
House of Chains:
Chapter 14:
(1): The Jhag Odhan: Was this area created through Omtose Phellack bleeding in? Is this why the Jaghut woman Arumal says that the land is dying – somehow a ritual of Telann had counteracted against whatever Omtose Phellack magic was present?
(2): How exactly is Karsa dragging along the victims of his murders with him? Is this because he carries their trophies – is this why they are not freed? Or is this the result of some sort of curse? –Update: Yes this seems to be a curse. The Crippled God’s curse? Or those of the renegade T’lan Imass?
(3): Who do the 7 Teblor Gods serve? Why did they want to return to Omtose Phellack? Was this Thelomen land that was taken by the Jaghut? It is suggested that they are the Unbound, T’lan Imass by Karsa. But, are they still affiliated with the main T’lan Imass? Were they part of the ritual? The Thelomen/Teblor descended from the T’lan Imass - is this what Karsa means? – Update: The Teblor Gods do in fact seem to serve the Crippled God.
Chapter 15:
(4): Why did Gesler and company become ascendants? Was it simply because they traveled through the broken warren? Who decides who becomes an ascendant? Is it by doing great deeds that one ascends? Somehow Gesler and co. did it by traveling through a warren but certainly not everyone that enters a warrant ascends..
(5): Why does Fiddler need to complete the Spiritwalker song ritual for the Bridgeburners to ascend? (This is mentioned somewhere.) Why can’t Kalam (also a Bridgeburner) complete the ritual instead? Must it be Fiddler?
Chapter 16:
(6): Why is Shadowthrone seemingly acting against the Whirlwind rebellion, by asking Kalam to infiltrate it? Is Shadowthrone acting against Laseen and the Malazan Empire – you would think he’d want revenge. Or, is Cotillion ordering Kalam to do this with Shadowthrone’s knowledge approval? What exactly are Shadowthrone’s motivations? Shadowthrone’s motivations have never been clear.
(7): Why are Shadowthrone and the Tiste Andii seemingly trying to prevent the Tiste Edur from reclaiming the Shadow warren? As I understood (I could be wrong here), Shadowthrone lives in the Meanas Warren while the Tiste Edur are trying to return to Kurald Emurhlan – so its not a question of invading Shadowthrone’s warren.
(8): Why does Cotillon seemingly want to eliminate the Talon? He finds a body of the dead Talon woman with the burnt face on the moving isle, and then sends Cutter/Crokus to take position to help assist eliminating the Talon master – why? Isn’t Cotillon the one who formed the Talon? Why were these Talon/Malazan? Agents on the moving isle in the first place?
(9): Why does Cotillion say “Look at the Two of Us” and “I have a suspicion about all of this” – before Crokus protests “its not the same – we’re not” – Is Cotillon suggesting that there is a similarity between them – and Crokus does not want to acknowledge this?
(10): What is the Talon up to and who is behind it all? Why does Shadowthrone and The Rope want to stop them? Update: Later we find Korbolo Dom commanding these supposed Talon. Are these actual Talon or just people calling themselves Talon?
(11): Has Onrack committed crimes against his clan? Does it have something to do with the solitude he sought in pursuing his cave paintings? Was this frowned upon because solitude was a quality of the Jaghut – their mortal enemies? Onrack seemingly painted a living T’lan Imass – Tool’s sister – and this was forbidden – and this was breaking a law.
(12): What is the difference between a Jaghut and a Jaghut tyrant? (This question has been nagging me for a long time.)
(13): Is there something unique or special about the basic world that the humans and Malazans reside in? Or – it is just another warren? It seems that its different in kind since the people in the regular world need to open warrens to draw magic and all the Gods/Ascendants (some residing in the other warrens) seem to pay special attention to the regular (non-warren) world.
(14): Did Onrack’s crime occur before or after the ritual of Telann? I’m guessing it took place before since Onrack was able to make love to KIlava (after the ritual they’d be too decrepit for sex)– but if not – was painting a picture of a moral I’mass a crime because of the ritual? Or was it simply a crime to depict an I’mass even before the ritual? – Update: It is now revealed that Kilava could not take part in the ritual because Onrack had already immortalized her in painting – but why did she kill her entire clan afterwards? This must be why Tool was clanless.
(15): Who are the renegades? Why are Onrack and Trull tracking them down? Is Trull also an outcast from the Edur – is that why he was chained on the beach? What link do the renegades have to betraying Trull’s people? Are the renegades the Gods of the Teblor that Karsa keeps referring too as T’lann Imass? Update: Yes, the renegades do seem to be the Teblor Gods.
(16): Are the Tiste Lisosan in the Tellann warren? What is their deal? Are they in the regular world because they are looking for Icarium? Who do they refer to as the trespassers they must hunt down? Update: It is revealed that these trespassers were Gesler and company. But I thought Kurald Emurhlan was the warren they were stuck in – not the Tiste Liosan warren?
Chapter 17:
(17): Why do the Jaghut seemingly live forever? The longevity of the T’lan Imass and the Tiste Anddi are explained in other books but I don’t remember them ever mentioning the longevity of the Jaghut,
(18): What are the two Jaghut talking about after Karsa departs when one offers the other the deer meat? They are shaking their heads at someone driving a spear into the ground, and then seem to be discussing Icarium and Mappo’s trip to the Deadhouse referring to Mappo as the Toblakai. Did the Trell descend from the Toblakai as well? Was the Deadhouse shattered and did this have an effect on Kurald Emurhlan – they seem to be suggesting that there is a connection here between this Azath House and the shattered warren…..
(19): What is the spear the two Jaghut are talking about? Did I miss something here?
Chapter 18
(20): Who is the Goddess of Sha’ik’s Apocalypse? (This may have been mentioned before and it slipped my mind). Update: This is revealed at the end of the book.
(21): What exactly is the distinction between Cold Iron and Hot Iron? Is it the difference between one’s emotional detachment and another’s lack thereof?
(23): How much overlap is there between the memories of Sha’ik and the older Felisin? Do they share memories but differ in personality? For example, Felisin the older cares to know what happened to Felisin the younger but Sha’ik does not.
(24): What is the nature of the jade statue giant that Heboric touched back in Deadhouse Gates? How is this related to Fener’s fall and Heboric’s Ghost Hands?
(25): Who are the Army of Shadows that Bidithal is speaking to? What does he mean when he asks them if they remember the dark? Update: Later it is suggested that they are some kind of spirits from the Kurald Emurlan warren.
(26): Who is the camp follower who poisons Korbolo Dom working for? Update: Bidithal it appears.
(27): Why does Leoman decide to strike early with the advance party? This seems like a less than wise move with his inferior numbers – also he is defying the command of Sha’ik.
Chapter 20:
(28): Why do Cutter and Apsalar believe they have entered Kurald Emurhlan? Last we knew, they were on the Drift Avali Island – and I don’t remember them entering a portal…..However – the gate to Kurald Emurhlan was supposedly here on the island being guarded….
(29): What does Apsalar mean that Shadowthrone sat on the first throne, making him lord of the T’lan Imass? Does this have to do with when he was Emperor Kellanvaned and commanded the T’lan Imass? (could be way off here)
(30): What is the ultimate plan of Shadowthrone and Cotillion? Where were they during the missing 2 years in Apsalar’s memory? Are they seeking to become a benign force of neutralizing power like the House of Azath? Is their cause a noble one – or a power hungry one?
(31): So, the Tiste Edur were indeed the original rulers of the Shadow Realm – this much was to be expected – however…..what was it that cast them out? Was it the same thing that shattered the realm?
(32): Onrack and Trull are still on the trail of the six renegade T’lan Imass – the gods of the Teblor – however why are these T’lan Imass renegades? Why does Onrack have an interest in tracking them? Is he not also an outcast himself?
(33): Ah – so Kellanved did sit upon the throne to command the T’lan Imass – and the Nameless ones are related to the Houses of the Azath – interesting.
(34): So – the renegade, T’lan Imass, the six, the faces in the rock – they are headed south to presumably find this First Throne – The Crippled God must be behind this hmmm.
(35): According to Onrack – the renegades serve the same master as Trull’s kin….so the Tiste Edur serve the Crippled God?? Update: Yes, this is confirmed later on.
(36): Is the new Bonecaster they (Onrack and Trull) are speaking of Silverfox? Is she the mortal who must sit atop the the First Throne? Tool is now mortal again as well, why not him?
(37): So….Onrack is suggesting that the renegade T’lan Imass were failures against the Forkrul Assail – perhaps this is why they have turned to the Crippled God – to embrace their imperfections. Just a thought.
(38): Who are the ghosts that Kalam sees? One is referred to as a Spiritwalker – speaking of a banishment by the First Emperor – Is Kalam seeing events from the past? Is he within the Whirlwind itself (presumably the Whirlwind is a shattered fragment of Kurald Emurhlan) or in a different warren? Are the hounds that appear here, the larger bearlike ones the Hounds that were released by Onrack? Are these hounds hounds of darkness?
(39): How do Crokus and Apsalar end up back in Seven Cities? They are in the middle of conversation when the sky darkens and there is a thunderous crash…Is this Shadowthrone or Cotillon’s doing?
Chapter 21:
(40): Why did the T’lan Imass need a mortal ruler to sit atop the throne of their empire? Why did the T’lan Imass return with the shattering of the warren? Is Kamist Reloe suggesting that the warren was shattered with the ritual of Soletaken and D’ivers?
(41): Ahh the Whirlwind goddess was a T’lan Imass – one of the ones destroyed by the human rebels?
(42): Apparently L’oric came to Raraku because he sensed his father’s presence. Is his father Osric? I think this was mentioned earlier……Yes it seems so. Why did the Queen of Dreams say that Osric was lost?
(43): So Kurald Thryllan is a warren that manifested itself as both Thyr and Telann…
(44): Is L’oric entering the Telann warren in order to make his way to Kurald Thryllan to find answers about his father? It seems this is what is suggested.
(45): If L’oric is the child of an ascendant (like Lady Endy) it seems – does that make the child mortal or automatically an ascendant?
(46): What are the connections between the Elder Warrens to the more human warrens? Do they descend from one another? Do the warrens overlap? Meaning in certain places are two warrens the same warren? Or… is it simply easy to find portals from one warren to another if they are more closely related?
(47): Where has L’oric entered when he believes he entering Tellann? (It is suggested it is related to Raraku) He says it is a place of beginnings….How can L’oric enter the wrong warren? Did he make a mistake – or is it not under his control? Is the opening of a portal to a certain warren a choice a mage makes or is the specific warren determined by where they open the portal?
(48) Is L’oric looking into the past of Raraku? Is he in the same place where Kalam was, since he is seeing the Hounds of Darkness? Are the K’Chain Che’Malle he sees living rather then the undead ones we say in MoI?
(49): So, Moon’s Spawn is a former city of the K’Chain Che’Malle. Where are the K’Chain living now? In this mysterious place where Osric and L’oric are? Update: Not a warren but a memory.
(50): Who are the Nameless Ones? How do they fit into the overall picture?
(51): Why do the Seven Hounds of Darkness give their names to the Seven cities?
(52)_ L’oric thinks about Anomander Rake losing his temper with his father, Osric. Did these two have a falling out? (I think Lady Envy might mention something about this in MoI– not sure) How are Osric and Rake related? L’orc refers to them as kin..
(53): Who was the protecter of Kurald Thryllan? Why did the T’lan Imass slay him/her? Was this protector appointed by Osric?
(54): Is Greyfog one of the demons released from Kalam’s diamonds?
(55): Sha’ik thinks to herself that the Whirlwind Goddess draws power from an elder warren. Is this the shattered Kurald Emurhlan warren that the Whirlwind is supposedly a fragment of?
(56): How are First Heroes related to the First Empire? Are they affiliated with the First Empire? Bidithal suggests something of this sort…
(57): Has Heboric grown back hands and regained his eyesight? It refers to him having “taloned” hands but are they still ghost hands or now corporeal?
(58): Why did Karsa attack ‘Siballe the Unfound and not the others? Why is he carrying her remains?
Chapter 22:
(59): Why does Strings tell Bottle to channel Cotillon in the divination ritual? Who does Bottle see in the ritual? Is it Crokus (because of the knives)? Why does he refer to him as being better than Cotillon?
(60): Who is Grub? I remember Duiker picking up a random child and giving him to Keneb – but does the child have any other significance? - Why will the child not speak to Keneb?
(61): Why is Onrack noticing scars of Omtose Phellack within the Tellan warren? What happened between these two warrens?
(62): Aha..so the Tiste Edur do serve the The Crippled God ….
(63): Why is Lostara Yil serving in Cotillon’s plans? What mission is she on for him? How was Pearl interfering and why did she have to knock him out? I understand the mission they are on for Tavore – but what exactly was Cotillon’s plan for her?
Chapter 23:
(64): What task is Apsalar going to perform for Cotillon? Is she volunteering herself so that Cutter doesn’t have to?
(65): What happens to hot otataral when you throw magic at it? Kalam considers this but never divulges an answer.
(66): Are Trull, Onrack and the other Imass still in the Telann warren? They are in a jungle area, populated with beasts. Trull asks if the Imass are native to this area – and this is when Onrack brings up the Eres. Update: It suggests they are in fact in Tellann.
(67): Who do the renegade Imass intend to sit atop the First Throne if it must be a mortal who sits atop it?
(68): What happens when everything goes dark and Eres woman suddenly takes Trull’s virginity? What is the purpose of this? Are the Eres extinct or still living in Tellann? The Imass were talking about them as if they were a long dead race.
(69): Who is the inner warden of the First Throne who commands Panek? I thought Panek and the Aptorian worked for Shadowthrone?
Chapter 24:
(70): Who is the viper in Sha’ik’s midst that Tavore is referring to? It seems that there were many traitors in the Apocalypse – is this traitor they were speaking of working for the Malazans? They mention Kamist Reloe – could they be referring to him and Korbolo?
(71): What does the Eres have to do with Kimloc, and the Bridgeburner’s song? Is this the same Eres that came after Trull?
(72): Why does Heboric wish to lead Scillara to Felisin the younger?
(73): Who are the chained souls that rise up with the Malazans, much to the shock of Sha’ik? Update: It must be the chained souls that Karsa brings, that they are referring to or…. Are these the spirits of Raraku?
(74): Who comes to Heboric’s aid after he is ambushed by assassins? Update: Scillara refers to them as ghosts to Felisin the younger.
(75): Why does the Whirlwind Goddess seek to unleash chaos and destruction on Raraku? If the Goddess was indeed a former T’lan Imass, could it be a past vendetta? Update: Yes, this is revealed later.
Chapter 25:
(76): Is Kalam killing the Talons in the camp under orders from Cotillon/Shadowthrone?
(77): So Bidithal is with the House of Chains…..
(78): Why does Korbolo Dom call himself master of the Talon? Does he truly rule the Talon or are they imposters?
(79): What exactly are the wraiths that follow Bidithal and attack Kalam? They are described as lost spirits of Kurald Emurhlan…
(80): Why is Kalam going after Kamist Reloe? Is this under orders from Shadowthrone? Aren’t Korbolo Dom and Kamist Reloe working for the Malazans? Aren’t Shadowthrone and Kalam sympathetic to the Malazan cause?
(81): Did Quick Ben come out of the Acorn? This was what Lostara Yil gave to Cotillon – where this this come from?
(82): Ahh Tayschrenn sent Quick Ben – to assassinate Korbolo Dom and Kamist Reloe?
(83): Why does it say that Gamet is blind, but then he mounts his horse and sees the Warlock children in the distance. Did it merely mean blind in a figurative sense? Update: Probably something to do with finding out that he is a ghost.
(84): Who sent the Hounds of Darkness into the Whirlwind? Why did they go there? Were they trying to stop Karsa?
(85): What is the constant need to protect Felisin the younger? Is it just out of the goodness of L’oric and Heboric’s heart? Or does she have some greater significance? Is it because she is Sha’ik’s successor?
(86): Is that Kalam that smacked Pearl in the head at the end of the chapter? Evidence suggests it as – since payback for Malaz City is mentioned as well as the fact that the mysterious stranger is walking with a mage – but who is this Henaras they mention?
Chapter 26 –
(87): Ahhh – is the Whirlwind Goddess the cuckolded wife/woman that Onrack was unfaithful to?
(88): Who is the Whirlwind Goddess referring to as the children? Does she mean the humans? Was the woman who Onrack depicted in art form (Kilava?) the common ancestor to all humans? It seems the Goddess is referring to her as something like this….
(89): How are the other T’lan Imass outcasts related to this situation? The Faces in the Rock/The Teblor Gods I mean….
(90): Why did Lostara and Pearl not tell Tavore that she was the one who had slain her sister? Was the truth too tragic and they wished to save her the grief? Or did it just not matter at that point. They are denying her the tragic recognition that makes a tragedy a tragedy!
(91): Ahh so the Tiste Liosan were attacking Gesler and company because they were tresspassers in their realm back in DG – but they decide to forfeit this cause because Gesler and co. were dragged against their will by a T’lan Imass Bonecaster. Who is this T’lan Imass Bonecaster? Were Gesler and co. who the Tiste Liosan have been chasing the whole book? Also, I thought that in DG, Gesler and co. had entered the Kurald Emurlhan warren – not the Tiste Liosan warren… hmmm…could be mistaken here.
(92): What is going on with the rising sea in the end?
(93): Why does Iskaral Pust come to meet Heboric, Felisin, Scillara and Greyfrog? Do Shadowthrone/Cotllion have plans for them? Update: Ahh they are coming to collect Cutter – for some purpose.
(94): Where did Apsalar go?
(95): Why does Teblor free the soul of ‘Siballe? To show mercy? Will Karsa continue to be a reluctant knight of the House of Chains? Is he fatalistically destined to do the Crippled God’s bidding anyways – whether he denies him or not? Why would the Crippled God desire such a petulant and stubborn subject?