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This article refers to elements from The Dune Encyclopedia Pages for this subject as it appears in other canons: |
Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen (/ˈhɑːrkənən/) (October 10174 AG - December 10193 AG) was the final Na-Baron and later Siridar-Baron of House Harkonnen. The sadistic and charismatic nephew and heir of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, he briefly held dominion over Arrakis and assumed the barony before being killed in a duel with Paul Atreides shortly after the Battle of Arrakeen.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Feyd was the son of Abulurd Harkonnen, part of the Bene Gesserit breeding program. The Bene Gesserit intended to breed him with the daughter of Leto I Atreides and Jessica Atreides, creating the Kwisatz Haderach in the process. The Baron Harkonnen chose Feyd and Rabban to join the House Harkonnen when a Bene Gesserit directive implied one of them one posses the military genius of the Baron's idol Emperor Avelard XVII. The Baron intended to pass the title onto Feyd when he died, training Feyd in man to man combat, including how to kill your training partner. Most importantly of all, Feyd was taught to despise the House Atreides. Feyd-Rautha grew up to be charismatic, sadistic, and vicious, with an unending lust for blood and power.
The Saga of Dune[]
On his seventeenth birthday, Feyd participated in a Gladiator game in the Giedi Prime colosseum. To stroke his own ego, Feyd conspired with the captive Atreides mentat Thufir Hawat to let an undrugged slave enter the ring, intending to provide Feyd with a fair fight. Despite Feyd's confidence, The slave (another captive warrior from House Atreides) came close to killing him, however Feyd was able to emerge victorious, but only by utilising the code word that would freeze him and swapping which blade contained the poison. Feyd was homosexual, only occasionally experimenting with Heterosexuality, notably with Margot Fenring, however this was initiated of Bene Gesserit design and not because Feyd had any wish for sexual contact with a woman. Due to the Baron's conditioning, Feyd hated House Atreides more than anything, exacerbated by jealousy as the Baron possessed a sexual attraction to his grandson Paul Atreides.
Final duel and Death[]
After Muad'Dib (now revealed to be Paul Atreides) gained control of Arrakis and Alia Atreides had killed his uncle, Feyd assumed the title of Siridar Baron of the House Harkonnen. Feyd challenged Paul to a duel to the death. The Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV lended him his blade. Both men had been subject to extensive combat training, with Feyd being trained to employ every ruthless trick available to him. Paul was aware of a code word that would render Feyd immobile but refused to use it, wanting a fair fight. Feyd however did not have this moral scruple, intending to kill Paul with a concealed poisoned needle. The duel reached its climax and Paul used Feyd's needle to immobilise him, driving his own blade through Feyd's brain, killing him.
Gallery[]
.jpg "The Illustrated Dune - Feyd-Rautha fighting Gladiator (art by John Schoenherr).jpg (159 KB)")
.jpg "The Illustrated Dune - Paul defeats Feyd (art by John Schoenherr).jpg (157 KB)")