The history of the war that Richard Rahl now finds himself in is fleshed out in more detail in Temple of the Winds, the fourth book of the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind.

The Emperor of the Imperial Order, Jagang, has forced Richard Rahl into following a prophecy with only two endings, both of which hold death.  A magical plague spreads across the New World with the intensity of a hurricane as Jagang’s armies advance further.  Meanwhile, Richard learns a great deal more about the Great War 3,000 years past from the journals he has found of a wizard from that time.  Richard Rahl must deal with betrayal while holding off the forces of the Old World and the Imperial Order.

By the way, Richard defeats one enemy by ripping his spine out through his stomach.

I won’t say who, but that’s pretty awesome.  That’s Roadhouse awesome.

-Because I said so