The Desert (Dragon Prince)

The Desert is a fictional Princedom (or country) in Melanie Rawn's fantasy novels of the Dragon Prince and Dragon Star trilogies. It is the primary setting of these trilogies.

"For as long as the sands spawn fire..."

The Desert is Prince Rohan's princedom. It is the home or birthplace of most of the main Characters of Dragon Prince. The royal color of the Desert is blue; its banner is of a gold dragon on a blue field. It is a land rich in dragons, Fire, and sand. The Desert people are known for their rugged strength, loyalty, and fierceness.

The Desert is an eastern princedom with only one seaport: Radzyn Keep. It is bordered by Princemarch, Cunaxa, Meadowlord, and Syr. The Desert is the hottest, driest princedom and one of the largest. The Long Sand, through which there is no water and no shelter from the sweltering sun, stretches the length of princedom. To the West of the Long Sand there are some mountains and some vegetation, and Skybowl is nestled above a lake. Near Stronghold is Rivenrock, a valley where dragons breed and where the dragon eggs can be gathered for their gold. To the East is Radzyn and the sea, the Desert's sole port and main trade center.

To the inhabitants of the Desert, their Princedom is beautiful. The sun gleams over the vast sands and sends a myriad of colors into the dawn and evening skies as a rainbow shimmers across the dunes. Night falls like a balm on the scorched land, and the clear sky allows the stars to twinkle brightly.

Every hundred years the Desert blooms. This is a miracle to the Desert-born, who finally see their beloved land covered in flowers and tall, green stalks. Winter rains soak into the sands and churn up soil that had been long buried. Seeds that had been brought on winds and dragon wings sprout, scrubs and cacti bloom vividly colored flowers. With the foliage came butterflies, other insects, and a plethora of singing birds.

Traditionally the people of the Desert have dark hair and tanned skin. (Rohan and Pol inherited their blond locks from Milar, who was from Catha Freehold not the Desert.) They are known for their strength and untamed spirit, both of which match their land. Until Prince Rohan, the Desert was ruled by warrior Princes, whose test of manhood included dragon hunting. Once Rohan became Prince he outlawed the slaying of dragons, but the warrior spirit of the Desertborn lived on in him and in the Desert people. In fact, the Desert has never been conquered (since the Merida were driven out in ancient times and the pact was made between Zehava's ancestors and the Isulk'im).

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Wikipedia