Sheeana Brugh
the girl who commanded the worms
Sheeana Brugh was a girl of Rakis whose ability to command the sandworms drew the attention of the Rakian Priesthood, the Bene Gesserit, and the Bene Tleilax. Of Atreides and Idaho descent, she became a Reverend Mother and fled the Old Empire aboard a no-ship as the Sisterhood scattered.
Sheeana Brugh was a girl of Rakis, the old desert world of the Fremen, during the time of the return of the Lost Ones from the Scattering. Her ability to control the sandworms of Rakis brought her to the attention of the Rakian Priesthood, the Bene Gesserit, and the Bene Tleilax. (Heretics of Dune)
The orphan of Keen#
Sheeana was raised by her parents in a shanty town on the outskirts of Keen on Rakis. When she was eight years of age, her town was destroyed by a worm, and she watched from a distance as her parents and fellow villagers were killed. When she approached the worm that had orphaned her, it did not kill her. Instead she discovered that it obeyed her. Shortly afterward she found herself at the city of Keen, led there atop a worm she had climbed. Upon her arrival the Rakian Priesthood adopted the girl and obeyed her every whim, naming her their Holy Child. (Heretics of Dune)
Involvement with the Bene Gesserit#
Some years later the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood took an interest in Sheeana, intending to use her to propagate the worms on their planet Chapterhouse. The Sisterhood eventually made her a sister, though her desert upbringing, and her secret practice of the Honored Matres' sexual techniques in defiance of the Sisters, made her an unpredictable element within the order. She was a descendant of Siona Atreides, whose line also carried the genes of Duncan Idaho. (Heretics of Dune; Chapterhouse: Dune)
Her gift also saved the worms. Before the Honored Matres burned the surface of Rakis, a sandworm was carried off in a no-ship, and on Chapterhouse it gave rise to the sandtrout that began turning that world into desert. (Heretics of Dune; Chapterhouse: Dune)
Escape from the Old Empire#
Having grown unhappy with her involvement with the Bene Gesserit, and after forming a friendship with the Sisterhood's Duncan Idaho ghola, Sheeana escaped in a no-ship together with Duncan, the imprisoned Tleilaxu Master Scytale, the ghola of Miles Teg, the Jewish refugees, Rebecca among them, and several sandworms. Their flight took place amid the turmoil of the Bene Gesserit and Honored Matres merger, and carried them beyond the Known Universe into uncharted territory as the splinter group searched for a new home. (Chapterhouse: Dune)
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Sheeana Brugh?
- Sheeana Brugh was a girl of Rakis whose ability to control the sandworms drew the attention of the Rakian Priesthood, the Bene Gesserit, and the Bene Tleilax. She lived during the time of the return of the Lost Ones from the Scattering.
- How did Sheeana Brugh become able to command the sandworms?
- When Sheeana was eight, a worm destroyed her shanty town on the outskirts of Keen and killed her parents and fellow villagers. When she approached the worm that had orphaned her, it did not kill her but obeyed her, and she was carried into Keen atop a worm she had climbed.
- Why was Sheeana Brugh called the Holy Child?
- After Sheeana arrived at Keen led atop a worm, the Rakian Priesthood adopted her and obeyed her every whim, naming her their Holy Child.
- Why did the worms obey Sheeana Brugh?
- Sheeana was a descendant of Siona Atreides, whose line also carried Duncan Idaho's genes. The novels tie her gift to that Atreides blood, and to the pearl of Leto II's awareness that the worms of Rakis are said to carry.
- How did Sheeana Brugh escape the Old Empire?
- Having grown unhappy with the Bene Gesserit and after befriending the Sisterhood's Duncan Idaho ghola, Sheeana escaped in a no-ship along with Duncan, the Tleilaxu Master Scytale, the Miles Teg ghola, the Jewish refugees, and several sandworms. Their flight carried them beyond the Known Universe as the Bene Gesserit and Honored Matres merged.
Gallery
Images via Dune Wiki
Sources
- BookHeretics of Dune, Frank Herbert, G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1984
- BookChapterhouse: Dune, Frank Herbert, G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1985
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
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