Seeker of Truth
From Free net encyclopedia
The Seeker of Truth is a position within Terry Goodkind's series of fantasy novels The Sword of Truth:
Contents |
General Description
The Seeker of Truth is a position that is above any king or any other person of any station. The Seeker is a balance point of power. He (or she) is sovereign unto himself and no other. He bows before no human or law. A true Seeker can make a king quake in his boots with the asking of a single question. The Sword of Truth is his to wield as he wishes, and within the limits of his own strength he can hold anyone to answer for anything. The righteous anger of a true Seeker can be an extraordinary thing to behold. It can make the good tremble with joy, and the wicked shiver in fear. Although the Seeker wields the Sword of Truth, his mind and his heart are his most important weapons. Some of the best Seekers have been women.
Purpose
The Seeker of Truth does exactly as the name implies. He (or she) seeks the truth, the answers to things, things of his own chooosing. If he is the right person he will seek the answers that will help others, not just himself. The whole purpose of a Seeker is to be free to quest on his own, to go where he wants, ask what he wants, learn what he wants, find answers to what he wants to know, and if need be, do whatever it is the answers demand. Ideally, a Seeker is the standard-bearer of justice. It is a dangerous position because people rarely believe the truth when they see it and less so when they don't want to. He is an obstacle to those who would subvert power, therefore, he draws lightning from many sides. Most often he stands alone in his quests. It is often a sought after post because of the power a Seeker wields, yet many who seek the post don't understand that it isn't the post that brings the power to the person, it's the person that brings the power to the post.
The true Seeker of Truth must be able to use all of his mind, especially his anger. A Seeker who couldn't allow himself to use his anger would be hopelessly weak, and would be torn apart by the sword's magic. It is the strength of rage that gives the heedless drive to prevail.
Appointment
Only the First Wizard is qualified to appoint the true Seeker, though in fact it is the true Seeker appoints himself and the wizard only finds him and makes it official. A true Seeker must show himself to be the Seeker to the First Wizard. He is a Seeker from birth and reveals himself by his actions, so the First Wizard must watch a person for years to be sure. A Seeker doesn't have to be the smartest person, but he has to be the right person and have the right qualities within himself. A true Seeker is a rare person. The Seeker of Truth holds this position for life, or until he chooses to give it up.
History
In the old days, the Seeker was more feared and respected than the Confessors. Like Confessors, Seekers dethroned kings. The position of Seeker of Truth was created by the wizards of old to discover important truths and to prevent corrupt leaders from using their power to deceive and subvert the people.
After the war with Panis Rahl, the Council of the Midlands became corrupt and believed that the position of Seeker was merely a political bone to be thrown to one of the sniveling dogs at their feet. They didn't care about finding the right person. They gave the post to whoever suited them at the time, or whoever offered the most. This caused the position of Seeker to be seen as less, little more than pawns and thieves. The last false Seekers was a man named Samuel, who took the Sword of Truth with him to the witch woman Shota in Agaden Reach after he had been corrupted by it. Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander later traveled to Agaden Reach and recovered the blade from Samuel and Shota.
The current Seeker of Truth is Richard Rahl, the true Seeker appointed by the First Wizard, Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander.