- “Rachel, you are the bravest, smartest, prettiest girl I have ever known!”
- ―Richard Rahl
Rachel was the former "playmate" of Princess Violet and the adoptive daughter of Dell Brandstone. She was considered to be a particularly special young girl, and participated in many important events. Rachel was responsible for hindering Darken Rahl's efforts to gain the last Box of Orden, and later kept the Stone of Tears from the hands of those who would use it to help free the Keeper of the underworld.
Later, Rachel saved First Wizard Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander and the sorceress, Adie, from the clutches of Emperor Jagang, before being instrumental in hindering the plans of the witch woman Six, through her rare talent of artistry. Ultimately, Rachel learnt that she was descended from the royal family of Tamarang and was its rightful Queen.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Rachel's grandmother, parents and brother were killed by soldiers of Queen Milena after Rachel's grandmother failed to fall to her knees quick enough when the queen came riding by in her carriage. Rachel spent some time in an orphanage, where she would occasionally meet Brophy. One day, she was chosen to be Princess Violet's playmate.
Darken Rahl crisis[]
As the playmate to Princess Violet, Rachel was used to getting slapped, barely getting any food, and other kinds of mistreatment. Mistreatments including made to sleep outside or in a small box also having her hair cut short and raggedly, which showed one's low status in the Midlands. She often had to follow Violet as she went about doing whatever it was that the princess felt like doing. One day, when Violet and Rachel were in the royal jewel room, Violet decided to throw a treasured box to the floor. Rachel, not wanting to be in trouble from the Queen, dived for the box and caught it. Neither knew, but the box contained one of the Boxes of Orden.
Later, Rachel met Wizard Giller, who gave her a doll that he called a trouble doll. He told Rachel to tell her troubles to the doll and the doll would make her feel better. Rachel named the doll Sara. However, she had to hide the doll, otherwise the Princess would have found it and thrown it into the fire.
When he received news of Darken Rahl's early arrival in Tamarang, Giller asked Rachel to do something that would be the most important thing she would ever do. When she agreed to do it, he hid the box that contained the Box of Orden in a loaf of bread that Rachel stole from the kitchen. He then had Rachel run away from Tamarang with the loaf of bread.
After running away from Tamarang, Rachel ran into Richard Cypher and Kahlan Amnell. Initially scared of Kahlan because of her long hair, she eventually started to like the two, but misunderstanding a statement made by Kahlan, she ran away from the two in the middle of the night. After running away from them she hides until she is rescued from a Gar attack by Dell "Chase" Bradstone, a friend of Richard. When Chase catches up with Richard, Rachel gives him the third Box of Orden.
Tear in the veil[]
Zedd entrusted Rachel with the Stone of Tears when it appeared in the Garden of Life after Darken Rahl opened a Box of Orden which caused the veil of the underworld to begin to tear. Chase and Rachel try to catch up with Richard in order to give him the Stone of Tears so he can use it to prevent the veil from tearing completely and allowing the Keeper to escape. They pass through the Mud People's village on their search where they learn of Richard's capture by Sister Verna and race to catch up to and save him. However, when they do meet up with Richard while he is crossing the Valley of the Lost, Richard believes them to be an illusion used to tempt him into becoming trapped inside the magical border between the Old World and the New World. Ironically, Chase and Rachel become trapped inside the border while Richard is able to pass through with Sister Verna. While at the Palace of the Prophets, Richard realizes the truth and returns to the Valley of the Lost where he destroys the border between the Worlds with the help of Du Chailla (the spirit woman of the people whose land the border took over). Everyone who was ever trapped inside the border is set free including Chase and Rachel. Upon being released Rachel gives Richard the Stone of Tears which he uses to stop the Keeper from escaping.
Imperial Order War[]
Chase had taken Rachel back to his home in Westland and started her on her teachings like Zedd had asked Chase to do. He taught her how to use many weapons and how to protect herself.
However, Friedrich Gilder, a man with great respect for the boundary wardens, came to Chase and told him that Zedd and Adie had been captured and the Wizard's Keep had been taken by the Imperial Order. With Rachel, Chase traveled to the Imperial Order camp and acted as a member of the Order in order to make his way to Zedd and Adie. When he got there, he found the Mord-Sith Rikka and the D'Haran, Captain Zimmer also there to save them. With their help, they all escaped.
However, Zedd had only moments before activated a spell called sunset spell that when the sun set, it would blow up, destroying the other stolen items that the Order had stolen from the Keep. Chase and the others appeared just in time to save them all and rescue them from the camp before the spell came alive and killed them.
Chase and Rachel, along with Rikka, took Zedd back to the Wizard's Keep, where Zedd asked him and Friedrich to become "Keep Wardens", the new guards of the Keep.
Later, Chase and Rachel set off to get Chase's family and bring them to the Keep to live.
When the witch woman Shota visits the Wizard's Keep, she told Richard and everyone else that Chase had been hurt. When asked about Rachel, she knew nothing. She had found Chase after he had been run through by the former Seeker, Samuel, who in turn also kidnapped Rachel, but Shota did not know about that. She had taken Chase to some people she knew could help heal him. He eventually recovered.
Rachel was delivered to the witch woman, Six, and the now Queen of Tamarang, Violet. Violet's treatment of Rachel is much more cruel than when Rachel was a child. Violet cuts Rachel's long hair off to remind her of her status as a nobody and prisoner, burns her with embers, locks her back in the same box from her childhood at night and has her tongue locked in a metal device at night. Back to being treated like dirt, Rachel slowly watched for her chance to escape, eventually getting her chance. During her escape, she steals back a Box of Orden from Violet's Jewel Room. She was greeted outside of the palace by the now recovered Chase. Afterwards, Chase and Rachel headed back to the Wizard's Keep. Once they arrive at the Keep, Rachel gives the Box or Orden that she stole to Zed and Nicci. Nicci later puts that Box of Orden into play in Richard's name.
Towards the end of the war, the former Queen Violet creates a drawing spell around Rachel that unleashes underworld beasts that slowly chase her and will devour her alive if they catch her. The spell forces Rachel to not only have to flee, but to flee towards Tamarang where Violet is waiting for her. Violet had drawn the spell as revenge because Six had taken her position as Queen of Tamarang. Rachel survives by altering the drawing at the last minute by changing the victim in the drawing from herself to Violet. This frees her from the spell, and she cowers against the cave walls as the underworld beasts devour Violet.
After the war ends, Rachel goes back to the keep where she is learning to use drawing magic with the understanding that she will eventually go back to Tamarang.
Personality and traits[]
Rachel was a young girl of around ten, with short blond hair, that was cut raggedly. She had sparkling green eyes and a keen intelligence for one so young. Rachel was noted by two wizards as being a person important in future events. She has even been named as a 'pebble in the pond'.
When Rachel reappeared, after her years in Westland, she was nearly a foot taller than when last seen and her blond hair was no longer short and raggedly cut, but worn long. Rachel had furthered her intelligence and was now skilled in the use of knives; Chase taught her many things.
Appearances[]
- Wizard's First Rule (First appearance)
- Stone of Tears
- Naked Empire
- Chainfire
- Phantom
- Confessor
- Warheart
- Legend of the Seeker - 1:9 - "Puppeteer"
- Legend of the Seeker - 2:1 - "Marked"
Behind the Scenes[]
- In Legend of the Seeker, Rachel is portrayed by actress Jordana Beatty. In Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series, Rachel is adopted by Dell Brandstone "Chase", but in the television series, she is adopted by a woman named Martha after she is rescued by Zedd.