Feyd-Rautha's Rise and Arena Plot

Dune

Follows the Harkonnen heir through his gladiatorial glory, failed assassination, and final duel with Paul.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

Arena on Giedi Prime

Arena on Giedi Prime Blooded Gladiator Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen kills his hundredth slave-gladiator before Count and Lady Fenring. The crowd is thrilled by his ferocious struggle. Secret Poison Feyd has planned the fight through Thufir Hawat, putting poison on an unexpected blade. He kills the gladiator and seduces the crowds. Imperial Eyes Count Fenring and his Bene Gesserit wife recognize Feyd as a dangerous heir worth watching. His image is fixed as a Harkonnen predator.

Poison Needle Plot

Poison Needle Plot Assassination Attempt Feyd uses a slave boy with a poisoned needle in his thigh to attack the Baron. The Baron, warned by Hawat, survives and kills the slave. Confrontation The Baron forces Feyd to confess and then punishes him by commanding him to kill all the women in the pleasure wing. Feyd bows to power. Bargain The Baron offers a long-term bargain: Feyd will inherit only when the old man retires. They enter a twisted embrace of mutual use.

Baron's Chosen Heir

Baron's Chosen Heir Cutting Away Rabban The Baron plans to use Rabban to squeeze Arrakis, then replace him with Feyd-Rautha. Feyd is the polished savior face. Hawat's Watch Thufir Hawat is assigned to watch Feyd's loyalty, and Feyd knows it. The Mentat becomes a valuable ally and a dangerous leash. Emperor's Distrust The Count and Lady Fenring see Feyd as the future Baron, but also a target for seduction. The Harkonnen line is being shaped from within.

Final Duel with Paul

Final Duel with Paul Kanly Challenge Feyd claims the Atreides-Harkonnen vendetta and demands a duel with Paul. The Emperor sees a chance to still have his enemy killed. Tricks Within Tricks Feyd uses a soporific on the Emperor's blade and a poison needle hidden on his hip. Paul survives both and sees through the stratagem. Death Stroke Paul drives his crysknife under Feyd's jaw, killing him. The Harkonnen heir falls, and with him the strength of House Harkonnen.

Doomed Harkonnen Legacy

Doomed Harkonnen Legacy Extinction Feyd-Rautha's death, following the Baron's death, ends the Harkonnen male line. The family that destroyed Atreides is erased. Historical Curse The Harkonnen name becomes synonymous with brutish ambition in Paul's chronicles. Their blood does survive in Paul himself, a final irony. Shadow of What Might Have Been Lady Fenring sees Feyd as a lost potential breeding instrument. The Bene Gesserit must turn elsewhere for their genetic plans.

Feyd-Rautha's seventeenth birthday

two years after the arena

after the death of Piter de Vries

the day the Emperor surrenders

after the Battle of Arrakeen