Dune: Prophecy: Who is Desmon Hart and What Power Does He Have?

Dune: Prophecy takes us more than 10 thousand years before the birth of Paul Atreides, to a time when the Bene Geserit were called The Sisterhood and were just learning to master their abilities and use them to gain control and influence over the great houses of the Imperium. The Sisterhood, led by Valya Harkonnen, even arranged marriages and alliances in order to create perfect genetic lines, all while hoping to stop a catastrophic event known as Tiran-Arafel. Emperor Javicco Corrino, the ruler of the Imperium at the time of the series, trusts the sisters, as they are trained to detect lies and advise the houses on the truth, but soon a character appears who makes him doubt. Desmond Hart shows up at the wedding of Ynez Corrino and Pruwet Richese (who is only 9 years old) and changes everything radically.

Dune: Prophecy: Who is Desmond Hart?

In Dune: Prophecy, Desmond Hart is a soldier who survived a sandworm attack on Arrakis, and who arrives at the palace to ask for a position there, but also to try to weaken the control and plans of The Sisterhood. This character is convinced that The Sisterhood has their agenda and that it cannot be trusted. He is a man who believes in the gods and that they helped him survive the worm’s attack to fulfill an important mission, which has to do with the Corrinos and the wedding that is about to take place. Desmond is played by actor Travis Fimmel, who was Ragnar Lothrbok in Vikings and a very similar character to the one he plays here in Ridley Scott’s Raised by Wolves series.

What Power Does Desmond Hart Have?

At the end of Chapter 1, Desmond finds the young Pruwet Richese hiding in the palace, and there he begins to speak to him about things that the boy doesn’t quite understand. At one point, he even tells him that his sacrifice will not be in vain, and it is there that he seems to use his mind to burn the boy from the inside out, making him suffer terrible pain while the boy watches. Far away from there, in the home of The Sisterhood, Kasha, the sister who has a bond with Princess Ynez and the Corrinos, suffers the same fate as the boy, and this leads Valya to believe that Raquella’s visions (the Mother Superior who died and left her as leader) were finally coming true. It is unknown where this power comes from. Still, Desmond uses his mind to carry out the plan (after the Emperor tells him he wants out of this wedding), and seems convinced that it was the gods who gave him this ability, to fulfill his wishes and prevent The Sisterhood from growing any further.

Is Desmond Hart connected to the Sardaukar?

Some people on the internet believe that Desmond Hart could be part of the beginning of the Sardaukar, which is the most powerful army in the empire, tasked with protecting Emperor Corrino and his family. It seems that the Sardaukar do not yet exist at this point in the story, so Desmond could certainly become a protector of sorts, but it is clear that he does not only want to serve the Emperor and his plans, but he intends to fulfill his own agenda, and that is not typical of the Sardaukar. Valya Harkonnen wants to put a sister of The Sisterhood on the throne, and that is what Desmond wants to prevent. If Ynez becomes a sister and a Truthsayer, then she could be in danger.