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Caladan Brood was a warlord, often called simply the Warlord,[1] who opposed the Malazan armies in the North Campaign on Genabackis.[2] He was a giant man, all muscle and bone, and was said to be human with Barghast blood.[3] Said to be an Ascendant,[4] power rolled from him in musky waves. His eyebrows were hairless and his teeth were filed.[5] He had a wide, flat face with strangely bestial eyes.[6][7]

Brood was a longtime friend and companion to Anomander Rake. Over thousands of years the pair had clashed but always been drawn back together, an alliance never broken. Korlat suspected the friendship was strengthened by the long periods the two spent apart over the ages.[8] He was spare with words, but had the ability to make virtually anyone feel welcome and appreciated.[9]

Many thousands of years ago, Brood, Rake, and the Queen of Dreams had walked the land together until Brood chose a more solitary path.[10] When he returned about 1200 years before the Malazan Book of the Fallen, he carried Burn's Hammer,[10] an enormous weapon of iron[11] with a copper-wrapped handle.[12] It was said to be capable of shattering mountains, with the Great Raven, Crone, presenting the broken peaks east of the Laederon Plateau as evidence of Brood's "younger, more precipitous days".[13]

His primary Warren was Tennes,[14] but he also had access to D'riss[citation needed] and High Denul.[15]

In Gardens of the Moon[]

During the Malazan Empire's attempts to conquer Genabackis, Caladan Brood led a unified force of Tiste Andii, Crimson Guard, Rhivi, Mott Irregulars, Ilgres Barghast, and soldiers from the remaining Free Cities against them. Under his command, his forces managed to delay the Malaz 5th Army from completely conquering the north of the continent at Blackdog Forest for a period of at least four years.[16] His second in command was the once High King Kallor.[17]

After the allied city of Pale fell to the Malazan siege, Brood left the Crimson Guard behind to hold the north while the rest of his troops moved south to respond. High Fist Dujek Onearm was ultimately forced to parley with Brood and Kallor outside Pale in order to extricate his forces.[18]

In conversation with Baruk, Anomander Rake recalled the last time Icarium had visited him some 800 years before the Siege of Pale. The Jhag had been in the company of Mappo Runt and Osric, and Brood had worked hard to keep the arguing Rake and Osric apart.[19]

In Memories of Ice[]

Caladan Brood new

Interpretation of Caladan Brood by Yapattack

Caladan Brood allied himself and his Host of over thirty thousand soldiers[20] with his former enemies, Dujek's now renegade Malazan army, in order to combat a more powerful and revolting foe, the Pannion Domin. His second in command during the Pannion War remained the once High King, Kallor.[21] A number of Anomander Rake's Tiste Andii sorcerers were attached to his forces, but Rake and Moon's Spawn were Brood's Shaved Knuckle in the Hole.[22] The Crimson Guard withdrew from the Host to attend to internal matters.[23]

Caladan Brood by Ylva Ljungqvist

Caladan Brood by Ylva Ljungqvist

The Host was also joined by Silverfox and the Mhybe, which caused friction between Brood and Kallor. The High King called Silverfox an abomination, recognising the soul of his enemy the Sister of Cold Nights within her, and demanded she be killed.[24] But Brood kept the girl under his protection.[25]

Ganoes Paran, now Master of the Deck, observed a vision of Burn within Finnest House. There he discovered that Burn slept in response to the infection of her flesh by the Crippled God. In order to break the chains poisoning her body, she made of herself a weapon, putting all of her spirit and power into the forging of a hammer. She then gave the hammer to Brood. But to use the hammer meant to free the Fallen One from his chains and destroy all life in the world. The knowledge that Brood refused to use the hammer left Paran weeping.[26]

Extremity of temper by Dejan Delic

Caladan Brood vs Kruppe by Dejan Delic

Brood's goal for the war was to liberate the Pannions from the rule of the Pannion Seer.[27] But it soon became clear that a K'Chain Che'Malle Matron and the Crippled God were the hidden powers behind the Pannion leader. Brood became frustated by Kallor's constant insubordination, and by Kruppe's seemingly ludicrous claims to protect them all from the Crippled God. When Kruppe mocked Brood's rising anger, the warlord struck a mighty blow with his hammer at Kruppe's feet. The resulting concussion sent Whiskeyjack and the other witnesses tumbling away while birthing a range of mountains on the Catlin Plain. Kruppe, however, remained untouched and unphased, and calmly brushed the dust off his clothes.[28]

At the Siege of Capustan, Humbrall Taur's White Face Barghast drove the Pannion forces out of the city onto the plains to the west. There Brood and Dujek's armies crushed the Seer's military, captured Anaster and the Tenescowri, and killed Septarch Kulpath.[29] Brood organised a parley of the victors and representatives from the city to decide on the alliance's next steps. The Mask Council priestess, Rath'Burn, charged the warlord with neglecting his duty to Burn. She demanded he turn over the hammer with which he should have broken Burn's chains. Brood dropped the hammer in her arms shattering her wrists. Then he took pity on her, healing her wounds with his magic.[30]

Brood admitted feeling burdened by carrying the hammer.[31] He had long considered himself a coward for failing to choose between the options to destroy the world or destroy civilisation. But ultimately he came to feel that Burn had faith that he would find a third option.[32]

The Warlord by Taylor Christensen

The Warlord by Taylor Christensen

The allies marched on the Seer and his forces at Coral. First, they split their forces to liberate Setta and Lest intending to reunite at Maurik. By this time, Brood was aware that Dujek had deceived him when claiming to have gone renegade.[33] He was also irritated when only Whiskeyjack and a token force of Malazans arrived at Maurik while Dujek and the rest secretly advanced on Coral. The warlord took Kallor's advice and made little effort to rush to Dujek's assistance at the Battle of Black Coral in order to keep his own troops fresh.[34] Brood was unaware that Dujek planned to sacrifice himself and his army to buy the warlord more time to find a third option.[35]

Spoiler warning: The following section contains significant plot details about Caladan Brood.
Day 27 thunder by shadaan

Caladan Brood by Shadaan

In the end, Kallor betrayed the alliance, killing Whiskeyjack and severely wounding Korlat before joining the Crippled God. Orfantal brought Brood to the battlefield by Warren so that the warlord could heal his sister.[36][37] Thinking Rake and Moon's Spawn destroyed and faced with an overwhelming number of the Seer's undead K'ell Hunters, Brood felt no choice but to draw his hammer.[38] But he froze with his hammer held high as the newly freed god, Togg, howled and summoned thousands of T'lan Ay to their defence followed by the arrival of Rake and his Skykeep.[39]

After the battle was won, Brood was content to leave negotiations for possession of Coral to Rake and the Malazans. In his eyes, the Empire had earned all they might ask for.[40]

In House of Chains[]

L'oric sought a guardian for Kurald Thyrllan during the absence of his father, Osserc. He considered contacting one of his father's former companions, a list which included Caladan Brood. But L'oric rejected the idea, saying Brood "carries his own burdens, these days."[41]

Brood was revealed to be one of the particpants in the last Chaining of the Crippled God.[42]

In The Bonehunters[]

After the Pannion War, Dujek's forces were recalled to Seven Cities to put down the Whirlwind rebellion and Brood's alliance broke up. The Rhivi and Barghast returned to their lands while the Tiste Andii settled in Black Coral. Meanwhile, the Crimson Guard, who had remained in the north, vanished to parts unknown.[43] Caladan Brood's immediate movements were not revealed.

In Toll the Hounds[]

After the siege of Coral was over, Caladan Brood disbanded his army.[44] Endest Silann unexpectedly came upon him cooking trout on the shore of the River Eryn near Coral Bay. The two old friends sat together eating fish and talking[45] until Rake sent Crone to summon his castellan back to Black Coral.[46]

After the Duel by Autumn Tavern

After the Duel by Autumn Tavern

On the last night of the Gedderone Fête, Brood appeared in Darujhistan where Rake was killed by Dassem Ultor. High Alchemist Baruk brought him to the place of Rake's death where a Convergence of powers fought over the sword Dragnipur. Envy and Spite used their magic to drive off the Hounds of Shadow defending the sword, but before they could claim it Brood stepped out of Baruk's carriage. It took only meeting the deadly regard of Brood's strangely bestial eyes for the two sisters to abandon their plans.[47][48]

Day 23 - RIP by Shadaan

Caladan at the barrow by Shadaan

The next day, tens of thousands of silent mourners followed Brood west out of the city to a barrow Brood prepared with the warren of Tennes. As Great Ravens wheeled overhead, he carried the body inside and sealed it with an ancient Barghast glyph that meant Grief.[49] He then took Dragnipur to Baruk's Estate where Crone, Derudan, Vorcan Radok, and the High Alchemist witnessed him shatter it with his hammer.[50] Draconus had once used the same hammer to forge the sword to Burn's displeasure.[51] Now Brood argued she was likely smiling in her sleep.[52]

Significant plot details end here.

In Orb Sceptre Throne[]

Caladan brood by deathris

Caladan Brood by DeathriS

Caladan Brood settled just outside the city of Darujhistan adjudicating matters brought to him by emissaries from the north, the Free Cities and the Rhivi Plains. As time went by, he felt a certain tension and feared that there had been a shift in the balance of power with his friend's death.[53] His fears proved true with the rise of the Legate. Brood was directly confronted by the Legate (actually the latest interation of the Tyrant Kings) when his erstwhile friend, now a puppet of the Tyrant, Barukanal, came to visit him. The two reached an impasse however, when Caladan threatened to pull down the city to stop the Tyrant if he had to.[54]

Being a respected figure for the Rhivi, he did his best to try and dissuade the Rhivi tribes and their leader Jiwan, from going to war with the Malazan armies on Genabackis.[55] He did not succeed as the Rhivi did engage a Malazan force, confident that they could finally rid themselves of the Malazan menace that had been troubling them.[56]

Later, Brood was instrumental in destroying the magical Circle of white stones that the Tyrant had had buried in a refilled trench surrounding Darujhistan's Majesty Hill. This Circle (of stones) was the anchor of the Tyrant's protective shield - which was a huge dome covering Majesty Hill - known as the Orb of the Tyrants. Brood accomplished this with two double-fisted blows of his mighty hands to one of the white stones - which cracked - thereby removing not only the Orb of the Tyrants, but also the power of the Tyrant.[57]

In Forge of Darkness[]

Caladan and Grizzin by Paradanmellow

Caladan Brood and Grizzin Farl by Paradanmellow

Brood was a renowned Azathanai High Mason. He was hired by Anomander Purake to build and dedicate a hearthstone in the new home of the betrothed Andarist and Enesdia to celebrate their marriage. The stone was inscribed with an Azathanai blessing that would only be known by the new husband and wife. At the time of the stone's placing, Brood demanded an oath from Anomander which prompted Rake to demand one in return.[58] This created a bond between them and ultimately led to their longstanding companionship. Returning to his home in the west, he met fellow Azathanai, Grizzin Farl, and they shared several jugs of Tiste wine that Brood said he had been saving for Kilmandaros, Farl's wife.[59]

After the Purake wedding day tragedy, Brood returned to Andarist's home where he told Anomander he could show him how to end the brewing civil war among the Tiste.[60]

In Fall of Light[]

(Information needed)

Quotes[]

"They are a generation that has tasted blood, and when horror fades, nostalgia seeps in. In war all is simple, and there is appeal in this. Who among us is comforted by confusion, uncertainty?"
―Caladan Brood[src]
Grizzin Farl: "Is it as the Jaghut assert then? In society we find the seeds of its own destruction?"
Caladan Brood: "Perhaps, but they miss the point. It is the absence of society that leads to destruction. When concord is lost, when arguments cease, and in opposition neither side sees the other as kin, as brother and sister, then all manner of atrocity is possible."
―Grizzin Farl and Caladan Brood, sitting at campfire, finishing third bottle of wine[src]
"...I build with my hands. I am a maker of monuments to lost causes. If you travel west of here, you will find my works. They adorn ruins and other forgotten places. They stand, as eternal as I could make them, to reveal the virtues to which every age aspires. They are lost now but will be rediscovered. In the days of a wounded, dying people, these monuments are raised again. And again. Not to worship, not to idolize – only the cynics find pleasure in that, to justify the suicide of their own faith. No, they raise them in hope. They raise them to plead for sanity. They raise them to fight against futility."
―High Mason Caladan Brood[src]

Trivia[]

Caladan Brood's first name may be a reference to the novel Dune by Frank Herbert. Caladan is the homeworld of Paul Atreides, the novel's main character. Malazan author, Steven Erikson, has stated that Dune was a major influence on the Malazan series. Erikson has said the homage was not consciously intentional.[61]

Gallery[]

Notes and references[]

  1. Gardens of the Moon, Glossary, UK MMPB p.704
  2. Gardens of the Moon, Dramatis Personae, UK MMPB p.xvi
  3. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 2, UK MMPB p.71
  4. Memories of Ice, Chapter 3, US SFBC p.100
  5. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 10, US HC p.240-242
  6. Memories of Ice, Chapter 18, US SFBC p.623
  7. Memories of Ice, Chapter 23, US SFBC p.853
  8. Memories of Ice, Chapter 22, US SFBC p.790
  9. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 10, US SFBC p.390-391
  10. 10.0 10.1 Memories of Ice, Chapter 5, US SFBC p.201-202
  11. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 10, US HC p.240
  12. Memories of Ice, Chapter 20, US SFBC p.719
  13. Memories of Ice, Chapter 3, US SFBC p.111
  14. Memories of Ice, Chapter 3, US SFBC p.110
  15. Memories of Ice, Chapter 18, US SFBC p.629
  16. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 2, UK MMPB p.61
  17. Gardens of the Moon, Dramatis Personae
  18. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 24, US HC p.480
  19. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 20, US TPB p.405
  20. Memories of Ice, Chapter 14, US SFBC p.455
  21. Memories of Ice, Dramatis Personae
  22. Memories of Ice, Chapter 5, US SFBC p.166
  23. Memories of Ice, Chapter 3
  24. Memories of Ice, Chapter 3, US SFBC p.104-105
  25. Memories of Ice, Chapter 5
  26. Memories of Ice, Chapter 5
  27. Memories of Ice, Chapter 18, US SFBC p.617
  28. Memories of Ice, Chapter 15, US SFBC p.505-507/526-527
  29. Memories of Ice, Chapter 18, US SFBC p.610-612
  30. Memories of Ice, Chapter 18, US SFBC p.716-720
  31. Memories of Ice, Chapter 5, US SFBC p.201-202
  32. Memories of Ice, Chapter 18, US SFBC p.720
  33. Memories of Ice, Chapter 18, US SFBC p.618
  34. Memories of Ice, Chapter 23, US SFBC p.841-847
  35. Memories of Ice, Chapter 21, US SFBC p.770-771
  36. Memories of Ice, Chapter 24, US SFBC p.901
  37. Memories of Ice, Chapter 25, US SFBC p.905
  38. Memories of Ice, Chapter 25, US SFBC p.923-925
  39. Memories of Ice, Chapter 25, US SFBC p.933-937
  40. Memories of Ice, Chapter 25, US SFBC p.948
  41. House of Chains, Chapter 13, US SFBC p.488
  42. House of Chains, Chapter 23, Epigraph
  43. The Bonehunters, Chapter 13, US SFBC p.520
  44. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 10, US SFBC p.390
  45. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 10, US SFBC p.389-391
  46. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 12, US SFBC p.462-464
  47. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 23, US SFBC p.941-942
  48. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 24, US SFBC p.967-968
  49. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 24, US SFBC p.967-968
  50. Toll the Hounds, Epilogue, US SFBC p.1005-1007
  51. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 24, US SFBC p.959-960
  52. Toll the Hounds, Epilogue, US SFBC p.1007
  53. Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 1
  54. Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 6
  55. Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 12
  56. Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 15
  57. Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 20, US TPB p.563-564
  58. Forge of Darkness, Chapter 2, UK HC p.50
  59. Forge of Darkness, Chapter 8, UK HC p.223
  60. Forge of Darkness, Chapter 20, UK HC p.660
  61. Facebook Fantasy/Sci-Fi Focus AMA
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