Dark Prince (Prince of Persia)

"Your rage, your pride, your selfish way! They give me form and substance!"

- The Dark Prince taunting the Prince

The Dark Prince is a dark version of the Prince born from the taint of the Sands of Time and the final antagonist of Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones.

History
The Dark Prince first appeared in the true ending of Warrior Within, as a hooded figure that picked up Sharaman’s crown and said, “All that is yours is rightfully mine. And mine it shall be.”

Birth of the Dark Prince
After Kaileena was taken from him, the Prince pursued her kidnappers into the palace, but was stopped by one of the Vizier's lieutenants, Mahasti, who embedded her Daggertail whip into his left arm. He could only watch as the Vizier killed Kaileena, unleashing the Sands of Time. Since the Prince had no item to protect him, the sands' corruption began to infect him, but at a slower rate than the others infected. He managed to grab the Dagger of Time from the Vizier before becoming completely corrupted. However the Prince's left arm gained a strange glowing spiral design and the Daggertail fused into his arm. As time went on, he began to hear a voice that gave him advice and urged him along on his journey. This was the Dark Prince and as time went on, the infection from the sands grew, eventually covering the Prince’s entire left arm and part of his back. The Dark Prince later revealed that the reason the Prince’s mutation had been delayed was because he had somehow developed a resistance to the sands. It is unknown exactly where that resistance came from though it may have been from his repeated usage of the Sands of Time and items related to it or the nights he spent with Kaileena. Soon enough, the Prince began transforming into the Dark Prince when he experienced extreme emotion. He was able to use his dark counterpart’s own abilities to further his quest, but his life was drained in this form. The Dark Prince always heavily implied that if the Prince was ever completely drained, he would have control of their body, but he kept regaining his human form by touching water (the natural weakness of sand creatures).

Struggle with the Prince
At first, the Prince accepted the Dark Prince’s help without question, but when he began having encounters with Princess Farah, he began to question his dark counterpart. Eventually Farah found out about the Dark Prince and she stayed away from the Prince, though the Dark Prince stated they were better off without her. After Farah and the Prince snuck into the palace, the Vizier captured Farah and dropped the Prince into the palace well system, which had been drained of water. Trapped there in Dark Prince form, he seemed on the verge of losing control to his dark counterpart, until he found the body of his father. This helped him to realize that the Dark Prince was born from his constantly relying on the Sands of Time to fix his mistakes instead of facing them and that the Dark Prince was only serving his own selfish ambitions. With this realization, the Prince freed himself of his dark counterpart’s influence and finished his journey.

Final Confrontation
But after the Prince slew the Vizier and seemingly got rid of the sand’s corruption forever, the Dark Prince appeared before him and pulled him into a dream-like world in his own mind. The Prince chased his dark counterpart through a shifting landscape, all the while, the Dark Prince taunting him and indirectly revealed that he was a part of the Prince and represented his darkest traits. Though the Sands of Time made the Dark Prince into a separate being, everything that made him was a part of the Prince long before his infection by the sands. The Dark Prince attempted to distract the Prince in the dream-like world, but Farah put an end to his plans again, by urging the Prince to let go of his hate and move on. He ascended a staircase into a bright light and awakened, while the Dark Prince was left behind, alone and afraid for the rest of eternity, calling out into oblivion.

Personality
The Dark Prince culminates all of the Prince's negative aspects; namely, his selfishness, anger, and pride. He does not care about anyone but himself and everything he does is meant to serve his own avarice and desire for power. The Dark Prince is highly malevolent and cunning and determined to have control of the Prince's body, thus taking his throne and gaining rulership over the most powerful empire on Earth. Vengeance, conquest, and subjugation are at the top of the Dark Prince's list of priorities and he possesses no desire to do anything constructive. Everything the Prince likes, the Dark Prince hates and he has a particular dislike for Farah, since she is able to help the Prince resist his influence by bringing out his good aspects.

Abilities
The Dark Prince possesses all of the abilities of the Prince, along with a few of his own. He wields the Daggertail as his weapon and is extremely deadly with it, as well as the Dagger of Time, but he is versatile with many weapons. The Dark Prince has great acrobatic abilities and can run on walls for a longer period of time and jump father than the Prince, by hooking the Daggertail into lamps on the wall and out of reach poles. The Dark Prince is also stronger and faster than the Prince.

Trivia

 * The Dark Prince has stated that he hates the color blue, which is the Prince's favourite colour.


 * The moment he pulled the Prince into the dream realm in the Two Thrones mirrors his appearance in Warrior Within exactly. He wears a hood and says the exact same line.