Prince Raoden has a bad day when he contracts an incurable chronic disease and is quarantined in Elantris. It's a weird sort of disease that results in immortality but an inability to heal. Which is bad enough if you stub your toe and eternal torture if you suffer a major injury. It might be possible to get out of it by chopping of your head or burning yourself, but no-one is certain enough that these options don't lead to eternal agony to try it.
I'm a bit unclear on the need for the quarantine, though. Someone like Raoden could probably afford to live in a comfortable room full of soft furnishings to keep safe. It might just be social stigma (his dad the king is being pretty secretive about it) or there might be some sort of contagion or other effect as yet undescribed.
Besides the stubbed toe and feeling hungry (forever), Raoden at least manages to make a friend, Galladon, whom he pays a small piece of meat to show him the ropes of this prison-city.
We also learn that he's basically a nice guy, who gives bread to beggars. We don't learn where his servant Ien got to.
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