Lychee is a young male panda. Although he acted friendly with the triplets (particularly Rain), he is later revealed to be in league with Brawnshanks.
Description[]
- Lychee is a young male panda with deep, brown eyes[1] and large paws.[2] He has distinctive, large black eye markings that almost meet up with the black of his ears[3] and a torn ear[4].
Personality[]
- Lychee has keen perception and initially appeared to have a friendly demeanor. Rain was in love with him and Lychee seemed to replicate her infatuation. In The Lightning Path, Lychee's perceived friendliness was revealed to be nothing more than a ruse. In reality, Lychee is a cruel and manipulative individual who only craves power. Despite being a skilled manipulator in his own right, Lychee is shown to have unrealistic expectations as shown when Brawnshanks proposed an alliance under the pretense that he will grant Lychee full control of the kingdom, Lychee truly believed that Brawnshanks would hold his end of the bargain. When Brawnshanks double-crossed Lychee the panda swore vengeance on the Golden Monkeys.
History[]
Pre-Series[]
- Sometime after the Dragon Speakers were appointed, Lychee made his way to the Prosperhill. Him and Rain quickly became friends, as Lychee was not around for Dusk’s rule and never had a chance to betray her.
The Dark Sun[]
- Lychee is mentioned when Pebble brings up his feelings for Rain and his worry that she has already chosen another mate.
- Lychee is seen playing with a log in the river alongside Rain when Ghost arrives to retrieve Rain. Rain tells Lychee to meet her at the feast clearing.
The Lightning Path[]
- Although unnamed, Lychee is shown to be conspiring with Brawnshanks to take down the triplets. Under Brawnshanks orders, Lychee murders Pebble and frames Ghost for it. Following Ghost exile, an oblivious Rain informs Lychee that although she has no idea who truly murdered Pebble, she could tell that it wasn't Ghost. Feigning innocence, Lychee acknowledges that he believes Rain but claims that he has no more of an idea of who the real culprit than she does. When Horizon confirms that Pebble was killed by another panda rather than by the leopards Brisk and Sleet, Lychee attempts to discourage Rain from investigating further by claiming that Ghost was guilty after all. However, Rain refuses to accept Lychee's claims.
- During a rainshower, Rain does consider Lychee being the culprit, mentally noting that the latter had the strength to take on Pebble. However, she dismisses the possibility, as she doesn't think Lychee would have any conflicts with any of the Prosperhills, let alone Pebble who Lychee knows was a close friend of Rain's. Lychee joins Rain and Peony to gather some bamboo for the Feast of Sun Fall. When Rain leaves to speak with Nimbletail, Lychee wishes Rain luck. During their chat, Nimbletail informs Rain that she spotted Lychee in the Northern Forest. Although Nimbletail isn't certain, she thinks Lychee may be the culprit as he was traveling in the same direction. Not wanting to see the worst in Lychee, Rain suggests that Lychee was spying on the monkeys rather than for them. While Nimbletail finds Rain's explanation plausible she doesn't dismiss the possibility of Lychee's treachery and reminds Rain to remain vigilant. Lychee throws Rain off his trail further by pretending that he was attacked himself- likely having injured himself as a ploy.
- When Rain reports Nimbletail's findings to Lychee, the latter claims that he was spying on Nimbletail because he wasn't entirely convinced that the monkey was on their side. After the storm, Rain realizes the killer would target her loved ones and decides to send Peony and Lychee away for their own safety. Lychee refuses to leave, and the two confess feelings for each other.
- Lychee is later revealed to have impersonated Ghost in order to kill Pebble. When Rain accuses him, he reveals that he made a deal with Brawnshanks to rule the pandas. Rain informs him that Brawnshanks will double-cross him, leading Lychee to try to drown her. Ghost finds out what happened and pursues him, but Lychee escapes with Rain's stone.
- Later, Lychee watches Brawnshanks boast about taking two Dragon Speaker stones and fails to give him credit. Angry, Lychee demands his reward, but Brawnshanks has his monkeys take him away. Lychee vows revenge on the monkey leader for his broken promise.
References[]
- ↑ The Lightning Path, page 15
- ↑ The Dark Sun, Page 25
- ↑ The Lightning Path, page 13
- ↑ Chapter 1, Fire and Ash