guard with the "captured" child was Chase and Rachael. Both of them are Zed's friends which were much more prominent in the first three books, but their appearance was welcomed to save Zed and Adie. Right when they were about to try and escape, Captain Zimmer with his men surrounding the tent rushed in to free Zed and Adie, and then Rikka also showed up. So with three different groups infiltrating the Order camp, and an the assassin who Kahlen sent attacking there was enough commotion to easily escape. Zed went with Rikka, Chase, and Rachael to retake the Wizard's Keep, while Adie went with most of Zimmer's men to rescue the captives and escape before the spell incinerated part of the Order's camp. All of them escaped successfully and Adie, Zimmer and his men, and the captives made it past the defensives of D'Hara.

Richard made it to the city with Nicholas, but when they arrived at the location of the antidote it had been removed with a note in place say that Nicholas had the antidote, and would exchange it for the Mother Confessor. Richard is in the final stage of the poison and was asleep at this point with the rest of the group seeing the note, so Kahlen goes to exchange herself for the antidote while hoping she can get close enough to release her power and control him. Nicholas plans to take over the Order after he removes Richard as a threat.

Nicholas's plan to take over everything shows that you cannot make deals with monsters. Jagang even though he has a corrupted agenda of his own tried to make a deal with Nicholas, but in the end Nicholas is going to try to consume and take all that he can. Also although I predicted two of the rescuers for Zed, I did not think that both would come, and I definitely did not think that Captain Zimmer was likely to help. I was kind of interesting how many people can to save Zed when he needed the help.

Naked Empire pg 552-600

Zed gave up to the demands of the Imperial Order, so the torture of the D'Haran civilians they had captured would end. Zed decided that since the Wizard's Keep is so large the chance of him encountering something that would help them is low, so he could tell them about the useless items they brought before him to help others. The chance of a valuable item being found is not the greatest problem at the moment because Zed is beginning to lose touch with his senses and may be losing his mind. People are starting to look like people he recognizes randomly, but in that may be the hint at his rescue. One of the guards and children he describe reminds me of Chase who we have not encountered in many books, but it is still possible. I do not know if it is really him because Zed may be losing his mind and I keep coming up with escape plans for him, but it may happen.

The next Chapter is about Nicholas the Slide. He did not lose Richard's trail, and knows exactly what is happening. He has found the poison that was near his building, and destroyed it. Without the antidote or someone who knows the remedy, Richard's chances of survival is low, but Nicholas is still planning to lure Richard to him, so he can eliminate Richard himself.

Richard then is in the next town with the second antidote which also has the leaders of the Owen's people. He convinced them of his ideals, and the leaders end up following the men that have already joined. Owen's people are now dedicated to gaining their freedom, or at least fighting for it.

These chapters face us with seemingly unsolvable problems with the poison and Zed losing his mind. I believe between the two solutions I have came up for Zed one will be true, but Richard's solution is more difficult. He is more definitely going to survive because there are three more books, but the solution is a little more complex. I think Nathan is going to save Richard because he is a prophet, so he could know the poison's ingredients and the antidote. Nathan is already hurrying to Richard and knows of his peril, so this seems the most likely solution. The other solution is Kahlan confesses Nicholas into giving the ingredients of the antidote. The book is leading up to the climax, and the previous books resolved quickly after, so I will look forward to see if my predictions are correct.

Three Minute Fiction

I read two stories "Freedom" and "A Saint and A Criminal". Both were good stories, but had a sadness lurking in the close friends of the main character. In "Freedom", a Russian doctor helps a young, boy in the German concentration camps giving him food at the cost of his own life, but he worked hard and stayed positive till the end. The boy believes that he earned his freedom in the end just like he wanted.
The other story talks about some of the tribulations his brother faced after driving drunk and crashing into a house killing a woman. To his father he is the saint and his brother is the criminal, but he believes his brother is changing back into the brother he always remember. The men feels sorry guilty for trying to hide information from his brother to avoid his anger because of events that have happened when he was in prison.
I liked both stories, but I think I liked the "Freedom" story better. I agree with the young boy that his friend did earn what he was looking for his freedom from work. It may not be the freedom that some would wish for, but in their circumstances it was what he needed. He also sacrificed himself for another along with working hard which make him seem a very noble character.

Naked Empire pg. 527-551

Richard has arrived at the first town with the one of the antidotes that he needs. Anson and he do some reconnaissance to plan their attack, and to get Richard to first antidote immediately due to his obvious pains. During their trip to the village, Richard retrieves the elixir and notices some important details for their attack. All of the Order's troops are sleeping in two housing units, and the Order's guards and defenses are diminished due to the peacefulness of the villagers. Richard exploits these facts by attacking at night, and setting the two building on fire instead of directly assaulting the Order's men. They were successful and took the city. The Bandakar helped him take the city back, and told the villages of the new ideas which Richard spoke about. A few in the village originally questioned the necessity of violence, but many immediately saw the benefits in being free from their oppressors, and took their college's message to heart.
The actions of the Bandakar are starting to show the change that is taking place in their minds. First they believed the never trust their senses, and that nothing could be evil, but now they are learning that their actions allowed evil to thrive when it entered their lives. They are starting to value themselves and their lives more because of their rising confidence in their ability to see the truth, expose it, and act on it. The major lessons they have learned is their virtues do not make them better than other people. Everyone has the same right to a life, but their actions can cost them their right. They have seen their hypocrisy in condemning violence, but using poison to try and force Richard to fight for them, and they have learned that victory is something to be earned not given.

Naked Empire 493-526

The engrave on the statue said "Fear any breach of this seal for beyond are those who cannot see evil." The wizard who had locked away Owen's people did not do so for the reasons that originally appeared to us as fear of the spread of the trait of the ungifted, but fear of the spread of their ideals. All who believed the same as them were locked into these land to prevent the idealogical belief that evil does not exist and that we do not truly see the world with our senses. What the wizard saw was how evil could manipulate those that turn a blind eye to it. In keeping their beliefs that would have allowed evil to run unchecked to avoid a direct confrontation. Richard made one last try to explain to them the flaw in their belief, and then gave them the choice to come with him to help retake their land or remain in their hiding. A young man named Anson spoke out that he would follow Richard, and gave a shocking statement on his desire for the end of the Order. End the end all of the men would follow. At the end of the chapter the Wizard's eighth rule appeared "Talga Vassternich."
Back in D'Hara Verna and the General Meiffert  received a letter from Jagang telling them he had captured Zed and Adie. Unable to do anything they replied with a message insulting his ability to complete such a feat. Although they agree an attempt to rescue them would be suicide, I think Rikka will attempt to save them regardless.
Owen's people have clouded judgement viewing defending yourself, but I dislike the fact that they wanted to force Richard to accomplish what they needed to do themselves. Working for something indicates the value it holds for you. If you believe that you can ignore it and allow others to accomplish it for you then I think that shows lack of value in the object. I also hope that Rikka will succeed in my predicted task for her because I dislike the fact of Zed at risk of dying.

Favorite Book

My favorite book is actually a series of books which I am currently reading called The Sword of Truth series. It is not necessarily the story that involves me as the characters and lessons it tries to portray. In almost every book there is a main theme that they go ahead and tell you through "Wizard's Rule", but there are also may minor themes that I have appreciated. The characters in the book are also very easy to associate with. The story like many of books is good, but the association with the character is a the themes portrayed separates these book for me. Richard is observant, calculated, and keen mind is sometimes something to envy, and Zed also intelligent has a very amiable personality. There is some romance, but most of it is disregardable, and can be skimmed through in order get back to the actual story. I just think is it a wonderful series of books and gains more value when you consider the meaning of some of the events, especially in the later books.

The Wizard's First Rule begins the series.

Naked Empire pg. 424-492

Tom is arriving back at the Richard's camp with Owen's people. Richard goes out to meet these people, and then explains to them who and what they are. That they are the ungifted descendants of Alric Rahl, and how they were banished from the world to protect the survival of magic. He then ended the banishment and proclaimed that they could now once again become members of D'Hara as long as they followed the laws set in place. Then he forced them to vote to give him the antidote of the poison before he would decide to help them, or to use the poison to force him to help them, so that he could learn whether he could trust them. They told him where the antidote was, but would not agree to him him fight off the Order. In Richard's frustration he realized that the engraving on the statue was mistranslated by him, and meant something different.
The doctrine of Owen's people prevents them from protect themselves against others crimes. They are unable to see the evil that is present making them vulnerable to any evil which is present. We cannot forces ourselves to ignore something because we wish it was not present, but we must give it enough attention that we can find the solution to it.