these activities, a Sister of the Dark travels through Aydindril spreading a magical plague. In a search for a cure, Richard travels to the First Wizard's Enclave. To save the people of the Midlands from the plague, Kahlan is told again and again by prophecy and the ancestor spirits of the Mud People that she must betray Richard to allow him to enter the Temple of the Winds, and that Richard must marry Nadine, or everyone in the New World will die of the plague. Even confronting the witch Shota, who sent Nadine to the Palace, Shota says that it was out of pity for Richard, that Nadine was the only other woman he ever even remotely cared for, and that the prophecy is unstoppable. Eventually, a form of messenger from the Temple arrives and Cara steals his gift and the message, stating that Richard must marry Nadine and Kahlan must marry Drefan, and that the marriage must be immediately consummated, and in total silence. Utterly crushed at the loss of Richard, and wanting any form of comfort, Kahlan gives in, believing she is with Drefan. However, as lightning starts to crash all around, she sees it's Richard. Cara had swapped them in the dark of the corridors leading to the Temple. In the distance, Drefan throws Nadine from the cliffs as he had planned to do with Kahlan all along. Richard, feeling betrayed by Kahlan's apparent throes of passion with Drefan, is able to enter the Temple. Inside, he easily cures the plague and performs several other magical spells that used to be totally beyond him. He is then visited by the spirit of Kahlan's mother, who gently tries to explain the crushing loneliness of a Confessor's life, and Richard is eventually moved to return to the real world. The spirit of Darken Rahl appears and sets conditions for his release: he must give up the knowledge of the Temple of the Winds, and is infected with the plague. When Richard returns, Kahlan learns from writing on Richard's hands and arms that she must destroy a book in order to save Richard, so she travels to the Old World in the sliph. Upon her arrival, she finds Nathan, Sister Verna, and Warren in a compromised situation, and she immediately spring into action to aid them. Clarissa is killed in the struggle by traitors. Kahlan returns to Aydindril with the