Azath House

"I am the House
imprisoning in my birth
demonic hearts,
so locked in each chamber
some trembling enraged
antiquity.
And these roots of stone
spread the deepest cracks
in parched ground
holding for ever the dream
of fruit, ah, pilgrims
come to my door
and starve ..."

―Azath (ii.iii)
Adaephon (b.?)

Azath Houses grew where untamed magic ran wild. They were said to arise where unchained power threatened life. They were the ultimate prisons in which Ascendants or other beings of great power were kept alive indefinitely. They required a Guardian or Keeper to be there to greet guests and, in dire cases, protect them.

Azath houses were all similar in design, their fronts featuring squat, asymmetrical two-story towers framing a shadowed entranceway. People could travel between warrens in Azath Houses, but very few could open the door and enter an Azath. Silverfox said, "... each Azath is home to every gate, a way into every warren." According to Mappo, "It's said the Azath bridge the realms—every realm. It's said that even time itself ceases within their walls."

There were a few instances where Azath houses had died. One was torn apart by Icarium Lifestealer which destroyed his capacity to retain memories. Another house was destroyed in The Elder Age by Osserc and others, as part of an experiment. Another died in the Fall of the Crippled God.

Azath houses were anathema to the Denul warren. The healer mage Mallet refused to approach one saying that it sensed him with hunger.

Interior

The front door of the house opened into a dimly lit hallway that reached a T-intersection after five paces. Directly ahead was a set of double doors leading to the house's main room. To the right and left were hallways leading to several doors. One door in each hallway opened onto the first floor of each tower. Within the towers were spiral stairs leading upwards. The left hallway also contained an alcove which displayed a massive ten foot tall suit of resplendent scale armour framed by two double-bladed axes. The armour either contained or was possessed a sentient creature as it was capable of speaking through its closed great helm.

The house's main room contained a stone fireplace that blazed without the presence of any visible fuel. The fire's edges revealed it as a small portal that opened into a warren of ceaseless fire.

Traveling between Houses

Visitors to an Azath house were able to access the Azath warren by climbing the stairs in one of the house's towers. Disappearing in a flash of light, they would then appear on an endless flat plain where the sky was pitch black. The only light came from the rhythmically pulsating glow of the hand-width mosaic tiles that decorated the floor. Observation of the tiles revealed that they displayed maps of the Malazan world and presumably every other world where Azath houses existed. When it was time to arrive at the destination house a gaping black hole opened in the floor revealing that only an inch of tile stood between the traveler and oblivion. Passing through the hole brought one into a room in the new house identical to the one they departed from.

In Gardens of the Moon

An Azath House arose from the spot where the Finnest of the Jaghut Tyrant, Raest, was planted in the gardens of Coll's estate in Darujhistan. The Finnest attempted to assault the young Azath but it was defended by Onos T'oolan and Ganoes Paran. The Finnest and Raest were later both imprisoned in the House.

In Deadhouse Gates

Fiddler, Apsalar, and Crokus traveled to the legendary Azath House, Tremorlor, in the heart of the Holy Desert Raraku. Tremorlor was under assault by Soletaken and D'ivers in search of the Path of Hands.

It was revealed that all Azath Houses contained a gate that led to all the other Houses. The three used this gate to reach the Deadhouse in Malaz City.

In Memories of Ice

Raest became the Guardian of the Finnest House. He revealed that the Azath had chosen Ganoes Paran as the 'Master of the Deck'.

In House of Chains

The Jaghut, Cynnigig, took Karsa Orlong to the tree/Jaghut that was Phyrlis. She had been killed by the T'lan Imass when she was just a baby, and they had spitted her on a stick in the grounds of a dying Azath, the very same that Icarium had tried to destroy in his efforts to free his father. Miraculously, the Azath House took what it could of Phyrlis' lifespirit and was reborn and in turn the wood's lifespirit kept the child alive. Phyrlis had disguised well, the foundations which had survived, the walls of the House and the cornerstones under a cloak of soil.

In Midnight Tides

The Azath Tower in Letheras died of old age. It made a bargain with Silchas Ruin, guaranteeing his freedom if he killed the more dangerous residents bound in the yard. Kettle, the Tower's undead guardian, was secretly implanted with the Azath's seed which returned her to life.

In Reaper's Gale

Silchas Ruin was tasked with delivering the Azath's seed to the Refugium. Using Scabandari's Finnest, he awakened the Kettle House in the Refugium, anchoring the realm and sealing the gate to Starvald Demelain.

In Toll the Hounds

Nimander encountered Gothos in a dormant Azath Tower on the road to Bastion. After drinking a tea he vanished within the "blood of dragons", where he encountered a giant creature called Elder who claimed to build houses for Gothos. He stated Gothos appeared when the last stone was about to be laid and stepped inside as the house vanished. He theorised that Gothos was the source of the Azath Houses.

In Dust of Dreams

Icarium awakened an Azath House in the north of Kolanse using the Errant's eye beneath Kalse Uprooted at the tail-end of the battle between the Nah'ruk and the Che'Malle, sealing the gate to the Imperial Warren through which the Nah'ruk Skykeeps were attacking.

In The Crippled God

Kettle House was destroyed when the Eleint breached the gate to Starvald Demelain, though it was hinted that the deathblow was struck by Kilava Onass.

In Night of Knives

Various forces converged on the Deadhouse in Malaz City on the night of the Shadow Moon. Jhenna, the Jaghut Guardian of the Deadhouse attempted to break out but was stalled by Temper and was captured. Kellanved and Dancer succeeded in gaining entry where others failed and ascended to High House Shadow.

In Return of the Crimson Guard

In the Elder Age, the Child of Earth Denuth found an injured Liossercal at the site of a violent explosion. Denuth was soon horrified to realize that Liossercal had obtained his wounds in the act of destroying an Azath House. Liossercal argued that "Draconus is a fool. His conclusions flawed. Rigidity is not the answer." Instead, Liossercal claimed his own actions at the Azath House were for "exploring alternatives."

In Stonewielder

A desparate Kiska prepared to enter the grounds of the Deadhouse to offer her services to the Guardian in return for assistance in finding Tayschrenn. She was dissuaded by the timely arrival of Agayla.

Known Azath Houses

• Azath Tower, Letheras cemetery, Guardian: Kettle.
• Deadhouse, Malaz City, Guardians: Jhenna, later Gothos, Jaghut
• Finnest House, Darujhistan, Guardian: Raest, Jaghut Tyrant.
• Kettle House, Refugium (contained the gates to 12 warrens, including Kurald Galain and Starvald Demelain), now destroyed.
• Odanhouse, Jhag Odhan, Destroyed by Icarium.
• Tremorlor, Holy Desert Raraku, Guardian: Moby, soletaken bokharala, previously an unknown Forkrul Assail.
• House under the sea, Mael's realm. Guardian: Sechul Lath
• Unnamed Azath House, clutching Kalse Uprooted, on the site of the battle between the Nah'ruk and the Che'Malle.

Quotes

"They are waning. We should let them go in peace."

―Tayschrenn, explaining why Azath houses were not a matter for human investigation

Notes and References

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