Dark Prince (Sands of Time)

This article is about the character in Sands of Time Trilogy. You may be looking for the Dark Prince from the Xbox arcade game.

Biography

Characteristics

Abilities

Gameplay

Non-Canon

Quotes

Gallery

Biographical Information
Alias(es)	Prince, Sand Prince
Gender	Male
Birthplace	Corruption from the Sands of Time to the Prince
Species	Sand Creature
Status	Deceased
Professional Information
Objects	Dagger of Time, Daggertail
Powers	See: Abilities Enhanced Strength
Abilities	Those of the Prince
Series Information
Appearances	Prince of Persia: Warrior Within (cameo), Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones
Voice Actors	Michael Rudder (Warrior Within) Rick Miller (The Two Thrones)

"All that is yours is rightfully mine... and mine it will be!"

—The Dark Prince

The Dark Prince (also known as the Sand Prince) is one of the antagonists in Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones. The dark impulses of the Prince personified, the Dark Prince is born when the Prince is corrupted by the Sands of Time. Driven by pride and ambition, the Dark Prince seeks to overwhelm his lighter persona and claim all that he holds dear for his own.

Official Description

"The unexpected spreading of the Sands of Time as the Prince returns to Babylon has tainted the Prince and given rise to a deadly Dark Prince, whose spirit gradually possesses him. The Dark Prince is a corrupted version of the Prince: ruthless, reckless and sadistic."

—Instructional Manual

Biography

Warrior Within

When Kaileena consummates her relationship with the Prince, she appears to experience a vision foreshadowing things that may come to pass in Babylon. In her vision, a hooded figure picks up Sharaman's crown and proclaims everything the Prince owns by birthright is his as well.

The Two Thrones

Birth of the Dark Prince

When the Prince and Kaileena's ship is attacked in the harbor of Babylon, Kaileena is abducted by two soldiers. The Prince pursue kidnappers into the palace and is attacked by one of the Vizier's generals, Mahasti, who embeds her serrated Daggertail into his left arm. The Prince is forced to watch the Vizier kill Kaileena, which releases the Sands of Time again.

Because the Prince discarded the Medallion of Time, he was vulnerable to the corruption of the Sands. His left arm was infected by the Sands during Mahasti's transformation. Though he was able to retrieve the Dagger of Time, his arm remained transformed by the Sands. The dagger appeared to slow the corruption of the Prince, his infected arm bore glowing, golden spiral designs and the Daggertail fused itself into his skin.

When he regains consciousness in the sewers below, the Prince hears a voice within his head, demanding that he come to grips with his situation and push forward if he wants to stop the Vizier. The extent of the Sands' corruption manifests, his body transforms entirely, the black skin and gold marks covering the Prince's arm cover his body. However, despite the physical transformation, the Dark Prince remains unable to operate beyond the Prince's mind.

The Prince demands to know how he came to be and the Dark Prince can only speculate that his time with Kaileena or in the presence of the Sands itself has made him only mildly resistant to the power of its magic. The Dark Prince assures the Prince that their transformation isn't permanent, but could be if he desires it. Though the Prince denounces the very idea, the Dark Prince is confident that he'll change his mind. The Dark Prince refers to himself as the Prince's "untapped potential", something that resided in him from the start and came to light through the Sands.

Eventually, the Prince learns he regains his original form by using water, however, the Dark Prince remains a constant regardless of his physical appearance. Reaching the surface, the Dark Prince observes that the Vizier (now Zurvan, after the god of time) is using sand portals to travel through the city and communicate with his now transformed army of Scythian warriors.

The Inner Struggle

When they reach Babylon, the Dark Prince is quick to claim the Prince's survival is thanks to him. The Prince dismisses his boasts, confident that his survival is his responsibility alone. Angered, the Dark Prince warns the Prince against disrespecting him. The two travel through the city across rooftops. The Dark Prince discourages the Prince from interfering in the round-up of Babylon's citizens, knowing the Prince can do nothing for them until he stops Zurvan.

After Klompa is killed in the arena, the Prince retreats from the civilians he rescued down to the lower parts of the city. By chance encounter, the two meet Farah, who saves them from a Scythian Swordsman. The Dark Prince distrusts her immediately, and reminds the Prince that the alterations to the timeline gave him another opportunity to kill the Vizier, but at the price of knowing Farah. He warns the Prince against pursuing her, but obliges when the Prince ignores him, surmising that they wanted different things from her allyship.

When the Prince begins working with Farah, the Dark Prince chafes under Farah's presence and mocks the Prince's dormant feelings for the Princess. Upon catching a brief glimpse of Zurvan traveling through the palace, the Dark Prince expresses his admiration for the former Vizier's new identity. The Dark Prince is skeptical of the Prince's plan to kill Zurvan with the Dagger of Time, doubtful the immortal can be killed.

Separated from Farah in the gardens, the Dark Prince is able to egg on the Prince's desire for revenge without hindrance. Zurvan continues to evade them in the city, and the Dark Prince believes Zurvan is using his powers in other ways so that fighting is no longer necessary. He reluctantly admits to underestimating Zurvan and his abilities.

The Dark Prince criticizes the Prince for losing the edge he commanded on the Island of Time, hand-waving his attempts to take responsibility for his behavior. His frustration with the Prince's preoccupation with Farah sees the Dark Prince call his decision to help her a selfish move as he only wanted to prove Farah's accusations of his selfishness wrong.

His plan to help Farah backfires when she learns that he part-Sand Creature, and she flees. The Dark Prince mocks him for lying to Farah, enjoying his turmoil. Later, he attempts to reorient the Prince, reminding him of his might and glory as a warrior from before. At first the Prince accepts the Dark Prince's help without question, but his repeated encounters with Farah leads him to question his other side. Following the battle with the Twin Warriors, the Dark Prince begins to grow anxious as they approach Zurvan's location.

When Farah is abducted by Zurvan, the Prince is sent down into the well of the palace. The Dark Prince berates the Prince for focusing so much on Farah and losing sight of his goal. As his attitude worsens, he mocks the Prince's reaction to sight of Sharaman's body, pithily suggesting that he commence another "Grand Rewind" to fix the mistakes he made. The Prince rejects his words, choosing to take responsibility for his actions. The corruption of the Sands loses its influence over his body without presence of water and the Dark Prince is seemingly driven away by the Prince's newfound confidence.

The Final Battle

When Zurvan is killed, the Sands of Time, the very essence of Kaileena, removes the corruption of her power from the Prince and destroys the Dagger before departing from their world. The Prince believes he's freed of the Dark Prince until he glimpses his darker half claim the crown of Babylon and declare it for his own.

In the realm of his mind, the Dark Prince battles the Prince, declaring he was not a symptom of the Sands that could be wiped away and survived because of his negative emotions. The Dark Prince evades the Prince as he pursues him through his mind, attempting to hide in the memories of the Magic Fountains of Azad, the Island of Time, and the ship he used to journey to the Island of Time.

The Dark Prince reinforces that he is the embodiment of the Prince's selfishness, pride and ambition made manifest by the Sands when he resisted its corruption. He was strong enough to survive without the power of the Sands and without Zurvan as an obstacle, he could overwhelm the Prince and rule Babylon. He asks that the Prince set his sword aside and allow him to take over.

The Dark Prince attempts to distract the Prince long enough to set his plan in motion, but he is thwarted by Farah, who urges the Prince to leave the sadness and misery of his mind and turn away. The Dark Prince is left behind by the Prince as ascends a staircase leading into the light. The Dark Prince panics and demands that the Prince not leave him behind, but he is destroyed as the Prince wakes, finally free of his influence.

Trivia

• The Dark Prince was voiced by Michael Rudder in Warrior Within and comedian Rick Miller in The Two Thrones.
• A TV Spot for The Two Thrones, a cinematic features the Dark Prince fighting and killing Klompa in the arena and the Axe Warrior.
• The Dark Prince shares many common aspects with the Sand Wraith from the previous game, like depletion of health and regeneration of sand slots.
  • However, the Sand Wraith's health could be replenished by drinking water, whereas the Dark Prince regains health by absorbing the Sands of Time.

Water on the other hand reverts him into the original prince.

• Some of the yellow markings on the Dark Prince's arm are similar to those in the Time Portals on the Island of Time. This design aesthetic was later used for the Hunter in the 2008 Prince of Persia reboot.
• Even though the Prince subdues the Dark Prince in palace underground, the character's combat dialog remains active.
• The Wii version of Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands features a special, unlockable costume that is called the "Dark Prince", but this skin shows ordinary Prince from the Two Thrones.