• Cunaxa — orange
  • Merida ~ brown/yellow
• The Desert — blue (banner ~ gold dragon on blue field)
  • Tuath — desert blue/orange
  • Tiglath — desert blue/golden yellow
  • Skybowl — desert blue/brown
  • Feruche — desert blue/black
  • Elktrap Manor — desert blue/green
  • Remagev — desert blue/white
  • Radzyn Keep — red/white (banner ~ red field bound in white, silver sword on red field-entire thing bound in desert blue)
• Dorval — pale blue (banner ~ white ship on blue field)
• Fessenden — sea green (banner ~ silver fleece on green field)
• Firon — black (banner ~ red seashell edged in gold on black field)
  • Snowcoves — white/pale yellow
• Gilad — blushing pink (banner ~ 3 silver moons on pink field)
• Goddess Keep — white
• Grib — red (banner ~ white candle on red field)
  • River Ussh — red/brown
  • Waes — red/yellow
• Kierst / Isel — scarlet/yellow (banner ~ scarlet bordered in yellow with silver flasks outlined in black)
• Meadowlord — light green (banner ~ leaping black deer on green field)
• Ossetia — dark green (banner ~ golden wheat sheaf on green field)
• Princemarch — violet (banner ~ violet bordered in gold with leaping brown deer)
  • Dragon’s Rest — violet/white (banner ~ white wreath on violet field)
  • Castle Crag — violet/blue
  • Einar — orange/yellow
• Syr — turquoise (banner ~ silver apple on turquoise field)

Tags: Dragon Prince, Dragon Star, Melanie Rawn, Places

The Continent is the main setting of the Dragon Prince/Dragon Star series by Melanie Rawn. Divided into thirteen princedoms, the Continent is ruled by the High Prince from the princedom of Princemarch (during the time of High Prince Rohan it was ruled from the Desert keep of Stronghold). The princedoms are ruled by individual princes, who have the responsibility of ruling their own Athr’im (or Lords). The nobility of the keeps and cities ensures the prosperity, security and well-being of their peoples. Once every three years, they meet at a conference known as the Rialla. During the Rialla treaties, trade agreements, and marriages are made in order to keep peace, deepen alliances and familial ties, and to fulfill their obligations as the rulers of the continent.

The 13 princedoms, in alphabetical order, are:

• Cunaxa
• The Desert
• Dorval
• Fessenden
• Firon
• Gilad
• Grib
• Isel
• Kierst
• Meadowlord
• Ossetia
• Princemarch
• Syr

Integral to Melanie Rawn’s world is Goddess Keep, the home of the Sunrunners and ruled by the Lord or Lady of Goddess Keep, which is located in Ossetia (though it doesn’t fall under the jurisdiction of Ossetia’s rule). It is held of the High Prince.

{Map by Marty Siegrist}

Tags: Dragon Prince, Dragon Star, Melanie Rawn, Places

from the back cover ~

With her widely acclaimed fantasy trilogy, DRAGON PRINCE, Melanie Rawn opened an enchanted gateway to a spellbinding universe of Sunrunner’s magic and sorcerous evil, telling the tale of one man’s crusade to bring peace to a land divided into often warring kingdoms. In the first two novels of the best-selling DRAGON STAR trilogy, the peaceful reign of High Prince Rohan was shattered by a mysterious invasion force which began a devastating campaign against the people of the Desert and the Sunrunners. And now, SKYBOWL brings this magnificent epic work of fantasy to its dramatic close.

With High Prince Pol’s wife Meiglan held prisoner by the Warlord of the enemy, and Skybowl keep purposefully abandoned to this deadly foe, Pol’s mother Sioned leads a daring mission into the castle, using all her years of experience as High Princess in a cunning attempt to strike at the heart of the invasion force. And even as Sioned carries out this perilous plan, Pol and his cousin Andry, Lord of the Sunrunners of Goddess Keep, are forced into an uneasy alliance. For only if they can overcome their longtime rivalry and suspicions of one another and draw upon their combined powers of Sunrunning and Sorcery, do they stand any chance of defeating the invaders who have sworn to destroy the people of the Desert–down to the last newborn child….

First Printing: 1993

Cover art by Michael Whelan

Tags: Dragon Star, Melanie Rawn, Skybowl

from the back cover ~

A Time To Fight–

With her best-selling fantasy trilogy, DRAGON PRINCE, Melanie Rawn introduced us to Sunrunner’s magic and sorcerous evil, to a ruler striving to bring peace to warring kingdoms–and to her magnificent dragons.

In STRONGHOLD, the first novel in Melanie’s DRAGON STAR trilogy, the peace won by High Prince Rohan is shattered when a mysterious invasion force begins a devastating campaign against the people of the Desert.

Now, in THE DRAGON TOKEN, the time for retreat has come to an end as Rohan’s son and heir, Pol, rallies his forces in a desperate bid to halt the advance of the invaders. But ancient rivalries begin to weaken his alliance and only time will tell whether those loyal to the High Prince can defeat both the foreign invaders and the betrayers in their own ranks.

And even as Pol leads his troops forth, Andry, the Sunrunner Lord of Goddess Keep, is also determined to take the attack to this enemy force which has sworn to slay all workers of magic.

Yet the invaders have their own agenda of conquest, and they are even now readying to strike at the very heart of the Desert, stealing treasures which Pol and Andry would pay any price to reclaim–even if the price should prove to be their own lives….

First Printing: 1992

Cover art by Michael Whelan

Tags: Dragon Star, Dragon Token, Melanie Rawn

from the back cover ~

The Land in Flames!

With her wide her widely acclaimed, best-selling fantasy trilogy, DRAGON PRINCE, Melanie Rawn opened an enchanted gateway to a spellbound universe of Sunrunner’s magic and sorcerous evil, of a ruler fighting to bring peace to a world of warring kingdoms, and of the dragons–deadly dangerous yet holding the secret to wealth beyond imagining.

Now, in STRONGHOLD, the first novel of Melanie’s new DRAGON STAR trilogy, there is a devastating new challenge to the power of both the High Prince Rohan and Andry, Lord of the Sunrunners at Goddess Keep, as a mysterious and seemingly unstoppable invasion force swarms across their lands. For Andry, it signals the start of a nightmare made real, the horrifying fulfillment of his long ago visions of his homeland in flames, and he will draw upon even the forbidden sorcerer’s magic in an attempt to destroy this enemy which is bent on the extermination of all Sunrunners.

Rohan and his son Pol will also fight the enemy with every weapon at their command–from their valiant warriors, to conjurations with sun, moons, and stars, to the terrifying presence of the dragons, to the unforgiving wrath of the Desert itself. Yet soon they begin to fear that this invasion may prove not only the end of their dream of an unbreakable peace but the beginning of the end of their entire world….

First Printing: 1990

Cover art by Michael Whelan

Tags: Dragon Star, Melanie Rawn, Stronghold

Fantasy author Melanie Rawn, born in 1954, attended Scripps College where she received her B.A. in history. Prior to becoming a writer she worked as both an editor and teacher.

Her writing has earned her nominations for the Locus Award on three occasions:

• 1989 – Dragon Prince – First Novel category
• 1994 – Skybowl – Fantasy Novel category
• 1995 – Ruins of Ambrai – Fantasy Novel category

She also was nominated for the World’s Fantasy Best Novel in 1997 for The Golden Key. Currently, she lives outside Los Angeles.

Here at ImagineDome, I’ll be focusing on the Dragon Prince and Dragon Star trilogies.

Dragon Prince trilogy Dragon Prince 1988 The Star Scroll, 1989 Sunrunner’s Fire, 1990

Dragon Star trilogy Stronghold, 1991 The Dragon Token, 1993 Skybowl, 1994

Relevant Links:

• EXILES: The Official Melanie Rawn website
• Interview with Melanie

Tags: Author Bio, Dragon Prince, Dragon Star, Melanie Rawn