Those plans-among them those of Jessica, Gurney Halleck, Leto, Farad'n, Ghanima, and Duncan Idaho-blossomed within weeks of one another in 10220. 'Alia was put in the position of having to take more and greater risks when her assassin failed to kill Halleck, her husband's death forced Stilgar to take Irulan and Ghanima with him as he fled into the desert, and her internal ally, the old Baron, spent more time lusting after the young men in her court than he did helping her. Despite her eventual success in securing Irulan and Stilgar in her dungeons and in persuading Ghanima to feign acceptance of Farad'n, she had spread herself too thin. When Leto, now protected-and strengthened by his sandtrout skin, arrived at Alia's temple, he faced an adversary he could now overcome, in spite of her legendary prowess at hand-to-hand combat. Subdued by Leto, Alia exerted the force of her own personality one final time. In spite 'of the protests of her inner voices, she chose to take her own life rather than to submit to a Frernen Thai of ft>iisession. As she flung herself to the Temple courtyard, she performed her first independent act in years. ALIA AS GODDESS: "THE WOMB OF HEAVEN." The first recorded Cult of Alia was established in Arrakeen in 10970. Members of this and succeeding Cults should not be confused with those who worshipped Alia during her lifetime. The first group believed that Alia possessed a godhead of her own; the second saw her only as a reflected image of her brother, carrying on die work Muad'Dib had begun. While "The Womb of Heaven," one of her most popular titles in life, was adopted by the Cults y it took on far more hallowed connotation. Her lesser titles, including "Saint Alia-of-the-Knife," were discarded.