𝐲𝐮𝐚𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐧 ⁀➴ paul atreides

prelude

Power over Spice is power over all.

But with power must come responsibility and the right mindset to make decisions.

Or else everything goes to the head... and no one can keep you grounded.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ⟡ 🌑 ⟡ ˚｡ ･ ───

"Imperial Diary. Year 10,191. Third comment."

Harkonnen soldiers stand in front of a pile of bodies, using flamethrowers to lay waste to the enemies they've killed.

"The battle for Arrakis took everyone by surprise."

There's not just one pile, but five. Each with hundreds of bodies piled one after the other. And the Harkonnens watch their corpses burn, fueling the fire and causing a rise of smoke to climb into the sky, a testament that they've won.

For now.

"There were no witnesses. The Harkonnen operation was perpetrated overnight, without warning or declaration of war."

The crest of House Atreides begins to melt under the heat of the flames, signifying the end of such a powerful family.

But with fires must come a phoenix. And the Atreides symbol... is a bird, after all.

"By morning, the Atreides were no more."

The bodies lie smoking as the fires die down, making sure any who survived, or were nearing their death, had died.

"All died in the dark."

A lush tree filters light through the branches and leaves, casting a beautiful glow on the land, and the tree itself is magnificent.

A woman taps a piece on a chessboard, taking her opponent's piece and replacing it with her own.

She looks up, at an old man who doesn't even look at her, lost in thought.

His gaze is blank, void of emotion.

"And the Emperor said... nothing. Since that night, my father has not been the same."

The Emperor's daughter, Irulan, looks up at her father, studying his gaze, and deep down, she's concerned while she doesn't show it.

"Nor have I."

She now sits in her room, documenting the events.

"His inaction is difficult for me to accept."

A painting lies on the ground, burning. And in it's center, is a portrait of the late and wonderful Duke Leto.

A man of peace.

A man who's death was held in honor for those who could have seen what he did.

"For I know he loved Duke Leto Atreides like a son."

Harkonnen soldiers swiftly move a fist to their chests before setting them down. Rabban stands before them, and a chain is placed around his neck like a robe, a symbol of a new era.

"But my father's always been guided by the calculus of power."

The Baron backs away before he is lifted up and carried away by some floating, circular machines.

"This would not be the first time the Harkonnens have done his dirty work."

Rabban grunts out something, and the soldiers reciprocate, a fist up in respect to their disappearing leader.

"It has come to my attention that there has been an alliance with another planet between the Atreides. And as such, this has proven to show that they have fallen."

Irulan pauses before continuing. "The daughter and the son are dead."

"In the shadows of Arrakis lie many secrets..." she says into the microphone, her gaze blank as she dictates, "but the darkest of them all may remain."

"The end of House Atreides... and the (L/N)s."