Sunrunner

Sunrunner is a fictional title created by author Melanie Rawn for her novels of the Dragon Prince and Dragon Star trilogies.

Sunrunners, or faradh'im , are people who are able to use the Sun, and Moon, for communication and spellcasting. They weave the light with their thoughts, which are represented by coloured gemstones. Each faradhi has a unique colour pattern, and the gemstones representing a faradhi 's colours often symbolize facets of the person's character. For a list of gems and their meanings please refer to Melanie Rawn's Jewel Symbology page.

Sunrunners are the impartial mediators of the Continent and the quickest form of communication. They communicate with each other all over the world, keeping families in contact, Princes and Lords aware of political happenings, and performing ceremonies - such as Namings, Choosings, or Burnings - as needed. Sunrunners are forbidden to participate in battle lest it is to save their own lives, to take sides in a debate, and most importantly they are forbidden to use their gifts to kill. Faradhi oaths also include a vow of silence to ensure the trust of Sunrunner messengers. These limitations enable the rest of the Continent to accept and even welcome Sunrunners to their courts and into their lives.

Sunrunners are trained at Goddess Keep. As they train, they are tested to determine their rank. With each rank a Sunrunner earns a faradhi ring. There are ten ranks, the highest being the Lord or Lady of Goddess Keep, who governs all Sunrunners.

Abilities

Sunrunning

Every person is made up of colours and shadows. Each person has a unique colour pattern, which, for faradh'im, defines them more completely than their names. These colours are the person's mind and soul; if they are lost, the person dies, forever in darkness.

Faradh'im can touch these colours and weave them into what only they - and diarmadh'im - can see: the light. They use their colours to weave themselves into the strands of sunlight and/or moonlight. As they weave into the light, they can travel over great distances, viewing the land below as if they were flying. Starlight, thought inaccessible by many, is forbidden to Sunrunners.

To communicate, a Sunrunner weaves light and travels to another Sunrunner. The approaching faradhi gently brushes the other with his or her colours, so as not to intrude. The receiving faradhi usually weaves his/her own colours around the others and the two speak as their minds are essentially woven together. Powerful and/or well trained Sunrunners can also view images of memory from another's mind. In less polite circumstances they can pull memories forward, force their presence on others, and even seize minds in order to use those faradh'im 's powers to augment their own. Another person can also be used as a vessel from which a faradhi can see and hear the activity around the other person.

Faradh'im can create a large weaving by adding their colours and power together. Usually one Sunrunner acts as the focal point of every mind and controls the weaving. Only very skilled Sunrunners - traditionally only the Lord or Lady of Goddess Keep - can weave many minds together and keep each unique colour pattern straight in their own mind. If the focal Sunrunner were to lose track of a colour pattern, that mind would be lost on the light.

Being Shadow-lost is a Sunrunner's greatest fear. Shadow-lost is the term given to a Sunrunner who was Sunrunning and failed to make it back to his or her body before the sun's rays disappeared. In essence the soul is lost to the Dark Waters with the setting sun. The faradhi 's mind unravels in darkness and his or her colors are scattered and forgotten. The Sunrunner's body fades and eventually dies without the mind and soul.

If the mind begins to fray or is lost in shadows, a sharp pain slices through the skull. The person feels as if a part of them is missing; the mind tries to reach out to its missing pieces, but it cannot as it is no longer whole. The bright colours that normally swirl around a faradhi become dark as the shadows of his or her own mind encroach, ready to consume the mind. Physically the person begins to shake wildly, their heart races, and pain shoots through bones and especially the head.

A mind not entirely lost can be retrieved if its colours are known by others. The process of filtering out the shadows, unweaving the wrong colors, and sorting the lost faradhi 's colouring into their proper order is difficult work. It is painful for the fading faradhi as the colours around him/her feel like needles stabbing into the brain until (and if) the right pattern is restored.

Weaknesses

Crossing water and being pierced by iron while casting are Sunrunners' two major weaknesses. All full Sunrunners get violently ill when faced with having to cross a body of water (i.e. rivers, lakes, and especially the ocean), though a 'cure', with a heavy price, for this has been found in the drug dranath. If a faradhi must cross water they lose their stomachs and their consciousness. The Sunrunners remain insensible after they've been returned to land, the duration of their sorry state dependent on the water crossing's violence and expanse. As the Sunrunners wake their vision is often skewed or blurry.

If a faradhi is pierced by iron while casting, they will die. This was the main reason for the tradition forbidding Sunrunners from participating in battle and using their gifts to kill. If the iron is removed from the Sunrunner quickly enough and the wound is not fatal, it is possible for the Sunrunner to survive, though he or she will have experienced a great, mind-numbing pain and will be very weak for a time afterward.

Faradhi Rings

Faradhi rings signify a Sunrunner's rank and skills. They are worn proudly, though in ancient times (and by the Vellant'im) the rings were collected as trophies after a Sunrunner was slain. In order to protect themselves from the diarmadh'im, ancient Sunrunners cast their rings from a special metal that would burn a diarmadhi wearing the rings in warning if he or she was in the presence of sorcery; however, if the wearer of the rings cast a sorcerer's spell the rings would only tingle "as if in protest."

Traditional Rings

Ring Changes

Goddess Keep

Goddess Keep is the home of the Sunrunners. It is where most reside and all - until the recent times of Sunrunner Lords - are trained. Most children are sent to Goddess Keep between the ages of eleven and thirteen, their parents having noticed an oddity about them, or a distractedness. If the child does in fact possess the skill to be a Sunrunner he or she is trained. If not, then there are servant, guard, or steward positions available within the Keep.

The Keep itself is located on the coast of Ossetia. Ancient Sunrunners (Merisel, Gerik, and Rosseyn) built Goddess Keep after they left their isolated home on Dorval. Their choice was an odd one for Sunrunners as this part of Ossetia was fog bond through the winter months. Near the Keep is a small grove and a pond in which various rituals are conducted.

Hierarchy

Rituals/Traditions

Known Faradh'im

Here is a list of known faradh'im. Some powerful Sunrunners, such as Urival and Torien, were actually diarmadh'im and thus not on this list. For a complete list of characters please refer to Melanie Rawn's official site.