Febryl was a High Mage[1] and elder advisor to Sha'ik.[2] Drawing upon the memories of the previous Sha'ik, Sha'ik Reborn called him the most craven and conniving of the three High Mages of the Army of the Whirlwind.[3] He mistakenly thought himself subtle.[4]
Febryl was described as having tiny, black, glittering eyes and gold capped upper canines which were said to hold the poison, Emulor.[5] He wore an oversized silk Telaba whose hood opened wide giving him the appearance of a desert snake.[5]
In Deadhouse Gates[]
When Felisin Paran journeyed to Raraku's heart to become the Sha'ik Reborn, she was met by her three high mages, Febryl, Bidithal, and L'oric. Felisin saw in Sha'ik's memories that Febryl had tried to poison the Seer three times, but each time the poison had been burned from her veins by Dryjhna's power. But the high mage was useful as a lodestone to draw dissent into the open, and so he was kept alive and unaware that his treachery had been exposed. Like the other high mages, he was forced to kneel before the Sha'ik Reborn.[6]
He journeyed with the army of the Apocalypse to Balahn to visit Korbolo Dom near the site of his victory over the Malaz 7th Army. Like the other high mages he was appalled by the scope of the horror.[7]
In House of Chains[]
Febryl plotted with Korbolo Dom, Kamist Reloe, and others to kill Sha'ik Reborn. While Korbolo Dom sought to kill Sha'ik to buy his way back into the Empire, Febryl wanted her dead because she knew every shameful secret of his past life (see History). The High Mage believed that helping Dom and Reloe achieve their aims would put them in his debt, forcing the Malazans to withdraw from Seven Cities and allowing a rebirth of Seven Cities' once great civilisation.[8]
At Kamist Reloe's behest he opened a path to the Warren of the Whirlwind Goddess. As the High Mage prepared to lead Korbolo Dom's assassins through the gate, Febryl warned them that they faced a T'lan Imass no longer bound by the chains of the Ritual of Tellann.[9]
Febryl was killed by Karsa Orlong, who picked him up and broke his spine, on the eve of the confrontation between Sha'ik Reborn and Adjunct Tavore.[10]
History[]
Before the Malazan invasion, Febryl's true name had been Iltara, and he had served the Holy Falah'd, Enqura, of the city of Ugarat. At the time, the city and its tributaries were undergoing a cultural renaissance centred on the city's great schools of learning. A week before Dassem Ultor and the Malazan Army arrived, Enqura had commanded Febryl/Iltara, his most trusted subordinate, to destroy all the texts, bound volumes, and ancient relics of the First Empire. Those philosophers, scholars, and academics who did not commit suicide out of grief and despair were crucified.[11]
Outraged by the ghastly act, his parents had disowned him to his face. Febryl lost his mind and killed them, their servants, and their guards. Such was the power of the sorcery that he had unleashed that it had left the once young and tall High Mage (lusted after by both men and women), with the appearance of a wrinkled, withered old man. He then abandoned Enqura, changed his name, and escaped the city.[12]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ House of Chains, Dramatis Personae, UK MMPB
- ↑ Deadhouse Gates, Dramatis Personae, UK MMPB p.19
- ↑ Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 18, US HC p.480
- ↑ Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 21, US HC p.541
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 House of Chains, Chapter 7, US SFBC p.305
- ↑ Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 18, US HC p.480
- ↑ Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 24, US HC p.585
- ↑ House of Chains, Chapter 21, US SFBC p.676-680
- ↑ House of Chains, Chapter 21, US SFBC p.679-680
- ↑ House of Chains, Chapter 25, UK MMPB p.949
- ↑ House of Chains, Chapter 21, UK MMPB p.804-806
- ↑ House of Chains, Chapter 21, UK MMPB p.805-806