(According to Terry Goodkind’s fantasy book “Chainfire.” People who have not read any book of this series (the sword of truth) might have a difficult time understanding the working of this magic)<\p>
Wizards in ancient times invented a new theory on how to alter memory using subtractive magic. What it does is unravel the memory of all people on a particular subject. It starts small, by simply forgetting the subject. After a certain time though, the chainfire will connect with other memories and burn them away. So eventually the chainfire will unravel life itself, destroying and ending it. So once someone has started a chainfire it cannot be controlled. Think of it as an avalanche or a forest fire. Once started it is difficult to stop. If not impossible.<\p>
When a chainfire event has started it has a destructive effect on prophecy. All prophecies about the subject, on which the chainfire has been triggered, will have disappeared. No new prophecies will be made on the subject. Prophecies, on the subject, that already exist will be forgotten, erased from memory and erased from books.<\p>
The wizards of ancient times had realized that a chainfire event could cause serious harm to the world of the living. Fearful of this they searched for a counter and created the boxes of orden. Once the boxes of orden are in play the user has one year exactly to find: all three boxes, the book of counted shadows and a confessor to verify the spoken knowledge of the book of counted shadows. When all this is found and achieved, the user has access to the almighty power of Orden. Note that this is the only way to counter the powerful magic called Chainfire.<\p>