Sol Regem is a male Sun Dragon who serves as a minor antagonist in the Netflix series The Dragon Prince. He is the former king of dragons and the guardian of the border between the human kingdoms and Xadia.
Appearance[]
Sol Regem towers over ordinary dragons in terms of sheer size and height, easily casting a massive shadow upon the ground. He has amber scales, red wings, and a light underside. He sports red tufts of fur on his elbows and tail, dark brown claws, horns that resemble rays of sunlight, and a mane of white hair above his neck. In his prime, he had small glowing blue eyes, but after being blinded by the dark mage Ziard, he gained a massive red scar that covers most of his face, including his ruined eyes.
In the following 1,000 years, Sol Regem's body has shown signs of aging and deterioration. His muzzle is torched, his scales are flaking and somewhat darker than in his youth, parts of his horns have cracked or chipped off, his chin now sports a white beard, and there are several holes and tears on the membranes of his wings, as well as a few noticeable scars on his neck and limbs. He has also grown a pair of small nasal horns and three small dark gray spikes above each eyebrow.
Personality[]
Known as the "Sun King", Sol Regem was once gleaming, powerful, proud, and revered as the King of the Dragons. However, after being blinded by Ziard, his hatred of humans and dark magic made him a symbol of rage and bitterness.
He appears to be an arrogant misanthrope as he refers to humans as "lesser beings" and showed no hesitation to destroy the city of Elarion when Ziard refused to give up dark magic. He also seems to have no qualms about killing other Xadians, even fellow dragons, in order to kill a human being, as shown when he threatened to kill Rayla and Azymondias if they allowed Callum to escape. As a result, it is very clear that he is quite hypocritical. He does have loose scruples, however, as he despises dark magic for its fatal effects on innocent creatures, yet innocent humans are not spared from his wrath.
History[]
200 years before the division of Xadia, Sol Regem rose to power and became King of the Dragons, forming the era of Sol Regem, approximately 1200 years before the present. When a human mage named Ziard discovered dark magic, Sol Regem arranged a meeting with the mage and demanded that he and his followers relinquish dark magic. Ziard pridefully refused, believing it would be nothing less than regression for humans incapable of magic, looked down on by the other races as "lesser beings". Sol Regem coldly insisted that Ziard's people were and always would be "lesser beings," which only angered the mage. When Sol Regem ordered him to relinquish his staff, Ziard stated that it was in fact of a gift from one of the "Great Ones", enraging the Archdragon. Though Ziard reminded Sol Regem that he promised his safety, the Archdragon cunningly assured that he would be very safe at their meeting place, far away from the great city of Elarion, threatening to burn it and everyone in it as punishment. Though initially horrified, Ziard was convinced Sol Regem was bluffing, so the Dragon King took off towards the city to turn his threat into reality. In desperation, Ziard siphoned magic from a flock of Sunbirds, forcing the Archdragon to break off his attack and focus on the mage, blasting a stream of fire that incinerated Ziard, but the mage managed to cast a fireball at the Archdragon's eyes. Roaring in pain, Sol Regem dove to a body of water to extinguish the flames, which left him scarred and blinded for the rest of his life. He then flew towards Elarion and destroyed it along with its inhabitants. However, some of the citizens managed to survive due to the intervention of Aaravos. Sometime after the incident, Sol Regem stepped down as King of the Dragons and was succeeded by Luna Tenebris. Since then, he chose to roam the Border on his own with bitterness.
During the events of Book One: Moon, Sol Regem appeared in the opening narration in a flashback.
Shortly after Callum, Rayla, and Zym cross into Xadia, they come across Sol Regem with dread in their faces as the Archdragon of the Sun lets out a growl.
Leaving off where they had last been seen, the trio is still finding themselves in front of Sol Regem. Rayla informs Callum that Sol Regem is known as the Sun King and that he used to be the King of the Dragons a long time ago, but is now a symbol of rage and bitterness. As he is blocking the way to Xadia, they decide to try to sneak past him, using his blindness to their advantage. The plan fails due to Zym's fearful whimpering and they flee desperately as Sol Regem breathes fire at them. Rayla decides that there is only one course of action - reason (which is her least favorite). She addresses Sol Regem directly, bowing to him. She asks his permission to re-enter Xadia, using Zubeia's name and explaining that they are transporting Zym, the son of Avizandum. He gives his permission to them both to pass, but will not allow Callum, considering him to be a wretched, evil human. Callum tells her to go on without him, but Sol Regem gives the ultimatum that either Callum dies or they all die. Rayla tells Sol Regem that some humans are evil, but not Callum, that the only reason Zym is alive is because of Callum and that he could have had her captured or killed, but he did not. She begs him to allow him to pass, saying she can't rescue the Dragon Prince without her friend. Sol Regem sniffs and says that he smells the reek of dark magic on Callum and that he must die. Callum declares that if he must die, then he must. Rayla, however, points out that Sol Regem has a weakness in that he can only use his fire breath every few minutes. Callum suggests that they could trick him and create a false appearance by attaching his scarf, which carries his scent, onto Rayla. Though it is a dangerous escape, using this and other distractions, they successfully navigate past Sol Regem.