Kushiel's Scion is the first novel of the Imriel Trilogy. It concerns Imriel nó Montrève de la Courcel's journey as he grows up and has to deal with his past as a slave in Drujan, the legacy of his parents Benedicte de la Courcel and Melisande Shahrizai de la Courcel and coming into his own as a Prince of the Blood and scion of House Courcel The novel starts when Imriel is fourteen; it ends when he is eighteen.
Publisher's summary[]
Imriel de la Courcel's birth parents are history's most reviled traitors, but his adoptive parents, the Comtesse Phèdre and the warrior-priest Joscelin, are Terre d'Ange's greatest champions.
Stolen, tortured and enslaved as a young boy, Imriel is now a Prince of the Blood; third in line for the throne in a land that revels in art, beauty and desire. It is a court steeped in deeply laid conspiracies—and there are many who would see the young prince dead. Some despise him out of hatred for his mother, Melisande, who nearly destroyed the entire realm in her quest for power. Others because they fear he has inherited his mother's irresistible allure—and her dangerous gifts.
As he comes of age, plagued by unwanted desires, Imriel shares their fears. When a simple act of friendship traps Imriel in a besieged city where the infamous Melisande is worshiped as a goddess and where a dead man leads an army, the Prince must face his greatest test: to find his true self.
Cover gallery[]
Characters[]
Montrève's Household
Phèdre nó Delaunay de Montrève—Comtesse de Montrève
Joscelin Verreuil— Phèdre's consort; Cassiline Brother (Siovale)
Imriel nó Montrève de la Courcel— Phèdre's foster son (also member of the Royal family)
Ti-Philippe—chevalier
Hugues, Gilot, Marcel— men-at-arms
Eugènie— mistress of the household, townhouse
Clory—niece of Eugenie
Benoit—stable-lad, townhouse
Purnell and Richeline Friote—seneschal's of Montrève
Charles, Katherine, Denis Friote—seneschal's children
Ronald Agout—falconer
Artus Labbé—kennel master
Members of the D'Angeline Royal Family
Ysandre de la Courcel—Queen of Terre d'Ange; wed to Drustan mab Necthana
Sidonie de la Courcel—elder daughter of Ysandre; heir to Terre d'Ange
Alais de la Courcel—younger daughter of Ysandre
Imriel nó Montrève de la Courcel— cousin; son of Benedicte de la Courcel (deceased) and Melisande Shahrizai
Barquiel L'Envers—uncle of Ysandre; Royal Commander; Duc L'Envers (Namarre)
House Shahrizai
Melisande Shahrizai—mother of Imriel; wed to Benedicte de la Courcel (deceased)
Faragon Shahrizai—Duc de Shahrizai
Mavros, Roshana, Baptiste Shahrizai—cousins of Imriel
Members of the Royal Court
Ghislain nó Trevalion—noble, son of Percy de Somerville (deceased)
Bernadette de Trevalion—noble, wed to Ghislain, sister of Baudoin (deceased)
Bertran de Trevalion—son of Ghislain and Bernadette
Amaury Trente—noble, former Commander of the Queen's Guard
Julien and Colette Trente—children of Amaury
Marguerite Grosmaine—daughter of the Secretary of the Presence
Nicola L'Envers y Aragon—cousin of Queen Ysandre; wed to Ramiro Zornín de Aragon
Raul L'Envers y Aragon—son of Nicola and Ramiro
The Night Court
Nathalie nó Balm—Dowayne of Balm House
Emmeline nó Balm—adept of Balm House
Didier Vascon—Dowayne of Valerian House
Sephira—adept of Valerian House
Alba
Drustan mab Necthana—Cruarch of Alba, wed to Ysandre de la Courcel
Necthana—mother of Drustan
Breidaia—sister of Drustan, daughter of Necthana
Talorcan—son of Breidaia
Dorelei—daughter of Breidaia
Sibeal—sister of Drustan, daughter of Necthana, wed to Hyacinthe
Hyacinthe—Master of the Straits, wed to Sibeal
Grainne mac Conor—Lady of the Dalriada
Eamonn mac Grainne—son of Grainne and Quintilius Rousse
Tiberium
Master Piero di Bonci—teacher of philosophy
Lucius Tadius, Aulus, Brigitta, Akil, Vernus—students of Master Piero
Deccus Fulvius—senator
Claudia Fulvia—wife of Deccus; sister of Lucius
Anna Marzoni—widow
Belinda Marzoni—daughter of Anna
Canis—beggar
Master Strozzi—teacher of rhetoric
Master Ambrosius—incense-maker
Erytheia of Thrasos—painter
Silvio—assistant to Erytheia of Thrasos
Denise Fleurais—D'Angeline ambassadress in Tiberium
Ruggero Caccini—ruffian commander
Priest of Asclepius
Titus Maximus—princeps of Tiberium
Oppius da Lippi—captain of the Aeolia
Lucca
Publius Tadius—father of Lucius
Beatrice Tadia—mother of Lucius
Gallus Tadius (deceased)— great-grandfather of Lucius
Gaetano Correggio—Prince of Lucca
Dacia Correggio—wife of Gaetano
Helena Correggio—daughter of Gaetano and Dacia
Bartolomeo Ponzi—enamored of Helena
Domenico Martelli—Duke of Valpetra
Silvanus the Younger—commander of Valpetra's mercenary company
Arturo—captain of the Luccan guard
Orfeo, Pollio, Calvino, Matius, Adolpho, Baldessare, Constantin—soldiers in the Red Scourge
Quentin LeClerc—captain of the D'Angeline embassy guard
Rommuald—soldier in the D'Angeline embassy guard
Marcus Cornelius—commander of the Tiberian contingent
Others
Maslin of Lombelon— unacknowledged son of Isidore d'Aiglemort (deceased)
Lelahiah Valais—Queen Ysandre's chirurgeon
Emile—proprietor of the Cockerel
Quintilius Rousse—Royal Admiral
Favrielle no Eglantine—couturiere
Bérèngere of Namarre—head of Naamah's Order
Amarante of Namarre—daughter of Bérèngere
Brother Selbert—chief priest in the Sanctuary of Elua (Siovale)
Gilles Lamiz—Queen's Poet
Roxanne de Mereliot—Lady of Marsilikos (Eisande)
Gerard and Jeanne de Mereliot—children of Roxanne (Eisande)
Historical Figures
Baudoin de Trevalion (deceased)—cousin of Queen Ysandre; executed for treason
Isidore d'Aiglemort (deceased)—noble; traitor turned hero (Camlach)
Thelesis de Mornay (deceased)—Queen's Poet
Waldemar Selig (deceased)—Skaldia warlord; invaded Terre d'Ange
Fadil Chouma (deceased)—Menekhetan slaver
The Mahrkagir (deceased)—mad ruler of Drujan; lord of Daršanga
Drucilla (deceased)—Tiberian prisoner in Daršanga; chirurgeon
Kaneka—Jebean prisoner in Daršanga
Jagun (deceased)—chief of the Kereyit Tatars
Ras Lijasu—Prince of Meroë in Jebe-Barkal
Chapter Summaries[]
References[]
Novels of the trilogies | |||||||||||||
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