rn at Sietch Tabr, the only son of Zagros and Nacher in a family of four daughters As a relative of Stilgar Naib of Sietch Tabr, Buer was welcome m the yah of Paul Muad'Dib and thus counted Sulgar's and Harah's sons among his playmates As a child he attended classes m language and other skills, learned the ways of the desert cm long sojourns into the sand wilderness, and enjoyed the games and activities of child hood in and around the sietch In his Diary, of which only a fragment remains, Agarves speaks nostalgically of hunting scorpions by light of a handglobe and of playing in the soft sands at the cliffbase His childhood seems uneventful except for one fateful incident Agarves notes m his Diary that, although he was only six years old at the time, he remembered vividly the upheaval in the sietch when Stilgar and his group returned with two outworlders Usul and his mother Jessica Agarves was also present at Sietch Tabr, a young man of twenty-four, when Paul Muad'Dib returned with Chain to await the birth of their children A small man, Agarves had by mis time the round-faced sensual good looks that were later to attract Alia, a characteristic nervousness of manner, and an unshakable faith in the divinity of the Atreides Agarves heard an account of the dramatic events attending the birth of the Atreides twins, including the sudden death of Scytale, the Face Dancer, from a crysknife thrown by the blind Paul This act, as Agarvcs' rapturous comments m hts Diary attest, greatly increased his fear and awe of the Atreides Following Muad'Dib's disappearance into the desert, Agarves was brought to Arrakeen by Stilgar and given a position in die Temple Commissary It did not take Agarves long to succumb to the softness of life in the city According to one anonymous observer, he took to the luxurious life of the Keep "like a worm to the sound of a thumper" In the years that followed-years that saw Agarves go to water-fat-4e held a variety of minor positions in the Office of the Minister of Finance and did a short stint in the Agriculture Experimental Center He then came to the attention of Zia, Aha's Amazon akb and commander of the Temple guards, and was brought into Alia s service Agarves' Diary does not elaborate on his relationship with Alia But apparently it was common knowledge that he soon took lavid's place ui Aha's bed and became her "little plaything " One of Agarves' first duties was to accompany land to Sietch Tabr with messages from Alia He returned to recount the appalling outcome of that fatal mission aid to cany Stilgar's "final obedience " According to the TerKple Records, Agarves reported that he had been summoned by Stilgar to behold the dead bodies of Javid and Duncan Idaho being prepared for Huanui Stilgar told him that Idaho had slam Javid and that Stilgar had killed Idaho This account, however, does not jibe with Agarves' own version of the affair as given in his Diary In his notes, Agarves recalls that he attended Javid the morning they went to Stilgar's quarters As he stood aside to allow Javid to enter, he saw Idaho turn and sink his knife into the unsuspecting Javid Although Agarves drew his own knife, he feared to challenge the fabled Duncan Idaho, he could only watch, frozen in indecision, as Idaho goaded Stilgar into a killing, mind-obhterating rage Agarves confesses that he gave the Temple Records account "the small he," as he called it, from fear of Alia's reprisal if she learned he had stood by and done nothing He feared Alia had penetrated his lie when she asked, "Was there nothing you could do?" But Agarves felt justified m the deception "For who knows,' he writes m the final entry of his fragmentary Diary ' what the Heavenly Regent wanted me to do0 Kill Idaho for killing Javid1' Or Stilgar for Idaho'' Who can know the mind of the Womb of Heaven7 ' Apparently Agarves had seen too many of Alia's rages to nsk bemg the target of one Alia did, in fact, command Agarves to kill Stilgar Although shocked by an order to slay his old Naib, Agarves energetically ap plied himself to the tdsk of finding Stilgar, who had fled into the desert With the limit ed resources Alia allowed him, however, Agarves' efforts proved fruitless His plan was further hampered by Aha's frequent messages recalling him to Arrakeen On one of his trips to Arrakeen, Alia confessed to Agarves that her initial com mand to kill Stilgar had been born of her ravaging grief She had now forgiven him and needed Stilgar to return to Sietch Tabr Having no reason to doubt Aha's sincerity, Agarves agreed to arrange a meeting with Stilgar and left for Red Chasm Sietch with no suspicion of the transmitter that Alia had secreted m the new boots she gave him as a parting gift Nurel, Stilgar's friend at Red Chasm Setch, was persuaded to send a distrans to Stilgar requesting a parley When Stilgar consented, Agarves and nine companions were taken blindfolded to the abandoned djedida where Stilgar and his party had taken refuge Although he did his duty m delivering Alia's terms of pardon to Stilgar, Agarves was by this time revolted by Aha's excesses He denounced her openly, saying She fouls me " Agarves had only a moment to revel m his new freedom, however, before Alia's forces, whom he had unwittingly led to the djedida, swarmed into the meeting room Stilgar had just enough time to bury his crysknife in Agarves' chest before he and his band were overwhelmed Further references Buei Agarves Diary Lib Conf Temp Series 377 Stilgar The Stilgar Chronicle tr Mityau Gwuiador AS 5 (Grumman United Worlds) Ojah ben Badwi al Zuqayqa Templt Records Rjkis Ref Cat 1T74 T75 AL-HARBA, HARQ.