Rose of the Prophet

"The Rose of the Prophet" is a trilogy of fantasy novels by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis. Cover art and interior illustrations by Larry Elmore.

The Rose of the Prophet series is set in Sularin, a fictional world ruled by a slate of twenty gods, each a facet of the central god, Sul. In the normal course of events, common to fantasy literature, the values of the gods balance each other out; however, as the series begins, the gods have turned away from the Sul and the world is in peril of falling apart.

The immortals, including the djinn who serve the royalty of the desert nomadic people (and often provide comic relief), have their own struggles as they try to maintain balance between the people they must obey and their master, Akhran, God of the Desert.

On the worldly realm, the wandering God, Akhran, commands two of his nomadic tribes to unite by the marriage of the children of the Sheiks. This is unfortunate, as the two tribes have been warring with each other for as long as memory; the bride must be tied up and gagged to wed the falling-down-drunk groom, and the wedding night notably involves the bride stabbing her would-be husband.

Nonetheless, the people must unite to defeat more sinister forces.

In a somewhat controversial move for the authors, one of the major characters appears to have bisexual tendencies.

The books

The novels were originally published in the United States by Bantam Spectra (the Science-Fiction division of Random House).

The Rose of the Prophet Trilogy

*"Will of the Wanderer" (January 1989)(From back cover) Here is the epic tale of the Great War of the Gods--and the proud people upon whom the fate of the world depends. When the God of the desert, Akhran the Wanderer, declares that two clans must band together despite their centuries old rivalry, their first response is outrage. But they are a devout people and so reluctantly bow to his bidding.Enemies from birth, the headstrong Prince Khardan and impetuous Princess Zohra must unite in marriage to stop Quar, the God of Reality, Greed, and Law, from enslaving their people.But can Khardan and Zohra keep from betraying each other? Can their two peoples maintain their fragile alliance until the long-awaited flowering of the legendary Rose of the Prophet?Against the powerful legions of the evil Amir, Khardan and Zohra fight to save the desert people--a fight unexpectedly joined by an exiled wizard named Mathew and the mysterious powers of his alien land.

*"The Paladin of the Night" (May 1989)(From back cover) The Great War of the Gods means nothing to the proud people on the mortal plane--until Akhran the Wandering God decrees the union of two mighty feuding clans. Thuogh the families are fierce warriors, they are few in number. Even the marriage of Khardan and Zohra is not enough to overpower the strength of the invading army or preveent the imprisonment of their peoples.Now, with Khardan and Zohra mysteriously missing--seeming cowards who hid from certain defeat--the two clans have lost all hope of ever again seeing their beloved open skies.But Prince Khardan and Princess Zohra, aided by the wizard Mathew, have been given another mission...a mission that at first seems less useful than counting the many grains of the desert sands, but soon proves to be of far more lasting importance.

*"The Prophet of Akhran" (September 1989)(From back cover) As the Great War of the Gods rages, it seems as though the terrible Quar, God of Reality, Greed and Law, will emerge the victor. Even the immortals have abandoned their mortal masters to join in the battle above.Trapped without their immortal servants on the shore of the Kurdin Sea, Khardan, Zohra and the wizard Mathew must cross the vast desert known as the Sun's Anvil--a feat no man has ever performed.Like the legendary Rose of the Prophet, the nomads struggle to survive the journey. If they succeed, they will face more than combat with the enemy, for the Amir's hardened warriors are led by Achmed, the fiercest of men...and Khardan's brother.

Main characters of the Rose of the Prophet series

*Abul Qasim Qannadi: "The Amir", General of Quar and King of the city of Kich.
*Achmed: Khardan’s brother and follower of Akhran.
*Auda ibn Jad: Dark Paladin of Zhakrin; slave-trader.
*Feisal: Known as "The Imam", priest of Quar and fanatical mujahideen.
*Khardan: Calif of the horse-herding Akar and son of Sheikh Majiid, prophet of Akhran.
*Mathew: Young wizard and follower of Promenthas.
*Zohra: Daughter of Sheikh Jaafar, of the sheep-herding Hrana, follower of Akhran.

Immortals of the Rose of the Prophet series

*Asrial: Immortal of Promenthas, also Mathew’s guardian angel.
*Fedj: Djinn of Akhran devoted to Jafaar al Widjar, Zohra's father.
*Kaug: Efreet of Quar and main Immortal antagonist.
*Pukah: Djinn of Akhran, Pukah is the young and impetuous servant of Khardan.
*Raja: Djinn of Akhran, he serves Zeid al Saban, Sheykh of the Aran
*Sond: Djinn of Akhran, he serves Majiid al Fakhar, Khardan's father.
*Usti: Djinn of Akhran, he serves Zohra.

The Gods of the Rose of the Prophet series

In Sularin, there are 21 Gods: Sul (the Truth) is the light of truth, and the other 20 are facets of the Truth. The nature of each God is informed by an icosahedral jewel composed of 20 triangular facets the 12 vertices of which represent divine philosophies (Good at the extreme closest to Law, Mercy, Faith, Charity and Patience; then Evil with Greed, Chaos, Impatience, Intolerance, and Reality). This structure creates three categories of God: Good (the five facets with Good at one vertex), Evil (the five facets with Evil at one vertex), and Neutral (the other ten facets).

Many of these Gods seem patterned after Earthly cultures.

*SulThe center of the 20-sided jewel, of which each god is a facet. Also used to mean the Sun, the Universe, the Jewel, and the God of Truth.

*AkhranNomad-God of Chaos, Impatience, and Faith. The series centers on his followers, who live more or less bedouinesque lives. Akhran wears practical riding gear and disdains formality. His realm seems to reflect a blend of Central Asian and Arabian nomadic cultures: his followers play "baigha", which bears a striking resemblance to buzkashi, and drink "qumiz", commonly transliterated kumis (fermented mare's milk), and their language contains basic elements of Persian (e.g., bale = yes, spahi = a kind of horseman), Arabic (e.g., use of the honorifics Hazrat and sidi to refer to respected figures), and more.

*QuarGod of Reality, Greed, and Law. Quar, known occasionally as "the Lawful," wears stereotypical and ornate garb of a burnoose and silk turban. The main antagonist of Akhran. Can be analogized to "Babylon" per the Judaic tradition, with the connotation of moral and physical and material corruption.

*PromenthasGod of Goodness, Charity, and Faith. Promenthas shares similarities with a standard Roman Catholic image of God: white beard, cassock and surplice, and hosts of angels and archangels. One of the few Gods to encourage independence and study of the natural world by limiting personal contact with divine entities (such as Immortals).

*ZhakrinGod of Evil, Intolerance, and Reality. Seems to be killed by Evren at the beginning of "Will of the Wanderer."

*EvrenGoddess of Goodness, Charity, and Faith. Seems to die from exhaustion (from killing Zhakrin) at the beginning of "Will of the Wanderer."

*Benario"The Thief" God of Faith, Chaos and Greed.

*KharmaniWealth-God of Faith, Mercy, and Greed.

*HammahWarrior-God (attributes unknown) who wears animal skins and a horned metal helmet.

*ShistarGod (attributes unknown) who sits in a tea-garden surrounded by cherry trees.

*Chu-linMeditative God (attributes unknown)

*HurishtaUnderwater Goddess (attributes unknown) of the seas. Sailors throw golden rings into the sea as sacrifices to her; dolphins are considered her daughters and sharks her sons. She and Inthaban feud and their fights cause storms, according to superstitious sailors.

*InthabanWater-God (attributes unknown) of distant seas. Sailors throw iron rings into the sea in order to appease him and his "sons," whales, so that he might not grow jealous of their treatment of Hurishta.

*AstafasDemon-God of Evil (other attributes unknown), an enemy to Promenthas.

*MimrimGoddess of the Ravenchai who lives on a cloudy mountain.

*UevinLaw, Patience and Reality. God who ruled the Bas. Bas live like ancient Romans. Focus on politics and technology.