History Characters / MalazanBookOfTheFallen

* [[Characters/MalazanBookOfTheFallenTheMalazanEmpire The Malazan Empire]]: The High Command [[note]]Empress Laseen, Adjunct Lorn, Adjunct Tavore Paran, High Fist Dujek Onearm, High Mage Tayschrenn, Tattersail[[/note]], The Wickans [[note]]Fist Coltaine, Bult[[/note]], The Old Guard [[note]]Dassem Ultor[[/note]], The Bridgeburners [[note]]Captain Ganoes Paran, Sergeant Whiskeyjack, Corporal Kalam Mekhar, Quick Ben, Fiddler, Trotts, Sorry, Other Bridgeburners[[/note]], The Bonehunters [[note]]Smiles, Corabb Bhilan Thenu'alas[[/note]]

* [[Characters/MalazanBookOfTheFallenLetherAndKolanse Lether & Kolanse]]: Letheras [[note]]Tehol Beddict, Bugg, Brys Beddict, Shurq Elalle, Kettle, Gerun Eberict, Harlest Eberict, Rucket, Janath Anar, Karos Invictad, Tanal Yathvanar[[/note]], Northern Lands [[note]]Udinaas, Feather Witch[[/note]]

* [[Characters/MalazanBookOfTheFallenTheMalazanEmpire The Malazan Empire]]: The High Command [[note]]Empress Laseen, Adjunct Lorn, Adjunct Tavore Paran, High Fist Dujek Onearm, High Mage Tayschrenn, Tattersail[[/note]], The Wickans [[note]]Fist Coltaine, Bult[[/note]], The Old Guard [[note]]Dassem Ultor[[/note]], The Bridgeburners [[note]]Captain Ganoes Paran, Sergeant Whiskeyjack, Corporal Kalam Mekhar, Quick Ben, Fiddler, Trotts, Sorry, Other Bridgeburners[[/note]], The Bonehunters [[note]]Corabb Bhilan Thenu'alas[[/note]]

* [[Characters/MalazanBookOfTheFallenTheMalazanEmpire The Malazan Empire]]: The High Command [[note]]Empress Laseen, Adjunct Lorn, Adjunct Tavore Paran, High Fist Dujek Onearm, High Mage Tayschrenn, Tattersail[[/note]], The Wickans [[note]]Fist Coltaine, Bult[[/note]], The Old Guard [[note]]Dassem Ultor[[/note]], The Bridgeburners [[note]]Captain Ganoes Paran, Sergeant Whiskeyjack, Corporal Kalam Mekhar, Quick Ben, Fiddler, Trotts, Sorry, Other Bridgeburners[[/note]], The Bonehunters [[note]]Corabb Bhilan Thenu'alas[/note]]

* [[Characters/MalazanBookOfTheFallenTheMalazanEmpire The Malazan Empire]]: The High Command [[note]]Empress Laseen, Adjunct Lorn, Adjunct Tavore Paran, High Fist Dujek Onearm, High Mage Tayschrenn, Tattersail[[/note]], The Wickans [[note]]Fist Coltaine, Bult[[/note]], The Old Guard [[note]]Dassem Ultor[[/note]], The Bridgeburners [[note]]Captain Ganoes Paran, Sergeant Whiskeyjack, Corporal Kalam Mekhar, Quick Ben, Fiddler, Trotts, Sorry, Others[[/note]]

* [[Characters/MalazanBookOfTheFallenTheFourFoundingRacesAndOthers The Four Founding Races & Others]]: Imass/T'lan Imass [[note]]Onos T'oolan/Tool, Kilava Onass, Onrack the Brocken, Olar Ethil[[/note]], Jaghut [[note]]Gothos, Raest, Pannion[[/note]]

* [[Characters/MalazanBookOfTheFallenAzathanaiGodsAndAscendants Azathanai, Gods & Ascendants]]: Azathanai [[note]]K'rul, Draconus, Hood, Errastas[[/note]], High House Chains [[note]]The Crippled God, Rhulad Sengar, Karsa Orlong[[/note]], High House Shadow [[note]]Shadowthrone, Cotillion, Sorry/Apsalar, Iskaral Pust[[/note]]

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[[foldercontrol]]

Beware of spoilers. Official wiki policy states that trope titles should not be hidden under spoiler tags, and some trope titles are spoilers by nature. If you haven't finished the series you're probably best off not reading past the character descriptions.

[[folder: '''Lady Envy's Companions''']]

!!Lady Envy
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* CainAndAbel: She and her sister Spite cannot bear to be in the same city without trying to kill each other.
* BetrayalByInaction: Is said to have stood by while her then-lover [[FamedInStory Anomander Rake]] [[FateWorseThanDeath killed]] her father and took his SoulCuttingBlade [[ForgedByTheGods Dragnipur]] from him. It is heavily implied that she did this just to spite Lord Draconus, and because she wanted Dragnipur for herself in the long run, not to stay out of a conflict between her father and her lover.
* GreenEyedMonster: Towards her sister, Spite.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Draconus intentionally named his daughters Envy, Spite and [[spoiler: Malice, and would've named a fourth one Venom.]]
* UpperClassTwit: Does an amazing impression of one. She's actually quite bright, if a little ditzy.

!!Toc The Younger
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* AcheyScars: His eye still hurts.
* ActionSurvivor: Feels like one alongside Envy, Tool, Baaljaag, Gareth and the Seguleh.
* CantStayNormal: Or dead. He's been attacked by Hairlock and thrown into a rent, accompanied Lady Envy, [[BodySnatcher body snatched]] Anaster and become Mortal Sword of Togg and Fanderay, been killed again, and now serves Hood.
* TheChampion: Mortal Sword of Togg and Fanderay, then Herald of Death.
* DeathIsCheap: How many times has he come back from the dead now?
* EyepatchOfPower
* GrandTheftMe: Following his initial death, Toc's soul is transplanted into that of [[EmptyShell Anaster]] in order to give them both a second chance at life.
* PrivateMilitaryContractors: As leader of the Grey Swords.

!!Mok, Thurule, and Senu
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* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: Seguleh hierarchy is modelled on combat ability. As the Third, Mok can and does kick a lot of ass.
* BadAss: All three of them. To the point where their fellow Seguleh class them as a "punitive army" and expect them to carve their way through the Pannion Domin on their own. They don't dissapoint.
** BadassArmy: They're "the punative army of the Seguleh", themselves as BadassArmy of the first order.
** BadassNormal
* BloodKnight: Three representatives from an entire nation of them.
* {{Charles Atlas Superpower}}s
* DualWielding: All three Seguleh.
* TheFettered: Courtesy of Lady Envy's magic.
* HonourBeforeReason: If the Seguleh think you might be tough, they will challenge you, no matter where or when. And they'll make it a fair fight too.
%%* ImplausibleFencingPowers
* ImprobableAge: Senu's just turned twenty.
* MaskPower: All Seguleh go masked, and the markings on their mask indicate their rank (Mok is the third-ranked Seguleh, his mask has two slashes on it).
* MasterSwordsman: All three, but especially Mok.
* [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Proud Warrior Race Trio]]
* TheQuietOne: All three of them, but especially Mok.
* TheStoic

!!Baaljaag
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* AmnesiacGod: The wolf-goddess Fanderay is trapped inside her.
* CanineCompanion
* {{Sizeshifter}}: Can greatly alter her size, though not to the extent Gareth can.
* StarCrossedLovers: Is searching for the spirit of her mate, the wolf-god Togg. [[spoiler: He's hiding inside Toc]].

!!Gareth
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* {{Hellhound}}: Has the potential to be a Hound of Shadow.
* CanineCompanion
* {{Sizeshifter}}: Can grow to tremendous size.
[[/folder]]
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[[folder: '''Others''']]
!!Icarium Lifestealer
-> 'I am my own curse, Mappo. I have lived centuries, yet what do I know of my own past? Where are my memories? How can I judge my own life without such knowledge?'
--> ''Literature/DeadhouseGates''

Icarium, a Jaghut halfblood, is an incredibly old being, forever wandering the world with a sole companion in tow. He is present in the mythology of many cultures, and is feared by most of them. He is known for his obsession with time -- having gained sobriquets such as Lord of the Sand Grains -- and as an inventor and maker of monumental machines, particularly those that measure time, by the building of which he tries to counteract his frequent bouts of memory loss. While an incredibly smart and gentle person, he is also one of the most powerful beings alive without being aware of it.
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* AmnesiacDissonance: After discovering what happens during [[MissingTime his black-outs]], Icarium is horrified and comes to the conclusion that [[RedemptionEqualsDeath only death or eternal imprisonment can redeem him]].
* AmnesiacsAreInnocent: His amnesia shields Icarium from what he has done in the past, allowing him to retain his generous and sometimes downright innocent nature. Fiddler wonders how Icarium never questions his partnership with Mappo despite having only Mappo's word about their long friendship to rely on, but Icarium later points out that while frustrated, he has become simply used to the feeling.
--> '''Mappo:''' ''In your ignorance you are so pure, so noble.''
* TheBerserker: Once his UnstoppableRage kicks in, he becomes utterly uncontrollable in a fight, unable to distinguish friend from foe and indifferent to his own life. Comes complete with a [[ScreamingWarrior frightening, keening scream]].
* BowAndSwordInAccord: He carries both a longbow, which seems to be his first choice of weapon, and a sword, and can be deadly with either, but wears little -- if any -- armour.
* BullyingADragon: In ''Literature/DeadhouseGates'', with Icarium as the dragon and Iskaral Pust as the one who cannot keep his mouth shut, baiting Icarium with supposed knowledge he posses that Icarium lacks and calling Icarium a fool. He gets choked pretty thoroughly for his trouble.
* TheDreaded: Everyone who's ever heard of Icarium is shitting their metaphorical pants at the mere thought that Icarium might lose his temper and level the next couple of cities.
* GeniusBruiser: Icarium is a seven foot tall, tusked, weathered and travel-worn looking warrior sporting a sword and a bow, one of the most lethal fighters ever born and infamous for his UnstoppableRage. He is also a mapmaker, inventor and scholar.
* GlowingEyes: While in an UnstoppableRage, Icarium's eyes blaze silver as a sign of the enormous power that surrounds him like a maelstrom.
* HereWeGoAgain: Though Icarium cannot remember it, it's implied that it's happened countless times before that he would have a companion, this companion would either die or be killed by Icarium in an unfortunate moment, and he would then wake up with a new companion who would claim that they'd been travelling together for ages. At the end of ''Literature/TheCrippledGod'', [[spoiler:he wakes up to find Ublala Pung at his side, and just accepts him as the feeling is already so familiar, and the cycle starts anew, while Mappo's corpse lies mere metres away]].
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With his travelling companion Mappo Runt. They spend their entire time together and obviously mean a lot to each other, although Icarium sometimes has trouble reconciling the depth of their friendship with his lack of memories. For him, there has simply always been someone at his side, and in whatever memories he does possess, it's always been Mappo.
* HumanWeapon: The Nameless Ones treat Icarium as one. Although, technically, he was not ''made'' by them, they claim authority over how and when he gets to be used. Naturally, Icarium gets no say in the matter, not does he even know about the Nameless Ones.
* IAmNotAGun: When, in ''Literature/TheBonehunters'', Taralack Veed urges him to kill the defenders of the Throne of Shadow, Icarium retorts that he's had enough of this. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, he goes berserk anyway, as too much fighting is going on around him.]]
* KatanasAreJustBetter: Averted. However, the unusual shape of his sword -- a thin, long, single-edged, curved blade -- is remarked upon several times, although it is not treated any differently in combat than other words.
* LightningBruiser: Especially once he [[TheBerserker loses control]], Icarium can both dish out and receive potentially catastrophic amounts of damage without even blinking, all while doing it too fast for some to register. But even without the rage mode, he is frighteningly fast. Fast enough to startle Karsa Orlong.
* MadeOfIron: It's unclear if he can be truly killed. Serious wounds only knock him out and trigger his amnesia, and he seems to grow even tougher when angry.
* MadGod: There are cults on the island of Cabal which worship Icarium as the One God, the Stealer of Life, essentially claiming he is a mad puppet with unimaginable power, turning any power of creation he may possess into random destruction. One sect calls itself that of the Mockers, asserting that a god who never left his worshippers any doctrine to live by but allows them to make and interpret their own, cannot be anything but insane.
* MartialPacifist: He demonstrates on several occasions that he'd prefer not to get into a fight, but he also doesn't have the greatest patience, so annoy him long enough and you are dead meat. And Icarium will not even remember having mopped the floor with you afterwards.
* MasterSwordsman: He's had thousands of years to hone his sword fighting skills, coupled with his incredible speed.
* MindHive: After the end of ''Literature/ReapersGale'', [[spoiler:where his previously built memory machine turns out to be broken and sucks not only his own mind in but also that of several random bystanders, Icarium ends up with a fractured mind and the ghosts/personalities of eight other people stuck in one -- his -- body. While that body wanders the Waste Lands aimlessly, the caught ghosts perceive themselves as separate entities undertaking that same trip, constantly arguing among each other, with the original Icarium -- reduced to a ghost not even the others can perceive -- floating around them in hopeless confusion. Ultimately, however, they do act as one, simply because they -- unknowingly -- share one body.]]
* MissingTime: Whenever he goes into UnstoppableRage, effectively transforming into a monster capable of destroying entire civilizations, Icarium afterwards forgets all that he's done. He then usually shows concern about the MissingTime, but whatever companion he is currently travelling with makes sure to make the right noises to help Icarium with rationalizing the memory loss away.
* MookHorrorShow: At the end of ''Literature/TheBonehunters'', [[spoiler:Icarium loses control after witnessing children die and almost annihilates the Tiste Edur contingent sent to the Throne of Shadow. They practically ''melt'' several at a time; that is, those that don't get thrown around like toys]].
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: To those who have heard of Icarium's reputation or have been witness to its cause, his byname Lifestealer is something to run away from really fast indeed. Other variations on the name exist, such as Slayer of the Ten Thousand.
* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: Icarium is half Jaghut (from his father's side) and -- presumably, as it's never fully disclosed -- Thelomen Toblakai (from his mother's side). Both races are roughly humanoid, so in consequence, Icarium is as well, although he visibly leans more towards Jaghut than Toblakai.
* NoSocialSkills: As he spends most of his time wandering the deserts of Seven Cities with Mappo as his sole companion, and due to his memory problems, Icarium is not very good with social interactions beyond the basics. May also be because he's half Jaghut, and Jaghut are notorious loners prefering their own company above all else.
--> '''Mappo:''' 'He entertains your companions. Feebly, I admit. For all his years, Icarium has never mastered the social grace necessary to put others at ease.'
* PersonOfMassDestruction: Icarium may be one of the nicest and most caring people one can come upon in the books. Piss him off, though, and you may say goodbye to your city/country/civilization. And it's not even intentional, as afterwards he will not remember how he just levelled the city in the ruins of which he's now standing and will even be shocked at how someone could possibly bring so much destruction and death. In trying to use him as a weapon the Nameless Ones might have bitten off more than they could chew and characters who encounter Icarium have a hard time reconciling the person they've met with the stories trailing in his wake.
* QuestForIdentity: His eternal search for his own memories, without which he feels he cannot assert a proper sense of his own self. [[spoiler:And later, more literally, when he wakes up in the Waste Lands, his mind splintered and his core having become a ghost with no recollection of even its own name.]]
* ScreamingWarrior: Whenever his UnstoppableRage is triggered, it is both prefaced and accompanied by a high-pitched, haunting keening sound coming from his throat.
* TalkingToThemself: [[spoiler:During his wandering around the Waste Lands with a split mind and a host of other minds populating his body, everything that the other ghosts/personalities say to each other, is actually also said out loud by Icarium's body, creating the image of a lone wanderer ceaseless talking to himself.]]
* TragicBromance: He and Mappo have been HeterosexualLifePartners for centuries, wandering the world together, and are close enough to openly speak about their deep feelings of friendship. Even though Mappo was originally meant as a guardian and minder for Icarium, Icarium's generous and noble nature makes Mappo cherish him, and despite having severe problems with [[TraumaInducedAmnesia memories]], Icarium can by the feeling of familiarity alone tell that Mappo is indeed who he claims to be. [[spoiler:When they are attacked and separated, Mappo crosses half the world to find Icarium again, only to die mere metres away from his friend. However, it is heavily implied that this is the turning point for Icarium and the latter finally regains at least some of his memories, enabling him to take his life back into his own hands.]]
* TraumaInducedAmnesia: It is implied in ''Literature/HouseOfChains'' that Icarium once tried to destroy an Azath House to free his father -- who didn't want to be 'freed' -- but only managed to mortally wound it, receiving enough trauma in return that he not only forgot that incident altogether, but has been suffering bouts of UnstoppableRage and subsequent MissingTime ever since.
* UnstoppableRage: Icarium suffers bouts of UnstoppableRage in which he utterly loses control and attacks everything and everyone (with the sole exception of machines he has built himself). They are rooted in a traumatic incident with an Azath House, and make him one of the or possibly most feared entity in the entire realm, as they're almost impossible to predict or stop, and he has gone so far as to destroy entire civilizations in the past. When enraged, Icarium becomes surrounded by a magical maelstrom that basically ''melts'' anything in his way. Afterwards, he never remembers what he's done.
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!!Mappo Runt
-> '''Fiddler:''' ''Mappo, a name ever chained to another's. And enough rumours to fill a tome. If any were true...''
--> ''Literature/DeadhouseGates''

Mappo Runt is a Trell whose name is eternally associated with being the companion of Icarium Lifestealer. He is Icarium's close friend and -- unbeknownst to Icarium -- also his guardian and minder, tasked by the Nameless Ones with keeping Icarium out of trouble and ignorant of his own past. However, due to Icarium's gentle nature, Mappo is eternally conflicted about whether ending a potential threat is worth losing the friend he loves so much.
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* BagOfHolding: He was given a bag with an entire warren inside of it by the shoulderwomen of his tribe. Some irritating people have also found their way into it on occasion.
* CarryABigStick: Mappo carries a mace around for fighting purposes. It is made of a big long-bone with a ring of iron spikes at the business end and is invested with sorcery to make it as [[UnbreakableWeapons durable]] as possible.
* DoomedHometown: Mappo's hometown was destroyed, allegedly by Icarium, and Mappo, as the only survivor, was recruited by the Nameless Ones as Icarium's new guardian. [[spoiler:''Deadhouse Gates'' reveals that actually, the town was destroyed by the Nameless Ones themselves, as they urgently needed a new guardian for Icarium and wanted to make sure Mappo would hate Icarium and take the threat seriously enough to fit the job.]]
* GentleGiant: Although shorter than Icarium (who is seven feet tall, mind you), as a [[OurOgresAreHungrier Trell]] Mappo is rather wide and thus even more imposing. But while he can dish out serious damage with his mace, he prefers to stay out of the way of trouble, find peaceful solutions and generally be on friedly terms with people.
* GuiltComplex: After [[spoiler:losing Icarium]], Mappo develops one, until he eventually feels guilty for anything and everything. He feels guilty for [[spoiler:not being good enough anymore in the eyes of the Nameless Ones to remain Icarium's guardian, for having believed the Nameless Ones, for lying to Icarium for centuries, for having spurned the opportunity to free the world of Icarium by handing him over to Tremorlor just because he didn't want to give up his friend, for outwardly looking like a noble friend even though he had selfish motives, and eventually for turning away from people -- children -- in need just so he could keep looking for Icarium]].
* HeartbrokenBadass: Not a love interest, but when Mappo [[spoiler:loses Icarium]], whom he loves [[HeterosexualLifePartners as a friend]], he becomes utterly heartbroken, even going so far as [[spoiler:crossing the entire world to get him back, all the while fighting his guilt]].
* HeroicBSOD: Mappo experiences one in ''Literature/DeadhouseGates'' when Icarium finally understands what he is and Mappo is flooded with conflicting thoughts about saving the world from the threat that Icarium represents but at the same time losing the only friend he's ever cared this much for. He doesn't even notice how he falls to his knees, and has to be brought back to reality by Icarium.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Icarium, with whom he has travelled for hundreds of years. Initially only meant as a guardian for Icarium, they have developed a deep friendship and trust each other unconditionally, although Mappo has to live with -- and is tortured by -- the knowledge that he is eternally lying to his friend. [[spoiler:When Icarium is taken from him by the Nameless Ones, Mappo becomes heartbroken and crosses half the world to find him again, all the while thinking, in tears, of how much he wants Icarium back.]]
* MyGreatestFailure: Mappo considers his blunder in [[spoiler:keeping Icarium safe and the world safe from Icarium by almost dying when attacked by Dejim Nebrahl]] to be his greates failure and incentive to set things right again.
* PowerOfTrust: Icarium reminding Mappo of his unconditional trust for the latter is what snaps Mappo out of his HeroicBSOD in ''Literatur/DeadhouseGates''.
* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: Mappo used to be one in his youth, when he left his hometown, which specialized in trade, and joined one of the outlying tribes that were following the traditional Trell way of war and wandering. He spent a couple hundred years there, before snapping out of it by find his [[DoomedHometown burned to the ground]].
* {{Sidekick}}: Mappo ist best known in-universe as Icarium's companion and sidekick. While Icarium is tall, lean, [[GeniusBruiser skilled with a sword and widely-read]], Mappo is shorter, wider, hairier, fights using a mace and purports to know little, even though he is actually quite knowledgeable in everyday survival matters. Subverted in that it's Mappo who's in charge of keeping Icarium out of trouble, even though Icarium is unaware of that.
* TragicBromance: He and Icarium have been HeterosexualLifePartners for centuries, wandering the world together, and are close enough to openly speak about their deep feelings of friendship. Even though Mappo was originally meant as a guardian and minder for Icarium, Icarium's generous and noble nature makes Mappo cherish him, and despite having severe problems with [[TraumaInducedAmnesia memories]], Icarium can by the feeling of familiarity alone tell that Mappo is indeed who he claims to be. [[spoiler:When they are attacked and separated, Mappo crosses half the world to find Icarium again, only to die mere metres away from his friend. However, it is heavily implied that this is the turning point for Icarium and the latter finally regains at least some of his memories, enabling him to take his life back into his own hands.]]
* UnbreakableWeapons: Mappo's mace was invested by his tribe's shoulderwomen to make it practically unbreakable. At least, it's never shown any sign of the spell failing within hundreds of years.
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!!Fisher kel Tath
-> 'I sing them all. Lies, truths, the words make no distinction in what they tell, nor even the order they come in. We do as we please with them.'
--> ''Literature/TollTheHounds''

A famous bard, who is often quoted by characters in the setting and seems to be the main source of information on all things Anomander Rake, due to his epic poem ''Anomandaris''. Many of the epigraphs preceeding chapters in the books are written by him and he has allegedly met with Gallan -- a fellow but even older famous Tiste poet -- to get a first hand account of the events of the Tiste diaspora. Which makes him the de-facto author of ''Literature/TheKharkanasTrilogy''.
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* AuthorFilibuster: Some excerpts from Fisher's ''Mane of Chaos'' (which may or may not be a part of the bigger epic ''Anomandaris'') show him halting midway through the telling to accuse his listeners of being too pre-occupied with inconsequential things and of lacking in courage to truly understand Anomander Rake's sacrifices. Delivered in verse, of course.
* BadassBystander: He's just an old bard plucking a lute in his quiet corner of K'rul's Bar -- until [[spoiler:assassins storm the building and the aftermath sees a half-dozen bodies on the stage and some smidgen of blood on Fisher's shirt, indicating his victorious involvement]].
* BadassGrandpa: An old, gaunt, grey-haired bard who prefers to be an observer and the extent of whose involvement usually amounts to giving voice to those who have none. But not only is he a BadassBystander, when -- in ''Literature/TollTheHounds'' -- it looks like the conflict with the Guild of Assassins has come to a standstill, [[spoiler:he casually steps up, throws Guild Master Seba Krafar around like a doll and threatens him into cancelling the contract on the Bridgeburners like it's nothing, giving Seba a serious case of [[BringMyBrownPants brown pants]]]].
* TheBard: The most famous bard of contemporary literature in the setting. His specialty is poetry.
* BreakingTheFourthWall: Fisher's {{Author Filibuster}}s are known in-universe as "Fisher's challenge to his listeners", in which he breaks the narration to address his listeners directly. There are also entire poems in which Fisher addresses his listeners directly.
* ExpositionOfImmortality: It is hinted at that Fisher may not be intirely mortal, or even be outright immortal. In ''Literature/TollTheHounds'', Blend points out how he's sung verses of ''Anomandaris'' she's never heard before, and some of the songs he knows are over a hundred years old and stem not only from different cultures, but also different ''worlds''. Duiker cryptically states that the poet is immortal, prompting Blend to question whether he speaks in metaphorical terms or about Fisher in particular. And Lady Envy, herself practically immortal, questions Fisher's mortality.
* FamedInStory: Provides many chapter epigraphs, occasionally cited by other characters. But mostly, he's the one that everyone quotes when discussing Anomander Rake, since his [[TheEpic epic poem]] ''Anomandaris'' seems to be the main source of information concerning Rake.
* TheGhost: His name is tossed around a lot, but he himself doesn't appear until ''Literature/TollTheHounds''.
* GreyEyes: Fisher has both grey eyes and [[CurtainsMatchTheWindow hair]] and is quite a mysterious figure. Neither is it clear [[VagueAge how old he truly is]], nor where he comes from, nor what his purpose is. He knows songs from various cultures and ''worlds'' and there's an air of immortality and divinity about him, as well as hints of a possible prophetic ability.
* MagnumOpus: ''Anomandaris'', the [[TheEpic epic poem]] chronicling the life and deeds of Anomander Rake.
* RomanceEnsues: Fisher and Lady Envy spend an unstated number of evenings sequestered within her estate, presumably discussing the current situation and Fisher going through his repertoire of songs and poems, then suddenly Lady Envy has a LoveEpiphany based on how many HiddenDepths Fisher has and RomanceEnsues.
* SageLoveInterest: Fisher's all-encompassing ability to see and understand and reveal the world where it needs revealing and to understand that some things need to remain untold is what draws Lady Envy to him in the first place.
* SecondLove: Provided Spite's assertion that Lady Envy did really love Anomander Rake is true, Fisher is her second love. This is made particularly interesting by the fact that Fisher is best known for the [[TheEpic epic poem]] he's written ''about'' Anomander Rake and that they [[spoiler:hook up right before the culmination of Rake's epic quest to bring Mother Dark back, which includes him dying]].
* SignatureStyle: Fisher's poems are often instantly recognizable due to their bleak and rambling tone, dealing with issues like loss, death, violence, sacrifice, despair, grief, parting of ways, personal tragedy, the gods' fallibility, childhood burdens, longing for love and all that fun stuff.
* TheStoryteller: His main occupation is being a wandering bard and to chronicle important events and many of the chapter epigraphs are excerpts of works written by him, both prose and poems, though mostly poems.
* TakeThatAudience: Fisher is fond of inserting verses into his poems which call out the audience on something, like what he perceives as their lack of courage.
--> Sacrifices made\\
Vows given\\
He stands alone\\
Because none of you dare\\
Stand with him.
* UnreliableNarrator: While it is true that he has chronicled the life story of Anomander Rake (and the stories of many other events), the reliability of his accounts is somewhat questionable as Fisher himself admits that he puts impact and meaning over truth.
* VagueAge: Fisher is described as an old, grey-haired man, yet his exact age is often called into question by other characters. When he is angry, Scillara wonders if he's not younger than she initially thought, and Blend points out how some songs supposedly written by Fisher are over a hundred years old; and all Lady Envy can say for certain is that he is not a young man.
* VirtueIsWeakness: Discussed by Lady Envy regarding Fisher. She muses that only fools would see Fisher's stunning capacity for compassion as a weakness.
* WarriorPoet: He is mostly known for his poetry, but is surprisingly capable in a fight when provoked sufficiently. Fisher turns out to be a valuable asset to the [[spoiler:retired Bridgeburners]] when they are assailed in their bar. [[spoiler:He even kills a sizeable number of the attacking assassins himself.]]
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!!Burn
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* BitchInSheepsClothing: [[spoiler:Olar Ethil claims to be Burn, but it's not clear if she was telling the truth.]]
* DamselInDistress / IllGirl: A rather bizarre example. Spends most of the series being slowly poisoned, and although she never actually shows up in person, other characters comment constantly on her deteriorating condition. Mostly because it's making the CrapsackWorld [[DeathWorld even worse]].
* MotherEarth
[[/folder]]

[[folder: '''High House Chains''']]

!!The Crippled God / [[spoiler:Kaminsod]]

* AndIMustScream: He's been trapped and tortured for ''hundreds of thousands of years'' at the start of the series.
* BigBad: About as close to one as the series gets. [[spoiler:Arguably subverted in that he's treated with considerable sympathy, particularly in the later books, and in the end the protagonists end up having to ''save'' him when his plots get [[HijackedByGanon Hijacked by the Forkrul Assail]].]]
* BlackCloak: Of sorts. He usually covers himself in dark-colored rags, rather than an actual cloak, but the look is very similar.
* TheCorrupter: The Crippled God specialises in bringing out the worst in people, typically [[DealWithTheDevil offering them exactly what they want]] in exchange for their inclusion in his House of Chains. He seems to like driving his followers/victims mad.
* DealWithTheDevil: Munug, [[spoiler: Kallor]] and many others have made them with him.
* DisabledDeity: It's in the name. He's not a paragon of mental health, either.
* DysfunctionJunction: His followers. It's entirely deliberate too. The Crippled God desires every member of his House to be as flawed, mentally and/or physically, as he is.
* EvilCripple: Evil due to crippling. The Fall destroyed his mind.
* FreudianExcuse: The Fall did not do good things to his sanity. The fact that most of the pantheon has periodically gotten together and chained him up for, from his perspective, no real reason didn't help either.
* GodOfEvil: Deconstructed. He's more like a god of ''suffering'', and that suffering includes his own. While he's initially presented as ''causing'' it, in the end [[spoiler:after the Bonehunters risk everything to save him from the Assail and ''succeed'', he ends up becoming the god who has sympathy for those who suffer]].
** [[spoiler: Well, at least up until the point Cotillion kills him with a surprise backstab. It's implied, however, that this was done to allow him to return home, which was [[EarnYourHappyEnding what he wanted all along]].]]
* HiddenVillain: For the first two and a half books.
* IHaveManyNames: The Crippled God, the Fallen God, the Chained One. [[spoiler:But his real name is Kaminsod]].
* KickTheDog: His treatment of Rhulad Sengar. See below.
* MadGod: Due to being caught in a trap meant for Kallor and spending hundreds of thousands of years in it.
* TheManBehindTheMan: To ''so'' many different villains, with the [[spoiler:[[DarkMessiah Pannion Seer]]]] being a particularly spectacular example.
* NarratorAllAlong: [[spoiler:Ultimately revealed as the narrator in ''The Crippled God''. This turns out to be a JustifiedTrope, as it's revealed that he [[LiteraryAgentHypothesis penned the series]] so that those who sacrificed their lives to free him would not be forgotten. The title of the series, naturally, relates to this.]]
* OmnicidalManiac: He's slowly poisoning Burn. Whether he genuinely wants her dead or is hoping that someone will free him in order to prevent this isn't known for most of the series. [[spoiler:It's the latter]].
* PillarOfLight: When [[spoiler:he's freed]].
* PhysicalGod: Like many other Ascendants in the series.
* RedRightHand: The evil god is the [[EvilCripple crippled one]]. Go figure.
* SadisticChoice: See XanatosGambit below. The best case scenario is his freedom, and the end of civilisation as they know it. The worst case scenario is the slow death of the entire world.
* SealedEvilInACan: Chained in place to the sleeping goddess Burn, though his spirit can move around inside a Warren and has appeared in several places around the world. [[spoiler:Ultimately subverted when he is freed and turns out to act more in the manner one would expect of a SealedGoodInACan. Freeing him seems to have undone the madness that led to most of his actions prior to his freedom, and it certainly stops his poisoning of Burn which had been causing many of the world's problems. He's also immensely grateful to the people who freed him; ending hundreds of thousands of years' worth of torture will do that to a god.]]
* StartOfDarkness: He was just a foreign god who fell to earth as the result of a trap meant for [[TheEmperor Kallor]]. And went stark raving mad as a result.
* VaderBreath: Has to constantly inhale incense in order to keep his lungs clear. Even then, his breathing is still ragged and wheezing.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: The fate of many of those who choose to follow him.
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: The Fall left him crippled, agonised and totally insane. He seems to be out to destroy the world in order to make the pain go away. It's very hard not to feel bad for him on some level.
** [[spoiler: After his plans get taken over by the Forkrul Assail, who are basically using his heart as an ArtifactOfDoom, he turns into more of a straight-up {{Woobie}}]].
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: None of the injuries from the Fall have healed. Not one in a hundred thousand years.
* XanatosGambit: If they don't loose him, Burn dies and he gets his revenge. If they do, he's free to wreak havoc and get his revenge via other means. Kind of a win-win situation for him.

!!Rhulad Sengar

* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Before the horror show began.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Mystically linked to one.
* AxeCrazy
* BackFromTheDead: Over and over and over again.
* {{BFS}}: The aforementioned ArtifactOfDoom.
* BigEgoHiddenDepths: Rhulad is a much more layered character than his AnnoyingYoungerSibling behaviour lets on at first, however it takes a serious horror show for that to surface. By the time he starts trying to get his shit together it's way too late and he can't help himself slipping back into his old persona again and again.
* BlessedWithSuck: He comes back every time he's killed, but only after having his soul tortured by the Crippled God.
* BodyHorror: Covered in half-melted gold coins from a Tiste Edur death rite. Some of them fall out, but that just leaves him with horrific burn scars instead.
* TheCaligula: Deconstructed. We're treated to a blow-by-blow account of his descent into madness, and it's treated as tragedy rather than menace.
* CoolSword: Subverted. It's the ArtifactOfDoom that keeps bringing him back.
* DeathSeeker: Gee, I wonder why?
* TheDragon: As The King in Chains, he fullfills this role with regards to the Crippled God.
* TheEmperor: Of the Letherii Empire and the Tiste Edur.
* EvilOverlord
* GlorySeeker: Initially. By the time he learns the lesson it's too late, though.
* HealingFactor: Can heal any injuries, [[WoundThatWillNotHeal save those inflicted on him by the funeral rites after his first death]].
* HeroicSacrifice: Which got him linked to the ArtifactOfDoom in the first place.
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Due to being too young and too proud, Rhulad is prone to misjudging people. He considers Trull a coward, but trusts people who are only in it for their own benefit.
* IHaveManyNames: Rhulad Sengar, The Emperor of a Thousand Deaths, The King in Chains.
* ImmortalityHurts: Between getting tortured by the Crippled God in the afterlife, the BodyHorror from his funeral, his bride committing suicide rather than bearing his child, and his enroaching insanity, yeah.
* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler: When Karsa finally kills his soul]].
* {{Lust}}: Lusted after his brother Fear's wife, who toyed with his emotions as a game. This results in a very nasty LoveTriangle once he becomes The Emperor.
* MoodSwinger: Comes with the increasing insanity.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: The Emperor of a Thousand Deaths.
* NeckSnap: How he meets his second death at the hand of Letherii soldier Iron Bars. He gets over it.
* PetTheDog: His attempt at returning Mayen, his wife, to his brother, Fear, whom she genuinely loves. Also, his forcing Mayen to stop beating her slave, Feather Witch.
* {{Pride}}: One of Rhulad's major sins before becoming The King In Chains. He was convinced he was far superior to everyone, including his brothers Fear and Trull.
* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Averted. He forces his brother's wife to marry him, and has his way with her, and somehow, it just makes him all the more pathetic and pitiable.
* SanitySlippage: Gradually loses his mind as each new resurrection takes its toll on him.
* SelfMadeOrphan: Not that this was his intention. He threw his mom and dad in prison. [[DeusAngstMachina The jail promptly flooded]].
* SmallNameBigEgo: Initially. His first death pretty much shatters his ego though.
* TraumaCongaLine: His brother is murdered by Karsa, his bride kills herself, his parents are drowned in his dungeon, his people are scheming against him, he's slowly going mad, and that's without getting into the horror show that is his curse.
* WhoWantsToLiveForever: Not Rhulad.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: [[spoiler: It's hard to not to sympathise with him, after his mind starts to slowly break apart because of his deaths... and deaths of his loved ones. Also Udinaas, his only friend, betrays him - or so he thinks...]]
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: No matter how many times he dies, the wounds from his first death will not heal. And then there's those [[BodyHorror damn coins]] from his first funeral.

!!Karsa Orlong / Toblakai

* AntiHero: A NominalHero, more or less. An UnscrupulousHero on a good day.
* {{Badass}}: How his fans view him.
* BarbarianHero: His perspective is initially, per WordOfGod, a deliberate {{deconstruction}} of the barbarian fantasy, and as such his perspective begins as not heroic in any conceivable sense. He gets somewhat better as he undergoes CharacterDevelopment, but at his best remains an antihero.
* BloodKnight: While he's not as much of one now as he was when the series starts, he's still quite fond of, and skilled at, combat.
* BoisterousBruiser
* CatchPhrase: "Witness!" Usually followed by something very BadAss or just plain [[RefugeInAudacity insane]].
* TheChampion: Accepting the position of Knight of High House Chains would make him this to the Crippled God.
* DefeatingTheUndefeatable: Or more accurately, killing [[spoiler:the Emperor of a Thousand Deaths]] who was supposed to be unkillable.
* TheDragon: The Crippled God wants him to be his Knight of Chains. So far, Karsa has been doing his best to refuse.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: He may have started out believing that [[DeliberateValuesDissonance there is nothing wrong with rape]], but he is nonetheless completely appalled when he finds out about [[spoiler:Bidithal]]'s paedophilia, and ultimately kills him. This effectively solidifies his transition from a VillainProtagonist to an AntiVillain (he ultimately ends up an AntiHero). In ''Literature/TheBonehunters'', he mentions that he hasn't raped anyone in years, so it's quite possible that seeing the effects of sexual abuse on [[spoiler:Felisin Younger]] cured him of these tendencies.
* FishOutOfWater: Anytime he approaches a remotely civilised location.
* TheGiant: Karsa's immense size is almost always noted.
* HeelFaceTurn: He starts out as unambiguously villainous. Even at the end of his character arc he is far from entirely sympathetic, but arguably becomes either an AntiVillain or a dark AntiHero. Some of this is arguably due to the narrative setting him against people who are unambiguously more villainous ({{Pedophile Priest}}s, slavers, etc.), but some of it is due to CharacterDevelopment, as his internal narrative makes it plain that he is re-examining the core beliefs that shaped him into the villain he was initially.
* HellishHorse
* HeManWomanHater: Not a straight example as he doesn't ''hate'' women, but he does believe them to be inferior, and holds them in deep contempt, initially believing that [[DeliberateValuesDissonance rape is totally okay]]. His interactions with [[HotWitch Samar Dev]] and various other women seem to be improving him for the better, although it's hard to tell completely; nonetheless, he delivers a massive PayEvilUntoEvil moment to [[spoiler:Bidithal]] for his paedophilia and abuse of [[spoiler:Felisin Younger]], which ''appalls'' him.
* InherentInTheSystem: Karsa believes slavery and exploitation are inherent in society. His solution? [[DisproportionateRetribution Burn it down]].
* KarmicDeath: Hands them out, with great relish.
* KillTheGod: [[spoiler: In addition to Rhulad Sengar, who was more or less the vessel of the Crippled God, he also kills Fener, facilitating his HeroicSacrifice.]]
* PayEvilUntoEvil: As mentioned above, he is quite fond of dishing out Karmic Deaths, particularly to paedophiles and slavers.
* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: The Teblor are a ProudWarriorRace, and he starts as one of the proudest. Even as he moves away from their customs, he doesn't lose his relish for combat.
* PsychopathicManChild: On occasion.
* RefusalOfTheCall: Sort of. He has no problem with going on adventures and [[RapePillageAndBurn raping and pillaging]] and whatnot. He just really resents doing it on the Crippled God's orders.
* [[TattooedCrook Tattooed Thug]]: The broken-glass tattoos on his face that denote his past as a slave.
* ValuesDissonance: Both in-universe (with the rest of the cast that is) and with the fans. He does get better as he undergoes CharacterDevelopment.
* VillainProtagonist: His perspective starts out as unambiguously villainous, which was done deliberately. However, he undergoes a substantial amount of CharacterDevelopment and arguably becomes either an AntiVillain or a very dark AntiHero.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: '''High House Shadow''']]

!!Shadowthrone/Ammanas

* BlackCloak
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Feared emperor, {{chessmaster}} usurper of High House Shadow, all around ManipulativeBastard...and deathly afraid of his mother (and all females), apparently. Has some shades of CloudCuckooLander as well.
* TheChessmaster: sets in motion much of the series
* DealWithTheDevil: "Shadowthrone loves deals."
* TheEmperor: [[spoiler: Pre-Ascension]].
* EvilSoundsDeep: Inverted. Ammanas' voice is very high-pitched and cold.
* FauxAffablyEvil
* FromNobodyToNightmare: [[spoiler: started off as a bar owner and middling criminal]]
* GigglingVillain
* {{Hellhound}}s: Commands seven of them.
* InTheHood
* LaughablyEvil
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Would you mess with a guy named "Shadowthrone"?
* PhysicalGod
* TheReveal: [[spoiler:He's Emperor Kellanved, who Ascended following Laseen's assassination attempt]].
* {{Revenge}}: Wants to pay back [[spoiler:Laseen for murdering him]].

!!Cotillion/The Rope
--> "It's not such a bad thing, girl, to be the pawn of a god."

* AntiVillain
* BadAss: If the stories are to be belived, [[spoiler:Dancer was a BadAss even before his Ascension to Godhood]]. He's definitely one now.
* TheChampion: As Assassin of High House Shadow he holds this position.
* DemonicPossession: Takes over Apsalar/Sorry during ''Gardens of the Moon''.
* TheDragon: To Shadowthrone.
* KnifeNut
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: The Rope, Patron of Assassins.
* ParentalSubstitute: [[spoiler: Seems to be trying to become one to Sorry/Apsalar, as a means of making up for what he put her through]].
* PetTheDog: Has a minor one with Sorry right before he possesses her, reassuring her that the experience won't be that bad. [[spoiler:Has had many more since than; see ParentalSubstitute, above]].
* PhysicalGod
* ProfessionalKiller: Cotillion is the Patron of Assassins.
* TheReveal: [[spoiler:Was formerly Dancer, Emperor Kellanved's companion, and Ascended alongside his master]].
* {{Revenge}}: For the same reasons as Ammanas.
* ShipperOnDeck: [[spoiler:He seems to want Cutter and Apsalar to be happy. It's just that, well, try as he might to be a kind father figure, he's not the god of happy endings, he's the god of murdering people in the face. It's not working.]]

!!Sorry / Apsalar
-> '''Quick Ben:''' 'I never believed in pure evil before Sorry showed up. But you're right, she's awfully young.'
--> ''Literature/GardensOfTheMoon''

Sorry is a recruit in Whiskeyjack's squad. She is awfully young and awfully unsettling, possessing the abilities and ruthlessness of a seasoned assassin, going so far as scaring Kalam, a former Claw. She used to be a fisher girl in Itko Kan, but due to being in the wrong place at the wrong time once, she has found herself in the service of High House Shadow and a vessel for the Patron of Assassins. After the possession is ended, she takes on the name Apsalar yet, due to having no other skills, remains in the employ of High House Shadow.

* AmnesiacsAreInnocent: After being freed from Cotillion's possession, she exibits a brief period of almost childlike innocence as her last memories are from her life in a fishing village and the memories of her time as a cold-blooded killer have yet to resurface again.
* BrainwashResidue: Aside from [[GhostMemory some leftover memories]] and skills from being possessed by the Patron of Assassins, Apsalar also retains some other things like movement patterns -- Urko Crust at first assumes her to be Cotillion's daughter despite looking nothing like him simply based on how she walks.
* BreakHisHeartToSaveHim: Apsalar leaves Cutter in order to keep him from following in her footsteps and becoming an assassin after realising how far he's already gone down that path for her sake.
* BrokenBird: She seems to be coping quite well with having been possessed by Cotillion and being unable to go back to her life as a fisher girl, but the fact that she keeps pushing Cutter away while at the same time showing occasional glipses of breaking down tells another story.
* DanceBattler: From ''Literature/TheBonehunters'' on, Apsalar is able to employ the Shadow Dance, a technique developed within the Cult of Rashan which enables the dancer to use shadow magic for fighting and assassination.
* DarkActionGirl: Though she's one of the more prominent characters, she's perceived as pure evil by some characters at first, and even later she remains an [[ProfessionalKiller assassin]] who works for High House Shadow. Thanks to the skills inherited from Cotillion and the Shadow Dance, Apsalar is able to take down entire Hands of the Claw.
* DemonicPossession: Divine possession by the Patron God of Assassins, who for the duration is in complete control her. Apsalar carries around the scars of having been possessed by Cotillion for most of the rest of the series, and the latter spends much of it trying to make it up to her.
* DoomedHometown: Though not actually destroyed, ''all'' the villagers of the fishing village she grew up at ''and'' the nearby town were killed by Shadowthrone and Cotillion to cover up her disappearance and subsequent possession.
* TheDreaded: As Sorry. Quick Ben jumps whenever she's around (or even worse -- not around), Kalam becomes nervous and even Whiskeyjack, always the one who tries to see the best in people, has to admit that Sorry makes him uncomfortable. During their time in Darujhistan, the entire squad is constantly on edge with fear of Sorry killing someone unasked and endangering their mission, and yet, nobody wants to actually have her at their quarters either.
* EmotionlessGirl: Upon their first meeting in ''Literature/GardensOfTheMoon'', Tattersail describes Sorry as 'young, pretty as an icicle and looking as warm to the touch' and immediately has a feeling that something's wrong with the girl. Sorry doesn't seem to care and remains cold and distant until her possession by Cotillion is ended.
* GhostMemory:
** Even after her possession by Cotillion ends, Apsalar -- after a short stint as AmnesiacsAreInnocent -- retains some of his personal memories (as mortal and Ascendant) and skills as [[ProfessionalKiller an assassin]]. The meories feel like her own to her and at first she speaks of events from before she was born as if they'd happened to her personally.
** Additionally, she also retains some scattered memories of Riggalai the Seer, the old wax-witch that tried to protect her from Cotillion's possession.
* GrandTheftMe: It is implied by Riggalai that Cotillion's possession would have completely annihilated the fisher girl's spirit, so deeply was it suppressed, had the old witch not intervened and shielded the girl within her own mind. Thus, while the Cotillion controls Sorry completely, enough of her is left to return when the possession is ended.
* KnifeNut: Knives are Sorry's weapons of choice. Quick Ben and Kalam recall an incident in which instead of killing a man, she basically mutilated him until even seasoned killer Kalam could not watch any longer and had to step in and kill the poor sod. She retains her preference for knives even after the possession ends.
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: While she retains memories of Cotillion's life as Dancer, Apsalar does lose all memories of what Cotillion did while he controlled her body.
* LossOfIdentity: She remembers quite a bit of her life pre-possession, but clearly isn't that girl anymore, not to mention that she has memories which aren't even hers while she still cannot remember her own name.
* MeaningfulName:
** The name Sorry is chosen by Cotillion when he possesses her and enlists her in the Malazan Army. It is his way to express how he feels about using the girl for his own means.
** However, when she has a chance to choose her own name, she averts the trope by just asking Crokus to give her a name he likes. He can't think of anything and proposes the name of the Goddess of Thieves and she takes it because she likes the sound of 'Apsalar'.
* OneManArmy: Thanks to the [[DanceBattler Shadow Dance]], in ''Literature/TheBonehunters'' [[spoiler:Apsalar is able to fight her way through upwards of a hundred [[ProfessionalAssassin Claw]], leaving only red mist behind]].
* PsychoForHire: Sorry poses as one while infiltrating the Malazan Army, to better discourage closer scrutiny of her persona. She scares Quick Ben, Whiskeyjack, and even former Claw Kalam, she's so damn creepy.
* WaifFu: Thanks to DemonicPossession resulting in the skills of a trained assassin, and later the [[DanceBattler Shadow Dance]], this less than twenty years old, asian looking [[note]] Itko Kan, where she is from, sounds a lot like certain parts of Asia[[/note]] girl is a potential OneManArmy.

!!Iskaral Pust

* BunnyEarsLawyer: Somewhere between an extreme example of this, and CrazyAwesome.
* DidIJustSayThatOutLoud: At times, Pust has been known to make comments like "she's falling for my clever scheme" ''to the person he is trying to manipulate''.
* EvilGenius: The only reason Shadowthrone keeps him around.
* ObfuscatingInsanity: Maybe. It's really hard to tell if Pust is faking it, or if he just happens to be both rather bright and ''totally nuts''.
* SmarterThanYouLook: Despite his craziness, tendency towards accidentally stabbing himself in the foot, and an ego the size of some small countries, Pust is actually quite bright, and at times, suprisingly effective.
* TalkativeLoon: Trying to shut him up would likely take an act of god. Or several gods.
* ThinkingOutLoud: Often.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: '''Lady Envy's Companions''']]

!!Lady Envy

* CainAndAbel: She and her sister Spite cannot bear to be in the same city without trying to kill each other.
* BetrayalByInaction: Is said to have stood by while her then-lover [[FamedInStory Anomander Rake]] [[FateWorseThanDeath killed]] her father and took his SoulCuttingBlade [[ForgedByTheGods Dragnipur]] from him. It is heavily implied that she did this just to spite Lord Draconus, and because she wanted Dragnipur for herself in the long run, not to stay out of a conflict between her father and her lover.
* GreenEyedMonster: Towards her sister, Spite.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Draconus intentionally named his daughters Envy, Spite and [[spoiler: Malice, and would've named a fourth one Venom.]]
* UpperClassTwit: Does an amazing impression of one. She's actually quite bright, if a little ditzy.

!!Toc The Younger

* AcheyScars: His eye still hurts.
* ActionSurvivor: Feels like one alongside Envy, Tool, Baaljaag, Gareth and the Seguleh.
* CantStayNormal: Or dead. He's been attacked by Hairlock and thrown into a rent, accompanied Lady Envy, [[BodySnatcher body snatched]] Anaster and become Mortal Sword of Togg and Fanderay, been killed again, and now serves Hood.
* TheChampion: Mortal Sword of Togg and Fanderay, then Herald of Death.
* DeathIsCheap: How many times has he come back from the dead now?
* EyepatchOfPower
* GrandTheftMe: Following his initial death, Toc's soul is transplanted into that of [[EmptyShell Anaster]] in order to give them both a second chance at life.
* PrivateMilitaryContractors: As leader of the Grey Swords.

!!Mok, Thurule, and Senu
----
* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: Seguleh hierarchy is modelled on combat ability. As the Third, Mok can and does kick a lot of ass.
* BadAss: All three of them. To the point where their fellow Seguleh class them as a "punitive army" and expect them to carve their way through the Pannion Domin on their own. They don't dissapoint.
** BadassArmy: They're "the punative army of the Seguleh", themselves as BadassArmy of the first order.
** BadassNormal
* BloodKnight: Three representatives from an entire nation of them.
* {{Charles Atlas Superpower}}s
* DualWielding: All three Seguleh.
* TheFettered: Courtesy of Lady Envy's magic.
* HonourBeforeReason: If the Seguleh think you might be tough, they will challenge you, no matter where or when. And they'll make it a fair fight too.
%%* ImplausibleFencingPowers
* ImprobableAge: Senu's just turned twenty.
* MaskPower: All Seguleh go masked, and the markings on their mask indicate their rank (Mok is the third-ranked Seguleh, his mask has two slashes on it).
* MasterSwordsman: All three, but especially Mok.
* [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Proud Warrior Race Trio]]
* TheQuietOne: All three of them, but especially Mok.
* TheStoic

!!Baaljaag
----
* AmnesiacGod: The wolf-goddess Fanderay is trapped inside her.
* CanineCompanion
* {{Sizeshifter}}: Can greatly alter her size, though not to the extent Gareth can.
* StarCrossedLovers: Is searching for the spirit of her mate, the wolf-god Togg. [[spoiler: He's hiding inside Toc]].

!!Gareth
----
* {{Hellhound}}: Has the potential to be a Hound of Shadow.
* CanineCompanion
* {{Sizeshifter}}: Can grow to tremendous size.

----
[[folder: '''Azathanai''']]

!!K'rul
An Elder God. The shaper of paths.
----
* [[AngelUnaware Elder God Unaware]]: [[spoiler: As Keruli.]]
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Mortal worshippers prayed to him. So he granted their prayers...which promptly caused all sorts of problems and power struggles.
** "...K’rul, who answered worship with generosity. Who, assailed by prayers written in spilled blood, gave answer to them. But the power he surrendered was not intended only for those who worshipped him. He has given it freely, to everyone."
* BigGood: Kind of. Maybe.
* BodyHorror: The warrens run through his veins, literally. [[spoiler: So when the warrens are poisoned, opening them occasionally causes boatloads of blood to come pouring out.]]
* GodsNeedPrayerBadly: The lack of it is implied to be the reason he's so weak now.
** Elder Gods accept prayer in the form of blood sacrifice. Give generously...
* HeroicSacrifice: Jaraku. Also the entire warren system.
* InTheHood: Default appearance is a fully cloaked figure.
* [[KarmicDeath Karmic Punishment]]: Kallor's curse.
* TheMentor: To Kruppe.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: In the prequel, implied to have been the root cause of all the series' problems, though probably not intentionally or knowingly.
* OlderAndWiser: To all the gods.
* SamusIsAGirl: Apparently. Maybe. Nope, we didn't see that coming either.
----
!!Draconus
An Elder God, the Suzerain of Night, Consort to Mother Dark, and brother of K'rul. He was killed with his own sword, [[CoolSword Dragnipur]], by Anomander Rake, and has been [[YourSoulIsMine trapped in there]] [[FateWorseThanDeath ever since]]. [[spoiler: Or at least until Rake's HeroicSacrifice.]]
----
* ParentalNeglect: Doesn't pay much attention to his kids, and named his three daughters [[VainSorceress Envy]], [[FemmeFatale Spite]], and [[EnfantTerrible Mal]][[WhatHappenedToTheMouse ice]] (if he had a fourth, she would apparently be named Venom). On the other hand, their mother, [[spoiler: Olar Ethil]], urges him to kill them, so...
* {{Badass}}: [[spoiler: Curbstomps Kilmandaros and Sechul Lath, both Elder Gods themselves.]] Also scares the crap out of everyone once they realize that [[spoiler: he's been freed from Dragnipur.]]
* CoolSword: Forged Dragnipur...
** HoistByHisOwnPetard: ...which was used to trap him in a FateWorseThanDeath. Although that was partially Kallor's fault.
* InstantAwesomeJustAddDragons: Naturally, he also turns into a giant black dragon. Although his particular [[VoluntaryShapeshifting Soletaken]] form is described as "darkness with wings" instead of a normal draconic form.
* LoveMakesYouCrazy, together with LoveRuinsTheRealm: Implied.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: The [[HumanSacrifice Terondai]] he commissioned from [[spoiler: Errastes]]
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: with a side of IHaveManyNames.
* OlderAndWiser: Apparently, spending several hundred thousand years suffering a FateWorseThanDeath mellowed him out a bit.
* WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove: Doesn't quite get it right, with [[PlayedForDrama unfortunate]] [[NiceJobBreakingItHero consequences]].
----
!!Hood
The god of death, and (an undead) Jaghut. [[spoiler: Succeeded as King of High House Death by Whiskeyjack and his Bridgeburners]]
----
* AnIcePerson: Comes with being a Jaghut.
* {{Badass}} [[spoiler: Seems fond of killing Forkrul Assail with his bare hands...and occasionally with his teeth.]]
* BigDamnHeroes: At the end.
* DarkIsNotEvil: One of the more reasonable gods, though still kind of a dick.
* TheGrimReaper
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast
* LoveMakesYouCrazy: His wife was murdered by [[spoiler: Errastes]]. So he [[DisproportionateRetribution raised an army and waged war on death itself]]. [[CrazyAwesome And won!]]
* OurOrcsAreDifferent
* UnusualEuphemism: Not him, but "Hood's breath" and "Hood's balls" seem to be the most popular Malazan curses.
* YouKillItYouBoughtIt: [[spoiler: As the king of the Jaghut, he waged a war on death, which ended with him becoming the god of death.]]
----
!!Errastas / The Errant
----
* AmbiguouslyEvil
* AmbitionIsEvil
* TheChessmaster
* DepravedBisexual: As [[spoiler: Turudal Brizad]].
* [[AngelUnaware Elder God Unaware]]: [[spoiler: As Turudal Brizad.]]
* {{Jerkass}}
** JerkassGods
* ManipulativeBastard
* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler: Although he ends the series with several rather nasty beings intent on chasing him down...]]
* PowersThatBe
* PrescienceIsPredictable
* TheOmniscient
* SpellMyNameWithAThe
* TimeAbyss

[[/folder]]
----
[[folder: '''Others''']]
!!Icarium Lifestealer
-> 'I am my own curse, Mappo. I have lived centuries, yet what do I know of my own past? Where are my memories? How can I judge my own life without such knowledge?'
--> ''Literature/DeadhouseGates''

Icarium, a Jaghut halfblood, is an incredibly old being, forever wandering the world with a sole companion in tow. He is present in the mythology of many cultures, and is feared by most of them. He is known for his obsession with time -- having gained sobriquets such as Lord of the Sand Grains -- and as an inventor and maker of monumental machines, particularly those that measure time, by the building of which he tries to counteract his frequent bouts of memory loss. While an incredibly smart and gentle person, he is also one of the most powerful beings alive without being aware of it.
----
* AmnesiacDissonance: After discovering what happens during [[MissingTime his black-outs]], Icarium is horrified and comes to the conclusion that [[RedemptionEqualsDeath only death or eternal imprisonment can redeem him]].
* AmnesiacsAreInnocent: His amnesia shields Icarium from what he has done in the past, allowing him to retain his generous and sometimes downright innocent nature. Fiddler wonders how Icarium never questions his partnership with Mappo despite having only Mappo's word about their long friendship to rely on, but Icarium later points out that while frustrated, he has become simply used to the feeling.
--> '''Mappo:''' ''In your ignorance you are so pure, so noble.''
* TheBerserker: Once his UnstoppableRage kicks in, he becomes utterly uncontrollable in a fight, unable to distinguish friend from foe and indifferent to his own life. Comes complete with a [[ScreamingWarrior frightening, keening scream]].
* BowAndSwordInAccord: He carries both a longbow, which seems to be his first choice of weapon, and a sword, and can be deadly with either, but wears little -- if any -- armour.
* BullyingADragon: In ''Literature/DeadhouseGates'', with Icarium as the dragon and Iskaral Pust as the one who cannot keep his mouth shut, baiting Icarium with supposed knowledge he posses that Icarium lacks and calling Icarium a fool. He gets choked pretty thoroughly for his trouble.
* TheDreaded: Everyone who's ever heard of Icarium is shitting their metaphorical pants at the mere thought that Icarium might lose his temper and level the next couple of cities.
* GeniusBruiser: Icarium is a seven foot tall, tusked, weathered and travel-worn looking warrior sporting a sword and a bow, one of the most lethal fighters ever born and infamous for his UnstoppableRage. He is also a mapmaker, inventor and scholar.
* GlowingEyes: While in an UnstoppableRage, Icarium's eyes blaze silver as a sign of the enormous power that surrounds him like a maelstrom.
* HereWeGoAgain: Though Icarium cannot remember it, it's implied that it's happened countless times before that he would have a companion, this companion would either die or be killed by Icarium in an unfortunate moment, and he would then wake up with a new companion who would claim that they'd been travelling together for ages. At the end of ''Literature/TheCrippledGod'', [[spoiler:he wakes up to find Ublala Pung at his side, and just accepts him as the feeling is already so familiar, and the cycle starts anew, while Mappo's corpse lies mere metres away]].
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With his travelling companion Mappo Runt. They spend their entire time together and obviously mean a lot to each other, although Icarium sometimes has trouble reconciling the depth of their friendship with his lack of memories. For him, there has simply always been someone at his side, and in whatever memories he does possess, it's always been Mappo.
* HumanWeapon: The Nameless Ones treat Icarium as one. Although, technically, he was not ''made'' by them, they claim authority over how and when he gets to be used. Naturally, Icarium gets no say in the matter, not does he even know about the Nameless Ones.
* IAmNotAGun: When, in ''Literature/TheBonehunters'', Taralack Veed urges him to kill the defenders of the Throne of Shadow, Icarium retorts that he's had enough of this. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, he goes berserk anyway, as too much fighting is going on around him.]]
* KatanasAreJustBetter: Averted. However, the unusual shape of his sword -- a thin, long, single-edged, curved blade -- is remarked upon several times, although it is not treated any differently in combat than other words.
* LightningBruiser: Especially once he [[TheBerserker loses control]], Icarium can both dish out and receive potentially catastrophic amounts of damage without even blinking, all while doing it too fast for some to register. But even without the rage mode, he is frighteningly fast. Fast enough to startle Karsa Orlong.
* MadeOfIron: It's unclear if he can be truly killed. Serious wounds only knock him out and trigger his amnesia, and he seems to grow even tougher when angry.
* MadGod: There are cults on the island of Cabal which worship Icarium as the One God, the Stealer of Life, essentially claiming he is a mad puppet with unimaginable power, turning any power of creation he may possess into random destruction. One sect calls itself that of the Mockers, asserting that a god who never left his worshippers any doctrine to live by but allows them to make and interpret their own, cannot be anything but insane.
* MartialPacifist: He demonstrates on several occasions that he'd prefer not to get into a fight, but he also doesn't have the greatest patience, so annoy him long enough and you are dead meat. And Icarium will not even remember having mopped the floor with you afterwards.
* MasterSwordsman: He's had thousands of years to hone his sword fighting skills, coupled with his incredible speed.
* MindHive: After the end of ''Literature/ReapersGale'', [[spoiler:where his previously built memory machine turns out to be broken and sucks not only his own mind in but also that of several random bystanders, Icarium ends up with a fractured mind and the ghosts/personalities of eight other people stuck in one -- his -- body. While that body wanders the Waste Lands aimlessly, the caught ghosts perceive themselves as separate entities undertaking that same trip, constantly arguing among each other, with the original Icarium -- reduced to a ghost not even the others can perceive -- floating around them in hopeless confusion. Ultimately, however, they do act as one, simply because they -- unknowingly -- share one body.]]
* MissingTime: Whenever he goes into UnstoppableRage, effectively transforming into a monster capable of destroying entire civilizations, Icarium afterwards forgets all that he's done. He then usually shows concern about the MissingTime, but whatever companion he is currently travelling with makes sure to make the right noises to help Icarium with rationalizing the memory loss away.
* MookHorrorShow: At the end of ''Literature/TheBonehunters'', [[spoiler:Icarium loses control after witnessing children die and almost annihilates the Tiste Edur contingent sent to the Throne of Shadow. They practically ''melt'' several at a time; that is, those that don't get thrown around like toys]].
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: To those who have heard of Icarium's reputation or have been witness to its cause, his byname Lifestealer is something to run away from really fast indeed. Other variations on the name exist, such as Slayer of the Ten Thousand.
* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: Icarium is half Jaghut (from his father's side) and -- presumably, as it's never fully disclosed -- Thelomen Toblakai (from his mother's side). Both races are roughly humanoid, so in consequence, Icarium is as well, although he visibly leans more towards Jaghut than Toblakai.
* NoSocialSkills: As he spends most of his time wandering the deserts of Seven Cities with Mappo as his sole companion, and due to his memory problems, Icarium is not very good with social interactions beyond the basics. May also be because he's half Jaghut, and Jaghut are notorious loners prefering their own company above all else.
--> '''Mappo:''' 'He entertains your companions. Feebly, I admit. For all his years, Icarium has never mastered the social grace necessary to put others at ease.'
* PersonOfMassDestruction: Icarium may be one of the nicest and most caring people one can come upon in the books. Piss him off, though, and you may say goodbye to your city/country/civilization. And it's not even intentional, as afterwards he will not remember how he just levelled the city in the ruins of which he's now standing and will even be shocked at how someone could possibly bring so much destruction and death. In trying to use him as a weapon the Nameless Ones might have bitten off more than they could chew and characters who encounter Icarium have a hard time reconciling the person they've met with the stories trailing in his wake.
* QuestForIdentity: His eternal search for his own memories, without which he feels he cannot assert a proper sense of his own self. [[spoiler:And later, more literally, when he wakes up in the Waste Lands, his mind splintered and his core having become a ghost with no recollection of even its own name.]]
* ScreamingWarrior: Whenever his UnstoppableRage is triggered, it is both prefaced and accompanied by a high-pitched, haunting keening sound coming from his throat.
* TalkingToThemself: [[spoiler:During his wandering around the Waste Lands with a split mind and a host of other minds populating his body, everything that the other ghosts/personalities say to each other, is actually also said out loud by Icarium's body, creating the image of a lone wanderer ceaseless talking to himself.]]
* TragicBromance: He and Mappo have been HeterosexualLifePartners for centuries, wandering the world together, and are close enough to openly speak about their deep feelings of friendship. Even though Mappo was originally meant as a guardian and minder for Icarium, Icarium's generous and noble nature makes Mappo cherish him, and despite having severe problems with [[TraumaInducedAmnesia memories]], Icarium can by the feeling of familiarity alone tell that Mappo is indeed who he claims to be. [[spoiler:When they are attacked and separated, Mappo crosses half the world to find Icarium again, only to die mere metres away from his friend. However, it is heavily implied that this is the turning point for Icarium and the latter finally regains at least some of his memories, enabling him to take his life back into his own hands.]]
* TraumaInducedAmnesia: It is implied in ''Literature/HouseOfChains'' that Icarium once tried to destroy an Azath House to free his father -- who didn't want to be 'freed' -- but only managed to mortally wound it, receiving enough trauma in return that he not only forgot that incident altogether, but has been suffering bouts of UnstoppableRage and subsequent MissingTime ever since.
* UnstoppableRage: Icarium suffers bouts of UnstoppableRage in which he utterly loses control and attacks everything and everyone (with the sole exception of machines he has built himself). They are rooted in a traumatic incident with an Azath House, and make him one of the or possibly most feared entity in the entire realm, as they're almost impossible to predict or stop, and he has gone so far as to destroy entire civilizations in the past. When enraged, Icarium becomes surrounded by a magical maelstrom that basically ''melts'' anything in his way. Afterwards, he never remembers what he's done.
----
!!Mappo Runt
-> '''Fiddler:''' ''Mappo, a name ever chained to another's. And enough rumours to fill a tome. If any were true...''
--> ''Literature/DeadhouseGates''

Mappo Runt is a Trell whose name is eternally associated with being the companion of Icarium Lifestealer. He is Icarium's close friend and -- unbeknownst to Icarium -- also his guardian and minder, tasked by the Nameless Ones with keeping Icarium out of trouble and ignorant of his own past. However, due to Icarium's gentle nature, Mappo is eternally conflicted about whether ending a potential threat is worth losing the friend he loves so much.
----
* BagOfHolding: He was given a bag with an entire warren inside of it by the shoulderwomen of his tribe. Some irritating people have also found their way into it on occasion.
* CarryABigStick: Mappo carries a mace around for fighting purposes. It is made of a big long-bone with a ring of iron spikes at the business end and is invested with sorcery to make it as [[UnbreakableWeapons durable]] as possible.
* DoomedHometown: Mappo's hometown was destroyed, allegedly by Icarium, and Mappo, as the only survivor, was recruited by the Nameless Ones as Icarium's new guardian. [[spoiler:''Deadhouse Gates'' reveals that actually, the town was destroyed by the Nameless Ones themselves, as they urgently needed a new guardian for Icarium and wanted to make sure Mappo would hate Icarium and take the threat seriously enough to fit the job.]]
* GentleGiant: Although shorter than Icarium (who is seven feet tall, mind you), as a [[OurOgresAreHungrier Trell]] Mappo is rather wide and thus even more imposing. But while he can dish out serious damage with his mace, he prefers to stay out of the way of trouble, find peaceful solutions and generally be on friedly terms with people.
* GuiltComplex: After [[spoiler:losing Icarium]], Mappo develops one, until he eventually feels guilty for anything and everything. He feels guilty for [[spoiler:not being good enough anymore in the eyes of the Nameless Ones to remain Icarium's guardian, for having believed the Nameless Ones, for lying to Icarium for centuries, for having spurned the opportunity to free the world of Icarium by handing him over to Tremorlor just because he didn't want to give up his friend, for outwardly looking like a noble friend even though he had selfish motives, and eventually for turning away from people -- children -- in need just so he could keep looking for Icarium]].
* HeartbrokenBadass: Not a love interest, but when Mappo [[spoiler:loses Icarium]], whom he loves [[HeterosexualLifePartners as a friend]], he becomes utterly heartbroken, even going so far as [[spoiler:crossing the entire world to get him back, all the while fighting his guilt]].
* HeroicBSOD: Mappo experiences one in ''Literature/DeadhouseGates'' when Icarium finally understands what he is and Mappo is flooded with conflicting thoughts about saving the world from the threat that Icarium represents but at the same time losing the only friend he's ever cared this much for. He doesn't even notice how he falls to his knees, and has to be brought back to reality by Icarium.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Icarium, with whom he has travelled for hundreds of years. Initially only meant as a guardian for Icarium, they have developed a deep friendship and trust each other unconditionally, although Mappo has to live with -- and is tortured by -- the knowledge that he is eternally lying to his friend. [[spoiler:When Icarium is taken from him by the Nameless Ones, Mappo becomes heartbroken and crosses half the world to find him again, all the while thinking, in tears, of how much he wants Icarium back.]]
* MyGreatestFailure: Mappo considers his blunder in [[spoiler:keeping Icarium safe and the world safe from Icarium by almost dying when attacked by Dejim Nebrahl]] to be his greates failure and incentive to set things right again.
* PowerOfTrust: Icarium reminding Mappo of his unconditional trust for the latter is what snaps Mappo out of his HeroicBSOD in ''Literatur/DeadhouseGates''.
* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: Mappo used to be one in his youth, when he left his hometown, which specialized in trade, and joined one of the outlying tribes that were following the traditional Trell way of war and wandering. He spent a couple hundred years there, before snapping out of it by find his [[DoomedHometown burned to the ground]].
* {{Sidekick}}: Mappo ist best known in-universe as Icarium's companion and sidekick. While Icarium is tall, lean, [[GeniusBruiser skilled with a sword and widely-read]], Mappo is shorter, wider, hairier, fights using a mace and purports to know little, even though he is actually quite knowledgeable in everyday survival matters. Subverted in that it's Mappo who's in charge of keeping Icarium out of trouble, even though Icarium is unaware of that.
* TragicBromance: He and Icarium have been HeterosexualLifePartners for centuries, wandering the world together, and are close enough to openly speak about their deep feelings of friendship. Even though Mappo was originally meant as a guardian and minder for Icarium, Icarium's generous and noble nature makes Mappo cherish him, and despite having severe problems with [[TraumaInducedAmnesia memories]], Icarium can by the feeling of familiarity alone tell that Mappo is indeed who he claims to be. [[spoiler:When they are attacked and separated, Mappo crosses half the world to find Icarium again, only to die mere metres away from his friend. However, it is heavily implied that this is the turning point for Icarium and the latter finally regains at least some of his memories, enabling him to take his life back into his own hands.]]
* UnbreakableWeapons: Mappo's mace was invested by his tribe's shoulderwomen to make it practically unbreakable. At least, it's never shown any sign of the spell failing within hundreds of years.
----
!!Fisher kel Tath
-> 'I sing them all. Lies, truths, the words make no distinction in what they tell, nor even the order they come in. We do as we please with them.'
--> ''Literature/TollTheHounds''

A famous bard, who is often quoted by characters in the setting and seems to be the main source of information on all things Anomander Rake, due to his epic poem ''Anomandaris''. Many of the epigraphs preceeding chapters in the books are written by him and he has allegedly met with Gallan -- a fellow but even older famous Tiste poet -- to get a first hand account of the events of the Tiste diaspora. Which makes him the de-facto author of ''Literature/TheKharkanasTrilogy''.
----
* AuthorFilibuster: Some excerpts from Fisher's ''Mane of Chaos'' (which may or may not be a part of the bigger epic ''Anomandaris'') show him halting midway through the telling to accuse his listeners of being too pre-occupied with inconsequential things and of lacking in courage to truly understand Anomander Rake's sacrifices. Delivered in verse, of course.
* BadassBystander: He's just an old bard plucking a lute in his quiet corner of K'rul's Bar -- until [[spoiler:assassins storm the building and the aftermath sees a half-dozen bodies on the stage and some smidgen of blood on Fisher's shirt, indicating his victorious involvement]].
* BadassGrandpa: An old, gaunt, grey-haired bard who prefers to be an observer and the extent of whose involvement usually amounts to giving voice to those who have none. But not only is he a BadassBystander, when -- in ''Literature/TollTheHounds'' -- it looks like the conflict with the Guild of Assassins has come to a standstill, [[spoiler:he casually steps up, throws Guild Master Seba Krafar around like a doll and threatens him into cancelling the contract on the Bridgeburners like it's nothing, giving Seba a serious case of [[BringMyBrownPants brown pants]]]].
* TheBard: The most famous bard of contemporary literature in the setting. His specialty is poetry.
* BreakingTheFourthWall: Fisher's {{Author Filibuster}}s are known in-universe as "Fisher's challenge to his listeners", in which he breaks the narration to address his listeners directly. There are also entire poems in which Fisher addresses his listeners directly.
* ExpositionOfImmortality: It is hinted at that Fisher may not be intirely mortal, or even be outright immortal. In ''Literature/TollTheHounds'', Blend points out how he's sung verses of ''Anomandaris'' she's never heard before, and some of the songs he knows are over a hundred years old and stem not only from different cultures, but also different ''worlds''. Duiker cryptically states that the poet is immortal, prompting Blend to question whether he speaks in metaphorical terms or about Fisher in particular. And Lady Envy, herself practically immortal, questions Fisher's mortality.
* FamedInStory: Provides many chapter epigraphs, occasionally cited by other characters. But mostly, he's the one that everyone quotes when discussing Anomander Rake, since his [[TheEpic epic poem]] ''Anomandaris'' seems to be the main source of information concerning Rake.
* TheGhost: His name is tossed around a lot, but he himself doesn't appear until ''Literature/TollTheHounds''.
* GreyEyes: Fisher has both grey eyes and [[CurtainsMatchTheWindow hair]] and is quite a mysterious figure. Neither is it clear [[VagueAge how old he truly is]], nor where he comes from, nor what his purpose is. He knows songs from various cultures and ''worlds'' and there's an air of immortality and divinity about him, as well as hints of a possible prophetic ability.
* MagnumOpus: ''Anomandaris'', the [[TheEpic epic poem]] chronicling the life and deeds of Anomander Rake.
* RomanceEnsues: Fisher and Lady Envy spend an unstated number of evenings sequestered within her estate, presumably discussing the current situation and Fisher going through his repertoire of songs and poems, then suddenly Lady Envy has a LoveEpiphany based on how many HiddenDepths Fisher has and RomanceEnsues.
* SageLoveInterest: Fisher's all-encompassing ability to see and understand and reveal the world where it needs revealing and to understand that some things need to remain untold is what draws Lady Envy to him in the first place.
* SecondLove: Provided Spite's assertion that Lady Envy did really love Anomander Rake is true, Fisher is her second love. This is made particularly interesting by the fact that Fisher is best known for the [[TheEpic epic poem]] he's written ''about'' Anomander Rake and that they [[spoiler:hook up right before the culmination of Rake's epic quest to bring Mother Dark back, which includes him dying]].
* SignatureStyle: Fisher's poems are often instantly recognizable due to their bleak and rambling tone, dealing with issues like loss, death, violence, sacrifice, despair, grief, parting of ways, personal tragedy, the gods' fallibility, childhood burdens, longing for love and all that fun stuff.
* TheStoryteller: His main occupation is being a wandering bard and to chronicle important events and many of the chapter epigraphs are excerpts of works written by him, both prose and poems, though mostly poems.
* TakeThatAudience: Fisher is fond of inserting verses into his poems which call out the audience on something, like what he perceives as their lack of courage.
--> Sacrifices made\\
Vows given\\
He stands alone\\
Because none of you dare\\
Stand with him.
* UnreliableNarrator: While it is true that he has chronicled the life story of Anomander Rake (and the stories of many other events), the reliability of his accounts is somewhat questionable as Fisher himself admits that he puts impact and meaning over truth.
* VagueAge: Fisher is described as an old, grey-haired man, yet his exact age is often called into question by other characters. When he is angry, Scillara wonders if he's not younger than she initially thought, and Blend points out how some songs supposedly written by Fisher are over a hundred years old; and all Lady Envy can say for certain is that he is not a young man.
* VirtueIsWeakness: Discussed by Lady Envy regarding Fisher. She muses that only fools would see Fisher's stunning capacity for compassion as a weakness.
* WarriorPoet: He is mostly known for his poetry, but is surprisingly capable in a fight when provoked sufficiently. Fisher turns out to be a valuable asset to the [[spoiler:retired Bridgeburners]] when they are assailed in their bar. [[spoiler:He even kills a sizeable number of the attacking assassins himself.]]
----
!!Burn
----
* BitchInSheepsClothing: [[spoiler:Olar Ethil claims to be Burn, but it's not clear if she was telling the truth.]]
* DamselInDistress / IllGirl: A rather bizarre example. Spends most of the series being slowly poisoned, and although she never actually shows up in person, other characters comment constantly on her deteriorating condition. Mostly because it's making the CrapsackWorld [[DeathWorld even worse]].
* MotherEarth
[[/folder]]

[[folder: '''Imass / T'lan Imass''']]

!! Onos Too'lan
* BadAss: Yes he's undead. Yes he has a host of advantages related to being undead. And yet, Tool is still incredibly BadAss.
* BerserkButton: Tool doesn't have a lot of friends. Don't hurt the ones he has.
* CoolSword: A huge, enchanted ''flint'' sword.
* DeliberateInjuryGambit: As a T'lan Imass, Tool can surive anything short of beheading or total dismemberment. It's not surprising, therefore, that these kind of tactics feature prominently in his playbook.
* EarnYourHappyEnding
* GoodThingYouCanHeal: Like most of the T'lan Imass, Tool regularly shrugs off crippling injuries, just to remind us that, yes, he is undead.
* ImplacableMan: Comes with being a T'lan Imass, although even by their standards he's pretty damn hard to stop.
* LightningBruiser: As the First Sword, he can fight with the best, and as a T'lan Imass, he can basically become dust and travel really fast, and short of decapitation T'lan Imass don't die. However, T'lan Imass cannot materialize over water.
* LonersAreFreaks: Tool is unbound, and unconnected to any clan. Other T'lan Imass tend to view him with a mix of suspicion and awe because of this.
* MasterSwordsman: The First Sword of the T'lan Imass.
* TheUndead: Naturally.
* TheUnfettered

!!Kilava Onass

* LonersAreFreaks: Even more so than her brother, Tool. Especially since she was the one who killed their entire tribe...
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Pannion. That is all.
* TheUndead: A notable aversion; she refused to take part in the Ritual of Tellann and is now one of the only living Imass still around.
* VoluntaryShapeshifting / PantheraAwesome: As a bonecaster, she turns into a big black panther.

!!Onrack the Broken

* FluffyTamer: His two [[PantheraAwesome emlava]] cubs.
* HappilyMarried: [[spoiler: Eventually, with Kilava.]] Not so much with his first wife...
* PowerOfFriendship: With Trull Sengar.
* WhoWantsToLiveForever: Averted. Onrack is one of the few T'lan Imass that doesn't see his condition as a curse.
* YourCheatingHeart: [[spoiler: Cheated on his wife, the Imass woman who would later become the Whirlwind Goddess.]]

!!Olar Ethil

* {{Dracolich}}: Being the First Bonecaster, Olar Ethil is also a Soletaken. However, since she is undead, her Soletaken form is that of an undead dragon.

[[folder: '''Jaghut''']]

!!Raest

* AGodAmI: Like many Jaghut Tyrants, Raest took perverse delight in being percieved as a god by the Imass.
* ArmourIsUseless: You don't even find out he was wearing it until several books after the fight. To be fair, he was fighting Dragons, so it probably didn't make all that much difference.
* {{Badass}}: Hell yes. Possibly one the strongest characters introduced in the series, in terms of raw power (although that may have just been a [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness GOTM thing]].
* DeadpanSnarker: Is evolving into one as the series progresses. His sense of humour is definitely an odd one though.
* MoralityPet: Has several Malazan soldiers find him a dead cat. He brings it to life so that it can keep him company inside the House of Azath and names it Tufty.
* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch: The Jaghut loathed community and avoided it as though it were a disease, believing it led only to horror and violence. Raest is a tyrant, who gets his kicks out of enslaving weaker species.
* SealedEvilInACan: Well, sealed in a barrow anyway, and by his own species no less. His Finnest, which contains most of his power, is also an example.
* SoulJar: The Finnest has most of Raest's power in it.
* TheUndead: He's not Undead like the Imass are, but it's clear that Raest and his body no longer share a particularly intimate connection, and the destruction of the latter causes him few difficulties. [[spoiler:A straight example now that he's inside the Azath House]].

!!Gothos

* AnIcePerson
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Like most Jaghut, shows a rather...weird sense of humor.
---> "I greet you as guests and so will not crush the life from you and devour your souls with peals of laughter. No, instead, I will make some tea."
---> "Ah, I despair, or I would if I cared enough. [[RunningGag No, instead, I will make some ashcakes.]] Which I will not share."
* FamedInStory
* TheHermit: Like most non-Tyrant Jaghut. To the point where he willingly lives in an Azath house.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: [[spoiler: The Lord of Hate.]]
* NietzscheWannabe: Oh yeah. His work, Gothos' Folly, is described as a suicide note dozens of volumes long.
* ParentalNeglect: To his son [[spoiler: Icarium]], a rather screwed up individual.
* PersonOfMassDestruction: When you can casually freeze an entire continent...
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld
* {{Troll}}: Really enjoys jerking Kilmandaros and Mael around.

!!Pannion

See '''Pannion Domin'''
[[/folder]]

[[folder: '''High House Chains''']]

!!The Crippled God / [[spoiler:Kaminsod]]

* AndIMustScream: He's been trapped and tortured for ''hundreds of thousands of years'' at the start of the series.
* BigBad: About as close to one as the series gets. [[spoiler:Arguably subverted in that he's treated with considerable sympathy, particularly in the later books, and in the end the protagonists end up having to ''save'' him when his plots get [[HijackedByGanon Hijacked by the Forkrul Assail]].]]
* BlackCloak: Of sorts. He usually covers himself in dark-colored rags, rather than an actual cloak, but the look is very similar.
* TheCorrupter: The Crippled God specialises in bringing out the worst in people, typically [[DealWithTheDevil offering them exactly what they want]] in exchange for their inclusion in his House of Chains. He seems to like driving his followers/victims mad.
* DealWithTheDevil: Munug, [[spoiler: Kallor]] and many others have made them with him.
* DisabledDeity: It's in the name. He's not a paragon of mental health, either.
* DysfunctionJunction: His followers. It's entirely deliberate too. The Crippled God desires every member of his House to be as flawed, mentally and/or physically, as he is.
* EvilCripple: Evil due to crippling. The Fall destroyed his mind.
* FreudianExcuse: The Fall did not do good things to his sanity. The fact that most of the pantheon has periodically gotten together and chained him up for, from his perspective, no real reason didn't help either.
* GodOfEvil: Deconstructed. He's more like a god of ''suffering'', and that suffering includes his own. While he's initially presented as ''causing'' it, in the end [[spoiler:after the Bonehunters risk everything to save him from the Assail and ''succeed'', he ends up becoming the god who has sympathy for those who suffer]].
** [[spoiler: Well, at least up until the point Cotillion kills him with a surprise backstab. It's implied, however, that this was done to allow him to return home, which was [[EarnYourHappyEnding what he wanted all along]].]]
* HiddenVillain: For the first two and a half books.
* IHaveManyNames: The Crippled God, the Fallen God, the Chained One. [[spoiler:But his real name is Kaminsod]].
* KickTheDog: His treatment of Rhulad Sengar. See below.
* MadGod: Due to being caught in a trap meant for Kallor and spending hundreds of thousands of years in it.
* TheManBehindTheMan: To ''so'' many different villains, with the [[spoiler:[[DarkMessiah Pannion Seer]]]] being a particularly spectacular example.
* NarratorAllAlong: [[spoiler:Ultimately revealed as the narrator in ''The Crippled God''. This turns out to be a JustifiedTrope, as it's revealed that he [[LiteraryAgentHypothesis penned the series]] so that those who sacrificed their lives to free him would not be forgotten. The title of the series, naturally, relates to this.]]
* OmnicidalManiac: He's slowly poisoning Burn. Whether he genuinely wants her dead or is hoping that someone will free him in order to prevent this isn't known for most of the series. [[spoiler:It's the latter]].
* PillarOfLight: When [[spoiler:he's freed]].
* PhysicalGod: Like many other Ascendants in the series.
* RedRightHand: The evil god is the [[EvilCripple crippled one]]. Go figure.
* SadisticChoice: See XanatosGambit below. The best case scenario is his freedom, and the end of civilisation as they know it. The worst case scenario is the slow death of the entire world.
* SealedEvilInACan: Chained in place to the sleeping goddess Burn, though his spirit can move around inside a Warren and has appeared in several places around the world. [[spoiler:Ultimately subverted when he is freed and turns out to act more in the manner one would expect of a SealedGoodInACan. Freeing him seems to have undone the madness that led to most of his actions prior to his freedom, and it certainly stops his poisoning of Burn which had been causing many of the world's problems. He's also immensely grateful to the people who freed him; ending hundreds of thousands of years' worth of torture will do that to a god.]]
* StartOfDarkness: He was just a foreign god who fell to earth as the result of a trap meant for [[TheEmperor Kallor]]. And went stark raving mad as a result.
* VaderBreath: Has to constantly inhale incense in order to keep his lungs clear. Even then, his breathing is still ragged and wheezing.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: The fate of many of those who choose to follow him.
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: The Fall left him crippled, agonised and totally insane. He seems to be out to destroy the world in order to make the pain go away. It's very hard not to feel bad for him on some level.
** [[spoiler: After his plans get taken over by the Forkrul Assail, who are basically using his heart as an ArtifactOfDoom, he turns into more of a straight-up {{Woobie}}]].
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: None of the injuries from the Fall have healed. Not one in a hundred thousand years.
* XanatosGambit: If they don't loose him, Burn dies and he gets his revenge. If they do, he's free to wreak havoc and get his revenge via other means. Kind of a win-win situation for him.

!!Rhulad Sengar

* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Before the horror show began.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Mystically linked to one.
* AxeCrazy
* BackFromTheDead: Over and over and over again.
* {{BFS}}: The aforementioned ArtifactOfDoom.
* BigEgoHiddenDepths: Rhulad is a much more layered character than his AnnoyingYoungerSibling behaviour lets on at first, however it takes a serious horror show for that to surface. By the time he starts trying to get his shit together it's way too late and he can't help himself slipping back into his old persona again and again.
* BlessedWithSuck: He comes back every time he's killed, but only after having his soul tortured by the Crippled God.
* BodyHorror: Covered in half-melted gold coins from a Tiste Edur death rite. Some of them fall out, but that just leaves him with horrific burn scars instead.
* TheCaligula: Deconstructed. We're treated to a blow-by-blow account of his descent into madness, and it's treated as tragedy rather than menace.
* CoolSword: Subverted. It's the ArtifactOfDoom that keeps bringing him back.
* DeathSeeker: Gee, I wonder why?
* TheDragon: As The King in Chains, he fullfills this role with regards to the Crippled God.
* TheEmperor: Of the Letherii Empire and the Tiste Edur.
* EvilOverlord
* GlorySeeker: Initially. By the time he learns the lesson it's too late, though.
* HealingFactor: Can heal any injuries, [[WoundThatWillNotHeal save those inflicted on him by the funeral rites after his first death]].
* HeroicSacrifice: Which got him linked to the ArtifactOfDoom in the first place.
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Due to being too young and too proud, Rhulad is prone to misjudging people. He considers Trull a coward, but trusts people who are only in it for their own benefit.
* IHaveManyNames: Rhulad Sengar, The Emperor of a Thousand Deaths, The King in Chains.
* ImmortalityHurts: Between getting tortured by the Crippled God in the afterlife, the BodyHorror from his funeral, his bride committing suicide rather than bearing his child, and his enroaching insanity, yeah.
* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler: When Karsa finally kills his soul]].
* {{Lust}}: Lusted after his brother Fear's wife, who toyed with his emotions as a game. This results in a very nasty LoveTriangle once he becomes The Emperor.
* MoodSwinger: Comes with the increasing insanity.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: The Emperor of a Thousand Deaths.
* NeckSnap: How he meets his second death at the hand of Letherii soldier Iron Bars. He gets over it.
* PetTheDog: His attempt at returning Mayen, his wife, to his brother, Fear, whom she genuinely loves. Also, his forcing Mayen to stop beating her slave, Feather Witch.
* {{Pride}}: One of Rhulad's major sins before becoming The King In Chains. He was convinced he was far superior to everyone, including his brothers Fear and Trull.
* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Averted. He forces his brother's wife to marry him, and has his way with her, and somehow, it just makes him all the more pathetic and pitiable.
* SanitySlippage: Gradually loses his mind as each new resurrection takes its toll on him.
* SelfMadeOrphan: Not that this was his intention. He threw his mom and dad in prison. [[DeusAngstMachina The jail promptly flooded]].
* SmallNameBigEgo: Initially. His first death pretty much shatters his ego though.
* TraumaCongaLine: His brother is murdered by Karsa, his bride kills herself, his parents are drowned in his dungeon, his people are scheming against him, he's slowly going mad, and that's without getting into the horror show that is his curse.
* WhoWantsToLiveForever: Not Rhulad.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: [[spoiler: It's hard to not to sympathise with him, after his mind starts to slowly break apart because of his deaths... and deaths of his loved ones. Also Udinaas, his only friend, betrays him - or so he thinks...]]
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: No matter how many times he dies, the wounds from his first death will not heal. And then there's those [[BodyHorror damn coins]] from his first funeral.

!!Karsa Orlong / Toblakai

* AntiHero: A NominalHero, more or less. An UnscrupulousHero on a good day.
* {{Badass}}: How his fans view him.
* BarbarianHero: His perspective is initially, per WordOfGod, a deliberate {{deconstruction}} of the barbarian fantasy, and as such his perspective begins as not heroic in any conceivable sense. He gets somewhat better as he undergoes CharacterDevelopment, but at his best remains an antihero.
* BloodKnight: While he's not as much of one now as he was when the series starts, he's still quite fond of, and skilled at, combat.
* BoisterousBruiser
* CatchPhrase: "Witness!" Usually followed by something very BadAss or just plain [[RefugeInAudacity insane]].
* TheChampion: Accepting the position of Knight of High House Chains would make him this to the Crippled God.
* DefeatingTheUndefeatable: Or more accurately, killing [[spoiler:the Emperor of a Thousand Deaths]] who was supposed to be unkillable.
* TheDragon: The Crippled God wants him to be his Knight of Chains. So far, Karsa has been doing his best to refuse.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: He may have started out believing that [[DeliberateValuesDissonance there is nothing wrong with rape]], but he is nonetheless completely appalled when he finds out about [[spoiler:Bidithal]]'s paedophilia, and ultimately kills him. This effectively solidifies his transition from a VillainProtagonist to an AntiVillain (he ultimately ends up an AntiHero). In ''Literature/TheBonehunters'', he mentions that he hasn't raped anyone in years, so it's quite possible that seeing the effects of sexual abuse on [[spoiler:Felisin Younger]] cured him of these tendencies.
* FishOutOfWater: Anytime he approaches a remotely civilised location.
* TheGiant: Karsa's immense size is almost always noted.
* HeelFaceTurn: He starts out as unambiguously villainous. Even at the end of his character arc he is far from entirely sympathetic, but arguably becomes either an AntiVillain or a dark AntiHero. Some of this is arguably due to the narrative setting him against people who are unambiguously more villainous ({{Pedophile Priest}}s, slavers, etc.), but some of it is due to CharacterDevelopment, as his internal narrative makes it plain that he is re-examining the core beliefs that shaped him into the villain he was initially.
* HellishHorse
* HeManWomanHater: Not a straight example as he doesn't ''hate'' women, but he does believe them to be inferior, and holds them in deep contempt, initially believing that [[DeliberateValuesDissonance rape is totally okay]]. His interactions with [[HotWitch Samar Dev]] and various other women seem to be improving him for the better, although it's hard to tell completely; nonetheless, he delivers a massive PayEvilUntoEvil moment to [[spoiler:Bidithal]] for his paedophilia and abuse of [[spoiler:Felisin Younger]], which ''appalls'' him.
* InherentInTheSystem: Karsa believes slavery and exploitation are inherent in society. His solution? [[DisproportionateRetribution Burn it down]].
* KarmicDeath: Hands them out, with great relish.
* KillTheGod: [[spoiler: In addition to Rhulad Sengar, who was more or less the vessel of the Crippled God, he also kills Fener, facilitating his HeroicSacrifice.]]
* PayEvilUntoEvil: As mentioned above, he is quite fond of dishing out Karmic Deaths, particularly to paedophiles and slavers.
* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: The Teblor are a ProudWarriorRace, and he starts as one of the proudest. Even as he moves away from their customs, he doesn't lose his relish for combat.
* PsychopathicManChild: On occasion.
* RefusalOfTheCall: Sort of. He has no problem with going on adventures and [[RapePillageAndBurn raping and pillaging]] and whatnot. He just really resents doing it on the Crippled God's orders.
* [[TattooedCrook Tattooed Thug]]: The broken-glass tattoos on his face that denote his past as a slave.
* ValuesDissonance: Both in-universe (with the rest of the cast that is) and with the fans. He does get better as he undergoes CharacterDevelopment.
* VillainProtagonist: His perspective starts out as unambiguously villainous, which was done deliberately. However, he undergoes a substantial amount of CharacterDevelopment and arguably becomes either an AntiVillain or a very dark AntiHero.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: '''High House Shadow''']]

!!Shadowthrone/Ammanas

* BlackCloak
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Feared emperor, {{chessmaster}} usurper of High House Shadow, all around ManipulativeBastard...and deathly afraid of his mother (and all females), apparently. Has some shades of CloudCuckooLander as well.
* TheChessmaster: sets in motion much of the series
* DealWithTheDevil: "Shadowthrone loves deals."
* TheEmperor: [[spoiler: Pre-Ascension]].
* EvilSoundsDeep: Inverted. Ammanas' voice is very high-pitched and cold.
* FauxAffablyEvil
* FromNobodyToNightmare: [[spoiler: started off as a bar owner and middling criminal]]
* GigglingVillain
* {{Hellhound}}s: Commands seven of them.
* InTheHood
* LaughablyEvil
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Would you mess with a guy named "Shadowthrone"?
* PhysicalGod
* TheReveal: [[spoiler:He's Emperor Kellanved, who Ascended following Laseen's assassination attempt]].
* {{Revenge}}: Wants to pay back [[spoiler:Laseen for murdering him]].

!!Cotillion/The Rope
--> "It's not such a bad thing, girl, to be the pawn of a god."

* AntiVillain
* BadAss: If the stories are to be belived, [[spoiler:Dancer was a BadAss even before his Ascension to Godhood]]. He's definitely one now.
* TheChampion: As Assassin of High House Shadow he holds this position.
* DemonicPossession: Takes over Apsalar/Sorry during ''Gardens of the Moon''.
* TheDragon: To Shadowthrone.
* KnifeNut
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: The Rope, Patron of Assassins.
* ParentalSubstitute: [[spoiler: Seems to be trying to become one to Sorry/Apsalar, as a means of making up for what he put her through]].
* PetTheDog: Has a minor one with Sorry right before he possesses her, reassuring her that the experience won't be that bad. [[spoiler:Has had many more since than; see ParentalSubstitute, above]].
* PhysicalGod
* ProfessionalKiller: Cotillion is the Patron of Assassins.
* TheReveal: [[spoiler:Was formerly Dancer, Emperor Kellanved's companion, and Ascended alongside his master]].
* {{Revenge}}: For the same reasons as Ammanas.
* ShipperOnDeck: [[spoiler:He seems to want Cutter and Apsalar to be happy. It's just that, well, try as he might to be a kind father figure, he's not the god of happy endings, he's the god of murdering people in the face. It's not working.]]

!!Sorry / Apsalar
-> '''Quick Ben:''' 'I never believed in pure evil before Sorry showed up. But you're right, she's awfully young.'
--> ''Literature/GardensOfTheMoon''

Sorry is a recruit in Whiskeyjack's squad. She is awfully young and awfully unsettling, possessing the abilities and ruthlessness of a seasoned assassin, going so far as scaring Kalam, a former Claw. She used to be a fisher girl in Itko Kan, but due to being in the wrong place at the wrong time once, she has found herself in the service of High House Shadow and a vessel for the Patron of Assassins. After the possession is ended, she takes on the name Apsalar yet, due to having no other skills, remains in the employ of High House Shadow.

* AmnesiacsAreInnocent: After being freed from Cotillion's possession, she exibits a brief period of almost childlike innocence as her last memories are from her life in a fishing village and the memories of her time as a cold-blooded killer have yet to resurface again.
* BrainwashResidue: Aside from [[GhostMemory some leftover memories]] and skills from being possessed by the Patron of Assassins, Apsalar also retains some other things like movement patterns -- Urko Crust at first assumes her to be Cotillion's daughter despite looking nothing like him simply based on how she walks.
* BreakHisHeartToSaveHim: Apsalar leaves Cutter in order to keep him from following in her footsteps and becoming an assassin after realising how far he's already gone down that path for her sake.
* BrokenBird: She seems to be coping quite well with having been possessed by Cotillion and being unable to go back to her life as a fisher girl, but the fact that she keeps pushing Cutter away while at the same time showing occasional glipses of breaking down tells another story.
* DanceBattler: From ''Literature/TheBonehunters'' on, Apsalar is able to employ the Shadow Dance, a technique developed within the Cult of Rashan which enables the dancer to use shadow magic for fighting and assassination.
* DarkActionGirl: Though she's one of the more prominent characters, she's perceived as pure evil by some characters at first, and even later she remains an [[ProfessionalKiller assassin]] who works for High House Shadow. Thanks to the skills inherited from Cotillion and the Shadow Dance, Apsalar is able to take down entire Hands of the Claw.
* DemonicPossession: Divine possession by the Patron God of Assassins, who for the duration is in complete control her. Apsalar carries around the scars of having been possessed by Cotillion for most of the rest of the series, and the latter spends much of it trying to make it up to her.
* DoomedHometown: Though not actually destroyed, ''all'' the villagers of the fishing village she grew up at ''and'' the nearby town were killed by Shadowthrone and Cotillion to cover up her disappearance and subsequent possession.
* TheDreaded: As Sorry. Quick Ben jumps whenever she's around (or even worse -- not around), Kalam becomes nervous and even Whiskeyjack, always the one who tries to see the best in people, has to admit that Sorry makes him uncomfortable. During their time in Darujhistan, the entire squad is constantly on edge with fear of Sorry killing someone unasked and endangering their mission, and yet, nobody wants to actually have her at their quarters either.
* EmotionlessGirl: Upon their first meeting in ''Literature/GardensOfTheMoon'', Tattersail describes Sorry as 'young, pretty as an icicle and looking as warm to the touch' and immediately has a feeling that something's wrong with the girl. Sorry doesn't seem to care and remains cold and distant until her possession by Cotillion is ended.
* GhostMemory:
** Even after her possession by Cotillion ends, Apsalar -- after a short stint as AmnesiacsAreInnocent -- retains some of his personal memories (as mortal and Ascendant) and skills as [[ProfessionalKiller an assassin]]. The meories feel like her own to her and at first she speaks of events from before she was born as if they'd happened to her personally.
** Additionally, she also retains some scattered memories of Riggalai the Seer, the old wax-witch that tried to protect her from Cotillion's possession.
* GrandTheftMe: It is implied by Riggalai that Cotillion's possession would have completely annihilated the fisher girl's spirit, so deeply was it suppressed, had the old witch not intervened and shielded the girl within her own mind. Thus, while the Cotillion controls Sorry completely, enough of her is left to return when the possession is ended.
* KnifeNut: Knives are Sorry's weapons of choice. Quick Ben and Kalam recall an incident in which instead of killing a man, she basically mutilated him until even seasoned killer Kalam could not watch any longer and had to step in and kill the poor sod. She retains her preference for knives even after the possession ends.
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: While she retains memories of Cotillion's life as Dancer, Apsalar does lose all memories of what Cotillion did while he controlled her body.
* LossOfIdentity: She remembers quite a bit of her life pre-possession, but clearly isn't that girl anymore, not to mention that she has memories which aren't even hers while she still cannot remember her own name.
* MeaningfulName:
** The name Sorry is chosen by Cotillion when he possesses her and enlists her in the Malazan Army. It is his way to express how he feels about using the girl for his own means.
** However, when she has a chance to choose her own name, she averts the trope by just asking Crokus to give her a name he likes. He can't think of anything and proposes the name of the Goddess of Thieves and she takes it because she likes the sound of 'Apsalar'.
* OneManArmy: Thanks to the [[DanceBattler Shadow Dance]], in ''Literature/TheBonehunters'' [[spoiler:Apsalar is able to fight her way through upwards of a hundred [[ProfessionalAssassin Claw]], leaving only red mist behind]].
* PsychoForHire: Sorry poses as one while infiltrating the Malazan Army, to better discourage closer scrutiny of her persona. She scares Quick Ben, Whiskeyjack, and even former Claw Kalam, she's so damn creepy.
* WaifFu: Thanks to DemonicPossession resulting in the skills of a trained assassin, and later the [[DanceBattler Shadow Dance]], this less than twenty years old, asian looking [[note]] Itko Kan, where she is from, sounds a lot like certain parts of Asia[[/note]] girl is a potential OneManArmy.

!!Iskaral Pust

* BunnyEarsLawyer: Somewhere between an extreme example of this, and CrazyAwesome.
* DidIJustSayThatOutLoud: At times, Pust has been known to make comments like "she's falling for my clever scheme" ''to the person he is trying to manipulate''.
* EvilGenius: The only reason Shadowthrone keeps him around.
* ObfuscatingInsanity: Maybe. It's really hard to tell if Pust is faking it, or if he just happens to be both rather bright and ''totally nuts''.
* SmarterThanYouLook: Despite his craziness, tendency towards accidentally stabbing himself in the foot, and an ego the size of some small countries, Pust is actually quite bright, and at times, suprisingly effective.
* TalkativeLoon: Trying to shut him up would likely take an act of god. Or several gods.
* ThinkingOutLoud: Often.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: '''Lady Envy's Companions''']]

!!Lady Envy

* CainAndAbel: She and her sister Spite cannot bear to be in the same city without trying to kill each other.
* BetrayalByInaction: Is said to have stood by while her then-lover [[FamedInStory Anomander Rake]] [[FateWorseThanDeath killed]] her father and took his SoulCuttingBlade [[ForgedByTheGods Dragnipur]] from him. It is heavily implied that she did this just to spite Lord Draconus, and because she wanted Dragnipur for herself in the long run, not to stay out of a conflict between her father and her lover.
* GreenEyedMonster: Towards her sister, Spite.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Draconus intentionally named his daughters Envy, Spite and [[spoiler: Malice, and would've named a fourth one Venom.]]
* UpperClassTwit: Does an amazing impression of one. She's actually quite bright, if a little ditzy.

!!Toc The Younger

* AcheyScars: His eye still hurts.
* ActionSurvivor: Feels like one alongside Envy, Tool, Baaljaag, Gareth and the Seguleh.
* CantStayNormal: Or dead. He's been attacked by Hairlock and thrown into a rent, accompanied Lady Envy, [[BodySnatcher body snatched]] Anaster and become Mortal Sword of Togg and Fanderay, been killed again, and now serves Hood.
* TheChampion: Mortal Sword of Togg and Fanderay, then Herald of Death.
* DeathIsCheap: How many times has he come back from the dead now?
* EyepatchOfPower
* GrandTheftMe: Following his initial death, Toc's soul is transplanted into that of [[EmptyShell Anaster]] in order to give them both a second chance at life.
* PrivateMilitaryContractors: As leader of the Grey Swords.

!!Mok, Thurule, and Senu

* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: Seguleh hierarchy is modelled on combat ability. As the Third, Mok can and does kick a lot of ass.
* BadAss: All three of them. To the point where their fellow Seguleh class them as a "punitive army" and expect them to carve their way through the Pannion Domin on their own. They don't dissapoint.
** BadassArmy: They're "the punative army of the Seguleh", themselves as BadassArmy of the first order.
** BadassNormal
* BloodKnight: Three representatives from an entire nation of them.
* {{Charles Atlas Superpower}}s
* DualWielding: All three Seguleh.
* TheFettered: Courtesy of Lady Envy's magic.
* HonourBeforeReason: If the Seguleh think you might be tough, they will challenge you, no matter where or when. And they'll make it a fair fight too.
%%* ImplausibleFencingPowers
* ImprobableAge: Senu's just turned twenty.
* MaskPower: All Seguleh go masked, and the markings on their mask indicate their rank (Mok is the third-ranked Seguleh, his mask has two slashes on it).
* MasterSwordsman: All three, but especially Mok.
* [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Proud Warrior Race Trio]]
* TheQuietOne: All three of them, but especially Mok.
* TheStoic

!!Baaljaag

* AmnesiacGod: The wolf-goddess Fanderay is trapped inside her.
* CanineCompanion
* {{Sizeshifter}}: Can greatly alter her size, though not to the extent Gareth can.
* StarCrossedLovers: Is searching for the spirit of her mate, the wolf-god Togg. [[spoiler: He's hiding inside Toc]].

!!Gareth

* {{Hellhound}}: Has the potential to be a Hound of Shadow.
* CanineCompanion
* {{Sizeshifter}}: Can grow to tremendous size.

[[folder: '''Azathanai''']]

!!K'rul
An Elder God. The shaper of paths.

* [[AngelUnaware Elder God Unaware]]: [[spoiler: As Keruli.]]
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Mortal worshippers prayed to him. So he granted their prayers...which promptly caused all sorts of problems and power struggles.
** "...K’rul, who answered worship with generosity. Who, assailed by prayers written in spilled blood, gave answer to them. But the power he surrendered was not intended only for those who worshipped him. He has given it freely, to everyone."
* BigGood: Kind of. Maybe.
* BodyHorror: The warrens run through his veins, literally. [[spoiler: So when the warrens are poisoned, opening them occasionally causes boatloads of blood to come pouring out.]]
* GodsNeedPrayerBadly: The lack of it is implied to be the reason he's so weak now.
** Elder Gods accept prayer in the form of blood sacrifice. Give generously...
* HeroicSacrifice: Jaraku. Also the entire warren system.
* InTheHood: Default appearance is a fully cloaked figure.
* [[KarmicDeath Karmic Punishment]]: Kallor's curse.
* TheMentor: To Kruppe.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: In the prequel, implied to have been the root cause of all the series' problems, though probably not intentionally or knowingly.
* OlderAndWiser: To all the gods.
* SamusIsAGirl: Apparently. Maybe. Nope, we didn't see that coming either.

!!Draconus
An Elder God, the Suzerain of Night, Consort to Mother Dark, and brother of K'rul. He was killed with his own sword, [[CoolSword Dragnipur]], by Anomander Rake, and has been [[YourSoulIsMine trapped in there]] [[FateWorseThanDeath ever since]]. [[spoiler: Or at least until Rake's HeroicSacrifice.]]

* ParentalNeglect: Doesn't pay much attention to his kids, and named his three daughters [[VainSorceress Envy]], [[FemmeFatale Spite]], and [[EnfantTerrible Mal]][[WhatHappenedToTheMouse ice]] (if he had a fourth, she would apparently be named Venom). On the other hand, their mother, [[spoiler: Olar Ethil]], urges him to kill them, so...
* {{Badass}}: [[spoiler: Curbstomps Kilmandaros and Sechul Lath, both Elder Gods themselves.]] Also scares the crap out of everyone once they realize that [[spoiler: he's been freed from Dragnipur.]]
* CoolSword: Forged Dragnipur...
** HoistByHisOwnPetard: ...which was used to trap him in a FateWorseThanDeath. Although that was partially Kallor's fault.
* InstantAwesomeJustAddDragons: Naturally, he also turns into a giant black dragon. Although his particular [[VoluntaryShapeshifting Soletaken]] form is described as "darkness with wings" instead of a normal draconic form.
* LoveMakesYouCrazy, together with LoveRuinsTheRealm: Implied.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: The [[HumanSacrifice Terondai]] he commissioned from [[spoiler: Errastes]]
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: with a side of IHaveManyNames.
* OlderAndWiser: Apparently, spending several hundred thousand years suffering a FateWorseThanDeath mellowed him out a bit.
* WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove: Doesn't quite get it right, with [[PlayedForDrama unfortunate]] [[NiceJobBreakingItHero consequences]].

!!Hood
The god of death, and (an undead) Jaghut. [[spoiler: Succeeded as King of High House Death by Whiskeyjack and his Bridgeburners]]

* AnIcePerson: Comes with being a Jaghut.
* {{Badass}} [[spoiler: Seems fond of killing Forkrul Assail with his bare hands...and occasionally with his teeth.]]
* BigDamnHeroes: At the end.
* DarkIsNotEvil: One of the more reasonable gods, though still kind of a dick.
* TheGrimReaper
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast
* LoveMakesYouCrazy: His wife was murdered by [[spoiler: Errastes]]. So he [[DisproportionateRetribution raised an army and waged war on death itself]]. [[CrazyAwesome And won!]]
* OurOrcsAreDifferent
* UnusualEuphemism: Not him, but "Hood's breath" and "Hood's balls" seem to be the most popular Malazan curses.
* YouKillItYouBoughtIt: [[spoiler: As the king of the Jaghut, he waged a war on death, which ended with him becoming the god of death.]]

!!Errastas / The Errant

* AmbiguouslyEvil
* AmbitionIsEvil
* TheChessmaster
* DepravedBisexual: As [[spoiler: Turudal Brizad]].
* [[AngelUnaware Elder God Unaware]]: [[spoiler: As Turudal Brizad.]]
* {{Jerkass}}
** JerkassGods
* ManipulativeBastard
* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler: Although he ends the series with several rather nasty beings intent on chasing him down...]]
* PowersThatBe
* PrescienceIsPredictable
* TheOmniscient
* SpellMyNameWithAThe
* TimeAbyss

----
[[folder: '''Others''']]
!!Icarium Lifestealer
-> 'I am my own curse, Mappo. I have lived centuries, yet what do I know of my own past? Where are my memories? How can I judge my own life without such knowledge?'
--> ''Literature/DeadhouseGates''

Icarium, a Jaghut halfblood, is an incredibly old being, forever wandering the world with a sole companion in tow. He is present in the mythology of many cultures, and is feared by most of them. He is known for his obsession with time -- having gained sobriquets such as Lord of the Sand Grains -- and as an inventor and maker of monumental machines, particularly those that measure time, by the building of which he tries to counteract his frequent bouts of memory loss. While an incredibly smart and gentle person, he is also one of the most powerful beings alive without being aware of it.
----
* AmnesiacDissonance: After discovering what happens during [[MissingTime his black-outs]], Icarium is horrified and comes to the conclusion that [[RedemptionEqualsDeath only death or eternal imprisonment can redeem him]].
* AmnesiacsAreInnocent: His amnesia shields Icarium from what he has done in the past, allowing him to retain his generous and sometimes downright innocent nature. Fiddler wonders how Icarium never questions his partnership with Mappo despite having only Mappo's word about their long friendship to rely on, but Icarium later points out that while frustrated, he has become simply used to the feeling.
--> '''Mappo:''' ''In your ignorance you are so pure, so noble.''
* TheBerserker: Once his UnstoppableRage kicks in, he becomes utterly uncontrollable in a fight, unable to distinguish friend from foe and indifferent to his own life. Comes complete with a [[ScreamingWarrior frightening, keening scream]].
* BowAndSwordInAccord: He carries both a longbow, which seems to be his first choice of weapon, and a sword, and can be deadly with either, but wears little -- if any -- armour.
* BullyingADragon: In ''Literature/DeadhouseGates'', with Icarium as the dragon and Iskaral Pust as the one who cannot keep his mouth shut, baiting Icarium with supposed knowledge he posses that Icarium lacks and calling Icarium a fool. He gets choked pretty thoroughly for his trouble.
* TheDreaded: Everyone who's ever heard of Icarium is shitting their metaphorical pants at the mere thought that Icarium might lose his temper and level the next couple of cities.
* GeniusBruiser: Icarium is a seven foot tall, tusked, weathered and travel-worn looking warrior sporting a sword and a bow, one of the most lethal fighters ever born and infamous for his UnstoppableRage. He is also a mapmaker, inventor and scholar.
* GlowingEyes: While in an UnstoppableRage, Icarium's eyes blaze silver as a sign of the enormous power that surrounds him like a maelstrom.
* HereWeGoAgain: Though Icarium cannot remember it, it's implied that it's happened countless times before that he would have a companion, this companion would either die or be killed by Icarium in an unfortunate moment, and he would then wake up with a new companion who would claim that they'd been travelling together for ages. At the end of ''Literature/TheCrippledGod'', [[spoiler:he wakes up to find Ublala Pung at his side, and just accepts him as the feeling is already so familiar, and the cycle starts anew, while Mappo's corpse lies mere metres away]].
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With his travelling companion Mappo Runt. They spend their entire time together and obviously mean a lot to each other, although Icarium sometimes has trouble reconciling the depth of their friendship with his lack of memories. For him, there has simply always been someone at his side, and in whatever memories he does possess, it's always been Mappo.
* HumanWeapon: The Nameless Ones treat Icarium as one. Although, technically, he was not ''made'' by them, they claim authority over how and when he gets to be used. Naturally, Icarium gets no say in the matter, not does he even know about the Nameless Ones.
* IAmNotAGun: When, in ''Literature/TheBonehunters'', Taralack Veed urges him to kill the defenders of the Throne of Shadow, Icarium retorts that he's had enough of this. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, he goes berserk anyway, as too much fighting is going on around him.]]
* KatanasAreJustBetter: Averted. However, the unusual shape of his sword -- a thin, long, single-edged, curved blade -- is remarked upon several times, although it is not treated any differently in combat than other words.
* LightningBruiser: Especially once he [[TheBerserker loses control]], Icarium can both dish out and receive potentially catastrophic amounts of damage without even blinking, all while doing it too fast for some to register. But even without the rage mode, he is frighteningly fast. Fast enough to startle Karsa Orlong.
* MadeOfIron: It's unclear if he can be truly killed. Serious wounds only knock him out and trigger his amnesia, and he seems to grow even tougher when angry.
* MadGod: There are cults on the island of Cabal which worship Icarium as the One God, the Stealer of Life, essentially claiming he is a mad puppet with unimaginable power, turning any power of creation he may possess into random destruction. One sect calls itself that of the Mockers, asserting that a god who never left his worshippers any doctrine to live by but allows them to make and interpret their own, cannot be anything but insane.
* MartialPacifist: He demonstrates on several occasions that he'd prefer not to get into a fight, but he also doesn't have the greatest patience, so annoy him long enough and you are dead meat. And Icarium will not even remember having mopped the floor with you afterwards.
* MasterSwordsman: He's had thousands of years to hone his sword fighting skills, coupled with his incredible speed.
* MindHive: After the end of ''Literature/ReapersGale'', [[spoiler:where his previously built memory machine turns out to be broken and sucks not only his own mind in but also that of several random bystanders, Icarium ends up with a fractured mind and the ghosts/personalities of eight other people stuck in one -- his -- body. While that body wanders the Waste Lands aimlessly, the caught ghosts perceive themselves as separate entities undertaking that same trip, constantly arguing among each other, with the original Icarium -- reduced to a ghost not even the others can perceive -- floating around them in hopeless confusion. Ultimately, however, they do act as one, simply because they -- unknowingly -- share one body.]]
* MissingTime: Whenever he goes into UnstoppableRage, effectively transforming into a monster capable of destroying entire civilizations, Icarium afterwards forgets all that he's done. He then usually shows concern about the MissingTime, but whatever companion he is currently travelling with makes sure to make the right noises to help Icarium with rationalizing the memory loss away.
* MookHorrorShow: At the end of ''Literature/TheBonehunters'', [[spoiler:Icarium loses control after witnessing children die and almost annihilates the Tiste Edur contingent sent to the Throne of Shadow. They practically ''melt'' several at a time; that is, those that don't get thrown around like toys]].
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: To those who have heard of Icarium's reputation or have been witness to its cause, his byname Lifestealer is something to run away from really fast indeed. Other variations on the name exist, such as Slayer of the Ten Thousand.
* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: Icarium is half Jaghut (from his father's side) and -- presumably, as it's never fully disclosed -- Thelomen Toblakai (from his mother's side). Both races are roughly humanoid, so in consequence, Icarium is as well, although he visibly leans more towards Jaghut than Toblakai.
* NoSocialSkills: As he spends most of his time wandering the deserts of Seven Cities with Mappo as his sole companion, and due to his memory problems, Icarium is not very good with social interactions beyond the basics. May also be because he's half Jaghut, and Jaghut are notorious loners prefering their own company above all else.
--> '''Mappo:''' 'He entertains your companions. Feebly, I admit. For all his years, Icarium has never mastered the social grace necessary to put others at ease.'
* PersonOfMassDestruction: Icarium may be one of the nicest and most caring people one can come upon in the books. Piss him off, though, and you may say goodbye to your city/country/civilization. And it's not even intentional, as afterwards he will not remember how he just levelled the city in the ruins of which he's now standing and will even be shocked at how someone could possibly bring so much destruction and death. In trying to use him as a weapon the Nameless Ones might have bitten off more than they could chew and characters who encounter Icarium have a hard time reconciling the person they've met with the stories trailing in his wake.
* QuestForIdentity: His eternal search for his own memories, without which he feels he cannot assert a proper sense of his own self. [[spoiler:And later, more literally, when he wakes up in the Waste Lands, his mind splintered and his core having become a ghost with no recollection of even its own name.]]
* ScreamingWarrior: Whenever his UnstoppableRage is triggered, it is both prefaced and accompanied by a high-pitched, haunting keening sound coming from his throat.
* TalkingToThemself: [[spoiler:During his wandering around the Waste Lands with a split mind and a host of other minds populating his body, everything that the other ghosts/personalities say to each other, is actually also said out loud by Icarium's body, creating the image of a lone wanderer ceaseless talking to himself.]]
* TragicBromance: He and Mappo have been HeterosexualLifePartners for centuries, wandering the world together, and are close enough to openly speak about their deep feelings of friendship. Even though Mappo was originally meant as a guardian and minder for Icarium, Icarium's generous and noble nature makes Mappo cherish him, and despite having severe problems with [[TraumaInducedAmnesia memories]], Icarium can by the feeling of familiarity alone tell that Mappo is indeed who he claims to be. [[spoiler:When they are attacked and separated, Mappo crosses half the world to find Icarium again, only to die mere metres away from his friend. However, it is heavily implied that this is the turning point for Icarium and the latter finally regains at least some of his memories, enabling him to take his life back into his own hands.]]
* TraumaInducedAmnesia: It is implied in ''Literature/HouseOfChains'' that Icarium once tried to destroy an Azath House to free his father -- who didn't want to be 'freed' -- but only managed to mortally wound it, receiving enough trauma in return that he not only forgot that incident altogether, but has been suffering bouts of UnstoppableRage and subsequent MissingTime ever since.
* UnstoppableRage: Icarium suffers bouts of UnstoppableRage in which he utterly loses control and attacks everything and everyone (with the sole exception of machines he has built himself). They are rooted in a traumatic incident with an Azath House, and make him one of the or possibly most feared entity in the entire realm, as they're almost impossible to predict or stop, and he has gone so far as to destroy entire civilizations in the past. When enraged, Icarium becomes surrounded by a magical maelstrom that basically ''melts'' anything in his way. Afterwards, he never remembers what he's done.
----
!!Mappo Runt
-> '''Fiddler:''' ''Mappo, a name ever chained to another's. And enough rumours to fill a tome. If any were true...''
--> ''Literature/DeadhouseGates''

Mappo Runt is a Trell whose name is eternally associated with being the companion of Icarium Lifestealer. He is Icarium's close friend and -- unbeknownst to Icarium -- also his guardian and minder, tasked by the Nameless Ones with keeping Icarium out of trouble and ignorant of his own past. However, due to Icarium's gentle nature, Mappo is eternally conflicted about whether ending a potential threat is worth losing the friend he loves so much.
----
* BagOfHolding: He was given a bag with an entire warren inside of it by the shoulderwomen of his tribe. Some irritating people have also found their way into it on occasion.
* CarryABigStick: Mappo carries a mace around for fighting purposes. It is made of a big long-bone with a ring of iron spikes at the business end and is invested with sorcery to make it as [[UnbreakableWeapons durable]] as possible.
* DoomedHometown: Mappo's hometown was destroyed, allegedly by Icarium, and Mappo, as the only survivor, was recruited by the Nameless Ones as Icarium's new guardian. [[spoiler:''Deadhouse Gates'' reveals that actually, the town was destroyed by the Nameless Ones themselves, as they urgently needed a new guardian for Icarium and wanted to make sure Mappo would hate Icarium and take the threat seriously enough to fit the job.]]
* GentleGiant: Although shorter than Icarium (who is seven feet tall, mind you), as a [[OurOgresAreHungrier Trell]] Mappo is rather wide and thus even more imposing. But while he can dish out serious damage with his mace, he prefers to stay out of the way of trouble, find peaceful solutions and generally be on friedly terms with people.
* GuiltComplex: After [[spoiler:losing Icarium]], Mappo develops one, until he eventually feels guilty for anything and everything. He feels guilty for [[spoiler:not being good enough anymore in the eyes of the Nameless Ones to remain Icarium's guardian, for having believed the Nameless Ones, for lying to Icarium for centuries, for having spurned the opportunity to free the world of Icarium by handing him over to Tremorlor just because he didn't want to give up his friend, for outwardly looking like a noble friend even though he had selfish motives, and eventually for turning away from people -- children -- in need just so he could keep looking for Icarium]].
* HeartbrokenBadass: Not a love interest, but when Mappo [[spoiler:loses Icarium]], whom he loves [[HeterosexualLifePartners as a friend]], he becomes utterly heartbroken, even going so far as [[spoiler:crossing the entire world to get him back, all the while fighting his guilt]].
* HeroicBSOD: Mappo experiences one in ''Literature/DeadhouseGates'' when Icarium finally understands what he is and Mappo is flooded with conflicting thoughts about saving the world from the threat that Icarium represents but at the same time losing the only friend he's ever cared this much for. He doesn't even notice how he falls to his knees, and has to be brought back to reality by Icarium.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Icarium, with whom he has travelled for hundreds of years. Initially only meant as a guardian for Icarium, they have developed a deep friendship and trust each other unconditionally, although Mappo has to live with -- and is tortured by -- the knowledge that he is eternally lying to his friend. [[spoiler:When Icarium is taken from him by the Nameless Ones, Mappo becomes heartbroken and crosses half the world to find him again, all the while thinking, in tears, of how much he wants Icarium back.]]
* MyGreatestFailure: Mappo considers his blunder in [[spoiler:keeping Icarium safe and the world safe from Icarium by almost dying when attacked by Dejim Nebrahl]] to be his greates failure and incentive to set things right again.
* PowerOfTrust: Icarium reminding Mappo of his unconditional trust for the latter is what snaps Mappo out of his HeroicBSOD in ''Literatur/DeadhouseGates''.
* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: Mappo used to be one in his youth, when he left his hometown, which specialized in trade, and joined one of the outlying tribes that were following the traditional Trell way of war and wandering. He spent a couple hundred years there, before snapping out of it by find his [[DoomedHometown burned to the ground]].
* {{Sidekick}}: Mappo ist best known in-universe as Icarium's companion and sidekick. While Icarium is tall, lean, [[GeniusBruiser skilled with a sword and widely-read]], Mappo is shorter, wider, hairier, fights using a mace and purports to know little, even though he is actually quite knowledgeable in everyday survival matters. Subverted in that it's Mappo who's in charge of keeping Icarium out of trouble, even though Icarium is unaware of that.
* TragicBromance: He and Icarium have been HeterosexualLifePartners for centuries, wandering the world together, and are close enough to openly speak about their deep feelings of friendship. Even though Mappo was originally meant as a guardian and minder for Icarium, Icarium's generous and noble nature makes Mappo cherish him, and despite having severe problems with [[TraumaInducedAmnesia memories]], Icarium can by the feeling of familiarity alone tell that Mappo is indeed who he claims to be. [[spoiler:When they are attacked and separated, Mappo crosses half the world to find Icarium again, only to die mere metres away from his friend. However, it is heavily implied that this is the turning point for Icarium and the latter finally regains at least some of his memories, enabling him to take his life back into his own hands.]]
* UnbreakableWeapons: Mappo's mace was invested by his tribe's shoulderwomen to make it practically unbreakable. At least, it's never shown any sign of the spell failing within hundreds of years.
----
!!Fisher kel Tath
-> 'I sing them all. Lies, truths, the words make no distinction in what they tell, nor even the order they come in. We do as we please with them.'
--> ''Literature/TollTheHounds''

A famous bard, who is often quoted by characters in the setting and seems to be the main source of information on all things Anomander Rake, due to his epic poem ''Anomandaris''. Many of the epigraphs preceeding chapters in the books are written by him and he has allegedly met with Gallan -- a fellow but even older famous Tiste poet -- to get a first hand account of the events of the Tiste diaspora. Which makes him the de-facto author of ''Literature/TheKharkanasTrilogy''.
----
* AuthorFilibuster: Some excerpts from Fisher's ''Mane of Chaos'' (which may or may not be a part of the bigger epic ''Anomandaris'') show him halting midway through the telling to accuse his listeners of being too pre-occupied with inconsequential things and of lacking in courage to truly understand Anomander Rake's sacrifices. Delivered in verse, of course.
* BadassBystander: He's just an old bard plucking a lute in his quiet corner of K'rul's Bar -- until [[spoiler:assassins storm the building and the aftermath sees a half-dozen bodies on the stage and some smidgen of blood on Fisher's shirt, indicating his victorious involvement]].
* BadassGrandpa: An old, gaunt, grey-haired bard who prefers to be an observer and the extent of whose involvement usually amounts to giving voice to those who have none. But not only is he a BadassBystander, when -- in ''Literature/TollTheHounds'' -- it looks like the conflict with the Guild of Assassins has come to a standstill, [[spoiler:he casually steps up, throws Guild Master Seba Krafar around like a doll and threatens him into cancelling the contract on the Bridgeburners like it's nothing, giving Seba a serious case of [[BringMyBrownPants brown pants]]]].
* TheBard: The most famous bard of contemporary literature in the setting. His specialty is poetry.
* BreakingTheFourthWall: Fisher's {{Author Filibuster}}s are known in-universe as "Fisher's challenge to his listeners", in which he breaks the narration to address his listeners directly. There are also entire poems in which Fisher addresses his listeners directly.
* ExpositionOfImmortality: It is hinted at that Fisher may not be intirely mortal, or even be outright immortal. In ''Literature/TollTheHounds'', Blend points out how he's sung verses of ''Anomandaris'' she's never heard before, and some of the songs he knows are over a hundred years old and stem not only from different cultures, but also different ''worlds''. Duiker cryptically states that the poet is immortal, prompting Blend to question whether he speaks in metaphorical terms or about Fisher in particular. And Lady Envy, herself practically immortal, questions Fisher's mortality.
* FamedInStory: Provides many chapter epigraphs, occasionally cited by other characters. But mostly, he's the one that everyone quotes when discussing Anomander Rake, since his [[TheEpic epic poem]] ''Anomandaris'' seems to be the main source of information concerning Rake.
* TheGhost: His name is tossed around a lot, but he himself doesn't appear until ''Literature/TollTheHounds''.
* GreyEyes: Fisher has both grey eyes and [[CurtainsMatchTheWindow hair]] and is quite a mysterious figure. Neither is it clear [[VagueAge how old he truly is]], nor where he comes from, nor what his purpose is. He knows songs from various cultures and ''worlds'' and there's an air of immortality and divinity about him, as well as hints of a possible prophetic ability.
* MagnumOpus: ''Anomandaris'', the [[TheEpic epic poem]] chronicling the life and deeds of Anomander Rake.
* RomanceEnsues: Fisher and Lady Envy spend an unstated number of evenings sequestered within her estate, presumably discussing the current situation and Fisher going through his repertoire of songs and poems, then suddenly Lady Envy has a LoveEpiphany based on how many HiddenDepths Fisher has and RomanceEnsues.
* SageLoveInterest: Fisher's all-encompassing ability to see and understand and reveal the world where it needs revealing and to understand that some things need to remain untold is what draws Lady Envy to him in the first place.
* SecondLove: Provided Spite's assertion that Lady Envy did really love Anomander Rake is true, Fisher is her second love. This is made particularly interesting by the fact that Fisher is best known for the [[TheEpic epic poem]] he's written ''about'' Anomander Rake and that they [[spoiler:hook up right before the culmination of Rake's epic quest to bring Mother Dark back, which includes him dying]].
* SignatureStyle: Fisher's poems are often instantly recognizable due to their bleak and rambling tone, dealing with issues like loss, death, violence, sacrifice, despair, grief, parting of ways, personal tragedy, the gods' fallibility, childhood burdens, longing for love and all that fun stuff.
* TheStoryteller: His main occupation is being a wandering bard and to chronicle important events and many of the chapter epigraphs are excerpts of works written by him, both prose and poems, though mostly poems.
* TakeThatAudience: Fisher is fond of inserting verses into his poems which call out the audience on something, like what he perceives as their lack of courage.
--> Sacrifices made\\
Vows given\\
He stands alone\\
Because none of you dare\\
Stand with him.
* UnreliableNarrator: While it is true that he has chronicled the life story of Anomander Rake (and the stories of many other events), the reliability of his accounts is somewhat questionable as Fisher himself admits that he puts impact and meaning over truth.
* VagueAge: Fisher is described as an old, grey-haired man, yet his exact age is often called into question by other characters. When he is angry, Scillara wonders if he's not younger than she initially thought, and Blend points out how some songs supposedly written by Fisher are over a hundred years old; and all Lady Envy can say for certain is that he is not a young man.
* VirtueIsWeakness: Discussed by Lady Envy regarding Fisher. She muses that only fools would see Fisher's stunning capacity for compassion as a weakness.
* WarriorPoet: He is mostly known for his poetry, but is surprisingly capable in a fight when provoked sufficiently. Fisher turns out to be a valuable asset to the [[spoiler:retired Bridgeburners]] when they are assailed in their bar. [[spoiler:He even kills a sizeable number of the attacking assassins himself.]]
----
!!Burn
----
* BitchInSheepsClothing: [[spoiler:Olar Ethil claims to be Burn, but it's not clear if she was telling the truth.]]
* DamselInDistress / IllGirl: A rather bizarre example. Spends most of the series being slowly poisoned, and although she never actually shows up in person, other characters comment constantly on her deteriorating condition. Mostly because it's making the CrapsackWorld [[DeathWorld even worse]].
* MotherEarth
[[/folder]]

[[folder: '''Tiste Andii''']]

!!Mother Dark
The goddess of the Tiste Andii, theological opposite and possibly [[ArrangedMarriage wife]] of Father Light, god of the Tiste Liosan. Turned away from her children millenia ago following an unspecified betrayal Anomander Rake, and possibly others.

* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence
* [[AngelUnaware Goddess Unaware]] [[spoiler: Speaks through Nimander's simpleminded sister Aranatha in ''Toll the Hounds'']]. Possibly more a case of [[DemonicPossession Divine Possession]].
* InterspeciesRomance: Mother Dark (mortal Tiste turned goddess) and Draconus (Azathanai).
* LoveRuinsTheRealm: Other people's conflicting opinions regarding her sex life and marital status cause many of the problems in the prequel.
* MissingMom: Of an entire race. [[spoiler: She's convinced to come back in ''Toll The Hounds''.]]

!!Anomander Rake
Lord of Moon's Spawn, leader of the Tiste Andii, wielder of Dragnipur, eldest son of Mother Dark [[spoiler: metaphorically; Andarist is older than him]], Knight of High House Dark, and all-around badass, he initially opposes the Malazan Empire's invasion of Genabackis, before allying with Dujek Onearm to take on the Crippled God's forces. He has a long-standing alliance with Caladan Brood.

* AFatherToHisMen: Several of the Tiste Andii are so tired of their own immortality they have more or less chosen to commit suicide. The only reason they are still alive is that Anomander Rake asks them to live.
* AntiVillain-->AntiHero
* BadAss: So. Very. Much.
** FourStarBadass
* {{BFS}}
** BlackSwordsAreBetter
** CoolSword: Not so much cool as [[FateWorseThanDeath terrifying]]. Anyone killed by it is trapped next to the Gates of the Warren of Darkness for all eternity. And it's black with smoking chains attached.
* DarkIsNotEvil: One of the best examples in modern lit.
* FamedInStory: There are entire poems about him.
* FateWorseThanDeath: What those slain by Dragnipur (his sword) suffer.
* GeniusBruiser
* HeroKiller: Introduced this way in ''Gardens of the Moon''.
* HeroicSacrifice
* IHaveManyNames: Anomander/Anomandaris Rake/Irake/Purake/Draginipurake, in all combinations. Also sometimes referred to as the Lord of Moon's Spawn, the Mane of Chaos, and the (First) Son of Darkness.
* ImmortalityBeginsAtTwenty: Or somewhere in his thirties or forties anyway.
* InstantAwesomeJustAddDragons: Shapeshifts into a giant, black dragon.
* InterspeciesRomance: Apparently, Silanah the dragon was his lover as well as his ally. The mother of his children, however, is implied to be Lady Envy.
* LargeAndInCharge
* LightningBruiser
* LongHairedPrettyBoy
* MagicKnight
* MasterSwordsman
* MessianicArchetype: [[spoiler: Becomes one in ''Toll The Hounds'']]
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Known as "The First Son of Darkness".
** [[JustifiedTrope Justified]]: ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.
* PhysicalGod
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Most Tiste Andii live 20,000. Rake is so much older.
* ScaryBlackMan: How his opponents see him.
* SorcerousOverlord
* VoluntaryShapeshifting: As a Soletaken, Rake becomes a black dragon.
* WarriorPrince
* WhoWantsToLiveForever?: The reason he sells the services of the Tiste Andii off as mercenaries is to pevent them from becoming suicidal over the boredom of their eternal life; in effect, he is trying to inspire them to fight and live for something bigger than themselves in defiance of this trope, though he fears it is a losing battle.
* YourSoulIsMine: Anyone killed by Dragnipur is sealed within the Warren inside it for all eternity.


!!Andarist

* TheHeart: Among the Purake brothers. Maybe.
* InstantAwesomeJustAddDragons: Pointedly averted. Of the three Purake brothers, only Andarist refused Tiam's blood.
* OvershadowedByAwesome: Somewhat, compared to his brothers.
* ParentalSubstitute: To Nimander and his siblings.
* WeHardlyKnewYe: Gets barely any screentime. Shows up a bit more in the prequel.

!!Korlat

* InstantAwesomeJustAddDragons: A Soletaken, like Rake and her brother.
* InterspeciesRomance: With Whiskeyjack.
* MayDecemberRomance: With Whiskeyjack.
** MayflyDecemberRomance: Made even more inevitably shorter by [[spoiler: Kallor's murder of Whiskeyjack]]
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Par for the course with Tiste Andii.
* TheUnfavourite: Her mother is a lot more concerned about Orfantal.
* VoluntaryShapeshifting

!!Orfantal

* BreakTheCutie: In the prequel.
* InstantAwesomeJustAddDragons: Shapeshifts into a big, black dragon, same as Rake.
* HeroicBastard
* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler: In ''Toll The Hounds'' he picks a fight with [[HeroKiller Kallor]]. It doesn't end well for him]].
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld
* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Another Tiste Andii Soletaken.

!!Spinnock Durav

-> '''Anomander Rake:''' 'Unseen by anyone. Deeds unwitnessed. Heroic efforts earning naught but one man's gratitude.'
--> ''Literature/TollTheHounds''
\\
Spinnock Durav is a warrior Tiste Andii and one of their best non-Soletaken fighters. He serves Anomander Rake unquestioningly and has often stood in for him in fights or on recon missions. In Black Coral he spends his evenings in Scour Tavern, playing an old Andii boardgame with the ex-Pannion Domin warrior-priest Seerdomin.
In his youth he was a Warden of the Outer Reach in Kurald Galain, where he served with his cousin Faror Hend and made many a woman swoon over his good looks and charisma. He was among the Wardens that saw [[spoiler: the Gate to Stavald Demelain open when nine Dragons]] entered their world.

* AncestralWeapon: A Hust blade --albeit an old one without the sound features-- is the Duravs' family heirloom. Spinnock is ''very'' proud of owning it, often seen polishing and oiling his prized possession.
* TheCharmer: Spinnock seems fairly aware of his charisma, but hardly uses it for malicious means. It means, however, that he doesn't shy away from challenges, like his shameless flirting with his allegedly lesbian Captain Finarra Stone demonstrates. It works, too.
* ChickMagnet: To amazing degrees in ''Literature/TheKharkanasTrilogy'', but gets subverted thousands of years later in ''Literature/TollTheHounds'': The one woman he actually falls in love with is immune to his charm.
* DeclarationOfProtection: Takes it upon himself to care for Salind when the Redeemer's camp is threatened and keeps good on his promise as best as he can, opposition notwithstanding.
* {{Determinator}}: Spinnock stalls Kallor, one of the strongest fighters of the series and immortal to boot, on his way to Darujhistan on behalf of Rake. ''For a whole night'', being grievously injured, but standing nonetheless.
* EvenTheGuysWantHim: Finarra Stone asserts that young Spinnock gets plenty attention from all genders.
--> Spinnock Durav had been pursued by women and men since he had first come of age.
* HeroicSacrifice: Breaks down injured and exhausted when he feels [[spoiler: Rake's death]] after stalling Kallor for a whole night for him. [[spoiler: Averted in that Korlat sweeps in with a healing draught to tide him over until he can recuperate at home.]]
* {{Hunk}}: While he was the PrettyBoy in his youth, fully grown Spinnock is firmly in hunk territory by the time ''Literature/TollTheHounds'' comes around.
* IDidntMeanToTurnYouOn: Spinnock's reaction when he learns that innocent flirting with his cousin Faror Hend was a lot less innocent from her point of view.
* IloveYouBecauseICantControlYou: His interest in his Captain Finarra Stone skyrockets once he learns that she is more into women than men, seeing her as a challenge.
* InterspeciesFriendship: Has one with Seerdomin that is mutual. It is also remarked, that Spinnock is among the very, very few Andii who mingle with the human population of Black Coral.
* InterspeciesRomance: Falls in love with the teen-aged human priestress Salind.
* LadykillerInLove: While the High Priestess of Darkness is unsublty interested in him and already a regular intercourse partner, Spinnock falls in love with the human priestess Salind, who seems less than thrilled about it. This doesn't keep him from trying, though.
* LonelyTogether: Develops a friendship with Seerdomin through playing Kef Tanar with him. The two of them have little in common except their gaming and a mutual appreciachion of the other.
* MaybeEverAfter: ''Literature/TollTheHounds'' ends with Spinnock seeking out Salind to confess to her, but it is unclear if anything comes from it.
* MayflyDecemberRomance: He is apprehensive that he fell in love with not only a comparatively short-lived human, but one that is barely of age at that; Salind being in her early 20s and Spinnock being thousands of years old.
* NoodleIncident: He mentions that Rake once sent him hunting a dragon, among other tasks. One would think this would be elaborated upon, seeing the importance of dragons in the storyline, but... nope.
* PerpetualSmiler: Part of his charm.
-->''The Slash that was his mouth was fixed in a grin, an expression that rarely wavered.''
* SmartPeoplePlayChess: Spinnock is an apt Kef Tanar player, easily the most skilled at the game in the Scour Tavern, but has never been able to beat his Lord. Him playing the strategic game is the first hint the reader gets that Spinnock is not just dumb muscle.
* WorthyOpponent:
** To Spinnock's delight, Seerdomin seems to have talent with the Andii boardgame Kef Tanar, so he plays with him every night in Scour Tavern.
** Towards the climax of ''Literature/TollTheHounds'' [[spoiler: Kallor]] of all people comes to regard him as a WorthyOpponent right after their duel.
-->'''Kallor''': ''I have never before faced such a defense.''
* UndyingLoyalty: Will do pretty much anything Rake asks him to, even if that means not acting on his newly discovered feelings for Salind, or having to fight [[spoiler: Kallor for a whole night straight]].

!!Silchas Ruin
-> '''Sheltatha Lore:''' 'More than any of us – more even than Anomandaris, Silchas Ruin thinks... ''draconean''. As cold, as calculating, as ''timeless''.'
--> ''Literature/ReapersGale''

Annomander Rake's brother, Silchas Ruin is the youngest of Mother Dark's children, and cruelest. Having been betrayed and sealed by Scabandari Bloodeye, one-time leader of the Tiste Edur, he has sworn to have his revenge on Bloodeye and his kin.

* {{Antihero}}
* AwesomeMcCoolname
* {{Badass}}
* DualWielding: Holds Sarat Wept and Glory Goat, one in each hand. Later swapped out for a Hust dragon-slaying sword.
* FamedInStory: Though not quite to the extent of his brother.
* GeniusBruiser
* GoodIsNotNice
* HeroicAlbino
* ImmortalityBeginsAtTwenty
* InstantAwesomeJustAddDragons
* LargeAndInCharge
* LightningBruiser
* LongHairedPrettyBoy
* MagicKnight
* MasterSwordsman
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast
* ThePrankster: Implied to have been this before he became a Soletaken Eleint and the blood of Tiam made him into the cruellest of the three Sons of Mother Dark.
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld
* RedEyesTakeWarning: If you happen to be a villain.
* {{Revenge}}: Swore it on Scabandari Bloodeye, and all the Tiste Edur.
* SealedGoodInACan
* TragicBromance: With Kagamandra Tulas Shorn. Their reunion in ''The Crippled God'' implies that Tulas' disappearance and presumed death during the civil war in Kharkanas devastated Silchas Ruin to such a degree that even Anomander Rake felt compelled to help him look for Tulas. Eventually, it's taken up a notch when at the end of the book [[spoiler:Tulas dies again, this time for good, after fulfilling their mutual wish to fight side by side.]]
* VoluntaryShapeShifting: Another Tiste Andii Soletaken. He becomes a giant white dragon, with blood red eyes.

!!Nimander Golit
Son of Anomander Rake and the leader of the small group of remaining Tiste Andii youths who used to live on Drift Avalii, beneath Andarist's supervision.

* BadLiar
* TheEeyore: Initially, especially in ''Literature/ReapersGale'', but gets better in ''Literature/TollTheHounds''.
* EnemyWithin: It's never made explicit whether Phaed is truly in Nimander's mind or it's just him imagining her so he has someone to battle inside his mind; and then Phaed scoffs that the notion of a conflict is ridiculous anyway.. in his mind.
* HeroicSelfDeprecation
* InadequateInheritor: Considers himself this regarding Anomander Rake's legacy; or that of any other known Tiste Andii of times past.
* InstantAwesomeJustAddDragons
* LongHairedPrettyBoy
* TheseHandsHaveKilled: Technically, [[spoiler:Withal killed Phaed]], but Nimander did a good job with trying.
* TheSoCalledCoward: Seen as this by everyone outside his clique of Tiste Andii followers, and sees himself more as a CowardlyLion, which is actually in the end what makes him a great leader, as he comes to embrace his doubts, instead of succumbing to them.
* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: Nobody bothers to tell him that, but everyone thinks it.

!!Phaed
Sister to Nimander.

* CuteAndPsycho
* EnemyWithin: For Nimander. Maybe.
* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: [[spoiler:Withal's solution after Nimander bungles his attempt at killing Phaed.]]
* SlainInTheirSleep: Tries this on [[spoiler:Sandalath Drukorlat]].
* TokenEvilTeammate
* {{Yandere}}: ..implied to be this towards Nimander. Of course, it could be just his imagination.

!!Clip
-> '''Udinaas:''' 'I've almost given up hoping that you'll end up garrotting yourself with that chain. Almost.'
--> ''Literature/ReapersGale''

Hailing from the Bluerose Tiste Andii settlement on Lether, Clip is sent out by his village to seek and confront the Black-Winged Lord, whom they think abandoned them. He joins and journeys with different groups of characters to reach his goal and seems confident in his fighting skill. His preferred weapon is a chain he wears looped around his fingers. Clip is convinced that he acts as the Herald of High House Dark and the Mortal Sword of Mother Dark herself.

* AngstComa: Clip slips into a coma after his confrontation with the Dying God in Morsko. On their way to Bastion the other Andii in his group have to care for him, as he is completely unresponsive to any kind of outside stimulus.
* BloodFromEveryOrifice: During [[spoiler: Mother Dark and the Dying God's]] duel in Black Coral, Clip starts bleeding profusely.
* BoisterousWeakling: Clip isn't a bad fighter per se, but every onscreen fight he is in, he gets his ass handed to him. Of special note is his encounter with [[spoiler: Trull]], wherein he boasted that he has never been beaten by a spear-wielder. Well, he has now.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: He spends most of his time in the books annoying people and getting himself into entirely avoidable trouble. Then he [[spoiler: gets posessed by the Dying God]] and starts [[spoiler: murdering Nimander's group one by one and trying the same with ''Mother Dark'' upon her return]]. For a character who was at best a minor nuisance up to that point, it takes considerable resources to stop him.
* BreakTheHaughty: When the [[spoiler: Dying God has finally relinquished his soul]], he [[spoiler: locks himself into a cell]], either out of guilt or sheer embarrassment. The whole ordeal seems to have vanquished his bluster pretty thoroughly.
* {{Foil}}: To Nimander Golit. Where Nimander is humble, conflicted and secretly badass, Clip is boisterous and self-confident despite having only a fraction of the skill.
* TheFriendNobodyLikes: Not surprising, considering Clip's jerkass attitude, the group of young Andii isn't exactly enamoured with him, but they do care for him while he is in a coma and even [[spoiler: risk their lives to get his soul back]].
* TheGadfly: Additionally to his generally rather abrasive behaviour, he has the annoying habit of playing around with his chains, clicking them together or swirling them around his fingers. He is either unaware that he's doing it or obtuse on purpose, even when other people call him out on it.
-->'''Silchas Ruin''': Must you always do that?
-->'''Clip''': Do what?
* InTheBack: Kills [[spoiler: Fear Sengar]] with his garotte from behind, while [[spoiler: Fear]] was trying to backstab Silchas Ruin.
* JerkassFacade: The facade is so thorough, that some characters wonder if it even is one, but Clip seems to be genuinely conflicted about the death of his entire hometown and Rake's abandonment of his people.
* {{Pride}}: Clip is important, the best fighter of his clan, TheChosenOne of Mother Dark and a big player in the conflict with his own god. To himself, that is.
%%* LongHairedPrettyBoy
%%* ManipulativeBastard
%%* {{Narcissist}}
* RageAgainstTheHeavens: His task is to confront the Bluerose Andii's lost god, the Black-Winged Lord (i.e. Anomander Rake) for abandoning them and not answering their prayers. The full extent of his mission is never revealed, though it seems that he plans to fight him.
* SelfRestraint: By the end of ''Literature/TollTheHounds'' Clip [[spoiler: lives in a dungeon cell]] in Black Coral. He wasn't put there by the other Andii -- he went there himself and ''locked the door from inside''.
* SmallNameBigEgo: For the Mortal Sword of Mother Dark herself and being a part of the Deck of Dragons' current roster as Herald of High House Dark, he sure isn't known outside his immediate group of travelling companions. Then there is the question if he even ''is'' those things [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation he claims to be...]]
%%* SmugSnake: Clip doesn't treat anyone with respect, be it the brother of his supposed god or said god himself.
%%* SoreLoser
* TallDarkAndSnarky: Not a full-blooded Tiste Andii, but still dark skinned and black-haired. And he rarely has anything nice to say to his companions.
* TemptingFate: He tells Nimander and his group to wait in their room while he goes out to the town's tavern to see what the obviously drugged townspeople are doing. Everyone thinks it's a bad idea. It isn't disclosed what exactly happened, but the group finds him the next morning on the tavern's terrace curled into fetal position and comatose.
* UngratefulBastard: Just because Nimander and his companions cared for him while he was in a coma and did their level best to [[spoiler: get his soul back out of the clutches of a god]], doesn't mean he needs to thank them.

!!High Priestess

The High Priestess of Mother Dark, who is a fairly important character in ''Toll the Hounds''. Despite this, her name is never actually specified. It is possible that "High Priestess" actually ''is'' her name. She should not be confused with Salind, the High Priestess of the Redeemer.

* DeusSexMachina: She is implied to use sex as a ritual to open the gate to Kurald Galain. It's not explained exactly how this works, but it's referred to as a religious ritual.
* ReallyGetsAround: We see a sexual relationship between her and Spinnock, and she's implied to have sexual relationships with dozens of other characters. This is actually stated to be the [[PlanetOfHats hat]] of Tiste Andii priestesses in general. While there are religious or magical reasons for it, it's also hinted that there is an element of SexForSolace involved as well.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: '''Tiste Liosan''']]

!!Osseric
Eldest son of Father Light, and ruler of the Tiste Liosan, Osseric was the counterpart, rival, and former companion of Anomander Rake. The Champion of High House Light, worshipped as a god by the Tiste Liosan, and a famed figure within the Malazan mythos, Osseric has long since withdrawn from the world and has no desire to interact with it.

* AGodAmI: Worshipped as a god by the Liosan. Osseric himself notes wryly that the Liosan have always worshipped themselves, and he is just a convenient figurehead for their narcissism.
* {{Badass}}
* TheChampion: Champion of High House Light; also known as The Son of Light.
* FamedInStory: He once journeyed alongside Rake, and is featured in all the same poems.
* {{Foil}}: To Anomander Rake
* GeniusBruiser
* ImmortalityBeginsAtTwenty
* InstantAwesomeJustAddDragons
* KnightTemplar: Once, though no more.
* LargeAndInCharge
* LightningBruiser
* LongHairedPrettyBoy
* MagicKnight
* MasterSwordsman
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Nobody can seem to agree how his name is spelled. Osseric? Osserc? Osric?
* [[TookALevelInBadass Took Many Levels in Badass]]: Between the prequels and the present.
* VoluntaryShapeShifting

!!High Mage L'oric
Osseric's son by an unnamed Ascendent, and a powerful mage in his own right. He becomes involved in the Apocalypse Army's plans, though prefers to avoid fighting.

* TheArchmage
* DefectorFromDecadence: L'oric doesn't seem to have much to do with other Tiste Liosan.
* InHarmsWay: This is what L'oric's explanation boils down to when asked by Heboric for his reasons to remain with the Whirlwind Rebellion. Of course, there's more to it.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: '''Tiste Edur''']]

!!Tiste Edur
-> '''Trull Sengar:''' 'Our denial is wilful, our studied indifference conveniently self-serving to our basest desires. We are a long-lived people who now kneel before short-term interests --'
--> ''Literature/HouseOfChains''
\\
The Tiste Edur are one of the three Tiste peoples originally alien to the series' main Realm, [[spoiler: which according to the prequel trilogy may or may not have once been all one realm]]. They are considered the Children of Shadow, the unwelcome product of a conjoining of Dark and Light, and thus looked down upon by both the Tiste Andii and the Tiste Liosan. After a civil war that shattered their home realm, they fled Kurald Emurlahn under the leadership of Scabandari Bloodeye, whom they now worship as Father Shadow, and -- after defeating the locally settled K'Chain Che'Malle -- settled on the continent of Lether. Due to a [[spoiler: deliberate]] distortion of the history of this event, they now consider themselves to be the victims of a betrayal by Silchas Ruin and his Tiste Andii followers. [[spoiler: What really happened was the opposite.]]

* BarbarianLonghair: The Tiste Edur, especially the warriors, let their hair grow long and are variously described as barbaric looking to others.
* BraidsOfBarbarism: Their BarbarianLonghair often takes the form of this, and when a warrior is cast out completely, he is Shorn -- that is, his hair is shaved off and the scalp treated with an unguent that prevents it from ever growing back.
* BraidsBeadsAndBuckskins: Braids, Shells and Sealskins, more precisely, as the Edur live in the northern climate and near the coast, but they are the closest thing the series has to a Native American FantasyCounterpartCulture.
* BlindObedience: They blindly follow their traditions, and as a consequence whoever is in charge. Also, Father Shadow can do no wrong, but unfortunately, he's not around anymore.
* BloodKnight: Prone to becoming this due to inborn blood lust.
* CastingAShadow: While Kurald Emurlahn has been shattered and sealed, thanks to Shadow being its own elemental force the Tiste Edur retain some access to their shadow-themed magic.
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: Grey-skinned, in contrast to the midnight-skinned Tiste Andii and porcelain-skinned Tiste Liosan.
* ConditionedToAcceptHorror: Most Edur eventually become this during the course of the story, as they have nowhere else to go and speaking up is no good idea. It helps, of course, that they are naturally inclined to [[BloodKnight blood lust]].
* CultureJustifiesAnything: {{Deconstructed}}. Slavery, AggressiveCategorism, looking down on others because of their place in that society, others falling by the wayside, it's all InherentInTheSystem. It's usually subdued, but as Udinaas remarks on several occasions, all's well only until someone does something wrong, and the Edur are NotSoDifferent from their neighbouring Letherii.
* HaveYouSeenMyGod: Depending on the point of view, Father Shadow either disappeared or abandoned his children. Of course, [[spoiler: while some know where his body can be found, that does not account for his soul.]]
* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: Again, deconstructed. Pretty much every Tiste Edur point-of-view character shows what this can do to people, whether they buy into it, e.g. Fear Sengar, or not, e.g. Trull Sengar.
* TrappedInVillainy: Thanks to their [[HonorBeforeReason rigid]] [[BlindObedience social]] [[CultureJustifiesAnything structure]], the Tiste Edur become this after [[spoiler: Rhulad Sengar]] proclaims himself Emperor. Some [[BloodKnight like it]], others [[HeelRealization less so]].
* WomensMysteries: The women are the ones who keep the true records of their history, while the warriors get watered down and diluted versions. This is [[{{Deconstruction}} deconstructed]] by the reader being aware of what really happened from the beginning of the book, and by how irrelevant their secret knowledge evetually is. Shurq Elalle points out in ''Literature/ReapersGale'' how Tiste Edur women seem to be "completely useless mystics of some sort".

!!Scabandari Bloodeye
-> '''Silchas Ruin:''' 'You cannot see yourself, but I give you this name, for the blood that now stains your... vision.'
--> ''Literature/MidnightTides''
\\
One-time leader of the Tiste Edur, Scabandari led the Tiste exodus from Kurald Galain in the company of Silchas Ruin. Coming to a new world, Scabandari betrayed Silchas, and was himself slain by the Elder Gods Kilimandaros and Mael.

* AGodAmI: Worshipped as such by the Tiste Edur.
* {{Badass}}: It took two Elder Gods to take him out.
* FamedInStory
* GeniusBruiser
* ImmortalityBeginsAtTwenty
* InstantAwesomeJustAddDragons
* LargeAndInCharge
* LightningBruiser
* LongHairedPrettyBoy
* MagicKnight
* PosthumousCharacter: Long dead, though Fear, Trull, and Rhulad Sengar stumble onto his body.
* VoluntaryShapeshifting

!!Hannan Mosag
-> '''Fear Sengar:''' 'He seeks power, brothers. He ''needs'' power, and he cares nothing for its provenance, nor its taint.'
--> ''Literature/MidnightTides''
\\
The Warlock King of the Hiroth, who has achieved the unification of the Tiste Edur tribes and whose motives are anything but clear. He enters a pact with the Crippled God, [[spoiler:but the Crippled God chooses Rhulad Sengar instead]].

* AmbitionIsEvil: Only Kallor would make a better poster boy for the trope.
* DealWithTheDevil: Cut a deal with the Crippled God, exchanging alleigance for use of the Chaos Warren.
* EvilChancellor: To Rhulad, following his ascension to the throne.
* EvilCripple: Courtesy of his deal with the Crippled God.
* SanitySlippage
* SorcerousOverlord: Before Rhulad ascended to the throne.
* VaderBreath: Due to his crippling overuse of the Chaos Warren.

!!Fear Sengar
First son of the Sengar family.

* AloofBigBrother
* TheAce: How his family saw him.
* BigBrotherMentor: To all of his brothers, but especially towards Trull.
* HonorBeforeReason: After [[spoiler:having lost his betrothed to Rhulad because he had not the guts to speak up]], he latches onto [[spoiler:Seren Pedac]] in a desperate attempt to protect her despite everyone's conviction that Trull is already dead anyway.
* LongHairedPrettyBoy
* TheStoic: His emotions are all subtle and bottled up, but when they do show they are so subtle, only Trull seems to be aware of them, and even he does not notice the really deeply hidden ones.

!!Trull Sengar
-> '''Fear Sengar:''' 'There is reluctance in you, Trull. You hide it well enough, but I can see where others cannot. You are a warrior who would rather not fight.'
--> ''Literature/MidnightTides''
\\
Trull Sengar is the second of the four sons of the Sengar family. He is a skilled warrior, vastly preferring the spear over the sword, but lacks the inclination towards blood lust most Tiste Edur share. His intelligence and compassion puts him at odds with what the Tiste Edur become and eventually sees him exiled.

* AggressiveCategorism: A much milder version than most Tiste Edur, but at the start of ''Literature/MidnightTides'' Trull still categorically dismisses Rhulad because the latter is 'an unblooded pup', remarks how Ahlrada Ahn has [[CondescendingCompassion risen above his heritage]] despite being the son of a Tiste Andii slave and has serious trouble reconciling Udinaas' intelligence and his being a slave. He gets better.
* {{Badass}}: The first person to ever successfully hold off [[spoiler:Icarium Lifestealer]]. He also holds his own against [[spoiler:Silchas Ruin]] for a time, sends [[spoiler:Clip]] packing, fights off a pack of Jheck, and even his older brother and mentor Fear admits he cannot be sure to be able to defeat Trull in a one-on-one fight.
* BewareTheQuietOnes: In ''Literature/MidnightTides'', Trull lets Canarth talk smack about him all the former wants, but when Canarth accuses Ahlrada Ahn -- whom Trull admires -- of being a betrayer, Trull finally snaps. He challenges Canarth to a duel and disposes of him in a matter of seconds.
* BigBrotherWorship: At the end of ''Literature/ReapersGale'', Trull's point of view narration calls Fear Sengar, his elder brother who trained him in combat, the god of his childhood. And even early on in ''Literature/MidnightTides'' Trull thinks that while he himself did well in the War of Unification, it is only right and proper that his older brother Fear can boast even more trophies.
* BladeOnAStick: His spear is his favourite weapon. Trull even uses it in close combat, despite having a sword as well. Whenever he is not lugging a spear around, ''someone'' remarks on how ''something'' must have happened.
* BrokenMessiah: Everyone who ever encounters Trull sees him as humble, compassionate, courageous, and so on, but he himself is all too aware of his own perceived failings; seeing not just too much, but -- as he believes -- all the wrong things, passing judgement based on prejudices, being indecisive and easily deceived because he trusts people to be honest, and so forth...
* BrutalHonesty: One of Trull's defining character traits, as he seems unable to lie or pretend whether he wants to or not. He cannot keep himself from voicing his suspicions and asking inconvenient questions. Lilac even uses that to deceive him, as he rightfully assumes that Trull, who does not lie, would not suspect others to lie, either.
* DespairEventHorizon: Reaches it in ''Literature/MidnightTides'' when he realises with finality that whatever happened cannot be undone and the Tiste Edur have changed irreversibly -- but he himself hasn't.
* TheDitherer: Results from his constant doubts. He can't seem to be able to make up his mind about Rhulad, what to about the events that swap his people away and later about what to do with his life, so he ends up just floating from one conflict he as nothing to do with to the next.
* TheExile: The Shorning. The tipping point is when he [[spoiler:leaves Rhulad lying bleeding and incapacitated on the floor, instead of killing him so he can be resurrected.]] When he returns to the throne room to try and reason with Rhulad, he is taken into custody and, some time later, chained in the Nascent to die slowly. The Shorning also means that as far as the Tiste Edur are concerned, his parents had one child less, and just speaking his name can get one sentenced to death.
* FatalFlaw: His BrutalHonesty, which causes him to be exiled and lose everything he cared for.
--> '''Trull:''' ''I was ever the worrier. I do not see too much, I see only the wrong things. And so the fault is mine, within me. I need to remain mindful of that.''
* HeroicSelfDeprecation:
--> '''Onrack:''' 'It is your way, my friend, to disarm your own achievements.'\\
'''Trull Sengar:''' 'Onrack --'\\
'''Quick Ben:''' 'He's calling you modest, Edur. And don't bother denying the truth of that -- you still manage to startle me on that count.'
* InterspeciesFriendship: With Onrack the Broken, a T'lan Imass. Cotillion even remarks in ''Literature/TheBonehunters'' how unlike it is to see a Tiste Edur and a T'lan Imass become friends.
* LongHairedPrettyBoy: He was this, according to Seren Pedac, prior to his permanent TraumaticHaircut in the prologue of ''Literature/HouseOfChains'', which also gives him a..
* MarkOfShame: ..in the form of a distinct scar on the forehead: a circle broken by a line.
* ThePowerOfFriendship: With Onrack, who frees Trull from his chains in the Nascent on a whim. Onrack serves as a means for Trull to keep despair at bay, while Onrack learns anew what it's like to feel emotions and have someone care for him.
* ReluctantWarrior: In contrast to the BloodKnight tendencies of the Tiste Edur. Fear even calls him that. It's not that Trull would not fight when needed, and he's one of his tribe's best warriors, but he vastly prefers to not brag about it, which causes others to see him as a coward.
* TranquilFury: Best seen in his duel against Canarth in ''Literature/MidnightTides'', where he efficiantly disposes of Canarth in a matter of seconds, although afterwards Trull admits his anger dissipated the moment he had Canarth on the ground.
* TraumaticHaircut: It's a part of the Shorning procedure, which includes having his head shaved and magically treated so that the hair will never grow back. It's a sign of being permanently exiled from Tiste Edur society.
* TraumaButton: A whole parade of them; anything that reminds him of what happened pre (and including) his Shorning, but especially anything that reminds him of Seren Pedac and his family.

!!Binadas Sengar
-> '''Hannan Mosag:''' 'I understand that Binadas wanders once more. He knows no anchor, does he?'
--> ''Literature/MidnightTides''
\\
Binadas is the Sengar family's third son and the only one with a talent for sorcery. He is said to rival the Warlock King in power. [[spoiler:In ''Literature/HouseOfChains'', Binadas is the ship captain Karsa Orlong kills on a whim when he encounters the Tiste Edur vessel.]]

* BloodBrothers: Binadas has 'cut flesh' for Hull Beddict, and vice versa, making them this.
* DreadlockWarrior: Binadas' hairstyle is explicitly described as short dreadlocks when he first is introduced in ''Literature/MidnightTides'' and Seren Pedac sums him up as 'A hunter. A killer.'
* HunterTrapper: The way he makes sure he is respected in the warrior society of the Edur, as he brings home trophies as proof of [[ARealManIsAKiller his hunting feats]].
* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:On a quest to find Trull, Binadas is killed by Karsa Orlong in ''Literature/HouseOfChains'' even before he is properly introduced, while commanding the ship Karsa Orlong and Torvald Nom come across in the Nascent.]]
* MagicKnight: The only one of the Sengar brothers who inherited their mother's talent for sorcery.
* MountainMan: Prefers to spend his time in the mountains and forests instead of the village.
* TheQuietOne:
--> His brother shrugged, ever reluctant to surrender his reserve, his mindful silence. [...]
* WeHardlyKnewYe: An interesting case, because [[spoiler:he is killed even before he is introduced, then is introduced in Trull's backstory without any connection to the ship he eventually dies on, and only even later is the connection between the Tiste Edur captain Karsa killed and Binadas Sengar made.]]

!!Rhulad Sengar
Fourth and youngest son of the Sengar family.

See '''High House Chains'''

!!Tomad Sengar
Patriarch of the Sengar family.

!!Uruth
Matriarch of the Sengar family.

* AlmightyMom
* BrutalHonesty
* WomensMysteries: Uruth is one of the principal magic-users of her tribe and also a leading figure among the tribe's women, who are responsible for keeping the secrets of the Tiste Edur's true history.

!!Ahlrada Ahn
-> 'Rise above? I suffered under no such compulsion, Trull Sengar. Before she died, my mother told me many secrets.'
--> ''Literature/MidnightTides''

A Tiste Edur who, like Trull Sengar, opposed the Wars of Unification. He is said to be the child of a slave from Bluerose, and thus a half-blood. Actually, [[spoiler: Ahlrada Ahn is a full-blooded Tiste Andii who serves as a spy among the Tiste Edur]].

* ConvenientlyUnverifiableCoverStory: Child of a Bluerose slave. Has travelled far and wide and forged kinships with many Tiste Edur from the outlying tribes. Yeah.
* DeepCoverAgent
* HalfBreedDiscrimination: Subverted. Trull assumes that's what Ahlrada has to deal with. Ahlrada tells him that he's quite proud of his heritage, thankyouverymuch.
* HatesEveryoneEqually: ..at least, every Tiste Edur. With one exception.
* HeroWorshipper: Towards Trull Sengar, as revealed in ''Literature/TheBonehunters''.
* MoleInCharge: Ahlrada eventually leads a company of Edur warriors during their forays into the territory of the First Throne.
* RedemptionEqualsDeath
* SourOutsideSadInside: Abrasive and cold towards everyone because [[spoiler:he has to keep up his disguise]]. He later admits that he really wanted [[spoiler:to be able to drop the act around Trull, the only Tiste Edur he ever admired]], but thought it too much of a risk.
* TheStoic
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: This realisation serves as the point where he crosses the DespairEventHorizon, as all he has left is the wish to return home, [[spoiler:to Bluerose]]. [[spoiler: 'Home' is the last word he mutters before he dies.]]

!!Kagamandra Tulas Shorn
-> 'In the time of my deathlessness, Silchas, I came to understand the truth of that old saying: you cannot go back.'
--> ''The Crippled God''

* BashBrothers: With Silchas Ruin.
* BackFromTheDead: Escaped Hood's realm while Death was otherwise occupied.
* {{Determinator}}: In ''Forge of Darkness'' towards [[RunawayBride Faror Hend]]. [[TheSnarkKnight Sharenas Ankhadu]] points out how idiotic that is.
* {{Dracolich}}: Being undead and a Soletaken Eleint, Tulas [[VoluntaryShapeshifting can turn]] into an undead dragon.
* FluffyTamer: The [[HellHound Hounds of Shadow]] originally belonged to him and it was him who raised them from half-wild pups to the vicious beasts they became.
* TheQuietOne:
--> [...] Although such mockery had invariably faded when they had seen what had been achieved by this strange, quiet warrior with the Eleint-tainted eyes.
* ShapeShifter
* ShellShockedVeteran
* TragicBromance: With Silchas Ruin. He says that Tulas' disappearance and presumed death devastated him, and their reunion in ''The Crippled God'' is almost tearful, between the [[VitriolicBestBuds slinging of insults]]. And then it's taken up a notch when, [[spoiler:after fulfilling their mutual wish to fight side by side, Tulas dies for a second and final time.]]
* TheUndead
* VoluntaryShapeshifting: An undead Soletaken dragon.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: '''Imass / T'lan Imass''']]

!! Onos Too'lan
* BadAss: Yes he's undead. Yes he has a host of advantages related to being undead. And yet, Tool is still incredibly BadAss.
* BerserkButton: Tool doesn't have a lot of friends. Don't hurt the ones he has.
* CoolSword: A huge, enchanted ''flint'' sword.
* DeliberateInjuryGambit: As a T'lan Imass, Tool can surive anything short of beheading or total dismemberment. It's not surprising, therefore, that these kind of tactics feature prominently in his playbook.
* EarnYourHappyEnding
* GoodThingYouCanHeal: Like most of the T'lan Imass, Tool regularly shrugs off crippling injuries, just to remind us that, yes, he is undead.
* ImplacableMan: Comes with being a T'lan Imass, although even by their standards he's pretty damn hard to stop.
* LightningBruiser: As the First Sword, he can fight with the best, and as a T'lan Imass, he can basically become dust and travel really fast, and short of decapitation T'lan Imass don't die. However, T'lan Imass cannot materialize over water.
* LonersAreFreaks: Tool is unbound, and unconnected to any clan. Other T'lan Imass tend to view him with a mix of suspicion and awe because of this.
* MasterSwordsman: The First Sword of the T'lan Imass.
* TheUndead: Naturally.
* TheUnfettered

!!Kilava Onass

* LonersAreFreaks: Even more so than her brother, Tool. Especially since she was the one who killed their entire tribe...
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Pannion. That is all.
* TheUndead: A notable aversion; she refused to take part in the Ritual of Tellann and is now one of the only living Imass still around.
* VoluntaryShapeshifting / PantheraAwesome: As a bonecaster, she turns into a big black panther.

!!Onrack the Broken

* FluffyTamer: His two [[PantheraAwesome emlava]] cubs.
* HappilyMarried: [[spoiler: Eventually, with Kilava.]] Not so much with his first wife...
* PowerOfFriendship: With Trull Sengar.
* WhoWantsToLiveForever: Averted. Onrack is one of the few T'lan Imass that doesn't see his condition as a curse.
* YourCheatingHeart: [[spoiler: Cheated on his wife, the Imass woman who would later become the Whirlwind Goddess.]]

!!Olar Ethil

* {{Dracolich}}: Being the First Bonecaster, Olar Ethil is also a Soletaken. However, since she is undead, her Soletaken form is that of an undead dragon.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: '''Jaghut''']]

!!Raest
----
* AGodAmI: Like many Jaghut Tyrants, Raest took perverse delight in being percieved as a god by the Imass.
* ArmourIsUseless: You don't even find out he was wearing it until several books after the fight. To be fair, he was fighting Dragons, so it probably didn't make all that much difference.
* {{Badass}}: Hell yes. Possibly one the strongest characters introduced in the series, in terms of raw power (although that may have just been a [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness GOTM thing]].
* DeadpanSnarker: Is evolving into one as the series progresses. His sense of humour is definitely an odd one though.
* MoralityPet: Has several Malazan soldiers find him a dead cat. He brings it to life so that it can keep him company inside the House of Azath and names it Tufty.
* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch: The Jaghut loathed community and avoided it as though it were a disease, believing it led only to horror and violence. Raest is a tyrant, who gets his kicks out of enslaving weaker species.
* SealedEvilInACan: Well, sealed in a barrow anyway, and by his own species no less. His Finnest, which contains most of his power, is also an example.
* SoulJar: The Finnest has most of Raest's power in it.
* TheUndead: He's not Undead like the Imass are, but it's clear that Raest and his body no longer share a particularly intimate connection, and the destruction of the latter causes him few difficulties. [[spoiler:A straight example now that he's inside the Azath House]].

!!Gothos
----
* AnIcePerson
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Like most Jaghut, shows a rather...weird sense of humor.
---> "I greet you as guests and so will not crush the life from you and devour your souls with peals of laughter. No, instead, I will make some tea."
---> "Ah, I despair, or I would if I cared enough. [[RunningGag No, instead, I will make some ashcakes.]] Which I will not share."
* FamedInStory
* TheHermit: Like most non-Tyrant Jaghut. To the point where he willingly lives in an Azath house.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: [[spoiler: The Lord of Hate.]]
* NietzscheWannabe: Oh yeah. His work, Gothos' Folly, is described as a suicide note dozens of volumes long.
* ParentalNeglect: To his son [[spoiler: Icarium]], a rather screwed up individual.
* PersonOfMassDestruction: When you can casually freeze an entire continent...
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld
* {{Troll}}: Really enjoys jerking Kilmandaros and Mael around.

!!Pannion
----
See '''Pannion Domin'''

----
[[folder: '''High House Chains''']]

!!The Crippled God / [[spoiler:Kaminsod]]
----
* AndIMustScream: He's been trapped and tortured for ''hundreds of thousands of years'' at the start of the series.
* BigBad: About as close to one as the series gets. [[spoiler:Arguably subverted in that he's treated with considerable sympathy, particularly in the later books, and in the end the protagonists end up having to ''save'' him when his plots get [[HijackedByGanon Hijacked by the Forkrul Assail]].]]
* BlackCloak: Of sorts. He usually covers himself in dark-colored rags, rather than an actual cloak, but the look is very similar.
* TheCorrupter: The Crippled God specialises in bringing out the worst in people, typically [[DealWithTheDevil offering them exactly what they want]] in exchange for their inclusion in his House of Chains. He seems to like driving his followers/victims mad.
* DealWithTheDevil: Munug, [[spoiler: Kallor]] and many others have made them with him.
* DisabledDeity: It's in the name. He's not a paragon of mental health, either.
* DysfunctionJunction: His followers. It's entirely deliberate too. The Crippled God desires every member of his House to be as flawed, mentally and/or physically, as he is.
* EvilCripple: Evil due to crippling. The Fall destroyed his mind.
* FreudianExcuse: The Fall did not do good things to his sanity. The fact that most of the pantheon has periodically gotten together and chained him up for, from his perspective, no real reason didn't help either.
* GodOfEvil: Deconstructed. He's more like a god of ''suffering'', and that suffering includes his own. While he's initially presented as ''causing'' it, in the end [[spoiler:after the Bonehunters risk everything to save him from the Assail and ''succeed'', he ends up becoming the god who has sympathy for those who suffer]].
** [[spoiler: Well, at least up until the point Cotillion kills him with a surprise backstab. It's implied, however, that this was done to allow him to return home, which was [[EarnYourHappyEnding what he wanted all along]].]]
* HiddenVillain: For the first two and a half books.
* IHaveManyNames: The Crippled God, the Fallen God, the Chained One. [[spoiler:But his real name is Kaminsod]].
* KickTheDog: His treatment of Rhulad Sengar. See below.
* MadGod: Due to being caught in a trap meant for Kallor and spending hundreds of thousands of years in it.
* TheManBehindTheMan: To ''so'' many different villains, with the [[spoiler:[[DarkMessiah Pannion Seer]]]] being a particularly spectacular example.
* NarratorAllAlong: [[spoiler:Ultimately revealed as the narrator in ''The Crippled God''. This turns out to be a JustifiedTrope, as it's revealed that he [[LiteraryAgentHypothesis penned the series]] so that those who sacrificed their lives to free him would not be forgotten. The title of the series, naturally, relates to this.]]
* OmnicidalManiac: He's slowly poisoning Burn. Whether he genuinely wants her dead or is hoping that someone will free him in order to prevent this isn't known for most of the series. [[spoiler:It's the latter]].
* PillarOfLight: When [[spoiler:he's freed]].
* PhysicalGod: Like many other Ascendants in the series.
* RedRightHand: The evil god is the [[EvilCripple crippled one]]. Go figure.
* SadisticChoice: See XanatosGambit below. The best case scenario is his freedom, and the end of civilisation as they know it. The worst case scenario is the slow death of the entire world.
* SealedEvilInACan: Chained in place to the sleeping goddess Burn, though his spirit can move around inside a Warren and has appeared in several places around the world. [[spoiler:Ultimately subverted when he is freed and turns out to act more in the manner one would expect of a SealedGoodInACan. Freeing him seems to have undone the madness that led to most of his actions prior to his freedom, and it certainly stops his poisoning of Burn which had been causing many of the world's problems. He's also immensely grateful to the people who freed him; ending hundreds of thousands of years' worth of torture will do that to a god.]]
* StartOfDarkness: He was just a foreign god who fell to earth as the result of a trap meant for [[TheEmperor Kallor]]. And went stark raving mad as a result.
* VaderBreath: Has to constantly inhale incense in order to keep his lungs clear. Even then, his breathing is still ragged and wheezing.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: The fate of many of those who choose to follow him.
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: The Fall left him crippled, agonised and totally insane. He seems to be out to destroy the world in order to make the pain go away. It's very hard not to feel bad for him on some level.
** [[spoiler: After his plans get taken over by the Forkrul Assail, who are basically using his heart as an ArtifactOfDoom, he turns into more of a straight-up {{Woobie}}]].
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: None of the injuries from the Fall have healed. Not one in a hundred thousand years.
* XanatosGambit: If they don't loose him, Burn dies and he gets his revenge. If they do, he's free to wreak havoc and get his revenge via other means. Kind of a win-win situation for him.

!!Rhulad Sengar
----
* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Before the horror show began.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Mystically linked to one.
* AxeCrazy
* BackFromTheDead: Over and over and over again.
* {{BFS}}: The aforementioned ArtifactOfDoom.
* BigEgoHiddenDepths: Rhulad is a much more layered character than his AnnoyingYoungerSibling behaviour lets on at first, however it takes a serious horror show for that to surface. By the time he starts trying to get his shit together it's way too late and he can't help himself slipping back into his old persona again and again.
* BlessedWithSuck: He comes back every time he's killed, but only after having his soul tortured by the Crippled God.
* BodyHorror: Covered in half-melted gold coins from a Tiste Edur death rite. Some of them fall out, but that just leaves him with horrific burn scars instead.
* TheCaligula: Deconstructed. We're treated to a blow-by-blow account of his descent into madness, and it's treated as tragedy rather than menace.
* CoolSword: Subverted. It's the ArtifactOfDoom that keeps bringing him back.
* DeathSeeker: Gee, I wonder why?
* TheDragon: As The King in Chains, he fullfills this role with regards to the Crippled God.
* TheEmperor: Of the Letherii Empire and the Tiste Edur.
* EvilOverlord
* GlorySeeker: Initially. By the time he learns the lesson it's too late, though.
* HealingFactor: Can heal any injuries, [[WoundThatWillNotHeal save those inflicted on him by the funeral rites after his first death]].
* HeroicSacrifice: Which got him linked to the ArtifactOfDoom in the first place.
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Due to being too young and too proud, Rhulad is prone to misjudging people. He considers Trull a coward, but trusts people who are only in it for their own benefit.
* IHaveManyNames: Rhulad Sengar, The Emperor of a Thousand Deaths, The King in Chains.
* ImmortalityHurts: Between getting tortured by the Crippled God in the afterlife, the BodyHorror from his funeral, his bride committing suicide rather than bearing his child, and his enroaching insanity, yeah.
* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler: When Karsa finally kills his soul]].
* {{Lust}}: Lusted after his brother Fear's wife, who toyed with his emotions as a game. This results in a very nasty LoveTriangle once he becomes The Emperor.
* MoodSwinger: Comes with the increasing insanity.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: The Emperor of a Thousand Deaths.
* NeckSnap: How he meets his second death at the hand of Letherii soldier Iron Bars. He gets over it.
* PetTheDog: His attempt at returning Mayen, his wife, to his brother, Fear, whom she genuinely loves. Also, his forcing Mayen to stop beating her slave, Feather Witch.
* {{Pride}}: One of Rhulad's major sins before becoming The King In Chains. He was convinced he was far superior to everyone, including his brothers Fear and Trull.
* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Averted. He forces his brother's wife to marry him, and has his way with her, and somehow, it just makes him all the more pathetic and pitiable.
* SanitySlippage: Gradually loses his mind as each new resurrection takes its toll on him.
* SelfMadeOrphan: Not that this was his intention. He threw his mom and dad in prison. [[DeusAngstMachina The jail promptly flooded]].
* SmallNameBigEgo: Initially. His first death pretty much shatters his ego though.
* TraumaCongaLine: His brother is murdered by Karsa, his bride kills herself, his parents are drowned in his dungeon, his people are scheming against him, he's slowly going mad, and that's without getting into the horror show that is his curse.
* WhoWantsToLiveForever: Not Rhulad.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: [[spoiler: It's hard to not to sympathise with him, after his mind starts to slowly break apart because of his deaths... and deaths of his loved ones. Also Udinaas, his only friend, betrays him - or so he thinks...]]
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: No matter how many times he dies, the wounds from his first death will not heal. And then there's those [[BodyHorror damn coins]] from his first funeral.

!!Karsa Orlong / Toblakai
----
* AntiHero: A NominalHero, more or less. An UnscrupulousHero on a good day.
* {{Badass}}: How his fans view him.
* BarbarianHero: His perspective is initially, per WordOfGod, a deliberate {{deconstruction}} of the barbarian fantasy, and as such his perspective begins as not heroic in any conceivable sense. He gets somewhat better as he undergoes CharacterDevelopment, but at his best remains an antihero.
* BloodKnight: While he's not as much of one now as he was when the series starts, he's still quite fond of, and skilled at, combat.
* BoisterousBruiser
* CatchPhrase: "Witness!" Usually followed by something very BadAss or just plain [[RefugeInAudacity insane]].
* TheChampion: Accepting the position of Knight of High House Chains would make him this to the Crippled God.
* DefeatingTheUndefeatable: Or more accurately, killing [[spoiler:the Emperor of a Thousand Deaths]] who was supposed to be unkillable.
* TheDragon: The Crippled God wants him to be his Knight of Chains. So far, Karsa has been doing his best to refuse.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: He may have started out believing that [[DeliberateValuesDissonance there is nothing wrong with rape]], but he is nonetheless completely appalled when he finds out about [[spoiler:Bidithal]]'s paedophilia, and ultimately kills him. This effectively solidifies his transition from a VillainProtagonist to an AntiVillain (he ultimately ends up an AntiHero). In ''Literature/TheBonehunters'', he mentions that he hasn't raped anyone in years, so it's quite possible that seeing the effects of sexual abuse on [[spoiler:Felisin Younger]] cured him of these tendencies.
* FishOutOfWater: Anytime he approaches a remotely civilised location.
* TheGiant: Karsa's immense size is almost always noted.
* HeelFaceTurn: He starts out as unambiguously villainous. Even at the end of his character arc he is far from entirely sympathetic, but arguably becomes either an AntiVillain or a dark AntiHero. Some of this is arguably due to the narrative setting him against people who are unambiguously more villainous ({{Pedophile Priest}}s, slavers, etc.), but some of it is due to CharacterDevelopment, as his internal narrative makes it plain that he is re-examining the core beliefs that shaped him into the villain he was initially.
* HellishHorse
* HeManWomanHater: Not a straight example as he doesn't ''hate'' women, but he does believe them to be inferior, and holds them in deep contempt, initially believing that [[DeliberateValuesDissonance rape is totally okay]]. His interactions with [[HotWitch Samar Dev]] and various other women seem to be improving him for the better, although it's hard to tell completely; nonetheless, he delivers a massive PayEvilUntoEvil moment to [[spoiler:Bidithal]] for his paedophilia and abuse of [[spoiler:Felisin Younger]], which ''appalls'' him.
* InherentInTheSystem: Karsa believes slavery and exploitation are inherent in society. His solution? [[DisproportionateRetribution Burn it down]].
* KarmicDeath: Hands them out, with great relish.
* KillTheGod: [[spoiler: In addition to Rhulad Sengar, who was more or less the vessel of the Crippled God, he also kills Fener, facilitating his HeroicSacrifice.]]
* PayEvilUntoEvil: As mentioned above, he is quite fond of dishing out Karmic Deaths, particularly to paedophiles and slavers.
* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: The Teblor are a ProudWarriorRace, and he starts as one of the proudest. Even as he moves away from their customs, he doesn't lose his relish for combat.
* PsychopathicManChild: On occasion.
* RefusalOfTheCall: Sort of. He has no problem with going on adventures and [[RapePillageAndBurn raping and pillaging]] and whatnot. He just really resents doing it on the Crippled God's orders.
* [[TattooedCrook Tattooed Thug]]: The broken-glass tattoos on his face that denote his past as a slave.
* ValuesDissonance: Both in-universe (with the rest of the cast that is) and with the fans. He does get better as he undergoes CharacterDevelopment.
* VillainProtagonist: His perspective starts out as unambiguously villainous, which was done deliberately. However, he undergoes a substantial amount of CharacterDevelopment and arguably becomes either an AntiVillain or a very dark AntiHero.
[[/folder]]
----
[[folder: '''High House Shadow''']]

!!Shadowthrone/Ammanas
----
* BlackCloak
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Feared emperor, {{chessmaster}} usurper of High House Shadow, all around ManipulativeBastard...and deathly afraid of his mother (and all females), apparently. Has some shades of CloudCuckooLander as well.
* TheChessmaster: sets in motion much of the series
* DealWithTheDevil: "Shadowthrone loves deals."
* TheEmperor: [[spoiler: Pre-Ascension]].
* EvilSoundsDeep: Inverted. Ammanas' voice is very high-pitched and cold.
* FauxAffablyEvil
* FromNobodyToNightmare: [[spoiler: started off as a bar owner and middling criminal]]
* GigglingVillain
* {{Hellhound}}s: Commands seven of them.
* InTheHood
* LaughablyEvil
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Would you mess with a guy named "Shadowthrone"?
* PhysicalGod
* TheReveal: [[spoiler:He's Emperor Kellanved, who Ascended following Laseen's assassination attempt]].
* {{Revenge}}: Wants to pay back [[spoiler:Laseen for murdering him]].

!!Cotillion/The Rope
--> "It's not such a bad thing, girl, to be the pawn of a god."
----
* AntiVillain
* BadAss: If the stories are to be belived, [[spoiler:Dancer was a BadAss even before his Ascension to Godhood]]. He's definitely one now.
* TheChampion: As Assassin of High House Shadow he holds this position.
* DemonicPossession: Takes over Apsalar/Sorry during ''Gardens of the Moon''.
* TheDragon: To Shadowthrone.
* KnifeNut
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: The Rope, Patron of Assassins.
* ParentalSubstitute: [[spoiler: Seems to be trying to become one to Sorry/Apsalar, as a means of making up for what he put her through]].
* PetTheDog: Has a minor one with Sorry right before he possesses her, reassuring her that the experience won't be that bad. [[spoiler:Has had many more since than; see ParentalSubstitute, above]].
* PhysicalGod
* ProfessionalKiller: Cotillion is the Patron of Assassins.
* TheReveal: [[spoiler:Was formerly Dancer, Emperor Kellanved's companion, and Ascended alongside his master]].
* {{Revenge}}: For the same reasons as Ammanas.
* ShipperOnDeck: [[spoiler:He seems to want Cutter and Apsalar to be happy. It's just that, well, try as he might to be a kind father figure, he's not the god of happy endings, he's the god of murdering people in the face. It's not working.]]
----
!!Sorry / Apsalar
-> '''Quick Ben:''' 'I never believed in pure evil before Sorry showed up. But you're right, she's awfully young.'
--> ''Literature/GardensOfTheMoon''

Sorry is a recruit in Whiskeyjack's squad. She is awfully young and awfully unsettling, possessing the abilities and ruthlessness of a seasoned assassin, going so far as scaring Kalam, a former Claw. She used to be a fisher girl in Itko Kan, but due to being in the wrong place at the wrong time once, she has found herself in the service of High House Shadow and a vessel for the Patron of Assassins. After the possession is ended, she takes on the name Apsalar yet, due to having no other skills, remains in the employ of High House Shadow.
----
* AmnesiacsAreInnocent: After being freed from Cotillion's possession, she exibits a brief period of almost childlike innocence as her last memories are from her life in a fishing village and the memories of her time as a cold-blooded killer have yet to resurface again.
* BrainwashResidue: Aside from [[GhostMemory some leftover memories]] and skills from being possessed by the Patron of Assassins, Apsalar also retains some other things like movement patterns -- Urko Crust at first assumes her to be Cotillion's daughter despite looking nothing like him simply based on how she walks.
* BreakHisHeartToSaveHim: Apsalar leaves Cutter in order to keep him from following in her footsteps and becoming an assassin after realising how far he's already gone down that path for her sake.
* BrokenBird: She seems to be coping quite well with having been possessed by Cotillion and being unable to go back to her life as a fisher girl, but the fact that she keeps pushing Cutter away while at the same time showing occasional glipses of breaking down tells another story.
* DanceBattler: From ''Literature/TheBonehunters'' on, Apsalar is able to employ the Shadow Dance, a technique developed within the Cult of Rashan which enables the dancer to use shadow magic for fighting and assassination.
* DarkActionGirl: Though she's one of the more prominent characters, she's perceived as pure evil by some characters at first, and even later she remains an [[ProfessionalKiller assassin]] who works for High House Shadow. Thanks to the skills inherited from Cotillion and the Shadow Dance, Apsalar is able to take down entire Hands of the Claw.
* DemonicPossession: Divine possession by the Patron God of Assassins, who for the duration is in complete control her. Apsalar carries around the scars of having been possessed by Cotillion for most of the rest of the series, and the latter spends much of it trying to make it up to her.
* DoomedHometown: Though not actually destroyed, ''all'' the villagers of the fishing village she grew up at ''and'' the nearby town were killed by Shadowthrone and Cotillion to cover up her disappearance and subsequent possession.
* TheDreaded: As Sorry. Quick Ben jumps whenever she's around (or even worse -- not around), Kalam becomes nervous and even Whiskeyjack, always the one who tries to see the best in people, has to admit that Sorry makes him uncomfortable. During their time in Darujhistan, the entire squad is constantly on edge with fear of Sorry killing someone unasked and endangering their mission, and yet, nobody wants to actually have her at their quarters either.
* EmotionlessGirl: Upon their first meeting in ''Literature/GardensOfTheMoon'', Tattersail describes Sorry as 'young, pretty as an icicle and looking as warm to the touch' and immediately has a feeling that something's wrong with the girl. Sorry doesn't seem to care and remains cold and distant until her possession by Cotillion is ended.
* GhostMemory:
** Even after her possession by Cotillion ends, Apsalar -- after a short stint as AmnesiacsAreInnocent -- retains some of his personal memories (as mortal and Ascendant) and skills as [[ProfessionalKiller an assassin]]. The meories feel like her own to her and at first she speaks of events from before she was born as if they'd happened to her personally.
** Additionally, she also retains some scattered memories of Riggalai the Seer, the old wax-witch that tried to protect her from Cotillion's possession.
* GrandTheftMe: It is implied by Riggalai that Cotillion's possession would have completely annihilated the fisher girl's spirit, so deeply was it suppressed, had the old witch not intervened and shielded the girl within her own mind. Thus, while the Cotillion controls Sorry completely, enough of her is left to return when the possession is ended.
* KnifeNut: Knives are Sorry's weapons of choice. Quick Ben and Kalam recall an incident in which instead of killing a man, she basically mutilated him until even seasoned killer Kalam could not watch any longer and had to step in and kill the poor sod. She retains her preference for knives even after the possession ends.
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: While she retains memories of Cotillion's life as Dancer, Apsalar does lose all memories of what Cotillion did while he controlled her body.
* LossOfIdentity: She remembers quite a bit of her life pre-possession, but clearly isn't that girl anymore, not to mention that she has memories which aren't even hers while she still cannot remember her own name.
* MeaningfulName:
** The name Sorry is chosen by Cotillion when he possesses her and enlists her in the Malazan Army. It is his way to express how he feels about using the girl for his own means.
** However, when she has a chance to choose her own name, she averts the trope by just asking Crokus to give her a name he likes. He can't think of anything and proposes the name of the Goddess of Thieves and she takes it because she likes the sound of 'Apsalar'.
* OneManArmy: Thanks to the [[DanceBattler Shadow Dance]], in ''Literature/TheBonehunters'' [[spoiler:Apsalar is able to fight her way through upwards of a hundred [[ProfessionalAssassin Claw]], leaving only red mist behind]].
* PsychoForHire: Sorry poses as one while infiltrating the Malazan Army, to better discourage closer scrutiny of her persona. She scares Quick Ben, Whiskeyjack, and even former Claw Kalam, she's so damn creepy.
* WaifFu: Thanks to DemonicPossession resulting in the skills of a trained assassin, and later the [[DanceBattler Shadow Dance]], this less than twenty years old, asian looking [[note]] Itko Kan, where she is from, sounds a lot like certain parts of Asia[[/note]] girl is a potential OneManArmy.
----
!!Iskaral Pust
----
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Somewhere between an extreme example of this, and CrazyAwesome.
* DidIJustSayThatOutLoud: At times, Pust has been known to make comments like "she's falling for my clever scheme" ''to the person he is trying to manipulate''.
* EvilGenius: The only reason Shadowthrone keeps him around.
* ObfuscatingInsanity: Maybe. It's really hard to tell if Pust is faking it, or if he just happens to be both rather bright and ''totally nuts''.
* SmarterThanYouLook: Despite his craziness, tendency towards accidentally stabbing himself in the foot, and an ego the size of some small countries, Pust is actually quite bright, and at times, suprisingly effective.
* TalkativeLoon: Trying to shut him up would likely take an act of god. Or several gods.
* ThinkingOutLoud: Often.
[[/folder]]
----
[[folder: '''Lady Envy's Companions''']]

!!Lady Envy
----
* CainAndAbel: She and her sister Spite cannot bear to be in the same city without trying to kill each other.
* BetrayalByInaction: Is said to have stood by while her then-lover [[FamedInStory Anomander Rake]] [[FateWorseThanDeath killed]] her father and took his SoulCuttingBlade [[ForgedByTheGods Dragnipur]] from him. It is heavily implied that she did this just to spite Lord Draconus, and because she wanted Dragnipur for herself in the long run, not to stay out of a conflict between her father and her lover.
* GreenEyedMonster: Towards her sister, Spite.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Draconus intentionally named his daughters Envy, Spite and [[spoiler: Malice, and would've named a fourth one Venom.]]
* UpperClassTwit: Does an amazing impression of one. She's actually quite bright, if a little ditzy.

!!Toc The Younger
----
* AcheyScars: His eye still hurts.
* ActionSurvivor: Feels like one alongside Envy, Tool, Baaljaag, Gareth and the Seguleh.
* CantStayNormal: Or dead. He's been attacked by Hairlock and thrown into a rent, accompanied Lady Envy, [[BodySnatcher body snatched]] Anaster and become Mortal Sword of Togg and Fanderay, been killed again, and now serves Hood.
* TheChampion: Mortal Sword of Togg and Fanderay, then Herald of Death.
* DeathIsCheap: How many times has he come back from the dead now?
* EyepatchOfPower
* GrandTheftMe: Following his initial death, Toc's soul is transplanted into that of [[EmptyShell Anaster]] in order to give them both a second chance at life.
* PrivateMilitaryContractors: As leader of the Grey Swords.

!!Mok, Thurule, and Senu
----
* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: Seguleh hierarchy is modelled on combat ability. As the Third, Mok can and does kick a lot of ass.
* BadAss: All three of them. To the point where their fellow Seguleh class them as a "punitive army" and expect them to carve their way through the Pannion Domin on their own. They don't dissapoint.
** BadassArmy: They're "the punative army of the Seguleh", themselves as BadassArmy of the first order.
** BadassNormal
* BloodKnight: Three representatives from an entire nation of them.
* {{Charles Atlas Superpower}}s
* DualWielding: All three Seguleh.
* TheFettered: Courtesy of Lady Envy's magic.
* HonourBeforeReason: If the Seguleh think you might be tough, they will challenge you, no matter where or when. And they'll make it a fair fight too.
%%* ImplausibleFencingPowers
* ImprobableAge: Senu's just turned twenty.
* MaskPower: All Seguleh go masked, and the markings on their mask indicate their rank (Mok is the third-ranked Seguleh, his mask has two slashes on it).
* MasterSwordsman: All three, but especially Mok.
* [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Proud Warrior Race Trio]]
* TheQuietOne: All three of them, but especially Mok.
* TheStoic

!!Baaljaag
----
* AmnesiacGod: The wolf-goddess Fanderay is trapped inside her.
* CanineCompanion
* {{Sizeshifter}}: Can greatly alter her size, though not to the extent Gareth can.
* StarCrossedLovers: Is searching for the spirit of her mate, the wolf-god Togg. [[spoiler: He's hiding inside Toc]].

!!Gareth
----
* {{Hellhound}}: Has the potential to be a Hound of Shadow.
* CanineCompanion
* {{Sizeshifter}}: Can grow to tremendous size.
[[/folder]]
----
[[folder: '''Azathanai''']]

!!K'rul
An Elder God. The shaper of paths.
----
* [[AngelUnaware Elder God Unaware]]: [[spoiler: As Keruli.]]
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Mortal worshippers prayed to him. So he granted their prayers...which promptly caused all sorts of problems and power struggles.
** "...K’rul, who answered worship with generosity. Who, assailed by prayers written in spilled blood, gave answer to them. But the power he surrendered was not intended only for those who worshipped him. He has given it freely, to everyone."
* BigGood: Kind of. Maybe.
* BodyHorror: The warrens run through his veins, literally. [[spoiler: So when the warrens are poisoned, opening them occasionally causes boatloads of blood to come pouring out.]]
* GodsNeedPrayerBadly: The lack of it is implied to be the reason he's so weak now.
** Elder Gods accept prayer in the form of blood sacrifice. Give generously...
* HeroicSacrifice: Jaraku. Also the entire warren system.
* InTheHood: Default appearance is a fully cloaked figure.
* [[KarmicDeath Karmic Punishment]]: Kallor's curse.
* TheMentor: To Kruppe.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: In the prequel, implied to have been the root cause of all the series' problems, though probably not intentionally or knowingly.
* OlderAndWiser: To all the gods.
* SamusIsAGirl: Apparently. Maybe. Nope, we didn't see that coming either.
----
!!Draconus
An Elder God, the Suzerain of Night, Consort to Mother Dark, and brother of K'rul. He was killed with his own sword, [[CoolSword Dragnipur]], by Anomander Rake, and has been [[YourSoulIsMine trapped in there]] [[FateWorseThanDeath ever since]]. [[spoiler: Or at least until Rake's HeroicSacrifice.]]
----
* ParentalNeglect: Doesn't pay much attention to his kids, and named his three daughters [[VainSorceress Envy]], [[FemmeFatale Spite]], and [[EnfantTerrible Mal]][[WhatHappenedToTheMouse ice]] (if he had a fourth, she would apparently be named Venom). On the other hand, their mother, [[spoiler: Olar Ethil]], urges him to kill them, so...
* {{Badass}}: [[spoiler: Curbstomps Kilmandaros and Sechul Lath, both Elder Gods themselves.]] Also scares the crap out of everyone once they realize that [[spoiler: he's been freed from Dragnipur.]]
* CoolSword: Forged Dragnipur...
** HoistByHisOwnPetard: ...which was used to trap him in a FateWorseThanDeath. Although that was partially Kallor's fault.
* InstantAwesomeJustAddDragons: Naturally, he also turns into a giant black dragon. Although his particular [[VoluntaryShapeshifting Soletaken]] form is described as "darkness with wings" instead of a normal draconic form.
* LoveMakesYouCrazy, together with LoveRuinsTheRealm: Implied.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: The [[HumanSacrifice Terondai]] he commissioned from [[spoiler: Errastes]]
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: with a side of IHaveManyNames.
* OlderAndWiser: Apparently, spending several hundred thousand years suffering a FateWorseThanDeath mellowed him out a bit.
* WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove: Doesn't quite get it right, with [[PlayedForDrama unfortunate]] [[NiceJobBreakingItHero consequences]].
----
!!Hood
The god of death, and (an undead) Jaghut. [[spoiler: Succeeded as King of High House Death by Whiskeyjack and his Bridgeburners]]
----
* AnIcePerson: Comes with being a Jaghut.
* {{Badass}} [[spoiler: Seems fond of killing Forkrul Assail with his bare hands...and occasionally with his teeth.]]
* BigDamnHeroes: At the end.
* DarkIsNotEvil: One of the more reasonable gods, though still kind of a dick.
* TheGrimReaper
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast
* LoveMakesYouCrazy: His wife was murdered by [[spoiler: Errastes]]. So he [[DisproportionateRetribution raised an army and waged war on death itself]]. [[CrazyAwesome And won!]]
* OurOrcsAreDifferent
* UnusualEuphemism: Not him, but "Hood's breath" and "Hood's balls" seem to be the most popular Malazan curses.
* YouKillItYouBoughtIt: [[spoiler: As the king of the Jaghut, he waged a war on death, which ended with him becoming the god of death.]]
----
!!Errastas / The Errant
----
* AmbiguouslyEvil
* AmbitionIsEvil
* TheChessmaster
* DepravedBisexual: As [[spoiler: Turudal Brizad]].
* [[AngelUnaware Elder God Unaware]]: [[spoiler: As Turudal Brizad.]]
* {{Jerkass}}
** JerkassGods
* ManipulativeBastard
* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler: Although he ends the series with several rather nasty beings intent on chasing him down...]]
* PowersThatBe
* PrescienceIsPredictable
* TheOmniscient
* SpellMyNameWithAThe
* TimeAbyss

[[/folder]]
----
[[folder: '''Others''']]
!!Icarium Lifestealer
-> 'I am my own curse, Mappo. I have lived centuries, yet what do I know of my own past? Where are my memories? How can I judge my own life without such knowledge?'
--> ''Literature/DeadhouseGates''

Icarium, a Jaghut halfblood, is an incredibly old being, forever wandering the world with a sole companion in tow. He is present in the mythology of many cultures, and is feared by most of them. He is known for his obsession with time -- having gained sobriquets such as Lord of the Sand Grains -- and as an inventor and maker of monumental machines, particularly those that measure time, by the building of which he tries to counteract his frequent bouts of memory loss. While an incredibly smart and gentle person, he is also one of the most powerful beings alive without being aware of it.
----
* AmnesiacDissonance: After discovering what happens during [[MissingTime his black-outs]], Icarium is horrified and comes to the conclusion that [[RedemptionEqualsDeath only death or eternal imprisonment can redeem him]].
* AmnesiacsAreInnocent: His amnesia shields Icarium from what he has done in the past, allowing him to retain his generous and sometimes downright innocent nature. Fiddler wonders how Icarium never questions his partnership with Mappo despite having only Mappo's word about their long friendship to rely on, but Icarium later points out that while frustrated, he has become simply used to the feeling.
--> '''Mappo:''' ''In your ignorance you are so pure, so noble.''
* TheBerserker: Once his UnstoppableRage kicks in, he becomes utterly uncontrollable in a fight, unable to distinguish friend from foe and indifferent to his own life. Comes complete with a [[ScreamingWarrior frightening, keening scream]].
* BowAndSwordInAccord: He carries both a longbow, which seems to be his first choice of weapon, and a sword, and can be deadly with either, but wears little -- if any -- armour.
* BullyingADragon: In ''Literature/DeadhouseGates'', with Icarium as the dragon and Iskaral Pust as the one who cannot keep his mouth shut, baiting Icarium with supposed knowledge he posses that Icarium lacks and calling Icarium a fool. He gets choked pretty thoroughly for his trouble.
* TheDreaded: Everyone who's ever heard of Icarium is shitting their metaphorical pants at the mere thought that Icarium might lose his temper and level the next couple of cities.
* GeniusBruiser: Icarium is a seven foot tall, tusked, weathered and travel-worn looking warrior sporting a sword and a bow, one of the most lethal fighters ever born and infamous for his UnstoppableRage. He is also a mapmaker, inventor and scholar.
* GlowingEyes: While in an UnstoppableRage, Icarium's eyes blaze silver as a sign of the enormous power that surrounds him like a maelstrom.
* HereWeGoAgain: Though Icarium cannot remember it, it's implied that it's happened countless times before that he would have a companion, this companion would either die or be killed by Icarium in an unfortunate moment, and he would then wake up with a new companion who would claim that they'd been travelling together for ages. At the end of ''Literature/TheCrippledGod'', [[spoiler:he wakes up to find Ublala Pung at his side, and just accepts him as the feeling is already so familiar, and the cycle starts anew, while Mappo's corpse lies mere metres away]].
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With his travelling companion Mappo Runt. They spend their entire time together and obviously mean a lot to each other, although Icarium sometimes has trouble reconciling the depth of their friendship with his lack of memories. For him, there has simply always been someone at his side, and in whatever memories he does possess, it's always been Mappo.
* HumanWeapon: The Nameless Ones treat Icarium as one. Although, technically, he was not ''made'' by them, they claim authority over how and when he gets to be used. Naturally, Icarium gets no say in the matter, not does he even know about the Nameless Ones.
* IAmNotAGun: When, in ''Literature/TheBonehunters'', Taralack Veed urges him to kill the defenders of the Throne of Shadow, Icarium retorts that he's had enough of this. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, he goes berserk anyway, as too much fighting is going on around him.]]
* KatanasAreJustBetter: Averted. However, the unusual shape of his sword -- a thin, long, single-edged, curved blade -- is remarked upon several times, although it is not treated any differently in combat than other words.
* LightningBruiser: Especially once he [[TheBerserker loses control]], Icarium can both dish out and receive potentially catastrophic amounts of damage without even blinking, all while doing it too fast for some to register. But even without the rage mode, he is frighteningly fast. Fast enough to startle Karsa Orlong.
* MadeOfIron: It's unclear if he can be truly killed. Serious wounds only knock him out and trigger his amnesia, and he seems to grow even tougher when angry.
* MadGod: There are cults on the island of Cabal which worship Icarium as the One God, the Stealer of Life, essentially claiming he is a mad puppet with unimaginable power, turning any power of creation he may possess into random destruction. One sect calls itself that of the Mockers, asserting that a god who never left his worshippers any doctrine to live by but allows them to make and interpret their own, cannot be anything but insane.
* MartialPacifist: He demonstrates on several occasions that he'd prefer not to get into a fight, but he also doesn't have the greatest patience, so annoy him long enough and you are dead meat. And Icarium will not even remember having mopped the floor with you afterwards.
* MasterSwordsman: He's had thousands of years to hone his sword fighting skills, coupled with his incredible speed.
* MindHive: After the end of ''Literature/ReapersGale'', [[spoiler:where his previously built memory machine turns out to be broken and sucks not only his own mind in but also that of several random bystanders, Icarium ends up with a fractured mind and the ghosts/personalities of eight other people stuck in one -- his -- body. While that body wanders the Waste Lands aimlessly, the caught ghosts perceive themselves as separate entities undertaking that same trip, constantly arguing among each other, with the original Icarium -- reduced to a ghost not even the others can perceive -- floating around them in hopeless confusion. Ultimately, however, they do act as one, simply because they -- unknowingly -- share one body.]]
* MissingTime: Whenever he goes into UnstoppableRage, effectively transforming into a monster capable of destroying entire civilizations, Icarium afterwards forgets all that he's done. He then usually shows concern about the MissingTime, but whatever companion he is currently travelling with makes sure to make the right noises to help Icarium with rationalizing the memory loss away.
* MookHorrorShow: At the end of ''Literature/TheBonehunters'', [[spoiler:Icarium loses control after witnessing children die and almost annihilates the Tiste Edur contingent sent to the Throne of Shadow. They practically ''melt'' several at a time; that is, those that don't get thrown around like toys]].
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: To those who have heard of Icarium's reputation or have been witness to its cause, his byname Lifestealer is something to run away from really fast indeed. Other variations on the name exist, such as Slayer of the Ten Thousand.
* NonhumanHumanoidHybrid: Icarium is half Jaghut (from his father's side) and -- presumably, as it's never fully disclosed -- Thelomen Toblakai (from his mother's side). Both races are roughly humanoid, so in consequence, Icarium is as well, although he visibly leans more towards Jaghut than Toblakai.
* NoSocialSkills: As he spends most of his time wandering the deserts of Seven Cities with Mappo as his sole companion, and due to his memory problems, Icarium is not very good with social interactions beyond the basics. May also be because he's half Jaghut, and Jaghut are notorious loners prefering their own company above all else.
--> '''Mappo:''' 'He entertains your companions. Feebly, I admit. For all his years, Icarium has never mastered the social grace necessary to put others at ease.'
* PersonOfMassDestruction: Icarium may be one of the nicest and most caring people one can come upon in the books. Piss him off, though, and you may say goodbye to your city/country/civilization. And it's not even intentional, as afterwards he will not remember how he just levelled the city in the ruins of which he's now standing and will even be shocked at how someone could possibly bring so much destruction and death. In trying to use him as a weapon the Nameless Ones might have bitten off more than they could chew and characters who encounter Icarium have a hard time reconciling the person they've met with the stories trailing in his wake.
* QuestForIdentity: His eternal search for his own memories, without which he feels he cannot assert a proper sense of his own self. [[spoiler:And later, more literally, when he wakes up in the Waste Lands, his mind splintered and his core having become a ghost with no recollection of even its own name.]]
* ScreamingWarrior: Whenever his UnstoppableRage is triggered, it is both prefaced and accompanied by a high-pitched, haunting keening sound coming from his throat.
* TalkingToThemself: [[spoiler:During his wandering around the Waste Lands with a split mind and a host of other minds populating his body, everything that the other ghosts/personalities say to each other, is actually also said out loud by Icarium's body, creating the image of a lone wanderer ceaseless talking to himself.]]
* TragicBromance: He and Mappo have been HeterosexualLifePartners for centuries, wandering the world together, and are close enough to openly speak about their deep feelings of friendship. Even though Mappo was originally meant as a guardian and minder for Icarium, Icarium's generous and noble nature makes Mappo cherish him, and despite having severe problems with [[TraumaInducedAmnesia memories]], Icarium can by the feeling of familiarity alone tell that Mappo is indeed who he claims to be. [[spoiler:When they are attacked and separated, Mappo crosses half the world to find Icarium again, only to die mere metres away from his friend. However, it is heavily implied that this is the turning point for Icarium and the latter finally regains at least some of his memories, enabling him to take his life back into his own hands.]]
* TraumaInducedAmnesia: It is implied in ''Literature/HouseOfChains'' that Icarium once tried to destroy an Azath House to free his father -- who didn't want to be 'freed' -- but only managed to mortally wound it, receiving enough trauma in return that he not only forgot that incident altogether, but has been suffering bouts of UnstoppableRage and subsequent MissingTime ever since.
* UnstoppableRage: Icarium suffers bouts of UnstoppableRage in which he utterly loses control and attacks everything and everyone (with the sole exception of machines he has built himself). They are rooted in a traumatic incident with an Azath House, and make him one of the or possibly most feared entity in the entire realm, as they're almost impossible to predict or stop, and he has gone so far as to destroy entire civilizations in the past. When enraged, Icarium becomes surrounded by a magical maelstrom that basically ''melts'' anything in his way. Afterwards, he never remembers what he's done.
----
!!Mappo Runt
-> '''Fiddler:''' ''Mappo, a name ever chained to another's. And enough rumours to fill a tome. If any were true...''
--> ''Literature/DeadhouseGates''

Mappo Runt is a Trell whose name is eternally associated with being the companion of Icarium Lifestealer. He is Icarium's close friend and -- unbeknownst to Icarium -- also his guardian and minder, tasked by the Nameless Ones with keeping Icarium out of trouble and ignorant of his own past. However, due to Icarium's gentle nature, Mappo is eternally conflicted about whether ending a potential threat is worth losing the friend he loves so much.
----
* BagOfHolding: He was given a bag with an entire warren inside of it by the shoulderwomen of his tribe. Some irritating people have also found their way into it on occasion.
* CarryABigStick: Mappo carries a mace around for fighting purposes. It is made of a big long-bone with a ring of iron spikes at the business end and is invested with sorcery to make it as [[UnbreakableWeapons durable]] as possible.
* DoomedHometown: Mappo's hometown was destroyed, allegedly by Icarium, and Mappo, as the only survivor, was recruited by the Nameless Ones as Icarium's new guardian. [[spoiler:''Deadhouse Gates'' reveals that actually, the town was destroyed by the Nameless Ones themselves, as they urgently needed a new guardian for Icarium and wanted to make sure Mappo would hate Icarium and take the threat seriously enough to fit the job.]]
* GentleGiant: Although shorter than Icarium (who is seven feet tall, mind you), as a [[OurOgresAreHungrier Trell]] Mappo is rather wide and thus even more imposing. But while he can dish out serious damage with his mace, he prefers to stay out of the way of trouble, find peaceful solutions and generally be on friedly terms with people.
* GuiltComplex: After [[spoiler:losing Icarium]], Mappo develops one, until he eventually feels guilty for anything and everything. He feels guilty for [[spoiler:not being good enough anymore in the eyes of the Nameless Ones to remain Icarium's guardian, for having believed the Nameless Ones, for lying to Icarium for centuries, for having spurned the opportunity to free the world of Icarium by handing him over to Tremorlor just because he didn't want to give up his friend, for outwardly looking like a noble friend even though he had selfish motives, and eventually for turning away from people -- children -- in need just so he could keep looking for Icarium]].
* HeartbrokenBadass: Not a love interest, but when Mappo [[spoiler:loses Icarium]], whom he loves [[HeterosexualLifePartners as a friend]], he becomes utterly heartbroken, even going so far as [[spoiler:crossing the entire world to get him back, all the while fighting his guilt]].
* HeroicBSOD: Mappo experiences one in ''Literature/DeadhouseGates'' when Icarium finally understands what he is and Mappo is flooded with conflicting thoughts about saving the world from the threat that Icarium represents but at the same time losing the only friend he's ever cared this much for. He doesn't even notice how he falls to his knees, and has to be brought back to reality by Icarium.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Icarium, with whom he has travelled for hundreds of years. Initially only meant as a guardian for Icarium, they have developed a deep friendship and trust each other unconditionally, although Mappo has to live with -- and is tortured by -- the knowledge that he is eternally lying to his friend. [[spoiler:When Icarium is taken from him by the Nameless Ones, Mappo becomes heartbroken and crosses half the world to find him again, all the while thinking, in tears, of how much he wants Icarium back.]]
* MyGreatestFailure: Mappo considers his blunder in [[spoiler:keeping Icarium safe and the world safe from Icarium by almost dying when attacked by Dejim Nebrahl]] to be his greates failure and incentive to set things right again.
* PowerOfTrust: Icarium reminding Mappo of his unconditional trust for the latter is what snaps Mappo out of his HeroicBSOD in ''Literatur/DeadhouseGates''.
* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: Mappo used to be one in his youth, when he left his hometown, which specialized in trade, and joined one of the outlying tribes that were following the traditional Trell way of war and wandering. He spent a couple hundred years there, before snapping out of it by find his [[DoomedHometown burned to the ground]].
* {{Sidekick}}: Mappo ist best known in-universe as Icarium's companion and sidekick. While Icarium is tall, lean, [[GeniusBruiser skilled with a sword and widely-read]], Mappo is shorter, wider, hairier, fights using a mace and purports to know little, even though he is actually quite knowledgeable in everyday survival matters. Subverted in that it's Mappo who's in charge of keeping Icarium out of trouble, even though Icarium is unaware of that.
* TragicBromance: He and Icarium have been HeterosexualLifePartners for centuries, wandering the world together, and are close enough to openly speak about their deep feelings of friendship. Even though Mappo was originally meant as a guardian and minder for Icarium, Icarium's generous and noble nature makes Mappo cherish him, and despite having severe problems with [[TraumaInducedAmnesia memories]], Icarium can by the feeling of familiarity alone tell that Mappo is indeed who he claims to be. [[spoiler:When they are attacked and separated, Mappo crosses half the world to find Icarium again, only to die mere metres away from his friend. However, it is heavily implied that this is the turning point for Icarium and the latter finally regains at least some of his memories, enabling him to take his life back into his own hands.]]
* UnbreakableWeapons: Mappo's mace was invested by his tribe's shoulderwomen to make it practically unbreakable. At least, it's never shown any sign of the spell failing within hundreds of years.
----
!!Fisher kel Tath
-> 'I sing them all. Lies, truths, the words make no distinction in what they tell, nor even the order they come in. We do as we please with them.'
--> ''Literature/TollTheHounds''

A famous bard, who is often quoted by characters in the setting and seems to be the main source of information on all things Anomander Rake, due to his epic poem ''Anomandaris''. Many of the epigraphs preceeding chapters in the books are written by him and he has allegedly met with Gallan -- a fellow but even older famous Tiste poet -- to get a first hand account of the events of the Tiste diaspora. Which makes him the de-facto author of ''Literature/TheKharkanasTrilogy''.
----
* AuthorFilibuster: Some excerpts from Fisher's ''Mane of Chaos'' (which may or may not be a part of the bigger epic ''Anomandaris'') show him halting midway through the telling to accuse his listeners of being too pre-occupied with inconsequential things and of lacking in courage to truly understand Anomander Rake's sacrifices. Delivered in verse, of course.
* BadassBystander: He's just an old bard plucking a lute in his quiet corner of K'rul's Bar -- until [[spoiler:assassins storm the building and the aftermath sees a half-dozen bodies on the stage and some smidgen of blood on Fisher's shirt, indicating his victorious involvement]].
* BadassGrandpa: An old, gaunt, grey-haired bard who prefers to be an observer and the extent of whose involvement usually amounts to giving voice to those who have none. But not only is he a BadassBystander, when -- in ''Literature/TollTheHounds'' -- it looks like the conflict with the Guild of Assassins has come to a standstill, [[spoiler:he casually steps up, throws Guild Master Seba Krafar around like a doll and threatens him into cancelling the contract on the Bridgeburners like it's nothing, giving Seba a serious case of [[BringMyBrownPants brown pants]]]].
* TheBard: The most famous bard of contemporary literature in the setting. His specialty is poetry.
* BreakingTheFourthWall: Fisher's {{Author Filibuster}}s are known in-universe as "Fisher's challenge to his listeners", in which he breaks the narration to address his listeners directly. There are also entire poems in which Fisher addresses his listeners directly.
* ExpositionOfImmortality: It is hinted at that Fisher may not be intirely mortal, or even be outright immortal. In ''Literature/TollTheHounds'', Blend points out how he's sung verses of ''Anomandaris'' she's never heard before, and some of the songs he knows are over a hundred years old and stem not only from different cultures, but also different ''worlds''. Duiker cryptically states that the poet is immortal, prompting Blend to question whether he speaks in metaphorical terms or about Fisher in particular. And Lady Envy, herself practically immortal, questions Fisher's mortality.
* FamedInStory: Provides many chapter epigraphs, occasionally cited by other characters. But mostly, he's the one that everyone quotes when discussing Anomander Rake, since his [[TheEpic epic poem]] ''Anomandaris'' seems to be the main source of information concerning Rake.
* TheGhost: His name is tossed around a lot, but he himself doesn't appear until ''Literature/TollTheHounds''.
* GreyEyes: Fisher has both grey eyes and [[CurtainsMatchTheWindow hair]] and is quite a mysterious figure. Neither is it clear [[VagueAge how old he truly is]], nor where he comes from, nor what his purpose is. He knows songs from various cultures and ''worlds'' and there's an air of immortality and divinity about him, as well as hints of a possible prophetic ability.
* MagnumOpus: ''Anomandaris'', the [[TheEpic epic poem]] chronicling the life and deeds of Anomander Rake.
* RomanceEnsues: Fisher and Lady Envy spend an unstated number of evenings sequestered within her estate, presumably discussing the current situation and Fisher going through his repertoire of songs and poems, then suddenly Lady Envy has a LoveEpiphany based on how many HiddenDepths Fisher has and RomanceEnsues.
* SageLoveInterest: Fisher's all-encompassing ability to see and understand and reveal the world where it needs revealing and to understand that some things need to remain untold is what draws Lady Envy to him in the first place.
* SecondLove: Provided Spite's assertion that Lady Envy did really love Anomander Rake is true, Fisher is her second love. This is made particularly interesting by the fact that Fisher is best known for the [[TheEpic epic poem]] he's written ''about'' Anomander Rake and that they [[spoiler:hook up right before the culmination of Rake's epic quest to bring Mother Dark back, which includes him dying]].
* SignatureStyle: Fisher's poems are often instantly recognizable due to their bleak and rambling tone, dealing with issues like loss, death, violence, sacrifice, despair, grief, parting of ways, personal tragedy, the gods' fallibility, childhood burdens, longing for love and all that fun stuff.
* TheStoryteller: His main occupation is being a wandering bard and to chronicle important events and many of the chapter epigraphs are excerpts of works written by him, both prose and poems, though mostly poems.
* TakeThatAudience: Fisher is fond of inserting verses into his poems which call out the audience on something, like what he perceives as their lack of courage.
--> Sacrifices made\\
Vows given\\
He stands alone\\
Because none of you dare\\
Stand with him.
* UnreliableNarrator: While it is true that he has chronicled the life story of Anomander Rake (and the stories of many other events), the reliability of his accounts is somewhat questionable as Fisher himself admits that he puts impact and meaning over truth.
* VagueAge: Fisher is described as an old, grey-haired man, yet his exact age is often called into question by other characters. When he is angry, Scillara wonders if he's not younger than she initially thought, and Blend points out how some songs supposedly written by Fisher are over a hundred years old; and all Lady Envy can say for certain is that he is not a young man.
* VirtueIsWeakness: Discussed by Lady Envy regarding Fisher. She muses that only fools would see Fisher's stunning capacity for compassion as a weakness.
* WarriorPoet: He is mostly known for his poetry, but is surprisingly capable in a fight when provoked sufficiently. Fisher turns out to be a valuable asset to the [[spoiler:retired Bridgeburners]] when they are assailed in their bar. [[spoiler:He even kills a sizeable number of the attacking assassins himself.]]
----
!!Burn
----
* BitchInSheepsClothing: [[spoiler:Olar Ethil claims to be Burn, but it's not clear if she was telling the truth.]]
* DamselInDistress / IllGirl: A rather bizarre example. Spends most of the series being slowly poisoned, and although she never actually shows up in person, other characters comment constantly on her deteriorating condition. Mostly because it's making the CrapsackWorld [[DeathWorld even worse]].
* MotherEarth
[[/folder]]

[[folder: '''Letherii''']]

!!Tehol Beddict
-> 'What do you think? Should I get out of bed today, Bugg?'
--> ''Literature/MidnightTides''
\\
The middle Beddict brother. When the Beddict family came dangerously close to becoming Indebted, Tehol took it on himself to keep the family afloat, something he did in secret while attending his instructors. Tehol is an economic savant, and was able to amass one of the largest fortunes in Letheras - a "peak", or one million "thirds", roughly one eighth of the city's combined currency - before going bankrupt literally overnight, nearly crashing the economy of the Empire. What happened to the money is unknown, and Tehol is now a largely forgotten figure living in poverty with his manservant Bugg.

* AuthorAvatar: It is quite likely that Tehol's [[CapitalismIsBad thoughts on the Letherii economic system]] mirror Erikson's own.
* BrilliantButLazy: He may be the smartest person in the entire setting, but, as seen in the quote above (his EstablishingCharacterMoment), he really prefers not to do anything unless it's strictly necessary. [[spoiler:Part of the reason he keeps up the appearance of living in poverty is to escape attention and keep his life simpler, and when he becomes emperor he comments that he will probably never get around to enacting many of the the reforms he wants to.]]
* CharacterFilibuster: Is prone to these. It is rare for him to be interrupted, though because a lot of these are directed at Bugg, [[spoiler:who only hangs around Tehol because he finds him interesting]], there's likely a reason for this.
* TheChessmaster: He is quite possibly the single most intelligent character of the series, which is saying something. [[spoiler:He's capable of single-handedly manipulating the entire Letherii economy if it suits his purposes. Which it eventually does. The general populace eventually thanks him for this, as it ends a brutally oppressive economic system, and he ends up ruling the entire empire at the end of ''Literature/ReapersGale'' by popular demand, making him perhaps the setting's first democratically elected leader.]]
* ChivalrousPervert: He hits on almost every woman he meets, and several of them do climb into bed with him, including [[spoiler:Shurq, Rucket, and Janath, the last of whom eventually marries him. However, he remains every bit as flirtatious as ever, which Janath simply finds amusing.]]
* DefectorFromDecadence: He is very, very good at playing Lether's economic game. And he hates it so much he nearly brought the whole thing down. In ''Literature/MidnightTides'', he gets asked to do this a second time. [[spoiler:In ''Literature/ReapersGale'', he does so.]]
* GuileHero: Of the Beddict brothers, Tehol is the only one without combat skills of any sort.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: At the start of ''Literature/MidnightTides'', he's living in a run-down single room hut with his manservant, with barely anything to his name. [[spoiler: Or so it would seem. Tehol still secretly owns a number of businesses in Lether, and can easily come back and dominate the game, if he wanted.]]

!!Bugg
-> '''Tehol Beddict:''' 'You've no talent to speak of, in much of anything, come to think of it. Probably why I love you so dearly, Bugg.'
--> ''Literature/MidnightTides''
\\
Bugg is Tehol's mysterious manservant of many talents.

* BattleButler: To Tehol.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: [[spoiler:He is actually the Elder God Mael, god of the sea.]] Hangs around with Tehol because he's interesting.
* HyperCompetentSidekick: Again, to Tehol.

!!Brys Beddict
The youngest of the three Beddict brothers. A Finadd (captain) of the Letherii army, he was recently raised to the position of King's Champion, the King's personal bodyguard for his superlative skills as a swordsman. Though he would like nothing more than to be left to do his duty, the intrigues of the Letherii court have a way of enveloping even the most tangential of players.

* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:In ''Literature/ReapersGale''.]]
* BadassNormal: Defeated Rhulad, ''without'' killing him.
* MasterSwordsman: Possibly the best non-Ascendant swordsman in the series.

!!Shurq Elalle
A burglar who got caught. Deciding to try her luck in the Drownings, she got tangled in detritus in the canals and drowned, only to discover that one of her victims had cursed her with undeath. Much to her frustration, her dead nerves prevent her from enjoying the pleasures of the living, most notably sex. She gives up stealing, not caring about much any longer, until Tehol Beddict contacts her for her services - and offers a way to enjoy carnal pleasures again.

* AttractiveZombie: Shurq Elalle really loves to seduce living males. She wholeheartedly cherishes her undead state, mainly because it keeps her from aging and losing her good looks, and repeatedly refuses the possibility of resurrection.
* ClassyCatBurglar
* CoolBigSis: To Kettle.
* CursedWithAwesome: It takes awhile, but she ultimately appears to come to see being undead as this, after first viewing it as being BlessedWithSuck.
* GoodBadGirl: one of the most promiscuous characters in the series (which is saying a lot), and also (despite being a thief and later a pirate) one of the least ethically flawed.
* ILoveTheDead: Inverted--she's a walking dead woman who enjoys sex with the living.
* MateOrDie: Maybe. After she's given an ootooloo (a strange aquatic life form that enhances sexual pleasure), she can once again enjoy sex despite being undead. The byproduct is that she also has an extremely strong sex drive as a result, and it's stated that if she doesn't satiate it on a daily basis, ''something'' will happen to her, and it's implied not to be pleasant. It's not made clear what this is, and in any case, "death" isn't likely to be the outcome, since she's already undead. Strangely, this doesn't seem to bother her at all, because ''not'' being able to enjoy sex had made her utterly apathetic about everything, and she seems to regard her new state as an improvement. Eventually she does seem to get more control over this.
* PirateGirl: Eventually decides she wants to be a pirate. No particular reason, it just sounds like a fun thing to do.
* ReallyGetsAround: She spends quite a bit of time in a brothel at one point due to her newly awakened carnal appetites, which require daily satiation. We don't see first-hand what she's been up to, but since the madam mentions that the brothel's other occupants resent her for stealing ''[[UpToEleven all their clients]]'', we can assume this trope was involved. She does eventually get involved in multiple monogamous relationships though (or at least as monogamous as one can be when one needs to have sex every day - see MateOrDie above).
* TheUndead

!!Kettle

* CreepyChild: [[spoiler:Although she is probably not actually a child, she has the appearance of one.]] Unlike many examples of this trope, though, she's also a genuinely nice person, despite also being a killer.
* EnfanteTerrible: Played with. She's a creepy, UndeadChild with a penchant towards murder, but she's also one of the few things standing between a dying Azath's denizens and the rest of Lether. She's also a genuinely nice person and only kills to prevent several [[SealedEvilInACan Sealed Evils in a Can]] from escaping a dying Azath House.
* KillTheCutie: [[spoiler:She carries the seed of an Azath House within her. This means that her death was required to allow a new Azath House to grow, holding the soul of Scabandari Bloodeye and saving the Refugium and the now-mortal Imass who inhabit it. Udinaas, who has developed a strong friendship with her, is not at all happy about this, but appears to recognise that allowing the soul of Bloodeye to fall into the wrong hands, or for the mortal Imass to die, would be even worse.]]
* PayEvilUntoEvil: She tries to kill only evil people to feed the Azath.
* RapeAsDrama: [[spoiler:Due to the CrapsackWorld nature of the setting, this happens to her at the start of ''Literature/ReapersGale''. She is surprisingly stoic about it, but then again, it's also implied that she is ReallySevenHundredYearsOld, so despite appearing to be a child, she most likely is not one.]]
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: [[spoiler:While she has the appearance of a nine-year-old human child, she is actually a daughter of the goddess the Eres'al and apparently has the soul of a Forkrul Assail, and it's implied that she has been guarding the Azath House for a long, long time. She still behaves like a child in many ways, but is quite a lot more perceptive and resilient than a child would realistically be expected to be.]]
* TheStoic: Despite the long string of horrible things that happen to her, she remains surprisingly resilient. [[spoiler:It may become slightly less surprising when one considers how old she likely really is, or the fact that she is the daughter of a goddess.]]
* UndeadChild: [[spoiler:At first. Towards the end of ''Literature/MidnightTides'', she is returned to the living when the Azath House plants its seed in her. Also, she's probably not actually a child, but has the appearance of one.]]
* VigilanteMan: A truly bizarre example. She targets criminals, spies, etc.

!!Gerun Eberict

* TheSociopath
* TheUnfettered

!!Harlest Eberict
-> 'I want to be scary. It's important that I be scary. I've been practising hissing and snarling.'
--> ''Literature/MidnightTides''

* CatchPhrase: "Fangs and claws".
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Harlest comes off as rather goofy, with all his talk of "fangs and claws" and his desire to scare people. Then he actually uses said claws in an attack on five Toblakai Ascendents.
* PsychopathicManChild
* SiblingYinYang: With his sociopathic (and living) brother Gerun.
* TalkativeLoon
* TheUndead
* VitriolicBestBuds: With Shurq.

!!Udinaas
-> 'You will discover that the notion of debt is not so easily denied.'
--> ''Literature/MidnightTides''
\\
A Letherii slave among the Tiste Edur. He is Indebted, and the debt is owned, by extension, by [[spoiler:Tehol Beddict]]. Udinaas is extremely intelligent and GenreSavvy.

* AllLoveIsUnrequited: Is hopelessly in love with Feather Witch, who initially doesn't have the time of day for him. [[spoiler:When she finally realises she is in love with him, he has already moved on and wants nothing to do with her.]]
* AttemptedRape: In ''Literature/ReapersGale'', [[spoiler:Feather Witch apparently decides that throwing herself naked at Udinaas is a good way to win his alliance. This uncomfortably harkens back to when Menandore raped him in ''Literature/MidnightTides'', especially since Menandore herself has just left the scene. Udinaas tells Feather Witch in no uncertain terms where she can stick her attempts at seduction.]]
* BeneathTheMask: Tries for ObfuscatingStupidity on the outside by playing the obedient slave, though nobody who bothers to look even remotely past the facade is buying it; and even then he ''still'' manages to say one thing and think another, usually something along the lines of 'That's why I said it, so you can go on enjoying your blessed ignorance.'
* ConversationalTroping: Most notable in ''Literature/ReapersGale'' when he launches into a lengthy rant about DungeonCrawling, but subtler instances occur:
--> '''Fear Sengar:''' [[SpeciesLoyalty Your blood is very thin, Udinaas, isn't it?]]\\
'''Udinaas:''' [[ThickerThanWater Like water.]]
* GenreSavvy: At least when it comes to heroic tales, which he spends a significant amount of time taunting Fear Sengar with in ''Literature/ReapersGale'', as well as what his master & slave relationship to Rhulad is supposed to entail, which he deconstructs by laying out the actual mechanics of to the reader.
* HappinessInSlavery: Initially. A slave among the Tiste Edur has food, shelter and clothing against the harsh weather. The alternative would be labouring on a galley to pay off an inherited debt.
* IcyBlueEyes: Described as 'ravaged eyes, a bleakness like defiant ice in this world of fire' in ''Literature/ReapersGale''. He is always quick with a cold grin and a sharp-tongued comment, but Rud also notes how Udinaas is capable of 'ethereal ease' when he allows his harsh emotions to pass.
* MetaGuy: Udinaas spends most of his time in ''Literature/ReapersGale'' making observations about the storyline he's involved in, the people he travels with and their intentions, all the while commenting on the absurdity of it all.
* MoralityPet: To Rhulad during the conquest of Lether in ''Literature/MidnightTides''. He is fully aware of that and the precarious situation it puts him into.
* TheNondescript: Goes largely unnoticed wherever he is, and Seren Pedac even calls him 'nondescript' at one point.
* OpenMindedParent: To Ryadd, when they finally get around to get to know each other.
* PrecisionFStrike:
--> 'You understand too much,' Clip said in that lilting, offhand tone of his. 'Did you hear me, Udinaas?'\\
'Go fuck yourself,' the slave muttered.
* RapeAsDrama: [[spoiler:Is raped by Menandore shortly after his introduction. It's not played for titillation or comedy; it's completely horrifying.]]
* SmarterThanYouLook: InUniverse. After listening to Udinaas for a while, Fear Sengar has to reevaluate his opinion of the former slave as just capable of menial work. When he tells Udinaas he should've been a king and not a slave based on his intelligence and vision, Udinaas just curses him for his trouble.
* SpiritAdvisor: Deconstructed via Wither. In ''Literature/MidnightTides'', Wither latches onto Udinaas and tries to play the SpiritAdvisor in exchange for hiding in Udinaas' shadow. Udinaas considers the constant pseudo-arcane whispering 'worse than a burrowing tick', especially since Wither's advice is too cryptic to be useful, and his revelations are obvious to anyone with a working brain -- at least as far as Udinaas is concerned. He hands Wither the wraith's own motives (not having wasted his time on Udinaas) on a platter, and [[spoiler:gets almost killed by Wither as thanks]] in the finale of ''Literature/ReapersGale''.
* StepfordSnarker: Eventually, he starts to dish out [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech 'The Reasons All of You Suck, Myself Included'-speeches]] and snide remarks left, right and centre in an attempt to hide how he truly feels.
* StoppedCaring: Udinaas starts off as rather emotionally uninvolved but builds a growing wall between himself and everyone else the further the story goes. Remarkably, he never loses his capacity for feeling compassion and occasionally acts on it, but he does not get particularly involved with any one person unless he can help it, to prevent himself from being burdened with their problems.
* ThatThingIsNotMyChild: His initial reaction after meeting Rud Elalle for the first time. He mellows out quite quickly and comes to love Rud/Ryadd.
* TooCleverByHalf: Udinaas discusses the downsides of being too smart in ''Literature/ReapersGale''. When Fear Sengar points out that the former slave, by the measure of his intelligence and vision, should have been a king and not a slave, Udinaas acidly counters that he's too smart and driven and would be unable to stop once he'd started to openly question the system. Too many people like him on the loose and any governmental system would eventually collapse in bloody rebellion. Thus he deems it safer for society at large and himself in particular to spend his days scraping fish.

!!Feather Witch
A Letherii slave among the Tiste Edur. She was born into slavery and possesses a talent for casting the tiles.

* AllLoveIsUnrequited: She doesn't have the day for Udinaas, who is initially hopelessly in love with her. [[spoiler:By the time she realises she has feelings for him, he has moved on and wants nothing to do with her.]]
* {{Jerkass}}: To an extent, her treatment of Udinaas qualifies her for this, although she does eventually have some PetTheDog moments towards him. It's subtly hinted towards the end of ''Literature/MidnightTides'' that she may actually return his feelings for her, but is afraid to acknowledge them and behaves horribly to him as a result. However, her internal monologue in ''Literature/ReapersGale'' is initially still quite dismissive of him, so if this is the case, even she isn't aware of it. It's also implied that part of the reason she treats him horribly is as her way of coping with the abuse she herself is suffering at the hands of Mayen, which would make her a JerkassWoobie. (For that matter, so is Mayen herself.)
* SanitySlippage: Her internal monologue and actions eventually reveal that she has essentially gone insane, quite possibly as a result of all the horrible things that happened to her when she was a slave. Her thoughts may also qualify her for BlueAndOrangeMorality.

!!Rucket
The Chief Investigator of the Rat Catchers' Guild, which, despite its name, does a lot more than catch rats, including assassinations, thievery, and smuggling out refugees. She appears to have significant magical powers, although what they are is not specified.

* BigBeautifulWoman: Although she isn't one, she takes on the appearance of one as a disguise. Tehol appears to be smitten.
* {{Glamour}}: It's implied that nearly all the supposed Rat Catchers are actually visions conjured up by either her or by Bubyrd. She, Ormly, and Bubyrd are the only members we ever meet who are suggested to be real. It's not actually clear how they perform all their functions with just three members. She's also capable of changing her appearance.
* HeroesWantRedheads: Bugg and Tehol seem to, at any rate.

!!Janath Anar
A political prisoner of the Patriotists, the Letherii secret police. Prior to her imprisonment she was a highly perceptive academic.

* BabiesEverAfter: [[spoiler:In ''Literature/DustOfDreams'', she is pregnant with Tehol's child and Bugg assures her the child will be healthy.]]
* BadassBookworm: The bookworm part is presumably self-evident. [[spoiler:She earns the badass part with how she kills Tanal.]]
* EarnYourHappyEnding: A particularly extreme case. [[spoiler:She ends up empress]] after two lengthy imprisonments in each of which she was subjected to repeated sexual assault, [[spoiler:the latter of which she put an end to by killing his assaulter. After her first imprisonment, Bugg did something to ease her psychological trauma, and it's likely that he did so the second time as well. She also writes a history of Tehol's reign as emperor.]]
* ObfuscatingInsanity: [[spoiler:She kills Tanal Yathvanar after convincing him she's developed StockholmSyndrome for him, which she uses to lower his defences and strike at a particularly opportune moment. Her interior monologue indicates that she may actually have been driven mad at some point, but she was certainly faking the StockholmSyndrome.]]
* RapeAndRevenge: Subjected repeatedly to rape by Tanal Yathvanar. [[spoiler:She eventually gets her revenge by convincing him she has StockholmSyndrome and, having learnt his behaviour patterns, killing him when his defences are furthest down. To add further to the nature of his KarmicDeath, she kills him while he is in the midst of sexually assaulting her.]]

!!Karos Invictad
The leader of the Patriotists, the Letherii secret police.

* EvilCannotComprehendGood: An extreme case. He is shocked when the populace rebels in ''Literature/ReapersGale'', because he is convinced his techniques of terror will infallibly subdue a populace. In all likelihood, these techniques actually made the rebellion worse.
* SmugSnake: In the midst of the events of ''Literature/ReapersGale'', he thinks he is both the smartest and the richest person in Letheras. [[spoiler:He is outclassed in both regards by Tehol, which ultimately leads to his demise.]]
* WickedCultured: A truly despicable man with a fondness for fine clothing and puzzles.

!!Tanal Yathvanar
Personal assistant to Karos Invictad.
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: Despite his repeated sexual assault of Janath, he also genuinely believes himself to be in love with her, [[spoiler:and she is very easily able to convince him that she is in love with him. This almost immediately leads to his death at her hands.]]
* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: While this trope isn't always played straight in this series (in particular, see Rhulad, who is too insane to qualify as truly evil), in Tanal's case it's one of the earliest signs we have of how truly despicable he is.
* SmugSnake: Like his boss, he's an extreme one, not least due to his underestimation of Janath.
* TooDumbToLive: [[spoiler:Quite literally, as a direct consequence of his underestimation of one of the most intelligent academics in the city.]]
* TortureTechnician: A truly disturbing one, since his tortures frequently include sexual assaults of prisoners.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: '''Azathanai''']]

!!K'rul
An Elder God. The shaper of paths.

* [[AngelUnaware Elder God Unaware]]: [[spoiler: As Keruli.]]
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Mortal worshippers prayed to him. So he granted their prayers...which promptly caused all sorts of problems and power struggles.
** "...K’rul, who answered worship with generosity. Who, assailed by prayers written in spilled blood, gave answer to them. But the power he surrendered was not intended only for those who worshipped him. He has given it freely, to everyone."
* BigGood: Kind of. Maybe.
* BodyHorror: The warrens run through his veins, literally. [[spoiler: So when the warrens are poisoned, opening them occasionally causes boatloads of blood to come pouring out.]]
* GodsNeedPrayerBadly: The lack of it is implied to be the reason he's so weak now.
** Elder Gods accept prayer in the form of blood sacrifice. Give generously...
* HeroicSacrifice: Jaraku. Also the entire warren system.
* InTheHood: Default appearance is a fully cloaked figure.
* [[KarmicDeath Karmic Punishment]]: Kallor's curse.
* TheMentor: To Kruppe.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: In the prequel, implied to have been the root cause of all the series' problems, though probably not intentionally or knowingly.
* OlderAndWiser: To all the gods.
* SamusIsAGirl: Apparently. Maybe. Nope, we didn't see that coming either.

!!Draconus
An Elder God, the Suzerain of Night, Consort to Mother Dark, and brother of K'rul. He was killed with his own sword, [[CoolSword Dragnipur]], by Anomander Rake, and has been [[YourSoulIsMine trapped in there]] [[FateWorseThanDeath ever since]]. [[spoiler: Or at least until Rake's HeroicSacrifice.]]

* ParentalNeglect: Doesn't pay much attention to his kids, and named his three daughters [[VainSorceress Envy]], [[FemmeFatale Spite]], and [[EnfantTerrible Mal]][[WhatHappenedToTheMouse ice]] (if he had a fourth, she would apparently be named Venom). On the other hand, their mother, [[spoiler: Olar Ethil]], urges him to kill them, so...
* {{Badass}}: [[spoiler: Curbstomps Kilmandaros and Sechul Lath, both Elder Gods themselves.]] Also scares the crap out of everyone once they realize that [[spoiler: he's been freed from Dragnipur.]]
* CoolSword: Forged Dragnipur...
** HoistByHisOwnPetard: ...which was used to trap him in a FateWorseThanDeath. Although that was partially Kallor's fault.
* InstantAwesomeJustAddDragons: Naturally, he also turns into a giant black dragon. Although his particular [[VoluntaryShapeshifting Soletaken]] form is described as "darkness with wings" instead of a normal draconic form.
* LoveMakesYouCrazy, together with LoveRuinsTheRealm: Implied.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: The [[HumanSacrifice Terondai]] he commissioned from [[spoiler: Errastes]]
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: with a side of IHaveManyNames.
* OlderAndWiser: Apparently, spending several hundred thousand years suffering a FateWorseThanDeath mellowed him out a bit.
* WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove: Doesn't quite get it right, with [[PlayedForDrama unfortunate]] [[NiceJobBreakingItHero consequences]].