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Dunsparrow was born on Quon Tali[1] and was Captain of the City Guard in Y'Ghatan at the time of the Whirlwind rebellion. She was described as a tall woman, who was "handsome in a hard, unyielding way."[2][3] She had solid features, sun-darkened skin, and light grey eyes.[4] Her age was put at about 25 years.[4]

Dunsparrow wore a chain vest under her plain Telaba.[5]

In Memories of Ice[]

Whiskeyjack showed the two Sister marines guarding the Mhybe a bitemark on his left forearm left by his sister when she was five and he was sixteen. He described her as a little banshee and pointed to the old injury as evidence of the first fight he ever lost. Later when his sister was twelve, she "set off to marry a king" and her family never heard from her again.[6] It was unclear whether this sister was Dunsparrow.

In The Bonehunters[]

A year before the events of the novel, Sradal Purthu, an acolyte of Poliel, had tried to kill Dunsparrow at Y'Ghatan. When he failed to kill "the Malazan bitch", he was forced to flee to G'danisban.[7]

Leoman and the remnants of the Army of the Apocalypse traveled to Y'Ghatan after their defeat at the Battle of Raraku. Dunsparrow was among Vedor's retinue when the city's Holy Falah'd rode out to greet the arriving rebel army. When Leoman slew Vedor and declared himself the city's new Falah'd, he ordered Dunsparrow to clear the way to the palace for him and his warriors and to use the barracks to secure any soldiers in the city garrison who would not accept their new ruler.[5]

Dunsparrow was named Leoman's Third and later became his lover. Corabb Bhilan Thenu'alas, Leoman's Second, feared her influence and considered killing her should she show the slightest hint of betrayal.[8] She drilled the city's garrison in methods to counter Malazan siege tactics as Adjunct Tavore Paran's 14th Army encircled the city.[9]

During the Malazan assault on Y'Ghatan, Dunsparrow went with Leoman to the Temple of the Queen of Dreams. As the city burned around them, L'oric opened a magic gate allowing them to flee to the goddess' realm while Leoman's army was left to die. Corabb was bitterly disappointed and refused to join them.[10] Cutter later witnessed Dunsparrow and Leoman's appearance before the goddess in a dream. The goddess informed Dunsparrow that she had been marked since birth by Hood and that her brother Whiskeyjack was dead.[11]

In Reaper's Gale[]

Corabb found a place among the Bonehunters and decided his squadmate, Smiles, reminded him of Dunsparrow. It was something about the knowing look in her eyes and the way she licked her lips whenever someone talked about killing.[12]

In Stonewielder[]

Leoman continued to serve the Queen of Dreams under the name Jheval. While on a mission for the goddess, he told Kiska he had left Seven Cities with a woman with whom he had much in common. He had thought he had finally found someone he could think of as a partner. But she was far more ambitious than him and greatly interested in the future. They parted ways over shouts and broken pots.[13]

History[]

It was revealed that Dunsparrow was the half-sister of Whiskeyjack[14] and that whilst Fiddler knew her since she was only a child, Quick Ben and Kalam had met her only once in Malaz City. Fiddler recounted that Dunsparrow had been born to a dead woman (Whiskeyjack's step-mother) and, as her father had already died outside Quon, the infant had been given up to Hood's temple by the town elders. He and Whiskeyjack (who had just been finishing his apprenticeship) then stole her back even though she had already been consecrated in Hood's name. Afterwards, Whiskeyjack and Fiddler often made light of Hood's blessing in order to take away its power over Dunsparrow.[15]

Dunsparrow only found out that she had been marked by Hood when the Queen of Dreams told her as an adult.[16]

Notes and references[]

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