Martal

Martal was the commander of the Jourilan Army of Reform, nicknamed the Black Queen because of her all-black garb: a dark dusty hauberk, heavy iron bands over mail, leggings, boots and gloves. She claimed to be from Katakan.

Her complexion was smooth, the hue of dark honey, her black hair thick and bristly, hacked short and touched with grey. She was thick-boned and her nose was flattened and canted aside, crushed long ago by some fearsome blow. Her voice was flat and rough, her lips full but grim, and her eyes were sharp and dismissive.

She was a brutally efficient campaigner who cared for results over honour. She spoke of military doctrine as if quoting from a familiar text.

Martal was fiercely devoted to Beneth, the Reform Army's spiritual leader.

In Stonewielder

Martal was actually a soldier of the Malazan Empire, born the daughter of a minor landholder in Netor on the Bloorian plains of Quon Tali. There, on an unstable border, she had fought her first battle against raiders when she was only thirteen. Running away to join the army she had come to the Lands of Fist as part of the Malazan 6th Army serving as a captain under Greymane during the Korelri Campaign. When he was wrongfully accused of betraying the army, she stood up for him too vocally, and when he was ousted she "had to flee, or face the knife". Unable to find transport home, she wandered southward and met Beneth, who she claimed saved her life.

Martal led the ragged band of peasants and refugees that formed the Reform Army from southern Jourilan against Blight before moving northwards towards Ring. She used every tactical exploit at hand to slay the Imperial light cavalry that dogged the Army's movements. Outside Ring she stood with her army against Imperial Prince Ranur and Jourilan's main force of heavy cavalry. Although seriously wounded, she remained mounted and visible upon the field, well aware of the importance of her presence. But her wounds were too severe and she ultimately succumbed to them. Her last words were for Greymane, saying, "Tell him I tried. I tried my best. I would so like to have seen him again." For the remainder of the battle a decoy stood in her place.

After the Reform Army's victory, Ivanr brought the bodies of Martal and the Priestess, the Army's two blessed martyrs, back to southern Jourilan. They were to be buried on the site of a small monastery he planned to build.

Quotes

"I suggest that if everyone does their job tomorrow we will have a good chance of victory. More than that, no responsible commander can promise her people."

―Martal, on the eve of battle

Ivanr: "Congratulations."

Martal: "You disapprove."

Ivanr: "They were trapped, helpless. You murdered them all without mercy. You're proud of it?"

Martal: "This is no duel in some fencing school, Ivanr. This is war."

―Ivanr and Martal after a Reform Army victory

Notes and references

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