The Gray Prince
Encyclopedia
The Gray Prince is a science fiction
novel by Jack Vance
.
The overarching theme of the work is the morals of possession of land.
The larger northern continent Uaia is divided into two parts. The southern half is the Alouan, populated by Uldras, who are warlike tribal barbarians. Part of the Alouan, along the coasts, is ruled by the "land barons". These are the descendants of a band of space pirates who seized the area from the Uldra two hundred years before. Each land barons family owns a vast domain. The Uldras of this area live in the unused majority of it, and have become somewhat civilized. Many are employed by the domains as ranch hands and other labor. The Uldras of the rest of the Alouan, known as the Retent Uldras, remain as before - devoted to feuds, raids, and bloody rituals.
The northern half of Uaia is a vast plateau called the Palga. It is occupied by the Wind-runners, nomads who travel endlessly across its plains in sail-driven wagons.
Neither the land barons, nor the Uldras, nor the Wind-runners acknowledge the authority of the Mull.
Morphotes live in the swamps and forests of Szintarre. They are extremely malicious and appear to be semi-sentient; their appearance is spectacularly bizarre. The Erjins are found in the hinterland of Uaia. Erjins are large, bipedal carnivores of notable ferocity, telepathic and also apparently semi-sentient. The Wind-runners appear to have learned how to domesticate Erjins. They sell tamed Erjins to the Retent Uldras for riding beasts, and to the folk of Szintarre as domestic servants. (Land barons and their Uldras ride quadrupedal criptids.)
Some of the residents of Szintarre object to this exploitation of Erjins, and to the land barons' rule over south Uaia.
Uther Madduc was exploring the Palga before he was killed. Jerd, Glissam, and Kurgech go into the Palga to discover what he found. After various encounters with the Wind-runners, they find the secret: an ancient temple built by Erjins, who are in fact fully sentient.
They return to Morningswake, to learn that the Mull has ordered the land barons to give up their domain. The land barons defy this decree, and form their own Order of Uaia. Jorjol incites several hundred Retent Uldras to invade Morningswake. This attack is defeated by the Order's militia.
A committee of the Mull arrives at Morningswake. Gerd escorts them to the Erjin temple, where he explains the first part of Uther Madduc's joke. The Mull has demanded that the land barons yield to the claim of the Uldras, who were there first. But the temple shows that the Erjins are sentient, which makes the Szintarrese slaveowners.
Near the temple is the depot from which tamed Erjins are shipped. There they discover that the Erjin mounts and servitors exported by the Wind-runners are actually warriors, who at that very same moment are uprising and destroying their supposed masters. Erjin "servitors" seize control of Szintarre from its effete inhabitants. Erjin "mounts" turn on their Retent Uldra riders, but the combative Uldras defeat them. The Order of Uaia's militia (including Submission Uldras) fly south and defeat the Erjins in Szintarre. Returning to Uaia, they defeat a second and larger Uldra attack incited by Jorjol.
This experience chastens some of the Szintarrese reformers, but the others persist in their campaign. Now Gerd Jemasze reveals the rest of Uther Madduc's joke. The temple shows that the Erjins were there before the Uldras, so they have an even better claim to the land. Furthermore, the temple's decorations depict Erjins arriving in spaceships and in combat with Morphotes: Morphotes are in fact the oldest inhabitants and "rightful" claimants to the land.
Gerd, speaking for the land barons, tells the Szintarrese that to be consistent they should either revoke their decree against the land barons, or else give their own country to the Morphotes as well.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel by Jack Vance
Jack Vance
John Holbrook Vance is an American mystery, fantasy and science fiction author. Most of his work has been published under the name Jack Vance. Vance has published 11 mysteries as John Holbrook Vance and 3 as Ellery Queen...
.
The overarching theme of the work is the morals of possession of land.
Setting
On the planet Koryphon, several species and groups live in uneasy coexistence. On the small southern continent Szintarre, there is a conventional Gaean society. Its government (the Mull) claims authority over the whole planet.The larger northern continent Uaia is divided into two parts. The southern half is the Alouan, populated by Uldras, who are warlike tribal barbarians. Part of the Alouan, along the coasts, is ruled by the "land barons". These are the descendants of a band of space pirates who seized the area from the Uldra two hundred years before. Each land barons family owns a vast domain. The Uldras of this area live in the unused majority of it, and have become somewhat civilized. Many are employed by the domains as ranch hands and other labor. The Uldras of the rest of the Alouan, known as the Retent Uldras, remain as before - devoted to feuds, raids, and bloody rituals.
The northern half of Uaia is a vast plateau called the Palga. It is occupied by the Wind-runners, nomads who travel endlessly across its plains in sail-driven wagons.
Neither the land barons, nor the Uldras, nor the Wind-runners acknowledge the authority of the Mull.
Morphotes live in the swamps and forests of Szintarre. They are extremely malicious and appear to be semi-sentient; their appearance is spectacularly bizarre. The Erjins are found in the hinterland of Uaia. Erjins are large, bipedal carnivores of notable ferocity, telepathic and also apparently semi-sentient. The Wind-runners appear to have learned how to domesticate Erjins. They sell tamed Erjins to the Retent Uldras for riding beasts, and to the folk of Szintarre as domestic servants. (Land barons and their Uldras ride quadrupedal criptids.)
Some of the residents of Szintarre object to this exploitation of Erjins, and to the land barons' rule over south Uaia.
Characters
The main characters are Schaine Madduc, a land baron girl, her brother Kelse, their neighbor Gerd Jemasze, and Jorjol, a Submission Uldra who was Schaine and Kelse's foster brother. Jorjol is now the "Gray Prince", a Retent Uldra and leader of agitation for the overthrow of the land barons. Additional characters are Elvo Glissam, a Szintarrese who advocates Erjin emancipation and dispossession of the land barons, and Kurgech, the Madducs' Uldra head stockman.Plot summary
Schaine returns to Koryphon from school off-world, met by Kelse. They and Jerd are to meet their father, Uther, who has said he just learned something that is a splendid joke. Glissam agrees to visit Uaia with them. However, Uther is ambushed and killed by Retent Uldras. Schaine, Kelse, Jerd, and Glissam survive a similar ambush and reach the Madducs' domain Morningswake.Uther Madduc was exploring the Palga before he was killed. Jerd, Glissam, and Kurgech go into the Palga to discover what he found. After various encounters with the Wind-runners, they find the secret: an ancient temple built by Erjins, who are in fact fully sentient.
They return to Morningswake, to learn that the Mull has ordered the land barons to give up their domain. The land barons defy this decree, and form their own Order of Uaia. Jorjol incites several hundred Retent Uldras to invade Morningswake. This attack is defeated by the Order's militia.
A committee of the Mull arrives at Morningswake. Gerd escorts them to the Erjin temple, where he explains the first part of Uther Madduc's joke. The Mull has demanded that the land barons yield to the claim of the Uldras, who were there first. But the temple shows that the Erjins are sentient, which makes the Szintarrese slaveowners.
Near the temple is the depot from which tamed Erjins are shipped. There they discover that the Erjin mounts and servitors exported by the Wind-runners are actually warriors, who at that very same moment are uprising and destroying their supposed masters. Erjin "servitors" seize control of Szintarre from its effete inhabitants. Erjin "mounts" turn on their Retent Uldra riders, but the combative Uldras defeat them. The Order of Uaia's militia (including Submission Uldras) fly south and defeat the Erjins in Szintarre. Returning to Uaia, they defeat a second and larger Uldra attack incited by Jorjol.
This experience chastens some of the Szintarrese reformers, but the others persist in their campaign. Now Gerd Jemasze reveals the rest of Uther Madduc's joke. The temple shows that the Erjins were there before the Uldras, so they have an even better claim to the land. Furthermore, the temple's decorations depict Erjins arriving in spaceships and in combat with Morphotes: Morphotes are in fact the oldest inhabitants and "rightful" claimants to the land.
Gerd, speaking for the land barons, tells the Szintarrese that to be consistent they should either revoke their decree against the land barons, or else give their own country to the Morphotes as well.