Schools of Dune, #1
Sisterhood of Dune
by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
Contents
65. The desert is not …
Overview
Griffin continues hunting Vorian Atreides on Arrakis, exhausting official records and questioning desert contacts while reports spread of a murdered spice crew. In the desert, Vorian’s refuge with Sharnak’s Freemen is shattered when Andros and Hyla attack, reveal themselves as Agamemnon’s children and Vorian’s siblings, and kill several Freemen.
The attack exposes that the Titans’ legacy is not dead and makes Vorian a danger to anyone sheltering him. Sharnak’s people drive the twins away, but Vorian must now explain his hidden past to a tribe that has paid in blood for protecting him.
Summary
On Arrakis, Griffin Harkonnen dismisses an investigator who failed to find information about Vorian Atreides. When the investigator threatens Griffin over payment, Griffin breaks the man’s wrist, takes his weapon, and decides to follow his own leads.
Griffin goes to the Combined Mercantiles spice-harvesting headquarters and searches disorganized personnel records for Vorian’s name. He has also sent messages to Valya and his family, describing his progress and giving instructions for Harkonnen business affairs on Lankiveil. While Griffin searches, the company reacts to news that a spice crew was ambushed and massacred by armed attackers, giving Griffin brief hope that Vorian may have died, though Griffin knows Valya wants direct Harkonnen vengeance.
Griffin questions a hardened desert woman leaving the headquarters. She refuses a bribe, asks why Griffin wants Vorian, then claims never to have heard of him and leaves with visible unease.
Meanwhile, Vorian lives uneasily among Naib Sharnak’s Freemen. At night, while reflecting on the Freemen’s history and his place among them, Vorian spots two moving figures outside the cave settlement. A dismissive sentry named Elgar ignores Vorian’s warning, but Inulto takes Vorian seriously and brings him to Sharnak.
Before Vorian can fully explain, intruders break into the caves. Andros and Hyla kill Freemen, including Elgar and Inulto, and reveal that they know Vorian as the son of Agamemnon. They call Vorian their brother and accuse him of betraying their father and the Titans, shocking Vorian with the realization that Agamemnon’s old genetic legacy has produced more enhanced children.
Vorian offers to go with Andros and Hyla to spare the Fremen further bloodshed, but Sharnak refuses to surrender him and orders Vorian restrained. The Freemen attack in numbers, suffering heavy losses but eventually driving the twins back through sheer ferocity. After Andros and Hyla escape into the desert, Sharnak demands an explanation from Vorian, who prepares to reveal what he knows about his past and the Titans.
Who Appears
- Vorian AtreidesHiding with Sharnak’s Freemen; attacked by Agamemnon’s enhanced children and forced to explain his past.
- Griffin HarkonnenSearches Arrakis records and contacts for Vorian, driven by family vengeance and duty.
- AndrosEnhanced son of Agamemnon; invades the Freemen caves to capture or judge Vorian.
- HylaEnhanced daughter of Agamemnon; kills Freemen and reveals herself as Vorian’s sibling.
- Naib SharnakFreemen leader who refuses to surrender Vorian and demands answers after the attack.
- InultoYoung Freemen scout who trusts Vorian’s warning and dies attacking Hyla.
- ElgarDismissive Freemen sentry who ignores Vorian’s warning and is killed by the intruders.
- Unnamed desert womanRejects Griffin’s bribe and nervously denies knowing anything about Vorian.