"The Martyr of the Roses" is a short story written by Jacqueline Carey. Originally written and inspired by a dream in the mid-1990s, the story formed the beginnings of the theology and world that became the Kushiel's Legacy series. It was published in 2013 in Unfettered: New Tales by the Masters of Modern Fantasy, a fantasy anthology organized and edited by Shawn Speakman.
"The Martyr of the Roses" takes place several hundred years after Kushiel's Dart. By the time it was published, it no longer fit within the canon of the series. Notably Chrétien L'Envers, a member of House L'Envers, is the Dauphin, whereas the throne is held by House Courcel in all other entries in the series.
Characters[]
Chrétien L'Envers—Dauphin of Terre d'Ange
Rikard "Riko" Drozhny—son of the Governor of St. Sithonia and close friend of the Dauphin
Miodrag—cobbler's son
Governor of St. Sithonia—father of Rikard Drozhny
Janos Vraalkan—Prince-Protectorate of Vralia
Concepts later used in Kushiel's Legacy[]
As the precursor to what would become the Kushiel's Legacy series, "The Martyr of the Roses" introduces a number of concepts and characters that later resurfaced in the series:
- Locations
- Characters
- Tadeusz Vral, spelled Tadeuz Vral in Kushiel's Legacy
- Elua and his Companions
- Other
- University of Tiberium
- House L'Envers
- Vralings, and the Vralsturm specifically
- The saying "Blessed Elua cared naught for thrones, nor for mortal politics," made famous by Melisande Shahrizai in Kushiel's Legacy