In the year 10175, on the planet Caladan, in the noble house Atreides, you could hear the wails of a woman as she cried for her child.
Lady Jessica had given birth to two healthy boys. One was named Paul, the oldest, and the younger, Damon. Her youngest son had vanished in the night as she slept. After she had woken up after a long and tedious labor, she heard the news from the young Duke Leto I.
Lady Jessica was concubine to the duke, and she had given him two heirs for the seat of House Atreides, but now one remained while the other was missing. The Duke's eyes were red with anger as he held his wife tightly. She hit his chest over and over, crying to him for help, but what could he do?
He couldn't accuse the Harkonans of this; he had no proof, and such claims could be dangerous. He knew what was coming. The great house would mock him for his accusations, and he had to maintain a strong front. No weakness was allowed when you were the head of a great house. He consoled her and made her look to Paul so that she could love him and cherish him. Days passed, and she did that; her eyes were puffy as she looked at the windows in the hall.
Outside, rain fell on the windows, making a beautiful song; you share my sorrow. She thought. The cries of Paul were heard, and the midwife came carrying the child to Lady Jessica; her name was Janet, and she recognized that postpartum depression was a sure thing to happen if she did not bring Paul around his mother at all times.
The midwife would wash the young heir, and she would feed him, but when he cried for his mother, she would bring the boy to the mother; it was the way of house Atreides and many others except the Harkonanns; they would let the child cry and at times kill the mother.
Lady Jessica grabbed Paul in her arms and met his—lime eyes—a feature well-known in the Atreides line. Her husband, Duke Leto, thought himself invisible to her when he hid in the corner by the wall. However, Lady Jessica turned to him and said, " I was Trained from a young age by the Bene Gesserit. My lord." She addressed him as such because she was in the presence of the midwife. And it was considered public.
One look from the Duke and the midwife left.
" I know," Leto said. Looking into the eyes of the woman he loved, he saw only a need for an answer. ' Tell me you found him, please tell me,' she thought. He gave no answer, at least not one she wanted and cared for.
Paul, who was in her embrace, made noise to garner their attention. Leto came closer to the babe and attempted to kiss the belly of the child, but the young Paul brought his hands together, grabbed a good size of his father's dark beard, and pulled with all his might.
Leto was in pain from the pulling, but the young Paul only laughed at his antics. This earned a smile and then laughter from both of them. Yes, they lost a child, and for a moment, they thought all was lost, but in Paul, they saw hope. They saw themselves in him.
The cries of a babe were heard in the vast deserts of Arrakis also known by the ancient name of Dune. It was dark; the twin suns had gone down on the harsh planet, and the Harkonans had also returned to Arrakeen.
The desert was vast, and the chances of a man finding the babe were nil, but on this particular day, an elderly woman wore her stillsuit. She was one of the greatest warriors the Fremen had in their ranks, but now she had no purpose, so she decided to walk in the desert and return to her Ancestors.
As she walked through the desert, she heard the cries of a babe. She thought to herself, "Have the Harkonens become so desperate for our lifeblood that they use children?" but this was different. The cries carried an emotion with them.
Her motherly instinct kicked in, and she came to the cries. It did not matter if she died; they would be doing her a favor. She climbed over a small dune and saw the twin moons, Krelin and Arvon.
On the sandy and cold desert floor lay a baby wrapped in a silk blanket, with a red hawk on a green field—the symbol of House Atreides. The elderly Fremen woman looked at the baby and spoke in the Fremen Tongue " What are you doing over here?" she asked.
She looked at the child and saw his eyes. They were not blue like the Fremen; no, the child had a white sclera like the outsiders.
She drew her blade, intending to kill the child. However, instead of showing fear, the child laughed. She had always longed for a baby; now, the ancestors had blessed her with one. She gazed up at the moon and named the child Krelln, a mighty Fremen name.
She grabbed the child, walked through the cold desert, and went into the mountains, bringing the child with her. Many Fremen looked at her, confused. Lokam was holding a baby in her hands. Many of them stood there in their Stillsuits, their blue eyes like a glow in the dark.
But this did not intimidate her. She walked into the caverns and went to the medical wing to check the health of the child.
"Lokam, what are you doing here? Don't tell me you stole a child from their mother?" a Fremen woman said, earning a laugh from others around her, but the elderly woman only looked at the younger ones around her. " From this day on, you will feed my son Krelln. Do you understand?"
Lokam's voice was cold and unaffectionate as she handed the boy over to the girl. There was no room for joking or any levity. Lokam was a respected warrior in the caverns, and news of her actions spread far and wide, eventually reaching the elders of the Fremen, who were at the top of the hierarchy.
One of them was her husband. She planned to die on this day without telling him of the plan. Her husband came home immediately. He walked into the house, which was just a cube room with everything they needed. Everything was Spartan with the Fremens, and you only had what you needed.
"I heard that you brought a child with you," Rohan said calmly. "The Ancestors blessed us with a son, and I will happily accept their gift," Lokam replied with a smile on her face.
"You being rash, my love. I know you have desired a child, but this is going too far. you have stolen this child from its mother, and I will return it to where it belongs."
" you will do no such thing." Lokam snapped, "You will not give that child to the desert; the Ancestors have delivered this child to me in the night in front of Krelln and Arvon. What would have happened if the child had been given during the day? The sandworms would have eaten him as he cried for me.
they have guided me to the boy, and you will help me raise him." Fremen could not cry, but when Rohan looked at his wife, he knew she wanted to cry, but it would cost her the loss of moisture.
" I have hurt you enough, my love; if this truly will bring you happiness, I will do everything I can to grant your wish." He caressed her cheeks and kissed her lips. His bushy grey beard came in the way, but their lips met.
" what will you call him?" Rohan asked. " I named him Krelln