In *The Voyage of the Dawn Treader*, Caspian is seeking seven lords.
These are the Seven Great Lords of Narnia, nobles who were sent away by King Miraz to explore lands beyond the Eastern Ocean. Miraz’s real motive was political: the lords were loyal to Caspian’s father and represented a threat to his rule, so he removed them from Narnia under the appearance of an expedition.
Caspian’s voyage aboard the ship *Dawn Treader* follows their trail across the Lone Islands and beyond. The search becomes a succession of encounters with danger, including storms, dragons, enchantment and the mysterious Dark Island. Several lords are found dead or transformed, while three are discovered in an enchanted sleep.
The number is sometimes confused with the many companions and islands in the story, or with the three lords sleeping together at the novel’s climax. The title “seven” refers to the full group Caspian originally set out to find. The book was published in 1952, immediately after *Prince Caspian*.