Dragon Prince
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| Author | Melanie Rawn |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Michael Whelan |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Dragon Prince and Dragon Star trilogies |
| Genre | Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | DAW Books |
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Publication date
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1988 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover & Paperback) |
| Pages | 576 pp |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 32462928 |
| Followed by | The Star Scroll |
Dragon Prince is a fantasy novel written by author Melanie Rawn. It is the first book of the Dragon Prince trilogy.
Rohan is heir to the throne of The Desert and its chief holding, Stronghold. His father, Prince Zehava, is unsure of his son's ability to rule, but is wounded in a dragon hunt and Rohan is suddenly the ruling Prince. He must solidify his right to rule by outwitting The Desert's antagonists, chiefly the High Prince Roelstra, in order to protect his lands and maintain peace throughout the world.
His aunt, Andrade, the Lady of Goddess Keep and highest ranking of the faradhi, or Sunrunners, gifted humans who can use light to communicate, warns that the High Prince will try to take over the Desert by marrying one of his daughters to Rohan and then killing him. To decline a royal marriage would in turn insult Roelstra, so she offers a marriage with Sioned, another of her Sunrunners. Marriage between a prince and a Sunrunner is unheard of, but Rohan is smitten by a vision of Sioned that Andrade conjures in fire for him.
Rohan persuades Sioned to help him trick High Prince Roelstra into signing various treaties while he pretends to choose between princesses. Sioned pretends to be unsure of Rohan as her groom, and the two have a merry time with their charade at the tri-annual Rialla (a fair and gathering of princes held every three years). Rohan pretends to be a foolish, ignorant young man. The other princes initially believe the masquerade. Roelstra, in turn, is interested in Sioned, both as a woman and a faradhi.
High Prince Roelstra is an evil, cunning man - and the father of seventeen daughters. Despite a marriage and a series of mistresses, he never succeeds at conceiving a son and heir. His latest mistress, Lady Palila, is pregnant during the Rialla. Roelstra's eldest daughter, Princess Ianthe, schemes with her sister Pandsala to switch Palila's baby for a girl if it is a son. Pandsala, thinking Roelstra will marry her to Prince Rohan if Palila helps her, plans to turn the tables on Ianthe and help Palila switch another daughter for a boy. They bring four pregnant waiting-women along, planning to induce labor in them when Palila's begins.
Rohan and Roelstra ultimately spar over Sioned, and Roelstra is infuriated to discover Rohan played him for a fool. Ianthe betrays Palila and her sister, and gains her father's trust. In return, she is granted the castle of Feruche, an important outpost on the border between Roelstra's and Rohan's lands. Roelstra gives Pandsala and the new baby, named Chiana (for "treason" in an old language), to Andrade. He burns Palila alive in her bed.
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