The Malazan Fallen discussion

Chapter Five Discussion thread

There are a couple of significant revelations this chapter that also shed a little light on some of the scenes we have been privy to before.

Firstly It turns out that the shadow wraiths that serve the Tiste Edur are actually the souls of the dead Tiste Andii who were killed in the battle in the prologue. Their souls were wrenched from their dead bodies and enslaved to the Edur people.
Udinaas has been infected by the Wyval that attacked him. He begins to see things both in his dreams and in the waking world. In particular, a Shadow Wraith has begun to haunt him.

Was I not once a Tiste Andii? I believe I was. Murdered and flung into the mud, until the ice came. Then torn loose, after so long, to serve my slayers.

Through negligence on the Edur’s part, this particular shadow Wraith, named Wither, has managed to slip notice and offers Udinaas an alliance. The wraith asks Udinaas to allow him to hide in his shadow as a familiar – in return the wraith offers to watch his back – a promise he delivers later on by hiding Udinaas’ Wyval infection from Uruth Sengar – his sorceress mistress.
Through this alliance Wither wants Udinaas to help him get revenge on the Tiste Edur – for the betrayal of Silchas Ruin and the Tiste Andii armies by Scabandari and the Tiste Edur.

We followed the youngest child of Mother Dark herself. And we were witness.’
‘To what?’
‘To Bloodeye’s betrayal of our leader. To the dagger driven into our lord’s back. I myself fell to a blade wielded by a Tiste Edur. Unexpected. Sudden slaughter. We stood no chance. No chance at all.

Having learned this – if we now go back to chapter three where Udinaas has his dream where he is raped by Menandore. In that dream he sees the walking dead, warriors who have died in battle and they are being subjected to some sort of sorcery from Menandore

Daughter Dawn. Menandore—
Before him were sprawled the warriors that had walked alongside the one dragging him. Flames licking along wounds, dull smoke rising from torn flesh.(shadow wraiths?) None moved. They keep dying, don’t they? Again and again. They keep dying

I missed this first time round but I believe what we are seeing here is Menandore harvesting the Tiste Andii souls from the battle in the prologue. Raising an army of shadow wraiths. There is definitely some war preparations going on because Udinaas also sees

Dragons. A score of the creatures, riding distant currents just above the uncertain horizon. Around them swarmed Wyval, like gnats.
And Udinaas suddenly understood something.
They are going to war.

Is this preparation for Hannan Mosag’s war against the gods?

Also, Seren Pedac notices

Wraiths that now rose into view to watch Seren and those following in her wake.
There seemed more than usual.


The fact that Menandore is using wyval’s further confirms that she is behind the attack on Feather Witch. We can only guess what the intention was exactly but I think it’s clear now that Menandore targeted Feather Witch to bind her and through her the rest of Letherii slaves to the Tiste Edur purpose somehow.

The use of wyval’s and Eleint also shows that the Tiste Edur ways have been usurped and twisted to serve a much larger purpose. Wyval infection normally invokes the death penalty among the Edur. Add those to Hannan Mosag using different magic to kill the Letherii shipmen as well as his intention to get revenge on the elder gods who killed Scabandari. There is also the fact that last book – Bidithal is sporting Shadow wraiths which he orders to kill Kalam. Kalam and the Rope dealt to them - but the question is, how does Bidithal get to command the Edur’s enslaved Shadow wraiths? Well we know Bidithal was working for the crippled god – and we know the Edur were usurped by the crippled god – so resources get spread around I’m guessing.


The other revelation we get has to do with Anomander Rake and Silchas Ruin

It seems that both Anomander and Silchas drank Tiam’s blood. Tiam, if you remember, is the first Elient – the goddess of the Elient. Silchas in particular drank so much that had he not been betrayed he would have been a god.

Silchas Ruin. Tiste Andii, who fed in the wake of his brother – fed on Tiam’s blood, and drank deep. Deeper than Anomander Rake by far. Darkness and chaos. He would have accepted the burden of godhood ... had he been given the chance.

It also explain the presence of the Wyvals at the battle in the prologue. Their loyalty was too the draconic blood in Silchas

Eleint! Soletaken but oh so much draconic blood. Tiam’s own.
Bone-white scales, the red of wounds smeared like misty paint, monstrously huge, the dragon the Wyval had chosen to follow loomed alongside them.


It also goes to explain how Anomander Rake has as an ally a real (non soletaken)dragon/Elient in his service ie Silanah

And it sheds a little light on the tension between Anomander and his brother, Andarist from last book

Has he renounced his Draconian blood?’
‘I wouldn’t know—’
‘Does he now appear as an old man — older by far than me? Ah, I see by your face the truth of it. He has not. Well, you may go back to him and tell him—’

It seems Andarist did not approve of Anomander’s partaking of Draconic blood. He saw it as a betrayal to his natural Tiste Andii blood. Interestingly, one could infer from Andarist comment that if he so chose Anomander could somehow renounce and purge himself of the Draconic blood.


And the other vision Udinaas has is of the Azath house where Silchas is buried. There he also sees a little girl standing behind him – further confirmation that the Azath in Lether that is taken care of by the undead Kettle is the one Silchas is buried at.


He turned and studied the doorway.
And only then noticed the footprints impressed upon the frost-laden flagstones. Leading out. Bared feet, human, a child’s...

...Tiny tracks indicated that the child had stood behind the figure – no, had appeared behind it, for there were no others to be found. Had appeared ... to do what? Reach into a dead man’s skull?Yet the figure was as tall as an Edur. The child would have had to climb

If we remember back to Shurq’s conversation with Kettle. Kettle is distressed by the restless souls within the barrow trying to get out – beseeching her to let them out. Shurq asks her to find an ally among the buried to help her

‘Are there any who ask nothing of you?’
‘Some are ever silent.’
‘Talk to them. Find someone else to speak to, Kettle. Someone who might be able to help you.’ Someone else to be your mother ... or father.

Perhaps she has found her ally?

When Udinaas is at the Azath house he originally sees what I think is a Forkul Assail standing over the bodies of a Greenish skinned, Tusked family. It appears the girl ripped the brain out of the Assail. No easy task one would think. It also begs the question....wtf is going on here.

@Lee - you are right, that does look like a Forkrul Assail. The Azath house in the prologue is among Jaghut dwellings and the Azath in Lether is among Jaghut ruins. It appears Udinaas sees the remains of a massacred Jaghut family by an Assail. It appears the child (which I'm guessing is Kettle) took the Assail for the Azath house.

With the odd multiple joints and the green skin I immediately recognized the Forkrul Assail and the Jaghut in the Jaghut ruins.. I also knew it was Kettle, but that doesn't mean I know what's going on! Yet.

I also noted the drinking of Tiam's blood, which I had completely missed first time around.

I don't have the book here at the moment, but I was confused somewhat with the description of the murdered family I thought they were green skinned and Tusked. I didn't think the Forkul were green, neither the Jhagut. The multiple joints was my clue on FA.

Jaghut are described as having tusks and greenish skin. Icarium (though only half Jaghut) is green grey. Gothos is described as having greenish skin when we first meet him. And the Pannion seer was described as greenish.

It tells us how powerful thes FA were for one to be able to take down a Jaghut.

Right, but the Assail are not green though right?

It tells us how powerful thes FA were for one to be able to take down a Jaghut.

Extrapolating that out then, what does it tell us about Kettle then :) Some bad ass lil' girl. Tiny Tina anyone?

No the FA are not green just the the Jaghut - my poor sentence structure misled.

I thought it was Kettle but was confused because this tableau seems to belong to the long ago past of the war on the Jaghut by the Imass which the FA took upon themselves to arbitrate. The are in ice and the footprints just appear from nowhere right behind the FA. The break in the head is recent but it appears the figure was already dead. So I think this scene is buried in the Azath and Kettle stumbled on it? Unknown at this time if it was her, she seems to bite not smash.

What the heck is a Forkrul Assail? I don't remember them at all. Too many races for me to keep them straight in my tiny brain.

I still struggle with who the Eleint are too. I just know a lot of people seem scared of them.

Elient are the Dragons. Forkrul Assail haven't been mentioned much at all. The last one we saw was under a rock which Karsa and his two companions released on their way from the Teblor lands

David Sven wrote: "Elient are the Dragons."

OH. How did I miss this? I thought they worshiped dragons.

I didn't realize that's what Karsa and his friends let loose. Or maybe I just forgot. Too much to keep straight.

Thanks David.

Rob - I can't even count how many times I had to check the index and the glossary! David's explanations are so much better.

Lori (Hellian) wrote: "Rob - I can't even count how many times I had to check the index and the glossary! David's explanations are so much better."

Indeed.

We don't know much about the Assail. We met Calm who tossed the three Tobliakai around like they were kids. The other times they are mentioned is when there are discussions about founding races.

All we know is that they're scary powerfull and, at least to me, nightmarish with all those articulated joints!

And they like to judge people and bring them peace i.e. death. And I believe they aren't empire-builders, in contrast to such as the T'lan Imass.

Why didn't I guess the Tiste Andii got their dragon blood by drinking it instead of inheritance?

From what i have read from start in midnight tides i can summarize this much, tiste andii and edur were fighting against kaschan(kchain maille) and when the war was ending bloodeye betrays silchas ruin and a jaghut who is sitting on top of a Azath house watches this.The bloodeye gives or imprisoned silchas in the azath house.Gothos who was sitting on the azath tower did not like the mess which was made during the war and his answer obviously is to bury everything in the ice.After taht mael shows up and takes down bloodeye.

After thousands of years we have a udinaas a lethri slave who comes in contact with a wyval when feather witch is having divination the wyval i think belong starvald demelain and they follow the elient so the biggest elient(dragon) we know so far are Silchas(Trapped),Rake(Not Here),Osric,Manadore.Now eleinet are basically guys/girls who have drank tiam blood i.e dragon blood.

Now back to udinaas he saves feather witch but in some way gets infected with wyval blood, now as i have mentioned before menandore who is a daughter of bloodeye is the one whom now the wyval are following so thats why udinaas has a dream about her and in that she misuses him.But why does she do that we don't have a clue about that.Next udinaas meets up with a wraith who has not been slaved by menandore in service to edur and he partners with udinaas.

The next vision which udinaas is the azath house where silchas is trapped.But also there he comes across a dead jaghut family and a forkural assail what are they doing over there we have no clue whtsoever.

That sounds pretty right Sumant :) -