Michael is Richard's brother. In the early chapters of Goodkind's first novel we discover that M. and R. have had a normal but contentious relationship. Michael has just been elected as the head of the Westland's government and displays a very political and manipulative nature by using Richard's mother's death in his acceptance speech. Michael and George Cypher(their father) did not get along probably due to George's job as an itenerant trader (and occasionally an adventurer), going from place to place looking for oddities to buy and sell.