Boxes of Orden
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The boxes of Orden are fictional magical artifacts in the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind.
[edit] Description
The boxes of Orden are three magical gold, jewel-encrusted boxes that can give the wizard who correctly uses them unchallenged power over all living things. They were constructed by the wizards of old. The magic contained within the vessels is an ancient and dangerous magic of immense power, spawned from the earth, from life itself. The magic is dormant until the boxes are "put into play", as it is called. To do so is not easy. It requires a person who has knowledge gained from long scholarship and who can call upon considerable power of his own. Once a person has at least one of the boxes, the magic of Orden can be put in play. He then has one year from that time to open a box, but he must have all three before any will open. They work together; you can't simply have one and open it. If the person who puts them in play fails to acquire all three, and to open one within the allotted time, he forfeits his life to the magic. There is no going back.
Each box holds a different power, which is released upon its opening. To open the correct one is to gain the magic of Orden, the magic of life itself, power over all things living and dead. It gives unchallenged power and authority and creates a master with immutable dominion over all people. Its wielder can kill anyone with a thought in any manner of his choosing wherever that person is, no matter how far away. The magic of Orden could also be used to help crops grow, to heal the sick, and to end conflict. Open the wrong box, and the magic can claim the one who opened it, killing him. Open the other wrong box and every bug, every blade of grass, every tree, every man, woman, and child, every living thing, is incinerated into nothingness - the end of all life. The magic of Orden is twin to the magic of life itself, and death is part of everything that lives, so the magic of Orden is tied to death, as well as life.
Putting the boxes into play imparts to the person certain privileged information. It also protects the person from a number of harmful magics, including the magic of the Sword of Truth and the magic of a confessor. The Book of Counted Shadows gives instruction on how to correctly use the boxes of Orden. Putting the boxes of Orden into play causes the snake vine to begin to grow. While the boxes of Orden are in play, the veil between the underworld and the living world is weakened, and any interaction between them could tear the veil.
Originally, the magic was created as the only counter to a Chainfire event.
[edit] History
After the war with Panis Rahl, the Central Council of the Midlands mishandled the boxes of Orden, believing the power of the boxes to be just a legend. They gave the boxes to important people, like trophies to be shown off. They used them as payments for favors or promises. This exposed the boxes to covetous hands. Darken Rahl recovered the boxes of Orden and put them into play on the first day of Winter before the series began, although he only had two of the three boxes. He eventually recovered all three, but fell victim to the Wizard's First Rule. After opening the incorrect box, he was consumed by the magic of Orden.
Long after the fall of Darken Rahl, the Chainfire Event allowed an amnesiatic Kahlan to steal the boxes for the Sisters of the Dark. The boxes were once again put into play.
