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Nayimathun
Dranghien Lakseng, or the Unceasing Emperor, is the emperor of the Empire of the Twelve Lakes. He rules alongside the Imperial Dragon. Though he’s a young and handsome man, he’s still single and has no interest in marrying, particularly after a relationship with a lower-status woman ended very painfully. He and Sabran connect and are willing to become allies, in part because the Unceasing Emperor has several experiences in common with her. Like Sabran, he was orphaned at a young age, and a power-hungry regent ruled in his stead for a time. His grandmother, the Grand Empress Dowager, raised him and remains one of his most trusted advisors. He has a keen understanding of the extent and the limits that royals have to their power, though he suggests it’s usually possible for royals to take more control—if they’re able to thwart greedy and selfish advisors.
The Unceasing Emperor, Dranghien Lakseng Quotes in The Priory of the Orange Tree
The The Priory of the Orange Tree quotes below are all either spoken by The Unceasing Emperor, Dranghien Lakseng or refer to The Unceasing Emperor, Dranghien Lakseng . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 63 Quotes
‘It would be unconventional. You are not my subject, and you are in disgrace,’ the Unceasing Emperor mused, ‘but it seems we are destined for a change in the way of things. Besides, I like to defy convention now and then. No ruler made progress by playing a safe hand. And it keeps my officials on their toes.’ […] ‘They never expect us to actually rule, you know. If we do, they call us mad.
‘They raise us to be soft as silk, distract us with luxury and wealth beyond measure, so we never rock the boat that carries us. They expect us to be so bored by our power that we let them do the ruling in our stead. Behind every throne is a masked servant who seeks only to make a puppet of the one who sits on it. My esteemed grandmother taught me this.’
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The Unceasing Emperor, Dranghien Lakseng Character Timeline in The Priory of the Orange Tree
The timeline below shows where the character The Unceasing Emperor, Dranghien Lakseng appears in The Priory of the Orange Tree. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 27
...self-serving reasons for doing so are disappointing). Nayimathun says that the Warlord and the Unceasing Emperor of the Twelve Lakes should speak to Sulyard, and that “he stirs.” When Tané asks...
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Chapter 34
...same side. Truyde continues, suggesting that now Aubrecht is dead, Sabran can marry the Unceasing Emperor of the Twelve Lakes and ally with the East that way. Ead insists Sabran would...
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Chapter 57
...awake. Loth volunteers to go east. Sabran agrees. He’ll go to Dranghien Lakseng, the Unceasing Emperor, first, to invite the emperor and his dragons to meet Inys’s navy on the Abyss...
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Chapter 58
...to dodge the Seiikinese navy and Fýredel’s sister, Valeysa. Harlowe knows little about the Unceasing Emperor, but he tells Loth to vet the man carefully if he’s to marry Sabran.
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Chapter 62
...sea. Tané keels over, and Loth begs Nayimathun to help get him to the Unceasing Emperor. She agrees, as long as he holds onto Tané.
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Chapter 63
...and reveals that Tané is in the City of the Thousand Flowers, in the Unceasing Emperor’s home. Nayimathun is well and resting, as are Tané’s friends. The woman leaves to fetch...
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The serving woman returns to tell Tané that she’ll see the Emperor tomorrow and show her to her bath. The woman addresses Tané as an honored rider....
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...this possibility than Tané is, but she suggests they keep the jewel secret from the Emperor and his mother, the Grand Empress Dowager. Motioning toward Loth, who’s nearby with Thim, Nayimathun...
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The following morning, as he prepares to meet the Unceasing Emperor, Loth considers Nayimathun. She’s as frightening as Fýredel—but she’s compassionate toward humans. Loth doesn’t know...
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The Unceasing Emperor asks what he gets in return. Loth mentions glory and the history-making implications of an...
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The Unceasing Emperor leads Tané to a garden for breakfast. There, after joking about how monarchs tend to...
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That night, Loth and Thim knock on Tané’s door to share that the Unceasing Emperor and his advisors have agreed to the proposal. Loth says that both he and Thim...
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Chapter 68
...crosses the Abyss, the dragons swimming among the ships. As they play cards, the Unceasing Emperor asks Loth to tell him about Sabran. Loth tells him about Sabran’s kindness and loyalty,...
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Chapter 70
Finally, the two fleets meet on the Abyss. Once Sabran and the Unceasing Emperor’s ships are tied together, Sabran boards the Dancing Pearl, along with knights, officers, Ead, and...
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...overboard. When a ship explodes, Fýredel settles himself on the remains and mocks Sabran, the Emperor, and the other monarchs.
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Chapter 75
...greets Tané when Tané arrives, ready to return to Seiiki with a letter from the Emperor. As they fly, Tané thinks about how the Golden Empress is still at large. She...
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