[Meris]

Hey guys

I just started with HoC and I can't remember everything from DG as well as I should, especially since this is The Malazan Book of the Fallen and detail is very important. So I'm afraid I can't proceed with the series because I'm obsessing over a few things that are unclear to me regarding DG and I hope someone can recap/explain some of it to me. I read DG a long time ago before proceeding on to Memories of Ice so bear with me.

1) What happened to get Heboric/Felisin/Baudin off of the Otataral Desert?
This is all I remember, and very vaguely. They escaped the mining camps, had an episode or two, reached the sea and there they met Kulp + Gesler and co. Now, this is where things get incredibly unclear to me and imo this might be very important in the series so I want to get the detail right. They sailed and were chased by some mad sorcerer. Somehow the ship was destroyed upon entering a random warren (was it a random gate? do we know which warren this is? IIRC it's the warren of Tellann). Here they found a ship and clambered aboard, and Baudin suggests it's the Silanda, some Malazan ship authorized to trade with the Tiste Andii. Aboard they find the heads and animated bodies of Andii and an Edur dead in the captain's cabin, impaled by what looks like a Barghast spear. T'lan Imass appear and state they are looking for renegade kin. Then there is a random rift in the warren (I'm not sure if this is where they entered or where this fits in the story) and one of the Imass sacrifices his soul to seal it. The Imass depart. Then Kulp tries to get them out of the warren, and I have no idea how he does it, so if someone could recap this to me as well? I recall there being a dragon and fire, which "burned" everyone but Felisin. This is also what gave Gesler and co. their odd sheen? I don't remember why there was a dragon/fire though.

2) Where did Baudin depart?
After being separated from Gesler and co. Felisin/Heboric/Baudin/Kulp reach Seven Cities. Baudin gets told off by Felisin and leaves after the whole Talon confrontation. Felisin and them reach supposed ruins of the First Empire, Kulp dies. Baudin reappears after the group get in a hot spot with Gryllen (I think?) and accidentally burns himself saving them. I'm not sure what happened next. Did Felisin/Hebo leave him and used the distraction to get away? Or does Gryllen retreat and Baudin then supposedly dies? I recall imagery suggesting both, so I'm not sure.

3) What happened to characters at the end of the novel?
Mappo/Icarium exit the Azath close to Aren. Icarium recalls naught of the events that had transpired. Kalam split from Fiddler/Crokus/Apsalar (why did he do this again?), uses the Imperial Warren to travel to Aren, then goes by boat to Unta where he has a run in with the Claw, before ultimately reaching a corpse animated by Laseen. Laseen suggests to him that what she has been doing has been for the better, Kalam sees reason and exits.Where does he go from there? Where does Minala go? Apsalar/Crokus/Rellock set off to the village near Itko Kan, but I'm not sure why. And where does Fiddler go? And Iskaral Pust disappeared and at this stage in the series we don't know if he is dead or where he is?

4) Where does Fid get his new name from in HoC?
I feel like I missed something important because his new name makes no sense to me considering what I know happened in DG.

Please help me! I'd really appreciate it. Also, I've read up until the end of the first section of HoC, so if you want to explain things with added content/references from other parts of the series up tunil where I've read PM me PLEASE so as to keep this a spoiler-free thread for those who've only finished DG.

Thanks so much

This post has been edited by Meris: 24 January 2012 - 04:31 AM

[D'rek]

Meris, on 24 January 2012 - 04:28 AM, said:

1) What happened to get Heboric/Felisin/Baudin off of the Otataral Desert?
This is all I remember, and very vaguely. They escaped the mining camps, had an episode or two, reached the sea and there they met Kulp + Gesler and co. Now, this is where things get incredibly unclear to me and imo this might be very important in the series so I want to get the detail right. They sailed and were chased by some mad sorcerer. Somehow the ship was destroyed upon entering a random warren (was it a random gate? do we know which warren this is? IIRC it's the warren of Tellann). Here they found a ship and clambered aboard, and Baudin suggests it's the Silanda, some Malazan ship authorized to trade with the Tiste Andii. Aboard they find the heads and animated bodies of Andii and an Edur dead in the captain's cabin, impaled by what looks like a Barghast spear. T'lan Imass appear and state they are looking for renegade kin. Then there is a random rift in the warren (I'm not sure if this is where they entered or where this fits in the story) and one of the Imass sacrifices his soul to seal it. The Imass depart. Then Kulp tries to get them out of the warren, and I have no idea how he does it, so if someone could recap this to me as well? I recall there being a dragon and fire, which "burned" everyone but Felisin. This is also what gave Gesler and co. their odd sheen? I don't remember why there was a dragon/fire though.

You've got it pretty much right. I don't recall exactly but I think Kulp moved them from the sea near Otataral Island into the random warren to try and escape the mad sorceror chasing them (didn't work, he followed) or maybe the sorceror made a rift and pulled them in. One or the other. I don't think the rift the T'lan Imass had to seal was how they came in - it was in the sky and I imagine they'd have died in the fall if they'd come through it. The rift was caused by the mad sorceror, maybe while the T'lan Imass Bonecaster was battling and killing him.

After the T'lan Imass seals the rift and the others leave, they discover that the bone whistle of the Edur captain makes the headless oarsmen row the boat. While moving the boat in no particular direction hoping to get somewhere helpful, they end up in a big storm and then a huge undead dragon passes by. Kulp moves them out of the random warren into the Shadow warren but the water of the random warren rushing through into Shadow prevents him from closing the gate until the undead dragon (now flying ahead of the ship) adds power to Kulp and forces it closed. The shadows of the Shadow realm which had been throwing themselves at the gate to close it now swarm the undead dragon, who opens a warren of fire around itself to burn away the shadows attacking it. Since the dragon is ahead of the ship, the Silanda follows into the fire warren. Baudin shields Felisin, and Baudin, Kulp, Felisin and Heboric all jump/fall off the ship, landing in 7C. Gesler, Truth and Stormy stay on and eventually wind up at the Vathar river where they meet Coltaine. The fire warren is why Gesler, Truth, Stormy, Baudin and (to a lesser degree) Kulp get a bronze sheen.

Meris, on 24 January 2012 - 04:28 AM, said:

2) Where did Baudin depart?
After being separated from Gesler and co. Felisin/Heboric/Baudin/Kulp reach Seven Cities. Baudin gets told off by Felisin and leaves after the whole Talon confrontation. Felisin and them reach supposed ruins of the First Empire, Kulp dies. Baudin reappears after the group get in a hot spot with Gryllen (I think?) and accidentally burns himself saving them. I'm not sure what happened next. Did Felisin/Hebo leave him and used the distraction to get away? Or does Gryllen retreat and Baudin then supposedly dies? I recall imagery suggesting both, so I'm not sure.

Kulp, Felisin and Heboric chat with Gryllen who veers and eats Kulp. Baudin had been shadowing the group and rushes in, grabs oil lanterns and breaks them, burning himself and the area around him. This is enough to scare off Gryllen while Felisin and Heboric flee. Felisin comes back and finds Baudin still alive but badly charred and they have a little moment of hateful forgiveness before he dies.

Meris, on 24 January 2012 - 04:28 AM, said:

3) What happened to characters at the end of the novel?
Mappo/Icarium exit the Azath close to Aren. Icarium recalls naught of the events that had transpired. Kalam split from Fiddler/Crokus/Apsalar (why did he do this again?), uses the Imperial Warren to travel to Aren, then goes by boat to Unta where he has a run in with the Claw, before ultimately reaching a corpse animated by Laseen. Laseen suggests to him that what she has been doing has been for the better, Kalam sees reason and exits.Where does he go from there? Where does Minala go? Apsalar/Crokus/Rellock set off to the village near Itko Kan, but I'm not sure why. And where does Fiddler go? And Iskaral Pust disappeared and at this stage in the series we don't know if he is dead or where he is?

(Kalam had his own path to take and his own tasks to do, including delivering the Book of Dryjhna to Sha'ik. Plus Kalam was headed for Unta to assassinate Laseen while Fiddler, Crokus and Apsalar were headed for Itko Kan. They all got caught up in events around them, of course.)

After Kalam talks to Laseen, he and Minala exit Mock's Hold. They run into a lot of Claw at the stairs out of the Hold, but Fiddler shows up and cussers the Claw, with Apsalar, Crokus and Rellock in tow. Apt and Panek arrive on the scene (having killed the demon Pearl summoned in the harbour) and dispatch the last Claw, then the whole bunch of them all are transported into Shadow and meet Shadowthrone. Kalam and Minala opt to rest for a while, so Shadowthrone gives them the hundreds of kids rescued from torture by Apt/Shadowthrone along Kalam's route. Crokus, Apsalar and Rellock are transported to Itko Kan. Fiddler says he's going to join Tavore's army.

Iskaral Pust fell through the Azath tiles and re-appeared near his temple, where he met the Dal Honese D'ivers spider witch Mogora and spotted the undead dragon guarding the temple (in case any soletaken/d'ivers realized the real Path of Hands lead there).

Meris, on 24 January 2012 - 04:28 AM, said:

4) Where does Fid get his new name from in HoC?
I feel like I missed something important because his new name makes no sense to me considering what I know happened in DG.

Please help me! I'd really appreciate it. Also, I've read up until the end of the first section of HoC, so if you want to explain things with added content/references from other parts of the series up tunil where I've read PM me PLEASE so as to keep this a spoiler-free thread for those who've only finished DG.

Thanks so much

HoC spoiler:

Spoiler

No real reason, he just wanted a new name. He didn't want to be recognized as a Bridgeburner.

[Meris]

Thanks a lot D'rek, I had a lot of "Aha! Now I remember" moments when going through your post.