Richard Rahl
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Richard Rahl (aka Richard Cypher) is the protagonist in the Sword of Truth fantasy series by Terry Goodkind. He is the adopted son of George Cypher and the younger brother (adopted) of Michael Cypher. He grew up as a woods guide in Westland and as a friend of the wizard Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander. In his youth he learned the Book of Counted Shadows by heart and burned it.
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[edit] Physical description
Richard Rahl is a young man with thick, course, dark hair, a hawk-like brow and eyes and powerful muscles. He is bigger than most men, with broad shoulders. He starts the series in his mid-twenties. His eyes are gray and piercing, and the colour is used as an identification of him several times later in the series. He is the most handsome man Pasha has ever seen.
[edit] General characteristics
Richard has always had a hunger to learn and was named "seeker of truth" by his grand father. He always insists on knowing the truth of things. He does not fear the truth. He has a clear sense of right and wrong. His earliest skills were an intimate knowledge of plants and herbalism as well as tracking, pottery, and archery. Richard was born with the ability to ask questions that fill people's minds with pictures that make them answer, even when they had no intention to and even when this is not Richard's intention. Richard sometimes thinks of it as a curse. Zedd is like a second father to him. Richard has never wanted power, just wanting to be left alone.
Despite being a Seeker of Truth, Richard has always hated riddles (inherent in most prophecies). He considers them an insult to honesty. He won't brook them if he can help it. He ignores them as a matter of principle. He solves riddles of life, not words, although he has often had to solve those as well, despite being reluctant to do so.
As the series progresses, Richard discovers that he has supernatural or mystical powers of magic, and his official title is a 'War Wizard'. This power is supposedly the source of his proficiency of many crafts, including herbalism, alchemy and sculpting. He is also generally able when it comes to matters of skill.
NOTE: The name Richard means "Powerful ruler" or "Brave one"
[edit] History
Richard Rahl (then known as Richard Cypher) was born and raised in the town of Hartland in Westland. As a young man, Richard rarely got into trouble. Because his mother's death was caused by a man losing his temper Richard himself never allowed himself to lose his temper, and could usually turn scowls to smiles with his easy manner. If talk didn't work, he was quick enough and strong enough to stop threats before anyone was hurt, and if need be would simply walk away. Once he became the true Seeker of Truth, he learned to channel his rage using the sword of truth, given to him by his grandfather Zedd who is found out to be a great wizard. The sword of truth channels Richard's anger into great strength and power.
[edit] Mother's death
Richard's mother died from a fire while Richard was still very young, which left him with a feeling of abandonment he had to deal with again at his father's death. Before his mother died Richard and his brother Michael would play together in the dirt, building houses and forts with sticks, or playing swordplay with wooden swords.
One night, a man came to the house, angry at Richard's father for allegedly cheating him. He lost his temper and knocked a lamp off the table as Richard and his brother slept in the back bedroom. While the man dragged his father outside, beating him, his mother pulled Richard and his brother from the burning house, then ran back inside to save something, and was burned alive. Her screams brought the man to his senses, and he and their father tried to save her, but couldn't. Filled with guilt and revulsion at what he had caused, the man ran off crying and yelling he was sorry.
That, Richard's father had told him, was the result of a man losing his temper. Michael shrugged it off; Richard took it to heart. It had instilled in him a dread of his own anger, and whenever it threatened to come out, he choked it off.
Richard later finds out that his mother went back into the house to save Ghazi, a night wisp that none in the family but her had known was there.
[edit] Early life
Richard spent most of his early life in the woods, becoming intimate in the knowledge of local plants, if not by name then by sight, as well as the main and hidden trails throughout Hartland Woods and even Ven Forest, which became like a second home to him, although he rarely went close to the boundary. When Richard was very small his friend Zedd would take him hunting for special herbs, showing him which ones to look for and where they grew and why and would put names to everything they saw. From a young age, Richard enjoyed spending time with Zedd while his father was away searching for exotic or rare artifacts, and especially enjoyed his rambling lectures, which were always laced with trinkets of wisdom.
One day, after his father returned from one of his adventures and when Richard was just reaching his teen years, George Cypher asked Richard to be the guardian and keeper of a secret book, the Book of Counted Shadows, which he had him commit to memory before they destroyed it more than 3 years later. The destruction of the Book of Counted Shadows by Richard and his father marked the end of Richard's childhood and left him burdened with the responsibility to keep it always in his memory, which he saw as an honor. Along with the book, Richard's father gave him a triangular-shaped tooth, three fingers wide. This tooth represented proof to the true owner of the book that the book was not stolen but rescued for safekeeping. To lose it would make his father a thief. Richard strung a leather thong to it so he could wear it around his neck, which he did always. His knife, his backpack, his forest cloak, his books, and this tooth were some of his most prized possessions.
About 5 years before the start of the series, Richard moved out of his father's house to live on his own, but often stopped by his father's home for a visit (in contrast to his older brother Michael). Richard often became frustrated by his brother's insistent nagging (which he largely ignored), but believed that it showed that his brother truly did care for him.
Richard made his living as a woods guide, leading travelers safely through the Hartland forests. Most were traveling dignitaries wanting the prestige of a local guide more than they wanted direction. As a guide, he would often play tracking games with the other guides in the Hartland Woods, seeing how far they could follow each other without being detected. Richard was very good at this game (both tracking and detecting). To prevent himself from being followed, Richard would backtrack, or snap a circle, as he and the other guides called it, sneaking up on the one who followed him. Richard would often spend his nights in a wayward pine. He lived in a simple wooden weathered house in the woods, along a narrow path that was higher up from town passed an open area of bare rock and away from the maples, oaks, and birches around the town to an area mostly consisting of spruce trees. Its back sat hard up against the woods with its door facing a clearing at the top of a hill. He often cooked for himself on the fireplace and sat in his favorite chair, which had a squeak that gave the chair personality that he could not bring himself to alter.
[edit] Father's death
Three weeks before the beginning of the series, Richard's brother Michael told him of his adopted father (George Cypher)'s murder. He warned Richard not to go back to the house his father had lived (and was killed) in, but Richard refused to listen. Wanting to spare him, the people at the house would not let him see the body, although he was shocked and pained at the sight of the remains of the puddles of his father's blood and the destructive condition of the home. The only untouched object was a blue jar he had created as a child that his father used to leave messages to him while he was away. Inside he found a sprig of a vine. Three weeks later, he would find the same species of vine living (and destroying) the Ven Forest to the southeast and would later discover it to be a snake vine. His father's death (as well as other strange occurrences) led to a number of rumors throughout the region of things coming out of the boundary and of magic.
Grief and depression overwhelmed Richard after the death of his father. Even though he still had a brother and was fully grown into manhood, he felt orphaned and alone. Richard did not take part in the search for his father's killer, due to Michael's intervention. Instead he went off alone every day searching the Hartland Woods for the mysterious vine he had found at his father's house, keeping it a secret from Michael and the others. Something in his mind teased him that he knew something of why his father had been murdered, but he attributed this to his grief playing tricks. After 3 weeks of searching, against his better judgement, he traveled to the upper Ven Forest in search of the vine.
[edit] Introduction of Kahlan Amnell
While in the Ven Forest, Richard spotted and subsequently helped rescue Kahlan Amnell from a quad attempting to assassinate her. From the beginning Richard was smitten by her pride, her integrity, her intelligence, as well as her overwhelming beauty. They very soon became very close friends. Kahlan taught him of the history of the Midlands and of the threat of Darken Rahl and the boxes of Orden. They traveled together to see Richard's good friend and mentor, Zedd, who they discovered to be the First Wizard. Zedd appointed Richard as the Seeker of Truth. Richard, Zedd, Kahlan, and their friend, Chase traveled to the Midlands through the King's Port to recover the last box of Orden and protect it from the threat of Darken Rahl.
[edit] Overview
Richard Rahl, the child of Darken Rahl and Zedd's daughter, is now the Seeker of Truth; Master Rahl, the ruler of D'Hara; a war wizard; the first in 3000 years. He is a blademaster and a master sculptor. He is married to the Mother Confessor, Kahlan Amnell. As all wizards, he must keep balance in his life. This was first thought to mean that he could not eat cheese or meat due to all the killing he does. However, it was later found out that thinking he needed to balance his power by not eating these foods actually unbalanced him further, since he was essentially saying that to kill in the self defense of himself and those he loved was a bad thing. After figuring this out, Richard realized that his gift did not need balance. Soon after, we see that he is able to eat meat again. Whether or not he can eat cheese is unclear. Richard's powers vary from Wizard's Fire to predictions. Richard cannot use his magic at will as it only comes in relation to his degree of need.
