The Assassins' Guild was located in Darujhistan. Established almost at the same time as the city itself, the Guild had frequently been paid by the nobility in Darujhistan to eliminate rivals and perceived threats.[1] The Guild was tolerated by the ruling T'orrud Cabal because it provided some control over the noble class and their predilection for bloody vendettas and arguments.[2]
Structure[]
Guild master/mistress[]
The Guild was run by a master or mistress of the Guild who was also known as 'Master of Assassins'[3]
- Vorcan Radok - mistress of the Guild at the time of Gardens of the Moon[4]
- Seba Krafar - took over after Vorcan's disappearance as master of the Guild[5]
Clans[]
The Guild was made up of rival clans of assassins, all vying for control. These were fronted by individual clan leaders.[6] The base of a clan was called the 'nest'.[4]
Known Clans and their leaders[]
- Jurrig Denatte's Clan
- Jurrig Denatte, clan leader (made no personal appearance in the books)
- Talo Krafar[1]
- Ocelot's Clan[3]
- Ocelot, clan leader
- Rallick Nom
Roamers[]
Every night a number of assassins known as Roamers would be detailed with patrolling the city's rooftops. Talo Krafar was performing this role on the night he was killed.[1]
Contracts[]
The Guild's services were highly regulated by its Master/Mistress and clan leaders. Each assassination contract required sanctioning by the Guild. Any member accepting a contract without the Guild's approval or anyone interfering with a sanctioned contract faced lethal punishment.[8]
Weapons[]
The crossbows used by the Guild's members were of a heavier caliber than those commonly used by thieves.[9]
By the time of events in Gardens of the Moon, the Guild rarely used poison as Vorcan had, in Turban Orr's words, 'got them so studded with magic everything else is obsolete'.[10]
Affiliated to the Guild[]
- Krute of Talient was an agent for the Guild. His shop provided the respectable front for a secret Guild bolt hole and passage to Hinter's Tower.[3]
In Gardens of the Moon[]
The Guild came under attack from an unknown enemy. In one night they lost five Roamers in less than an hour, including a clan leader. It was assumed by the Guild that the enemy was most likely an Empire Claw. In response, Vorcan recalled the clans and Ocelot asked Rallick Nom to act as bait to flush out the enemy.[11] The true enemy was ultimately revealed to be Anomander Rake and his Tiste Andii. Rake sought to eliminate the Guild before their services could be purchased by the Malazan Empire to eliminate the city's ruling class.[12]
In Memories of Ice[]
For two weeks, the Gadrobi District was plagued by a series of murders. Horribly mangled bodies were found every night. A mage was hired to investigate, but whatever he found terrified him. The Noble Council even went so far as to hire the Assassins' Guild to look into the matter, but no culprit was ever found. Instead, the killings stopped on their own. The presence of notorious necromancers Bauchelain and Korbal Broach in the city at that time may have been merely coincidental.[13]
In Toll the Hounds[]
With Vorcan gone and presumed dead, there was a struggle for control of the Guild which was eventually won by Seba Krafar.[14][15] At the same time, a cult sprang up around Rallick Nom as he was also presumed dead. The cult emphasised a philosophy of assassination that avoided the use of magic.[15] Seba set about trying to stamp out the cult and in so doing killed five of its leaders and drove the cult underground.[14][15] The infighting decimated the Guild, alienating many Guild members who left the city mostly for Elingarth, but also Black Coral and Pale (where they were thought to have joined the Malazan Claws).[15]
Humble Measure offered the Guild the biggest contract Seba Krafar had ever seen to eliminate the retired Bridgeburners running K'rul's Bar. However, the contract proved to be a disaster, killing scores of assassins with minimal success against their targets. Fifteen of the dead were Krafar's latest promotions, requiring him to raise up a dozen snipes months ahead of their time. Confidence was at a low.[16] Despite being on the outs with the Guild because of his support of the cult, Krute of Talient feared Seba Krafar was single-handedly destroying the Guild.[17]
Humble Measure paused the contract on the Bridgeburners to open a second contract on Lady Varada, the mysterious new member of the Darujhistan Noble Council.[18][19] Seba Krafar was waylaid by Fisher kel Tath and forced to cancel the contract on the Bridgeburners.[20]
On the last night of the Gedderone Fête, Seba Krafar led an overwhelming force of thirty-one assassins against Lady Varada's estate. He considered the number overkill but did not want to repeat the mistake of K'rul's Bar.[21] But Lady Varada, now revealed as Vorcan Radok, had anticipated the attack. In fact, she had baited the Guild to draw them out and eliminate them once and for all. Seba Krafar was likely the only survivor against a defence that included Rallick Nom, Torvald Nom, Scorch, Leff, Studlock, Lazan Door, Madrun, and Vorcan Radok herself. Although the Guild had effectively been destroyed at his hands, Krafar was eager to start over from square one.[22]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 5, UK MMPB p.182
- ↑ Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 13, US HC p.307
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Gardens of the Moon, Dramatis Personae, UK MMPB p.xiv/xv
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 5, UK MMPB p.183
- ↑ Toll the Hounds, Chapter 1, US TPB p.30
- ↑ Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 6, UK MMPB p.207
- ↑ Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 7
- ↑ Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 24, US HC p.446/451
- ↑ Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 5, UK MMPB p.182
- ↑ Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 7, UK MMPB p.227
- ↑ Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 6, UK MMPB p.207/208
- ↑ Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 13, US HC p.307-308
- ↑ Memories of Ice, Chapter 4, US SFBC p.122
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Toll the Hounds, Chapter 1, US SFBC p.35
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 Toll the Hounds, Chapter 5, US SFBC p.162-163
- ↑ Toll the Hounds, Chapter 17, US SFBC p.669-670
- ↑ Toll the Hounds, Chapter 13, US SFBC p.530-531
- ↑ Toll the Hounds, Chapter 17, US SFBC p.669-671
- ↑ Toll the Hounds, Chapter 21, US SFBC p.858
- ↑ Toll the Hounds, Chapter 17, US TPB p.552-554
- ↑ Toll the Hounds, Chapter 21, US SFBC p.840
- ↑ Toll the Hounds, Chapter 21, US SFBC p.854-858/874