Pol is a fictional character in Melanie Rawn's fantasy novels in the Dragon Prince Trilogy and Dragon Star Trilogy and is the hero of the Dragon Star trilogy.
| Dragon Prince Character | |
| |
| Prince Pol | |
|---|---|
| Race | diarmadhi |
| Birth | 704, Feruche, Princemarch |
| Colors | diamond, emerald, topaz, and pearl |
| Rings | Desert topaz and Princemarch amethyst, Andrade's moonstone |
| Dragon | Azhdeen |
| Titles | High Prince, Faradh'rei, Diarmadh'rei, Ruler of Princemarch, Prince of the Desert |
| Princedom | Princemarch, The Desert; iridescent dragon |
Pol was born to Prince Rohan of the Desert and Ianthe, daughter of High Prince Roelstra; however, he did not know the circumstances of his birth for many years. He believed his mother to be the beloved Sunrunner wife of his father: Sioned. Pol possessed the Sunrunner gifts, though he was trained not at Goddess Keep like most Sunrunners, but by old friends of Sioned. Pol was first and foremost to be a Prince.
Biography[]
- "What matters is that you're also strong enough to live as your intelligence and your heart say you must."
- —Sionell to PolSkybowl (novel)
Dragon Prince Trilogy[]
Pol was conceived while his father, Rohan, was held captive by Ianthe in Feruche, a castle on the border of Princemarch. Ianthe had three other sons, while Rohan's wife Sioned had been rendered barren due to the plague that had swept the Continent. Drugged and later enraged by Ianthe's taunting, Rohan committed rape, giving Ianthe exactly what she had wanted: his son.
When Pol was born in the year 704, Sioned returned to Feruche with Tobin and Ostvel and claimed him as her own. She burned the keep and Ianthe to the ground. Sioned held him and named him Pol for the stars as she discovered that starlight could be woven just like that of the sun and moon. She used this new found discovery to create a starlight dome around Rohan and Roelstra in order to ensure a fair duel and to watch over Rohan. Rohan won the duel, ended the War of 704 with Princemarch and became High Prince. At first Rohan did not want to accept Pol, but as he looked upon his son, loved him deeply. Though he had won Princemarch as well, Rohan bestowed a regency upon Roelstra's daughter, Pandsala, until such a time as Pol could claim it for himself.
When Pol turned fourteen, Masul, an imposter heir of Roelstra, came forward claiming the right to Princemarch. As Pol himself was not knighted and too young to take up the challenge himself, his cousin Maarken stood in his stead. During this time the Star Scrolls had also been discovered. They were ancient texts of the long thought dead diarmadhi, or sorcerers. During Maarken's battle with the imposter a sorcerers came out of hiding and fought against the young lord, nearly felling him. Rohan stepped in to save his nephew, slaying the imposter and securing Pol's right to Princemarch. On the way back from the Rialla where the challenge had taken place, Rohan decided to build the palace of Dragon's Rest for Pol.
In 723 Urival and Morwenna, Sunrunner friends of Sioned, came to train Pol in the Sunrunner arts. Although Maarken, also a Sunrunner Lord, had been trained at Goddess Keep, Rohan and Sioned thought it better that Pol, as future High Prince, not be under the governing of Goddess Keep although the new Lord of Goddess Keep was his cousin Andry.
Five years later, during which Pol had become ruler of Princemarch, rumors of sorcerers spread and the other remaining sons of Ianthe came forward to claim their right to Princemarch. It was now that Pol's true birth was revealed to him. At first he was angered and felt betrayed, but later told Sioned that she would always be his mother. Through his birth, Pol was not only a faradhi, but diarmadhi as well. He used studied the Star scrolls and used both his Sunrunner and sorcerer knowledge to defeat Ruval, his eldest half brother. During this duel Pol set the desert ablaze and cleansed any hint of plague away. Dragons returned to Rivenrock, the domain they had fled when escaping the plague, after years of abandoning it.
During this time, as a plot to seduce Pol, the sorcerers and Miyon, Prince of Cunaxa and an enemy of the Desert, introduced Pol to Meiglan, Miyon's daughter. Meiglan was herself a shy and innocent young woman and was not a part of her fathers machinations. Although aware - and warned - of Miyon's plot, Pol fell in love with Meiglan and she with him. They were wed in 728. Two years later they had twin girls, Jihan and Rislyn, both with Sunrunner and/or sorcerer gifts.
Dragon Star Trilogy[]
- "It's all right, it's going to be all right. I know how foolish that sounds. But I'm fool enough to believe it. And I've known you long enough to know you are too."
- —Sionell to Pol after the Vellanti WarSkybowl (novel)
The Vellant'im invaded the Continent and burned Radzyn Keep. Pol fought alongside his father, Rohan, and cousin, Maarken, and helped to defend the Radzyn's people as they started their exodus across The Desert. Pol and Rohan vehemently disagreed on how to combat the Vellant'im. Pol wanted to attack the enemy head-on, while Rohan took a more reactive approach.
When Rohan died before the fall of Stronghold, Pol became High Prince. Pol had never taken the faradhi oath not to kill using his gifts, which caused heightened tensions between him and the other Sunrunners retreating to Skybowl.
At Skybowl, Pol and Andry fought to overcome ther long animosity. With Ruala's help they discovered ancient diarmadhi secrets and spells, which helped them defeat the invaders.
Family Links[]
- Azhdeen: dragon