See also: First Sword of the Empire (Malazan Imperial title), Onos T'oolan (First Sword of the Logros T'lan Imass)
The First Sword was the name of Dassem Ultor's retinue of bodyguards. They were each given names relating to parts of an actual sword.
Members of The Sword[1][]
- Edge, self-explanatory
- Ferrule, named for the groove that strengthens the blade along its center, and because he liked close in-fighting
- Hilt, named for the handle
- Point, named for the business end
- Quillion, named for the part of the crossguard of a sword
- Temper, named for a heat treatment technique for swords which hardened the metal
In The Bonehunters[]
Dassem and his First Sword were casualties of the Siege of Y'Ghatan.[2] Officially, they were said to be buried together in the massive Malazan barrows built a half league south of Y'Ghatan, but most soldiers believed otherwise. They believed Dassem's guard was actually buried in unmarked graves upon the field to prevent desecration and Dassem was buried in an unmarked grave near Unta.[3]
In Reaper's Gale[]
Adjunct Tavore Paran listed the sites of the First Sword's major engagements as the Plains of Unta, the Grissian Hills, Li Heng, and Y'Ghatan.[4]
In Night of Knives[]
Temper re-surfaced in Malaz City, serving as a part of the garrison.[5] Through his memories, he recalled the Siege of Y'Ghatan where Dassem led the First Sword towards where the Champion of Y'Ghatan, Surgen Ress, had commited himself. While Dassem faced Surgen, he was hit by a bolt that came from within their own ranks (possibly thrown by a Claw). This caused the Sword to fight a desperate retreating battle. In the furious hand to hand that followed, Quillon, Hilt, Edge and finally Point fell to either the pressing Seven Cities Infantry or Surgen Ress himself, who was pursuing with berserk fury. Temper interposed himself between Surgen and Dassem, stubbornly holding against all odds against a furious Surgen, until the Malazan regulars swept over the field, relieving the remnants of the Sword.[6]
That night, Temper regained consciousness in a tent. He and Ferrule fought two Claws, and made their way to Dassem's tent. There, they found a comatose Dassem. Surly met them, and left the tent leaving Jade, Possum and two other Claws to kill them all. However, Ferrule held the Claws back while Temper managed to wake Dassem, who killed the rest of the Claws.[7] Possum somehow managed to survive a seemingly mortal wound.[8]
The three traveled together, supporting each other until they escaped the Malazan camp and then traveled to Aren, where Temper and Ferrule parted ways with Dassem on Dassem's insistence.[9]
In Return of the Crimson Guard[]
Dassem, Temper, and Ferrule by Shadaan
Temper joined the Malazan army led by Laseen personally, that set off from Unta when Quon Tali came under attack by a separate Malazan faction that was led by the remnants of the Old Guard, who disagreed with Laseen's style of governance. Temper joined up on the Imperialist side. When the Crimson Guard took the field, Temper was called out by Ferrule, now a Seti warchief, and the two faced off against Skinner and five of his Avowed. The two were joined at the last moment by Dassem, and Temper and Ferrule defended Dassem's back as he fought Skinner. The three succeeded in beating back the Crimson Guardsmen, saving the regulars from widespread destruction, should Skinner have taken the field unopposed.[10]
Even though Ullen had witnessed this fight, Temper and Ferrule denied that someone else had joined the fight, keeping with the official version that the Sword was dead.[11]
In Forge of the High Mage[]
During the Malazan invasion of Falar, Tayschrenn noted two swordsmen and one swordswoman following Dassem Ultor as his unofficial bodyguard whenever the champion entered the ranks. The High Mage had heard them call themselves the 'Sword', a name he found confusing and unimaginative as Dassem was already the Sword of the Malazan Empire. Tayschrenn had a less than complimentary term for them of his own, though he did not reveal it.[12]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ Night of Knives, Chapter 4, UK HC p.153
- ↑ The Bonehunters, Chapter 5, US SFBC p.199
- ↑ The Bonehunters, Chapter 6, US SFBC p.234
- ↑ Reaper's Gale, Chapter 13
- ↑ Night of Knives, Chapter 1
- ↑ Night of Knives, Chapter 4
- ↑ Night of Knives, Chapter 4
- ↑ Night of Knives, Chapter 5
- ↑ Night of Knives, Chapter 4
- ↑ Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 3 Chapter 2
- ↑ Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 3 Chapter 2
- ↑ Forge of the High Mage, Chapter 10, UK HC p.152