TITLE

GENESIS

STATUS
NEW PLOT / 2024

FUTURE
might be published soon / in drafts only

OC
NURAH AL-KAHINA  /  the high priestess

PREMISE

Everybody speaks of destiny, but Nurah Al-kahina knows that history is the hand that shapes it.

Born of sand and noble blood, she is the child of a Fremen warrior and an Atreides heir. Her mother, a woman trained in the ways of the Bene Gesserit and supposed successor of the noble seat of their powerful house. Fled to the sands in an attempt to escape her captors, the Harkonnens. In the dunes of Arrakis, Liyah Atreides found a different type of sun's warmth in the arms of a great sietch leader, Amreh. Nurah was raised with both the whispers of the past and the war songs of the desert, a daughter of two worlds but belonging to neither.

Her cousin, Paul Atreides, is a seer of the future. A prophet meant to lead, with a vision that stretches in the future with no bounds. But Nurah is his shadow, his tether to what was. Her visions are cast backwards. As the boy king walks toward the known fate, his soothsayer ensures the past does not crumble beneath his feet. She is his sword and his shield, the one who wields history like a weapon so he may carve the future he deems necessary.

As the jihad of Lisan Al Gaib rises, so does the weight of the past. The twin moons of Arrakis move in their eternal dance. One pulling towards the unknown, the other illuminating what has been. But Nurah has seen enough to know that history is not a chain to grapple, but a blade to wield. And sooner or later, all weapons must choose a hand to serve.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS

- Nurah is played by Sofia Boutella
- Nurah is both a fighter and a high priestess figure. Eventually she will be known as Paul's Champion. The Sword and Shield of the Lisan Al Gaib
- Paul and Nurah's dynamic is meant to mirror the two moons of Arrakis.
- Nurah has the potential of a superior Mentat and is incredibly good at riding sandworms.

NOTES

- My history nerd self jumped and did some spins when I started plotting and creating this fic.

- When I started getting into Dune, I immediately realized how much Frank Herbert took inspiration from the history of the Middle East, Egypt and parts of North Africa when he wrote the books. So I went to read more about the cultures and societies that inspired the lore of Dune, specifically the Fremen.

That's when the idea of Nurah came to me. I thought, if I'm going to create a Dune OC it will only be right if I acknowledge the themes and aspects that were already present in the story.

- Though it is not explicitly stated, it's obvious that some details of the Fremen are inspired by Amazigh people (the Indigenous peoples of Algeria). From their clothing to the structure of their society, even to the popular phrase of the series "Long live the fighters" is from the Algerian resistance against the French empire during their war for Algeria's independence.

- Nurah's character and story are deeply inspired by a powerful Amazigh figure, Dihya Al-kahina of Aures. She is a huge inspiration on the creation of Nurah.

- Since I'm taking inspiration from an actual history and culture, it's only right that I research extensively to avoid appropriation and misrepresentation of the Amazigh people. Even if it's only some aspects of Nurah's character, it still came from a third party source. That's why until now I'm still in the process of creating her character since I want to be as respectful as possible to the real life cultures that Frank Herbert took inspiration from when he created the Fremen.

- As for Nurah's lore, there's already so much going on! If I could only spill everything right here...

- Basically, she's the daughter of an Atreides heir. Liyah, who was Leto's older sister. She's in line to inherit the throne so their parents thought it will be best if she becomes a student of the Bene Gesserit as preparation of her inheriting the Atreides seat. But in some tragic incident, she was taken by the Harkonnens in Arrakis *ehem* Bene Gesserit and their "plans" *ehem*

- Liyah was given two choices. Kill herself or walk in the dunes. She chooses the latter. They were convinced she's going to die out there but surprise surprise, Paul is not the first Atreides to survive and rise from the dunes of Arrakis.

- Liyah eventually assimilated to the Fremen society. She marries a Fremen man and she sees herself giving birth to a son. She envisions that her son will eventually rise up from the ashes and take the Harkonnen throne as his own to liberate the entire Arrakis.

- She ends up giving birth to a baby girl (much to her confusion) Liyah can't see anything on the future of her daughter, which frightened her so she secretly trains Nurah in the ways of Bene Gesserit whilst living in the Fremen society.

- I really want to write this fic this year and before Dune Heretic releases but it'll definitely require extensive writing and maintenance. Which I don't know if possible with my uni degree and work-life stuff 😭

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