The Prahbrindrah Drah was the Prince of Taglios and its formal ruler at the time of the modern Annals. In practice, he was often a figurehead, as the real power of the city was exercised by his sister, the Radisha Drah, and shared with the High Priests of the three major cults: the Gunni, the Shadar, and the Vehdna. He and the Radisha resided in the sprawling Palace of Taglios, the ancestral royal home located in Trogo, the wealthiest and oldest neighborhood of the city.
The Prahbrindrah's contract with the Black Company and his later betrayal of them spurred many of the events of both Books of the South and the first two Books of Glittering Stone. After being rescued alongside the Captured, he lived in Hsien for 4 years and returned to the homeworld to play a noteworthy role in Soldiers Live.
Croaker noted that the Prahbrindrah handled a sword well, as could be expected only of Taglian royalty, since he was most likely trained starting at an early age. He was an ethnic Gunni, but, was not observant of that religion's customs.
Shadow Games[]
When faced with the encroaching armies of the Shadowmasters from the south, the Prahbrindrah, his sister the Princess, and their wizard adviser Smoke procrastinated for many years. After the Shadowlanders advanced deeper northward into Taglios's southern territories, approaching the Main, the Prahbrindrah finally relented. He hired a trio of northerners – Willow Swan, Blade, and Cordy Mather – to function as generals over his unprepared and pacifistic masses at the onset of the Shadowmaster wars. Not long afterward, the Prahbrindrah made a contract with the Black Company, giving that group's Captain, Croaker, the option to exercise the authority of "Liberator" – a military dictator.
Dreams of Steel[]
The Prahbrindrah was stunned when Lady orchestrated the Massacre at Khadi Junction, slaughtering roughly one thousand Taglian priests. He was completely deceived by the unrivaled sorceress Soulcatcher when she masqueraded as Lady (her sister) in Taglios. He, the Radisha, and the Royal Guards went to confront Smoke in the Palace for treachery, but the Guard abandoned him when a hideous smoke demon was seen to be mauling Smoke. The Prahbrindrah threw a wooden shard at it, and it disappeared. Soon after that, he survived chaotic combat in the streets when the Howler and a trio of Longshadow's finest soldiers ambushed Soulcatcher to abduct her. The Prince and Croaker stabbed the soldiers, but the Howler flew away with Soulcatcher on his flying carpet. Later, the Prahbrindrah and Croaker rode the Company's supernaturally-bred black stallions to the Taglian garrison encampment above Vehdna-Bota ford, west of Taglios. As an inexperienced rider, the journey had been painful for him. As part of an effort to trick Soulcatcher's crow spies, he disguised himself and adopted the name "Abu Lal Cadreskrah" before riding out with Croaker and the archers who had perpetrated the Massacre at Khadi Junction. (He was unaware that the effort failed, because Soulcatcher's imp Frogface spotted them.) The Prince next made the difficult southward ride with Croaker and many Taglians to Dejagore. He was received well by his people, and they ended the months-long Siege of Dejagore.
She Is the Darkness[]
In She Is the Darkness, the Prahbrindrah campaigned alongside Croaker and Lady against Longshadow, the last surviving Shadowmaster. During the campaign, he served beneath Croaker, as Croaker exercised his temporary authority as "Liberator". The Prince commanded his own division, which was separate from Croaker's Old Division, the New Division, and Lady's separate division. The Prince and his division saw major, bloody combat at the Battle of Charandaprash and later fought more of Longshadow's Shadowlanders among the ruins of Kiaulune during the Siege of Overlook.
Although the Black Company led Taglios to complete victory in the Shadowmaster wars, the Prince betrayed them and attempted to nullify their contract. Croaker, knowing that most of the Company's historical employers betrayed them eventually, was well-prepared for this. The Prince was taken as a high-value prisoner, and was later brought through the Shadowgate and across the glittering plain at the end of She Is the Darkness. The Prahbrindrah and his captors all became "the Captured" when Soulcatcher trapped them in a magic stasis beneath the fortress with no name. He remained there, in a place called the cave of the ancients, frozen and unconscious for 15 years. The entire Taglian empire, including his sister the Princess, incorrectly believed he was dead.
Water Sleeps[]
The Prahbrindrah and the rest of the Captured remained frozen and unconscious throughout the 15-year gap that occurred between She Is the Darkness and Water Sleeps. By pure chance he avoided being accidentally killed by Cordy Mather, who disturbed the stasis of at least 6 other Captured, unintentionally ending their lives.
The Prince was finally awakened alongside 4 others (Croaker, Lady, Murgen, and Thai Dei) by Sleepy and her Company followers at the end of Water Sleeps, which ended the time period referred to as the Captivity.
Soldiers Live[]
The Prahbrindrah remained with the Black Company in the strange world called Hsien for the 4-year gap between Water Sleeps and Soldiers Live. He lived in exile with his sister the Radisha in the Company's fortified city, the Abode of Ravens, where Sleepy recruited and trained a fresh new army. He marched back into the homeworld with them all, and helped lend major legitimacy in the Black Company's revenge war against Soulcatcher's despotic regime over Taglios, called the Protectorate.
The Prahbrindrah survived right up until just after the fighting ended in the Siege of Taglios. Inside the reclaimed Palace, he was struck by random chance by a magic spell fired by the Khadidas that had ricocheted harmlessly off its intended target, the Company sorcerer Tobo. The Prince was killed instantly with no clear successor to the throne. To keep cohesion and public order in the battle-shaken city, Croaker feigned that the Prince was still alive. Even the Prahbrindrah's sister realized the importance of the ruse, and put aside her horror to join in. They hustled the Prince's body away from the public eye.
A gigantic funeral was held for him throughout the city. Shortly later, Aridatha Singh became the clear popular choice as the new ruler of Taglios.