Pores

Aramstos Pores
Fan art by Corporal Nobbs
Biographical information
Race	Human
Gender	Male
Social information
Affiliation	Malazan Empire Ashok Regiment Bonehunters
Occupation(s)	Soldier
Rank	Lieutenant

"It's not as if I'm afraid of war. It's the chaos I don't like."

―Aramstos Pores

Lieutenant Aramstos Pores directly reported to Captain Kindly, first in the 2nd Company of the Ashok Regiment, and then later in the Bonehunters. He and his captain had a comically adversarial relationship.

Ruthan Gudd described Pores as a match for Kindly's wits and an exception to the rule which said that lieutenants were usually "either ambitious backstabbers or butt-licking fools".

In House of Chains

Pores served under Kindly's command at the Malazan garrison in Silver Lake when Karsa Orlong, Bairoth Gild, and Delum Thord attacked the town.

As a response to rumours of rebellion on Seven Cities, Kindly's regiment was recalled back from Genabackis. They escorted prisoners Karsa and Torvald Nom as far as the port of Tanys where they took a different ship across the Malyn Sea.

The Ashok Regiment was then presumably posted in Ehrlitan when the Whirlwind rebellion began. Several hundred Malazans, including the Ashok Regiment, fled from Ehrlitan, G'danisban, and Pan'potsun to hole up in the cliff-side fortress of B'ridys. There Kindly and Pores fell down a well and were presumed drowned. They actually managed to escape the creature at the bottom of the well only to later be captured and imprisoned in Raraku by Korbolo Dom's Dogslayers.

They were set free by Bridgeburner ghosts on the eve of the confrontation between Sha'ik and Adjunct Tavore Paran and were then brought to the camp of the Malaz 14th Army by Fist Tene Baralta and his men.

In The Bonehunters

Pores by Dejan Delic

After the Battle of Raraku, Keneb was promoted to Fist and Kindly temporarily replaced him as captain of the 8th Legion's 9th Company in the Malaz 14th Army. Pores continued to serve Kindly as his lieutenant. Leoman led the Army of the Apocalypse westward to Y'Ghatan and the 14th Army followed. About the time the 14th Army arrived at Y'Ghatan, Kindly was replaced by Faradan Sort and both Kindly and Pores were reassigned to another company. Pores briefly reminisced about his old squad (Ebron, Limp, Bell, and Sinn) before concluding he did not miss them that much after all.

At the Last Siege of Y'Ghatan, Pores was caught in the firestorm and the fingers of his shield hand were fused together. Kindly found him recovering in the hospital tent and chastised him for loafing. The 14th Army then made haste for the Kokakal Sea to embark on Admiral Nok's ships and escape the Bluetongue Plague ravaging Seven Cities. Three days west of Y'Ghatan Pores led a patrol that was ambushed by starving bandits and he took a crossbow quarrel clean through his upper left arm and sword-slash deep enough above the right knee to sever muscle down to the bone. Healers were able to roughly knit together his wounds, but the pain was excruciating. Kindly physically dragged him off a convalescent wagon to make room for soldiers with "real injuries" and placed him in charge of picket duty. Pores thought his captain was insane.

Later, Pores was the first to spot the odd behaviour of the Wickan cattle-dogs who ran out of camp to meet the returning Fiddler and the other missing survivors of Y'Ghatan. He stole Adjunct Tavore's horse to investigate, then raced back into camp to order water and healers brought up to aid them. The army embarked aboard Admiral Nok's ships to return to Quon Tali.

At Malaz City, Kindly's troops remained on their ships in the harbour while the Adjunct went ashore to meet Empress Laseen in Mock's Hold. Fighting broke out on the pier between the citizens of Malaz City and the 14th soldiers guarding the Adjunct's flagship. Kindly rejected Pores' request to send aid, saying he would be happy to promote Hanfeno in the Lieutenant's place while Senny took bets on whether Pores could survive swimming to shore across the shark-filled harbour.

In Reaper's Gale

After Adjunct Tavore's clash with the Empress at Malaz City she took the Bonehunters rogue, following the Tiste Edur fleet that had ravaged Sepik back to Lether. Tavore invaded the Letherii Empire, spreading Fist Keneb's marines in isolated pairs of squads across thirty leagues of coast and burning their transport vessels behind them. The marines moved forward into the Letherii countryside towards Letheras, the capital, with orders to kill Edur by night and stir the occupied Letherii into rebellion. Each squad had a mage responsible for hiding their presence and confusing their enemies.

The rest of the Adjunct's fleet gathered at Second Maiden Fort where Tavore hired the pirate, Shurq Elalle, to guide them to the mouth of the Lether River leading to Letheras. Aboard ship, Pores still affected a limp from his injuries at Y'Ghatan in what he realised was a pathetic attempt at eliciting sympathy from Captain Kindly. Kindly only found it annoying and warned him to stop it unless he wanted the captain to shatter his leg with a billy club. When Kindly caught Pores looking across the waves admiring the voluptuous Masan Gilani aboard the nearby Silanda, he reprimanded the lieutenant and ordered him to draw up papers to place Gilani on report for being out of uniform. Before Pores could even make it back to his cabin to begin the report, Kindly followed up behind to oversee his penmanship. Then he tasked Pores with cleaning the new turtleshell combs the captain had acquired from the Shake at Second Maiden Fort.

The Adjunct's fleet made landfall near Letheras and defeated the city's Imperial Brigade with Kindly leading Fist Blistig's infantry. Meanwhile, Keneb's marines secretly entered the city to secure its western gate to allow the rest of the army entrance. Soon the City Garrison surrendered and the city fell.

In Dust of Dreams

After Pores was caught masquerading as Kindly to several soldiers, Kindly promoted Pores "sideways" to the rank of Master Sergeant thinking it a punishment. He was lumbered with several 'green' Letherii recruits which he was ordered to train, but got out of doing it as Hedge commandeered the soldiers for his new Bridgeburners, leaving Pores to his own devices.

In The Crippled God

Pores, in his role as unofficial 'Quartermaster', had his nose broken by someone, resulting in black eyes.

Pores was commanded by Fist Blistig to secretly hold a number of water barrels for him in reserve, as the Bonehunters commenced their journey across the Glass Desert. Setting the barrels aside and having notified Kindly of the situation, Pores later opened them under Adjunct Tavore's direct command in order to slake the thirst of the Snake, a group of refugee children.

Later, when the water for the army had just about run out, Pores was purposely isolated from the Bonehunters and subsequently stabbed by Blistig in order for the latter not only to get access to 'his' water barrels, but so as to also hide what he had done. Kindly, having been informed of the vicious attack on Pores by Sergeant Balm, and that Ruthan Gudd had determined that blood found on Blistig's knife belonged to Pores, decided to take matters into his own hands in order to avenge the Lieutenant. Pores' life was only barely saved by 'heroic' emergency surgery performed by Deadsmell, with the unexpected aid of a couple of The Unbound T'lan Imass, who were now traveling with the army.

Quotes

"There were times, he reflected morosely, when he wanted to kill Captain Kindly."

―Pores

Notes and references

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