Lord Foul's Bane: The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant Book One

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Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: She breaks the Law of Death to allow Lord Kevin Landwaster to be resurrected, which just made things worse. Far worse. Linden finds herself once again translated to the Land, where Lord Foul's disembodied voice informs her that he has gained possession of her son. As before, several thousand years have passed in the Land, and everything that Linden knew has changed. The Land has been healed, restored ot its former loveliness and potency. Now, however it is ruled by Masters, Haruchai who have dedicated themselves to the suppression of all magical knowledge and power. Their task is simplified by an eerie smog called Kevin's Dirt, which blinds the people of the Land to the wealth of Earthpower all around them. Senior, W. A. (1995). Stephen R. Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press. ISBN 978-1-61277-112-0. Thomas Covenant was a very successful author before being diagnosed with leprosy, the wasting disease that causes fear, revulsion and even hatred in other people. Fearing for their son's health, his wife leaves him and he has to learn to live with the fact that his life is changed forever.

Covenant delivers the message of Lord Foul to the Lords. Despite the obvious danger, the Lords decide to make an effort to wrest the powerful Staff of Law from Drool's evil grasp. Rather than waging an all-out war, the Council sends four Lords and a band of forty warriors to attempt to infiltrate Drool's lair at Mount Thunder. God of Evil: In many ways, he is the Anthropomorphic Personification of Despite; the Despiser isn't just a catchy name, it's the fundamental truth of his existence. As Long as There Is Evil: As long as Foul lives, the Ravers will be there with him. Or at least, that's the common belief. The Second and Last Chronicles show that Ravers can be destroyed, albeit with great difficulty and under very specific circumstances.

Cavewights

Planet of Hats: The Haruchai are easily the hattiest race in the Land, with all of them seeming to be relatively minor variations on the same personality. Justified because the only Haruchai to show up in the Land in the first place are elite warriors who are products of the same intense training regime; the Haruchai homeland (and by extension, the bulk of their population) is never seen. The Chessmaster: Foul is very, very intelligent, and is usually several steps ahead of everybody else. A deformed but good-humored Giant, Pitchwife is the First's husband and is in charge of maintaining the Giantship Starfare's Gem. Like his wife, he accompanies Covenant and Linden across most of the Second Chronicles. Resurrective Immortality: How he avoids death, mixed with Complete Immortality. Sure, Foul can be killed, at least as a discrete being, but no matter what you do, he'll always reform out of ambient hate after a while. Squishy Wizard: Despite his frailty, on those occasions he can make his ring work, he wields more magical power than almost anyone else in the Land.

Their own chosen names are moksha, turiya, and samadhi, all terms for the various levels of enlightenment in the Hindu religion (Donaldson grew up in India, as the son of missionaries). Word of God is that this reflects the tendency of evil people to think they are really more clear-sighted than everyone else. Demoted to Dragon: The Ravers actually predate Foul's arrival in the Land; they were its reigning supreme evils for a while, until Foul showed up and the Ravers were drawn to him like moths to a flame. Of course, seeing as personality-wise there's little difference between Lord Foul and a Raver, they still get to do pretty much what they would have done anyway except with a more powerful patron, so they're generally content in their servitude. Led by High Lord Prothall and Lord Mhoram and accompanied by the Lords' sleepless and ageless protectors the Bloodguard, Hirebrand Birinair, yhe Giant Foamfollower, and an Eoman of soldiers led by Quaan, the Quest sets out eastward. Covenant joins them in the hope that the recovery of the Staff of Law will somehow assist in his return to his "real" world.Romanticized Abuse: Invoked Trope Falling in love with Covenant and deluding herself into thinking that their encounter was consensual is her way of coping, but it is explicitly very unhealthy as is true in real life.