TheSmilingJackal posted:

I agree that it is in character, the stupid bit is that knowing if Dick is think of trees or her is the extent of her telepathy. You know what's easier and faster than torturing information out of someone? Reading their mind.

thespaceinvader posted:

So... where does the assumption that agiels are dildoes actually come from. The descriptions all say 'rod', I always assumed it was something like a riding crop.

Is there a picture or something?

TheCenturion posted:

Zedd raised the barriers, and while he's old, he's not ever described as having any sort of extended lifespan.

Therefore, Westland was part of the rest of the lands within living memory. Yet so many customs and what not in the Midlands are utterly alien to Westlanders. This makes no sense.

TheSmilingJackal posted:

As for the dragon thing, that did always confuse me. The people of the Westlands have only been there for a generation, why world so much of the knowledge be myth and legend? Hell, Dick's dad totes is from the Midlands and knows all about magic, having lived there before the boundary went up and all.

Conversations really should have much less ambiguity when many of the people have direct knowledge of what the gently caress they are taking about.

Westland kid 1: Dragon's are really real!
Westland kid 2: Nu-uh!
WK1: Dad! WK2 said dragon's aren't real!
Dad: That's cuz he never had to shovel the poo poo of some rich nobles's grey dragon pet. Which I have. And can tell you about in length.

quote:

Darken Rahl frowned, the smile still on his lips.

thespaceinvader posted:

So... where does the assumption that agiels are dildoes actually come from. The descriptions all say 'rod', I always assumed it was something like a riding crop.

Is there a picture or something?

Masonity posted:

Ps...

http://i.imgur.com/guSCu.jpg

quote:

Q: Given your philosophical views, what is your opinion on the War on Terror?

Terry Goodkind: There is no such thing as a "War on Terror." This is another example of philosophy corrupting action. You can't have a war on a name. "Hate crime" is another one of those things: either it's a crime, or it's not. Either someone is doing something wrong, or they're not. We're not having a war on terror, we're having a war on Islamic fundamentalism. We're afraid to name the enemy, and in [that fear], we give them strength. When you can't name the enemy, you've already lost. When you're afraid to see who it is you're fighting, you've already lost.

quote:

When you say you're fighting terror, there's no such thing as "terror" as an enemy. You're doing gang rape on 80 year-old Swedish grandmothers because you're afraid to say that the enemy are Middle Eastern men. This distraction, this forced equality, is ignoring of reality. Philosophy is at the cause of this because they're ignoring reality in order to adapt meaningless principles. The philosophy is going to get us all killed.

In World War II, in Japan, there were no deaths of Americans by insurgence, and the reason [for that] is because America, at that time, had the courage to crush those who were enforcing evil ideas. We may have had to kill a lot of people, but it was the only way to crush those evil ideas. And because we crushed those evil ideas, an entire culture in Japan grew up to create a great, noble, free people who have become an engine of freedom and an engine of economy in the world.

You either crush evil or you don't. If you allow evil to co-exist with you, it's only going to grow. We're allowing evil to grow. We're too timid to attack evil, and make no mistake: the Islamic world wants to kill us, and sooner or later, an atomic bomb is going to go off in the United States because we don't even have the courage to name the enemy.

Masonity posted:

The agiel in rear end thing happened on camera didn't it? We really need that section quoted! Otherwise people might not realise how low the book went.

quote:

It took him the better part of an hour to find his way out of the labyrinth of halls, out into the frigid night, to the expanse of grounds. He kept a tight grip on the hilt of the sword as he went past two big guards at the open gate through the outer wall, but they only gave a polite nod of their heads, as if he were an invited guest departing after a royal dinner.

He stopped, gazing out at the starlit country before him. He had never been so happy to see stars. He turned about, looking at everything. The People's Palace, surrounded by imposing sheer walls, sat atop an immense plateau that dropped off before him to a plain. The plateau stood hundreds of feet above the barren land, but there was a road cut into the cliffs, switching back and forth, descending to the flat land.

"Horse, sir?"

Richard spun around. One of the guards had spoken to him. "What?"

"I asked if you would like a horse brought up, sir. You look to be leaving. It's a long walk."

"What's a long walk?"

The guard gave a nod at the drop. "The Azrith Plains. You're looking to the west, across the Azrith Plains. It's a long walk across. Would you like a horse?"

It unnerved him that Darken Rahl had so little concern for what he might do that he would let him have a horse. "Yes, I would like a horse."

The guard blew a small whistle in a series of short and long bursts to another man on the wall. Richard heard the short tune repeated into the distance.

The guard resumed his post. "Won't be long, sir."

"How far to the Rang'Shada Mountains?"

The man frowned a little. "Where in the Rang'Shada? They run a long way."

"Northwest of Tamarang. As close as they come to Tamarang."

He rubbed his chin in thought. "Four, maybe five days." He considered the other guard. "Wouldn't you say?"

The other shrugged. "If he rides hard, day and night, and changes horses often, maybe five, but I doubt it could be done in four."

Richard's heart sank. Of course Rahl didn't care if he had a horse. Where was he going to go? Michael and the Westland army were four or five days away, in the Rang'Shada. He couldn't get to them, and back, before the week was out, before the first day of winter.

But Kahlan had to be closer. Rahl had sent that man with the black stripe in his hair, and two quads, to get her. What was she doing this close? He had told them not to come after him. His anger flashed at Chase for not following his instructions, for not keeping them all away. Then his anger wilted. If it were him, he wouldn't have been able to sit back and not know what had happened to a friend. Maybe they weren't in the mountains, but all on their way. But what good was an army going to do? Ten good men in a place like this could hold off an army for a month.

Two soldiers in full battle armor came riding through the gate, bringing a third horse with them.

"Would you like an escort, sir?" the guard asked. "They're good men."

"No." Richard glared. "I will be going alone."

The guard waved the soldiers off.

"You'll be going west-southwest, then?" Richard didn't answer, so he went on. "Tamarang. The place in the Rang'Shada you asked about. It's to the west-southwest. Piece of advice, if I may, sir?"

"Go on," Richard said cautiously.

"If you go that way, across the Azrith Plains, then near morning, you'll come to a boulder field among sharp hills. There'll be a split in the road in a deep canyon. Take to the left."

Richard's eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"Because to the right, there be a dragon. A red dragon. A red dragon of a bad temper. Master Rahl's dragon."

Richard mounted the horse and stared down at the guard. "Thanks for the advice. I'll remember."

quote:

"I'm from Westland. I've never seen a dragon before. I always thought they would be fearsome creatures, and I must admit, you certainly are fearsome, but there is one thing I wasn't prepared for."

"And what would that be?"

"You are, without a doubt, the most stunningly beautiful creature I have ever seen."

It was the truth. Despite the deadly nature of it, it was strikingly beautiful. The neck of the dragon made itself into an S shape as it pulled its head back, blinking in surprise. The eyes frowned a little, doubting.

"It's true," Richard said. "I'm to be eaten, I have no reason to lie. You are beautiful. I never thought I would see anything as magnificent as you. Do you have a name?"

"Scarlet."

"Scarlet. What a lovely name. Are all red dragons as stunning as you, or are you special?"

Scarlet put a claw to her breast. "That would not be for me to say." The head snaked its way toward him again. "I have never had a man I was about to eat tell me such a thing."

quote:

She felt trapped by panic; she had no choice. Dreading what she was going to do, her mind fell silent, calm. In the calm, she relaxed her restraint. She felt her power build, taking her breath away. Released, the power slammed into the wizard.

There was a hard impact to the air all about. Thunder with no sound. Pine needles rained down all about. Leaning over them, Chase gave a little grunt of pain; he was closer than he should have been. Silence fell over the woods. Still the wizard did not breathe.

Zedd stopped shaking, his eyes came down, he blinked a few times, his hands came up and he gripped Kahlan's arms. With a gasp, he took a breath.

"Thank you, dear one," he managed through the deep breaths.

Kahlan was surprised that the power, the magic, didn't seem to have taken him. It should have. She was relieved it hadn't, but astonished.

"Zedd, are you all right?"

The wizard gave a nod. "Thanks to you. But if you hadn't been here, or had waited any longer, I would have been trapped in the underworld. Your power has brought me back."

"Why didn't it change you?"

Zedd straightened his robes, seeming a little embarrassed at his helpless predicament. "Because of where I was." He held his chin up. "And because I'm a wizard of the First Order."

quote:

Richard put the Bird Man's whistle between his lips and blew hard as he could. He blew over and over. Picking up a strip of cloth tied to a rock, he swung it in a circle over his head, letting go, letting it sail out and down. Among the gars. He threw the blood-soaked strips farther and farther to his right, into the trees. He couldn't hear them, but he knew the blood flies were roused. That much fresh blood would have them in a feeding frenzy.

Birds, hungry birds, a few at first, then hundreds, then thousands, swooped and dived down on Fire Spring, eating flies as they went. There was mass confusion. Gars howled as the birds swooped up and pecked flies off their bellies, or snatched them from the air. Gars were running everywhere; some took to the air. For every bird a gar caught out of the air, a hundred took its place.

Richard ran down the hill in a crouch, from rock to rock. There was no worry of being heard; the birds were making far too much noise for that. The gars were frantic, swinging at the birds, chasing them, howling and screaming. The air was thick with feathers. If only the Bird Man could see this, he thought, smiling.

quote:

He took off the shredded remnants of his pants.

"You look funny without your pants."

Richard spun around. Scarlet was watching him.

"Those are not reassuring words for a man to hear from a female, even if the female is a dragon." Turning his back to her, he pulled on his fresh pants.

DARKSEID DICK PICS posted:

I have to duck into work right now, but sure, remind me later.

Libertad! posted:

In regards to using a Muslim symbol as the Mord-Sith symbol, I found this blog interview with Goodkind which may shine a little light on things...


And then Goodkind goes on to equate Islamic Fundamentalism with Middle Eastern men in general:


Which makes sense in a weird way, considering that Objectivist reaction to 9/11 was "kill them all! Kill all the Muslims, no such thing as civilian casualties!" Which freaked out even Bill O'Reilly.

youtube video.

HotCanadianChick posted:

Remember, not only does A=A, but B=B-thru-Z because only A is the truth and therefore everything else is wrong and therefore must be killed.

Should've called it 'objectionableism' instead.

quote:

He took off the shredded remnants of his pants.

"You look funny without your pants."

Richard spun around. Scarlet was watching him.

"Those are not reassuring words for a man to hear from a female, even if the female is a dragon." Turning his back to her, he pulled on his fresh pants.

quote:

Tezzor posted:

what

Masonity posted:

Okay, those ones were fairly tame, and even included a book cover.

For the bad images, look below. Just, don't look while at work. Or around anyone who's opinion on you matters.



http://i.imgur.com/b7L1vPk.png
http://i.imgur.com/16tR5Lp.png
http://i.imgur.com/CJqLcLp.jpg




The worst thing? I can remember far, far worse pictures than those doing the rounds back around 2000-2002.

quote:

He thought again of the encounter with Darken Rahl the day before. Try as he might, he couldn't understand it. It was bizarre in the extreme. Rahl had obviously been frantic to find the box, so frantic that he didn't kill him when he had the chance. The wizard who had killed his father, the one he had been searching for, and when he found him, he did nothing. But his other behavior defied sense.

The sight of him wearing Richard's sword gave Zedd chills. Why would Darken Rahl, master of the magic of both worlds, be wearing the Sword of Truth? More to the point, what had he done to Richard to get the sword from him?

The most disturbing behavior had been when he held the sword to Kahlan. Zedd had never felt more helpless in his life. It was stupid to try to use wizard's pain on him. Those with the gift, and who had survived the test of pain, could survive the touch. But what was he to do? To see Darken Rahl holding the Sword of Truth at her throat gave him pain, the worst kind of pain. For a moment, he had been as sure Rahl was going to kill her, and then the next moment, before Zedd had a chance to do anything, futile as it would have been, Rahl got tears in his eyes, and put the sword away. Why would Darken Rahl bother to use the sword, if he wanted to kill her, or any of them for that matter? He could kill any of them with a snap of his fingers. Why would he want to use the sword? And why then stop?

Worse, though, was that he had made the blade turn white. When Zedd had seen that, he had almost parted company with his skin. The prophecies spoke of the one who would turn the Sword of Truth white. Spoke with great caution. That it would be Darken Rahl gave him a fright to his very core. That it might have been Richard who would turn the sword white had caused him a dread all its own, but for it to be Rahl …

The veil, the prophecies called it, the veil between the world of life and the underworld. If the veil was torn by the magic of Orden, through an agent, the prophecies foretold, only the one who had turned the Sword of Truth white could restore it. Unless he was able to, the underworld would be loosed on the world of the living.

The word agent had terrible significance that worried Zedd greatly. It could mean that Darken Rahl was not acting on his own, but was an agent. An agent of the underworld. That he had gained mastery of the subtractive magic, the underworld magic, implied that he was. It also implied that even if Rahl failed, and was killed, the magic of Orden would still tear the veil. Zedd tried not to think of what these prophecies meant. The idea of the underworld being loosed made his throat clench shut. Better for him to be dead first. Better for everyone to be dead first.

quote:

The big man who had pushed Chase stepped forward. His short blond hair stood up in spikes, and a black streak ran back through it. His cold eyes, his smile, sent a chill through the wizard.

Kahlan was in a half crouch. "Demmin Nass," she hissed.

He hooked his thumbs in his belt. "Ah. You've heard of me, Mother Confessor." His wicked smile widened. "I've certainly heard of you. Your friend here has killed five of my best men. I'll execute him later, after the festivities. I'd like him to have the enjoyment of watching what we do to you."

[...]

Zedd knew very well that this was a quad, and he knew very well what it was that quads did to Confessors. Very well. His blood boiled at the knowing. There was no way he was going to let that happen to Kahlan. Not as long as he was alive.

Demmin Nass and Kahlan stared at one another.

"Where is Richard? What has Rahl done with him?" she demanded.
"Who?"

She gritted her teeth. "The Seeker."

Demmin smiled. "Well now, that is Master Rahl's and my business. Not yours."

"Tell me," she glared.

His smile widened. "You have more important things to worry about right now, Confessor. You are about to give my men a very good time. I want you to keep your mind on that, and make sure they enjoy themselves. The Seeker does not concern you."
Zedd decided that it was time to stop this, before something more happened. He brought his hands up, and released the most powerful paralysis web he could marshal. The camp lit with a loud crack of green light as it flashed in four directions at once, toward each of the blue-eyed men. The green light hit each man with a hard thud.

Before the wizard had time to react, things went terribly wrong.

As fast as the green light hit them, it reflected back from each. Too late, Zedd realized that they were protected by a spell of some sort—an underworld spell that he hadn't been able to see. From four directions at once, the green light hit him. His own web paralyzed him in place. He was frozen tight as stone. Helpless. Try as he might, he could not move.

Demmin Nass took his thumb out of his belt. "Problem, old man?"

Kahlan, a look of rage on her face, stretched her arm out and planted her hand against his smooth chest. Zedd braced for the release of her power, for the thunder with no sound.

It didn't come.

By the look of surprise on Kahlan's face, he knew it should have.

Demmin Nass brought his fist down and broke her arm.

"Sorry, Mother Confessor, I'm afraid you're not my type. But not to worry, these fellows here will be only too happy to do the honors. Try to wiggle your bottom, though," he sneered. "I'll enjoy that much of it."

quote:

Chase, his arms still tied securely behind him, crashed headfirst into the man's middle. They both fell to the ground, the pants around the man's ankles tripping him up, and before he could react, Chase clamped his thighs around the man's thick neck. His blue eyes bulged. The boundary warden rolled onto his side, pulling the head back sharply. There was a loud pop, and the man went limp.

Demmin Nass kicked Chase in the ribs and head, until he didn't move anymore.

Seemingly from midair, fur and fangs landed on Nass. The wolf growled savagely as he tore at the big man. They tumbled to the ground, rolling over in the dirt, through the fire. A knife flashed through the air.

"No!" Kahlan screamed. "Brophy! No! Get away!"

It was too late. The knife slashed into the wolf with a sickening thud as the fist holding it slammed against the ribs. Over and over, Nass tore the wolf open. In moments, it was over. Brophy lay sprawled on the ground, his fur matted with blood. His legs jerked a little, then were still.

Kahlan hung by her arms and hair, crying and sobbing the wolf's name.

Nass came to his feet, panting from the effort of the short but fierce fight. Blood ran from wounds on his chest and arm. Anger flared in his eyes.

"Make her pay," he hissed to the two men holding her. "Do her good."

Kahlan struggled and twisted against them. "What's the matter, Demmin?" she screamed. "Not man enough to do it yourself? Have to have real men do it for you?"

Please, Kahlan, Zedd begged silently in his mind, please, keep your mouth shut. Please, don't say anything else.

Nass's face heated to red. His chest heaved. He glared at her.

"At least these are real men! At least they have what it takes to handle a woman! You probably don't! You only have enough for little boys! What's the matter, little boy? Afraid to show a real woman what you have? I'll be laughing at you while real men do what you can't!"

Nass took a step closer, his teeth gritted. "Shut up, bitch."

She spat in his face. "That's what your father would do if he knew you couldn't handle a woman. You're a disgrace to your father's name!"

Zedd wondered if Kahlan had lost her mind. He had absolutely no idea why she was doing this. If she wanted to provoke Nass to do worse, this would do it.

Nass looked as if he might explode, but then his face relaxed, his smile returned. He looked around and saw what he wanted.

"Over there," he pointed. "Hold her face down over that log." He put his face close to hers. "You want it from me? All right, bitch, you'll get it from me. But you'll get it my way. Now we'll see how good you can squirm."

Kahlan's face was crimson with fury. "I think your talk is all that's big! I think you're going to embarrass yourself. Your men and I will have a good laugh. Once again, they will have to do the job for you." Her mouth spread into a defiant smile. "I'm waiting, little boy. Do it to me like your father did it to you, so we can all have a good laugh, thinking about you on your knees under him. Show me how he did it to you."

The veins on his forehead threatened to burst; his eyeballs bulged. Nass's hand sprang to her throat, tightening, lifting her. He shook with rage. His grip tightened, choking her.

"Commander Nass," one of the men cautioned in a low voice, "you're going to kill her."

quote:

Demmin gave a self-satisfied smile, happy with the telling, at seeing her reaction. "As a matter of fact, Mother Confessor, the last I saw of the Seeker, he was on his knees in front of Master Rahl, with Denna's Agiel at the back of his head. I don't think he even knew his own name. Master Rahl wasn't happy at the time. When Master Rahl is unhappy, people always die. From what Master Rahl said to me when I left, I'm sure the Seeker never rose from his knees. His corpse is rotten by now."

Zedd wept that he couldn't comfort her, that she couldn't comfort him.

Kahlan went dead calm.

Her arms rose slowly into the air, her fists to the sky. Her head rolled back.

She let out an unearthly scream. It went through Zedd like a thousand needles of ice, it echoed against the hills, through the valleys, against the trees all around, making them vibrate. Zedd's breath was taken away. Nass and the other two men stumbled back a few paces.

quote:

Kahlan screamed again. Long, piercing, otherworldly. The sound avalanched through the air. Pebbles danced on the ground. Water danced in the lakes around. The very air danced, and began to move. The men covered their ears. Zedd would have, too, had he been able to move.

She took another deep breath. Her back arched as she stretched to the sky.

The third scream was worse. The magic of it tore through the fabric of the air. Zedd felt as if it would pull his body apart. The air began to turn about her, dust rising at its passing.

Darkness began to gather, the magic of the scream taking the very light away, pulling the darkness as it was pulling the wind. Light and dark moved around the Mother Confessor as she released ancient magic into the scream.

Zedd nearly choked with the fear of what she was doing. He had seen this being done only once before, and it came to no good end. She was joining the Confessor's magic, the additive, the love, with its counterpart from the underworld, the subtractive, the hate.

Kahlan stood screaming in the center of a maelstrom. The light was sucked to her. Darkness fell all about. Where Zedd stood, it was black as night. The only light was around Kahlan. Night around day.

Lightning tore violently across the blackness of the sky, flashing rapidly in every direction, forking, doubling, over and over until the sky burned. Thunder rolled through the countryside, coalescing into a continuous fury, mixing with the scream, becoming part of it.

The ground shook. The scream went beyond sound, to something else entirely. All about, the ground cracked open in jagged, ferocious tears. Shafts of violet light shot upward from the cracks. The bluish purple curtains of light vibrated, danced, and with gathering speed were pulled into the vortex, sucked to Kahlan. She was a glowing form of light in a sea of darkness. She was the only thing in existence; all else was nothingness, devoid even of light. Zedd could see nothing but Kahlan.

There was a horrific impact to the air all about. In a brief, tremendous flash of light, Zedd saw the trees around them suddenly stripped of pine needles, as every one of them was blown back in a cloud of green. A wall of dust and sand hit his face, feeling as if it would take the skin from his bones in its explosive passing.

The ferocity of the concussion tore the darkness away. The light was returned.

The joining was complete.

quote:

Kahlan turned a little, to one of the two men who had held her. The other one was nowhere to be seen. She calmly lifted a hand toward him. He was a dozen feet away.

There was an impact to the air, thunder with no sound. Zedd felt the pain in his bones.

"Mistress!" the man called out as he fell to his knees. "What do you command of me? What do you wish of me?"

She regarded him coolly. "I wish for you to die for me. Right now."

He convulsed and fell over, face first, into the dirt, dead.

Masonity posted:

I could take any of the others but I'd rather not get banned for posting in TRP with a pony avatar.

Tezzor posted:

Doesn't she stick the pain dildo up his rear end?

Still plenty of crazy left: blatant islamophobia, attempted gang rape, ball eating

TheCenturion posted:

TG never comes right out and says 'Then Deanna stuck it up his rear end, smiling the whole while,' but it makes it pretty clear, never the less.

quote:

Denna seemed to be in the grip of something he didn't understand, as if she were trying to summon the courage to do something, fearing it, yet anxiously wanting it. Her breathing was quickening, her chest heaving, as she looked into his eyes. Incredulous, he saw something the ugliness of her cruelty had never let him see before: she was attractive. Breathtakingly, stunningly, attractive. He thought he must be losing his mind.

Shocked, and strangely worried, Richard watched as she slowly put the Agiel between her teeth. He could tell by the way her pupils suddenly expanded that it was hurting her. Her skin paled. She inhaled sharply, trembling the slightest bit. Denna put her fingers into the back of his hair and held his head. Slowly she brought her lips to his. She kissed him deeply, passionately, sharing the shattering pain of the Agiel with him. With her tongue, she held it between their lips. Her kiss was savage, bestial, as she twisted against him.

Every fiber of his being burned with the torture. His gasp sucked the air from her lungs, hers did the same to him. He could get no breath but hers, she none but his. The pain made him forget everything but her. It marauded through his mind. He knew by the sounds she was making that she was feeling the same agony as he. Her fingers in his hair tightened into fists from the pain. She moaned in suffering. Her muscles tightened with it. It raged through the both of them.

Without comprehending why, he found himself kissing her back just as passionately, just as savagely. The pain was altering his perception of everything. He had never kissed anyone with this kind of lust. Desperately, he wanted her to stop. Desperately, he didn't.

The strange power awakened again. He tried to reach for it, grasp for it, hold on to it. But it slipped from him and was gone.

The pain was overwhelming him as Denna crushed her lips to his, the Agiel between them, their teeth grating together. She pressed her body to his, hooked a leg around his, clung to him. Her cries of anguish were growing more desperate. He ached to hold her.

As he was about to lose consciousness, she pulled away from him, still gripping his hair in her fists. Tears ran from her eyes as she looked into his, not two inches away. She rolled the Agiel into her mouth with her tongue and held it there with her teeth as she shook with the pain, as if to show him she was stronger than he. Her hand came slowly and took away the Agiel as her eyes rolled back in her head. She gasped for air.

Her brow wrinkled together. Tears from the pain, and from something else, flooded from her eyes. She gave him a kiss. The tenderness, the gentleness, of it, shocked him.

"We are bonded," she whispered intimately. "Bonded in the pain of the Agiel. I am sorry, Richard." She brushed his cheek with trembling fingers, the glaze of pain still in her eyes. "Sorry for what I will do to you. You are my mate for life."

Richard was stunned by the compassion in her voice. "Please, Mistress Denna. Please let me go. Or at least help me stop Darken Rahl. I promise you, I will willingly be your mate for life, if you help me stop him. I swear on my life, if you help me, I will stay without the magic holding me. Forever."

She put a hand to his chest, to steady herself as she recovered. "Do you think I do not understand what I am doing to you?" Her eyes had an empty gloss to them. "Your training and service will last for mere weeks, before you die. The training of a Mord-Sith lasts for years. Everything I do to you. and more, has been done to me, a thousand times over. A Mord-Sith must know her Agiel better than she knows herself. My first trainer took me for his mate when I was fifteen, after he had trained me since I was twelve. There is no way I could ever live up to his cruelty, or his ability to keep a person on the cusp between life and death. He trained me until I was eighteen, when I killed him. For that, I was punished with the Agiel every day for the next two years. This Agiel. The very same one I use on you was the one used to train me. It was presented to me when I was proclaimed Mord-Sith. I live for nothing else but to use it."

"Mistress Denna," he whispered. "I'm sorry."

The steel returned to her eyes. She nodded. "You will be. There is no one who will help you. That includes me. You will find that being the mate to a Mord-Sith brings you no added privileges, only a great deal of added pain."

Richard hung helpless in the shackles, overwhelmed by the enormity of it all. Understanding her a little only increased his hopelessness. There was no escape for him. He was the mate of a madwoman.

The frown and the smile returned. "Why would you be so foolish as to do what you did? Surely, you must know I will hurt you for doing it."

He looked at her puzzlement for a moment. "Mistress Denna, what difference does it make? You are going to hurt me anyway. I can't imagine what more you could do to me."

Her lip curled in a sneer. "Oh, my love, you have a very limited imagination."

He felt her grab the tongue of his belt and yank the buckle open.

She gritted her teeth. "It is time we found some new places on you to hurt. It is time to see what you are really made of." The look in her eyes made him go cold. "Thank you, my love, for giving me the excuse to do this to you. I have never before done it to another, but it has been done to me enough times. It is what broke me when I was fourteen. Tonight," she whispered, "neither of us is going to get any sleep."

MissKeewi posted:

I think there's a part where she grabs his belt and says something akin to "You don't have a very strong imagination" and (thankfully) Goodkind ends the scene there, but I'm guessing pretty much whatever creepy things you can think of happening probably did.

Also, I'm wondering... if the Agiel hurts to touch it... how did Violet touch it without feeling pain? Inconsistencies within the book even!

quote:

He took off the shredded remnants of his pants.

"You look funny without your pants."

Richard spun around. Scarlet was watching him.

"Those are not reassuring words for a man to hear from a female, even if the female is a dragon." Turning his back to her, he pulled on his fresh pants.

Masonity posted:

Okay, a few pics as promised.

This is a lesson to all of you. Never ask if there are pictures of magic dildo dominatrices online. The answer is always yes.

AVeryLargeRadish posted:

Ehhh, it's not really all that exciting anyway, needs something like a spiked strap-on.

TheCenturion posted:

Zedd raised the barriers, and while he's old, he's not ever described as having any sort of extended lifespan.

Therefore, Westland was part of the rest of the lands within living memory. Yet so many customs and what not in the Midlands are utterly alien to Westlanders. This makes no sense.

Tezzor posted:

I honestly think Kahlan's power-up is pretty cool and well-written.

How the hell did Zedd raise the underworld?

Spoilers Below posted:

This entire thing is terribly under developed:

-They have utterly alien customs, yet everyone speaks the exact same language? In the real world before television, regional dialects sprung up between different cities, let alone geographically distinct regions that were magically separated from one another. Even with one or two generations of separation, Kahlan should sound very weird to Richard's ears and vice versa.
-Elaborating on this, everyone on each side of the wall has the exact same name for each of the three realms? Why?
-No one lost contact with relatives living on the other side of the Wall? His world isn't exactly huge, and given the sheer number of small towns that dotted the landscape (all conveniently less than 1 day's travel from one another) in the pre-automobile period...
-What happened to the settlements that were located right by the Walls? Was there some sort of "Right of Way" or "Eminent Domain" established to clear out those areas first?

And all of these questions I find way more interesting than bad S&M.

Zereth posted:

Well, he uses positive or additive magic, unlike the poo poo Darken Rahl is trying to get his hands on, which is negative or subtractive, and deals with death and the underworld so

... wait a minute...

Tezzor posted:

I honestly think Kahlan's power-up is pretty cool and well-written.

quote:

"Very impressive, bitch. But not only have you used your power, I am also protected by Master Rahl's spell. You cannot touch me with your power. You still have a lesson to learn, and I'm going to teach you as I have never taught anyone before." His hand came up and grabbed her tangled, matted hair. "Bend over."

Kahlan's face showed no emotion. She said nothing.

There was an impact to the air, thunder with no sound. Again, Zedd felt the ache of it in his bones. Demmin Nass's eyes went wide. His mouth fell open.

"Mistress!" he whispered.

Chase leaned over. "How did she do that! She wasn't even touching the first one, and Confessors can only use their power once, and then must rest and recover it!"

"Not anymore. She is in the Con Dar."

"Stand there and wait," she said to Nass.

With graceful smoothness, Kahlan walked to the wizard. She stopped, and lifted her broken arm to him.

Her eyes had a glaze to them. "Fix this for me, please. I need it."

Zedd took his eyes from hers and looked down at the arm. He reached out and took it gently, speaking softly to distract her mind from the pain while he gripped above and below the break, pulling, setting the bone. She didn't cry out, or even flinch. He wondered if she even felt it. Tenderly, his fingers surrounded the damage, letting the warmth of the magic flow into her, taking the cold pain into himself, feeling it, suffering with it, tolerating it with resolve.

His breathing stopped momentarily with the sharpness of the hurt. He felt all of her hurt; it mixed with his own pain, threatening to overwhelm him, until he was able to put it down at last. He felt the bone knit together, and added more magic to protect and strengthen it until it could heal the rest of the way on its own. He removed his hands from her at last, finished. Her green eyes came up to his, and the cold anger in them was frightening.

"Thank you," she said softly. "Wait here."

quote:

She returned to Demmin Nass, who stood where he had been told to wait.

There were tears in his eyes. "Please, Mistress, command me."

Kahlan pulled a knife from his belt, ignoring his request. With her other hand, she unfastened the flanged battle mace from its hook. "Take off your pants." She waited until he had pulled them off and stood once more before her. "Kneel."
[...]
Kahlan turned the mace around, holding the handle down to Nass.

"Hold this for me."

He took it and held it at his side. Kahlan kneeled down in front of him, close.

"Spread your legs," she ordered in an icy voice. She reached down between his legs, gripping him in one hand. He flinched, grimaced. "Don't move," she warned. He became still. "How many of the little boys you've molested have you killed?"

"I don't know, Mistress. I don't keep count. I've done it for many years, since I was young. I don't always kill them. Most live."

"Make a good guess."

He thought a moment. "More than eighty. Less than one hundred twenty."

Zedd could see a glint off the knife as she put it under him. Chase unfolded his arms, stood up straighter, his jaw muscles tightening at hearing what Demmin Nass had done.

"I'm going to cut these off. When I do, I don't want you to make a sound," she whispered. "Not one sound. Don't even flinch."

"Yes, Mistress."

"Look into my eyes. I wish to see it in your eyes."

Her arm with the knife strained, and jerked up. The blade came up red.

Demmin's knuckles around the mace were white.

The Mother Confessor rose to her feet in front of him. "Hold out your hand."

Demmin held a shaking hand before her. She put the bloody sack in his palm.

"Eat them."
[...]
She stood before him, watching, until he finished. She tossed the knife aside. "Give me the mace."

He handed it up. "Mistress, I am losing a lot of blood. I don't know if I can remain upright."

"It will displease me greatly if you don't. Just hold on. It won't be long."

"Yes, Mistress."

"Was what you told me about Richard, the Seeker, true?"

"Yes, Mistress."

Kahlan's voice was deadly calm. "All of it?"

Demmin though a moment, to be sure. "All that I told you, Mistress."

"There is some you did not tell me?"

"Yes, Mistress. I did not tell you that Mord-Sith Denna also took him as her mate. I presume so that she might hurt him more."

There was an eternity of silence. Kahlan stood motionless over Demmin. Zedd could hardly breathe with the pain, could hardly breathe past the lump in his throat. His knees shook.

Kahlan's voice came so soft, Zedd could hardly hear it. "And you are sure he is dead?"

"I did not see him killed, Mistress. But I am sure."

"Why is that?"

"It looked to me as if Master Rahl was in the mood to kill him, and even if he didn't, Denna would have. That is what Mord-Sith do. Mates of Mord-Sith do not live this long. I was surprised he was still alive when I left him. He looked to be in bad shape. I have not seen a man have the Agiel put to the base of his skull that many times and still be alive.

"He cried your name. The only reason Denna hadn't allowed him to die before that day was because Master Rahl wanted to talk to him first. While I did not see it with my own eyes, Mistress, I am sure. Denna held him with the magic of his sword, there could be no escape for him. She had him for a lot longer than is usual, she hurt him more than is usual, she held him on the cusp between life and death longer than is usual. I have never seen a man last as long as he had. For some reason, Master Rahl wanted the Seeker to suffer a long time, which is why he chose Denna; none enjoy it more than her, none have her talent for prolonging the pain, the others don't know how to keep their pets alive that long. If nothing else, he would be dead now from being the mate of a Mord-Sith. He could not have survived until now."
[...]
"Look at me," Kahlan said, the mace held high in both her hands.

Nass's eyes came up to hers. She brought the mace down with all her strength. With a sickening sound, it buried in his forehead, stuck solid, tearing from her hands as he went down, limp and fluid, as if he had no bones.

quote:

Chase looked over at Zedd, letting out a noisy breath.

He bent to collect his things. "I'm not leaving without my weapons."

"We better hurry before she gets too far ahead. She won't wait for us." The wizard picked up Kahlan's pack, stuffing gear into it. "We better at least grab some of our supplies." He smoothed a wrinkle on the pack. "Chase, I don't think we are going to return from this; the Con Dar is a suicide venture. You have a family. There is no need for you to go."

Chase didn't look up. "What's a Mord-Sith?" he asked quietly.

DARKSEID DICK PICS posted:

Next time we finish the book. Here's a hint for what's coming up: click me.

Zereth posted:

So. Is this actually related to what's coming up or is it just a joke?

DARKSEID DICK PICS posted:

Allow me to ruin the majesty.

Do not even read this near work.

Seriously. Turn back now.

So. Uh. We took a break with Kahlan in the middle of a berserker rage.


Now. This part here is probably the other thing most people remember about this book. I don't even think I can add much to it. So here you all are: the final fate of Demmin Nass. All I'm editing out is Chase and Zedd's running commentary.


Terry Goodkind, master of the writing arts, follows this scene up with the perfect tonal balance.


Next time we climax the book. Here's a hint for what's coming up: click me.

Perestroika posted:

It kind of pales next to all the , but drat this is some lazy-rear end writing. Mord-Sith are completely in control of any kind of magic, including the sword's. However will our brave hero get out of this? Nah nevermind, he breaks free because somethingsomething other side forgeveness. Oh no, Kahlan's power is exhausted and she's up against people with special protection, what now? Ah nevermind, she just pulls some super-duper power out of her rear end that handily nullifies all that. Maybe it's because some of the context/background is missing, but it seems like half the time Goodkind is just handwaving things by the skin of his teeth without ever really bothering about whatever rules he's established.

chiefnewo posted:

I remember doing a book report in year 8 on this book and reading the ball-cutting scene out to the class. Everyone agreed it was pretty metal.