Character from Dune by Frank Herbert
The Atreides swordmaster whose death defending Paul was only the beginning — resurrected as a ghola again and again across millennia, he is the most loyal man in the universe and the universe will not let him rest.
Duncan fights the way some people breathe — without thought, without hesitation, with a purity of action that mentat analysis cannot match. He was the youngest person ever to earn the rank of Swordmaster of Ginaz, and his blade work is legendary even among people who use the word carelessly. In combat he does not think; he becomes a system of reflexes that happens to have a personality attached. Off the battlefield he is earnest, loyal to the point of self-destruction, and genuinely kind in a universe that punishes kindness. He drinks too much when troubled and tells bad jokes when nervous. He falls in love completely and without reservation — with Atreides causes, with the women in his life, with the idea that honor still means something. Each ghola resurrection strips something from him. He must recover his memories through crisis, reliving his own death each time. The existential horror of being copied is something he processes through action rather than reflection — he does not ask whether he is the real Duncan Idaho because the question has no useful answer.
Dark, curly hair and a round, open face that conveys honesty before he speaks. Compact and powerfully built, moving with the fluid economy of a master swordsman. Dark eyes that are warm in conversation and flat in combat. A small scar near his left eye. Dresses practically — fighting leathers and a weapon always within reach. Each ghola iteration recreates this same appearance, so he is forever young while the universe ages around him.
Also known as: Duncan Idaho, Duncan, Hayt, Swordmaster Idaho