Drefan smiled distantly. “Girls, that’s all. Girls who think they know what they want and are impressed by foolish things that shouldn’t matter. I see them all batting their eyelashes at you, too. Some people are drawn to power. People like my mother.”
“Me! You’re seeing things.”
Drefan turned serious. “Kahlan is beautiful. You’re a fortunate man to have a woman of such substance and noble character. A woman like that only comes along once in a lifetime, and then only if the good spirits smile on you.”
“I know. I’m the luckiest man alive.” Richard stared off, thinking about the prophecy, and the things he had read in Kolo’s journal. “Life wouldn’t be worth living without her.”
Drefan laughed and slapped Richard on the back. “If you weren’t my brother, and a good one besides, I’d steal her from you and have her for myself. On second thought, you’d better be careful, I may yet decide to have her.”
Richard smiled with him. “I’ll be careful.”
Drefan pointed an admonishing finger at Richard. “You treat her right.”
“I’d not know how to do otherwise.” Richard swept a hand out, indicating the small, simple room, and changed the subject. “What are you still doing here? We can find you better quarters than this.”
Drefan gazed about at his room. “This is a king’s room compared to my quarters at home. We live simply. This room is almost more ostentation than I can bear.” His brow drew down. “It isn’t what kind of house you have that matters. This is not happiness. It’s what kind of mind you have, and how you care for your fellow man—what you can do to help others who can be helped by no one else.”
Richard adjusted the bands at his wrists. They made him sweat under the leather pads. “You’re right, Drefan.”
He hadn’t even realized it, but he had come to be used to his surroundings. Since he had left Hartland, he had seen many splendid places. His own home, back in Hartland, wasn’t nearly as nice as this plain room, and he had been happy there. He had been happy being a woods guide.
But, as Drefan said, a person had to help others who could be helped in no other way. He was stuck with being Lord Rahl. Kahlan was the balance. Now, all he had to do was find the Temple of the Winds before he lost it all.
At least he had a woman he loved more than he would ever have thought possible, and now, too, he had a brother.
“Drefan, do you know the meaning of Raug’Moss?”
“I was taught that it’s old High D’Haran, meaning ‘Divine Wind.’”
“Do you know High D’Haran?”
Drefan brushed back his tumbled-down blond hair. “Just that word.”
“I hear that you’re their leader. You’ve done well for yourself to become the leader of a community of healers.”
“It’s the only life I’ve ever known. Being the High Priest, though, mostly means that they have someone to blame when things go wrong. If someone we try to help doesn’t get better, the healers point in my direction and say, ‘He is our leader. Talk to him.’ Being High Priest means I have to read the reports and records, and try to explain to distraught relatives that we are only healers, and we can’t revoke the Keeper’s call. Sounds more impressive than it is, really.”
“I’m sure you exaggerate. I’m proud that you’ve done well. What are the Raug’Moss? Where do they come from?”
“Legend has it that the Raug’Moss were founded thousands of years ago by wizards whose gift was for healing. The gift began dying out in the race of man, and wizards, especially ones gifted for healing, became more and more rare.”
Drefan told Richard the story of how the community of the Raug’Moss started to change as wizards began dying out. Worried that their work would die out with them, the healers, the wizard healers, decided to take in apprentices without the gift. Over time, there were fewer and fewer wizards to oversee the work, until long ago the last of the wizards died.
It sounded to Richard much like reading in Kolo’s journal how different the Keep had been in that time long past when it was filled with wizards and their families.
“Now, there are no gifted among us,” Drefan said. “The Raug’Moss were taught many keys of health and healing, but we have nowhere near the talent of the wizards of old; we have no magic to aid us. We do what we can, with the teachings the true healers of old passed down, but we can only do so much. It’s a simple life, a hard life, but it has rewards that comforts of belongings can’t provide.”
“I understand. It must be the best feeling in the world to help people.”
Drefan’s face took on a curious set. “What of you? What is your gift? Your talent?”
Richard looked away from Drefan’s eyes. His hand tightened on the hilt of his sword.
“I was born a war wizard,” he whispered. “I have been named fuer grissa ost drauka, High D’Haran for ‘the bringer of death.’”
The room fell quiet.
Richard cleared his throat. “I was pretty distraught by that, at first, but since then I’ve come to understand that being a war wizard means that I have been born to help others, by protecting them from those who would enslave them. From those like our bastard father—Darken Rahl.”
“I understand,” Drefan said into the uneasy silence. “Sometimes the best use of our ability is to kill—such as to end a life that has no hope but pain, or to end the life of one who would bring endless pain to others.”
Richard rubbed a thumb over the symbols on the silver bands at his wrist. “Yes. I understand what you mean by that, now. I don’t think I did, before. We both must do things that we don’t like, but which must be done.”
Drefan smiled a small smile. “Not many, other than my healers, ever understand it. I’m glad you do. Sometimes killing is the greatest of charity. I am careful to whom I speak those words. It is good to have my brother understand them.”
“The same with me, Drefan.”
Before Richard could ask more, they were interrupted by a knock at the door. Raina poked her head in. Her long, dark braid fell forward over her shoulder.
“Lord Rahl, do you have a moment?”
“What is it, Raina?”
Raina rolled her eyes, indicating someone behind her. “Nadine wishes to see you. She seems upset about something, and will only speak to you.”
When Richard gestured, Raina opened the door a little wider and Nadine pushed her way in, oblivious to Raina’s scowl.
“Richard. You have to come with me.” She took up his hand in both of hers. “Please? Please, Richard, come with me? There’s someone here who desperately needs to see you.”
“Who?”
She looked to be genuinely troubled. She tugged on his hand. “Please, Richard.”
Richard was still wary. “Mind if I bring Drefan along?”
r />
“Of course not. I was going to ask that you did.”
“Let’s go, then, if it’s really important.”
She held his hand tight and dragged him behind her.
28
Richard spotted Kahlan coming down the hall toward him. She frowned at seeing Nadine pulling him along by the hand. Drefan, Raina, Ulic, and Egan trailed behind him as they all wove their way past palace staff going about their chores, and soldiers on patrol. Richard shrugged to Kahlan.
Nadine glared at Kahlan before turning down the hall toward her room. He wondered what that was all about. Annoyed, Richard yanked his hand away from Nadine’s grip, but kept following. Nadine skirted a walnut table against the wall beneath an old tapestry with a herd of white-tailed deer grazing before white-peaked mountains in the background. She checked over her shoulder to make sure Richard was still with her.
Kahlan and Cara caught up. Kahlan fell in beside him.
“Well,” Cara said from behind, as she stroked her thick braid, “doesn’t this look interesting?”
Richard shot her a scowl. Nadine turned and impatiently snatched his hand again.
“You promised. Come on.”
“I promised nothing. I said I’d go with you,” Richard complained. “I didn’t say I would run.”
“Big strong Lord Rahl can’t keep up with me?” Nadine taunted. “The woods guide I remember could walk faster than this when he was half asleep.”
“I am half asleep,” he muttered.
“The guards told me you were back, and had gone to Drefan’s room,” Kahlan whispered to him. “I was on my way to meet you there. What’s this business with Nadine?”
Her whispered question was laced with aggravation. He noticed her quick glance to Nadine’s hand gripping his.
“Beats me. She wants me to see someone.”
“And must you hold her hand to do it?” she growled under her breath.
He yanked his hand away again.
Kahlan stole a quick peek at Drefan, back behind Cara and Raina. She twined her arm through Richard’s. “How are you doing? What did you… find out?”