Farad'n Corrino/XD

Prince Farad'n Corrino, also known by his pen name Harq al-Ada, was the son of Dalak Fenring and Wensicia Corrino, and the grandson of the deposed Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV. He was best remembered as being the official scribe of the Atreides Empire, and the exclusive concubine to Padishah Empress Ghanima Atreides.

Death of Dalak
Farad'n was born and raised on Salusa Secundus, the home of the dethroned House. Before Farad'n even reached the age of toddlerhood, the deposed Emperor grew tired and hated the child's father, Dalak. When Shaddam discovered that Dalak had been pawning priceless Corrino heirlooms off-world, Wensicia shot Dalak with a pistol and killed him. Wensicia, and the rest of the Corrino family kept the murder a secret, and later told Farad'n that his father had died valiantly protecting the family from dangerous Laza tigers.

Wensicia and Tyekanik
Wensicia, a domineering and ambitious mother, was intent on using her talented son to reclaim the Golden Lion Throne, pushed him hard in his education. By the time he had reached adolescence, Farad'n's relationship with his mother was strained and difficult.

Farad'n's upbringing involved training in Sardaukar ways. His principal instructor was Tyekanik, a Sardaukar Bashar/XD. The Sardaukar hoped that Farad'n would be the one to restore them to glory, despite his tendency for bookishness and philosophical introspection. Indeed for most of his adolescence and young adulthood, Farad'n had preferred to spend most of his time on his own hobbies and personal pursuits. He studied law and government, as well as philosophy. He studied Atreides law closely, in the hopes of learning how they managed to defeat the Corrinos.

Trained by Lady Jessica
Farad'n was also trained briefly in the Bene Gesserit ways by the Lady Jessica. It appeared that Jessica managed to reach the young man and develop his potential in ways his own mother had not. Jessica's mode of teaching helped to draw contrasts with his mother, whom Farad'n increasingly saw as a hindrance to his ascendancy to statesmanship, and not an advantage. Jessica's teachings allowed Farad'n to conclude that his mother's schemes to ascend him to the imperial throne were ham-fisted, clumsy, short-sighted and distasteful. This is evidenced by his expression of anger and disgust when learning of his mother's plot to kill the Atreides twins Leto II and Ghanima using Laza tigers.

Role in the Atreides Empire
Despite his mother's best efforts, Farad'n possessed none of the ambition, vindictiveness or desire for vengeance inherent in his mother. As a result, he refused to cooperate with her plans, and had her banished to an isolated area of Salusa Secundus. Consequently, through the Lady Jessica's teachings in the Bene Gesserit ways Farad'n found himself an integral part of Leto II's Golden Path. He was designated the exclusive concubine of Ghanima Atreides, so that both noble bloodlines could be merged to seed future generations, and so that the obedience of the Sardaukar, who remained loyal to House Corrino, could be assured.

Farad'n became the official scribe of the Atreides Empire, writing under the pen name given to him by Leto, Harq al-Ada, meaning 'the one who changes customs' in Arabic.

Behind the Scenes
Farad'n Corrino was portrayed by actor Jonathan Bruun in the 2003 Sci-Fi Channel miniseries Children of Dune.