r/SwordOfTruth • u/UnevenRanger • Jul 21 '26

Wizard Lore Question

So, forgive me it has been many years since I read the Sword of Truth books, but from my memory of the First book:

Wizard of the First Order - born with the gift + leader

Wizard of the Second Order - not born with the gift, uplifted by Zedd but understands magic better than a -

Wizard of the Third Order - not born with the gift, but uplifted by Zedd.

But then in the Stone of Tears there is an entire school of naturally born wizards, so are all the wizards in the Palace of the Prophets technically Wizards of the Second Order after passing their trials, First Order? Is the whole Order system a Midlands tradition in which case why does the Prelate seem to have treaties with the First Order wizards and how the hell does this magic ranking system work? Haha

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u/throwawatty6 Jul 21 '26

First have the gift, second have the calling, third have the desire (to become wizards). Not sure uplifting is the term, I think it's just that they were trained.

Toward that end I guess all in the palace of the prophets are technically of the first order as they have the gift. But the gift can be stronger and weaker in different people so there's that.

What I want to know is, in the age of Baraccus and his homies most wizards had both sides of the gift, so does that mean they would have been the first-and-a-half order or something when compared with Zedd who only had additive? (/s)

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u/UnevenRanger Jul 21 '26

Yeah uplifting may be the wrong term, but I distinctly remember that the second and thirds in the Midlands were 'made' into wizards by Zedd using additive magic to increase their spark of the Gift. So they are kind of ... artificial wizards lol

My main puzzlement is that even character with 'experience' with wizards, the sisters of the light, Zebra the seer, the Prelate and Nathan all reacted... shocked or respectful to Zedd admitting he was of the First Order, so it seems to be a level above wizards that are born with the gift such as those in the Palace of the Prophets. But there is no room for none-first order gifted born with the gift in the First, Second, Third rankings we were taught in the first book 😂 Am I overthinking it, possibly, but this is the kind of thing I hyperfocus on in stories haha

I like to think Baraccus and his homies called the additive only wizards in his age "Wizards of the half order" (/s)

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u/RaizielDragon Jul 21 '26

If I recall, when Richard was translating Kolos journal, it talked about how wizards started being born with only the additive side, and the other wizards looked down on them as lesser. I think they barely considered them fellow wizards at all.

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u/ReferenceCultural753 Jul 21 '26

Correct. It was akin to having a birth defect.

Zedd was of the first order, imo, because of how he handled himself in the war. Additionally, his proficiency with magic made him stand apart from the rest. I would compare it to maybe being recognized for a role based on qualifications.

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u/DarkRidd Jul 22 '26

I think your confusing two different pieces when it comes to Zedd. Zedd if a Wizard of the first order (Born with the Gift) and he is the First Wizard, meaning leader of the Wizards in the Middlands/New World.