A character in Terry Goodkind's latest book in The Sword of
Truth says that the true meaning of a prophecy can only be known
after that prophecy has been fulfilled. Temple of the Winds
plays upon that concept, the central mystery of the story being how a
"bound fork" prophecy invoked by the Dreamwalker Jagang will play itself
out. The prophecy says that Kahlan, Mother Confessor of the Midlands,
will betray her beloved Richard Rahl, who rules now in D'Hara, worlds
away from his humble beginnings as a woods guide in Westland. Another
prophecy, this one delivered by the witch-woman Shota, says that Kahlan
and Richard
must marry others to save the people of their world. The question
is, can their love for one another be enough to overcome the catastrophe
one prophecy predicts, and the lifetime apart the other foretells?
The fourth book in Goodkind's heroic fantasy series opens at
Aydindril, the hub of power and judgement in the Midlands. Richard and
Kahlan eagerly anticipate their wedding in the village of the Mud People,
who have adopted the two into their tribe. Before they can wed,
Kahlan and Richard need to first forge an alliance between the peoples
of the Midlands and D'Hara so that their lands might be strong enough
to repel an invasion from the Old World of Jagang's Imperial Order.
Proud Midlanders must cede supreme rule to Richard, effectively allowing
their lands to become part of the D'Haran Empire. Some representatives
bring messages of assent to Richard's demands; some are reluctant to
decide at all, and some refuse outright to take sides in a conflict
they see as being strictly between D'Hara and the Old World. Richard's
old flame from the Westlands, Nadine, turns up with news that Shota
told her that she would marry Richard. Further
impeding Richard and Kahlan's nuptials is a more ominous problem:
an assassin, sent by Jagang to kill Richard, announces himself and his
intentions.
Kahlan and Cara, one of Richard's elite Mord-Sith honor guards,
imprison and question the would-be assassin. With her ability to control
one who has attempted to wield magic against her, Cara gains control of
Marlin. The two women quickly find out that they do not have the upper
hand in the situation, for the Dreamwalker Jagang has hitched a ride
along in Marlin's mind. He cripples the Mord-Sith and reveals the
bound-fork prophecy he has invoked against Richard, then escapes in
Marlin's body. Cara is brought back from oblivion by the dubious
ministrations of a mysterious healer who turns out to be Richard's
bastard brother.
Jagang unleashes a plague somehow brought out from the legendary
Temple of the Winds, a Black Death that he and his minions visit first
upon the children of the Midlands. Desperate to untangle the twisted
words of prophecy and find out how they might stop the implacable
plague, Kahlan and Richard agree to appease the spirits by marrying
others. While Sisters of the Light, prophets and wizards race down
parallel paths to stop the Old World threat, Kahlan and Richard will
face the twin heartbreaks of purposeful and inadvertant betrayal.
Richard must walk without hesitation into the world of spirits to
find the only possible end to the plague. The final
price may be too high for the Seeker of the Truth and the Mother
Confessor to put their world back to rights. It will take truth,
forgiveness, and the most powerful love to fix what may be irretrievably
shattered.
Nathan Rahl, a wizard, prophet, and distant kinsman of Richard,
says of prophecies in Temple of the Winds:
"Don't try to understand what the words mean. I know that you people
try to do that, but I am a prophet, and I can tell you with a great deal
of authority that such an endeavor is futile. No matter what you think,
what you fear, you will be wrong." With such a statement, Terry Goodkind
sets himself up for an infinite succession of volumes in "The Sword of
Truth." With untold numbers of prophecies yet to be made and discovered,
an equal number of potential dilemmas face Goodkind's hero and heroine.
If the author can maintain a focus for the series, "The Sword of Truth"
can maintain its place as one of the better fantasy series-in-progress.