High Prince

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This is an article about a fictional position. See Grand Prince for the article about a real position.

High Prince is a fictional title given to the ruling Prince of the Continent in Melanie Rawn's fantasy novels of the Dragon Prince and Dragon Star trilogies.

The High Prince governs the Princes of the Desert, Cunaxa, Dorval, Syr, Gilad, Ossetia, Meadowlord, Grib, Kierst/Isel, Fessenden, and Firon from his seat in Princemarch, the center-most princedom on the Continent. The colors of Princemarch are violet and gold, and its banner is of a leaping brown deer on violet bordered in gold. In the Old Tongue the High Prince's title is Kir'rei.

The Lord or Lady of Goddess Keep is the only person who does not bow to the High Prince. They are held in relatively the same esteem, though the Lord or Lady must abide by the laws of the Continent and thus the High Prince. Also, Goddess Keep is held of the High Prince; in other words should the Lord/Lady or his/her faradh'im overstep their bounds or oaths, the High Prince can take Goddess Keep from them.

The female equivalent of the High Prince is High Princess. She is the wife of the High Prince and can share his power. In the Old Tongue she is the Kir'reia.

[edit] High Prince's Writ

The High Prince's Writ was the title given to the standardized laws crafted by High Prince Rohan. It was the highest law of the Continent and granted immense power to the High Prince. The beauty of the High Prince's Writ was that the High Prince seldom had to put it to use as the Writ was merely the overrulling form of legal codes already in place and enforced by each princedom. Among other things, the Writ established boundaries between the princedoms of the Continent. At the Rialla all of the Princes agreed upon the boundaries of their lands in order to ensure a peaceful and accepted transition.

Medr'im were established groups of five (medri means five in the Old Tongue) soldiers travelling the Continent in order to keep the peace. The Medr'im were made up of younger sons, who had been trained at Remagev under Walvis. Instead of living listless lives, these younger sons were now able to become extensions of the High Prince. It should be noted that at first these Merd'im only travelled the Desert as they had been created for the benefit of younger sons, not for the purpose of imposing the High Prince's law upon every princedom. As the idea and word of the usefulness of the Merd'im spread, other princedoms opened their borders to them.