Jaghut

History

The Jaghut were non-human and one of the four founding intelligent races of the Malazan planet. They were solitary, powerful beings who once dominated much of the world after the eradication of the K'Chain Che'Malle.

Anatomy

The Jaghut were taller and broader than humans, with tusked lower jaws. Their skin was grey-green and hair was generally grey. As confirmed in The Bonehunters, the Jaghut possessed two hearts, and possibly duplicates of other organs, in a manner similar to that of the Thelomen Toblakai. The Jaghut were extremely long-lived (essentially immortal in the sense that they would not die except through violence or accident), and capable of inter-breeding with humans and Thelomen Toblakai. Whether the offspring were viable was unknown. They were adapted to living in a cold climate, and generally preferred an Arctic environment.

Magic

The Jaghut primarily used the Warren of Omtose Phellack, an Elder racial Warren that allowed them control over vast areas and was generally tuned towards the magics of ice, cold, stasis and preservation. The Warren could also produce effects like 'stagnation', isolating whole continents from the rest of the world. In one case, this prevented the magic of the continent of Lether from evolving for over 300,000 years.

Culture

The Jaghut did not gather in locations or create communities. They saw "community" as leading to power over others (by the civic leaders), leading to dominance, hunger for power, slavery and a downward spiral into tyranny over all other living things. Instead, they preferred solitary towers as dwellings, usually living with only their closest family. Despite this tendency towards isolation, their parental instincts were very strong, which resulted in a scaling up of conflicts with the T'lan Imass - if a parent was attacked, their spouse and children would come to fight with them, and vice versa. This could result in considerable devastation due to the scales of sorceries involved.

The exception to the rules of isolation were the rare Jaghut known as Tyrants, for whom conquest and rule was an unslakable thirst. These individuals would use their powerful magical capabilities to enslave and dominate other races. In Toll the Hounds, it was hinted that Jaghut had once had great civilizations. The reasons for their fall and why the Jaghut lived in solitude were voluntary, after discovering the ills of civilization itself.

As a result of the Tyrant Raest's actions in this regard, the Imass underwent the ritual of Tellann and became undead, and were thenceforth known as the T'lan Imass. For the battle between the Imass and the Jaghut, there was never any quarter given - if any trace of the Jaghut was found by the Imass, a pogrom was raised in which several clans converged on the site until their army was wiped out or all of the Jaghut were slain.

Interactions with the Malazan Army

During the main events of the "Malazan Book of the Fallen", Jaghut were almost unknown except as legends. The rare individuals who had survived the pogroms of the T'lan Imass existed in solitude and hiding, using Warrens other than Omtose Phellack or restricting their activities to other realms where the T'lan Imass could not find them.

One of the first interactions with the Malazan Empire came with the awakening of a bound Tyrant by the Imperial Adjunct and the First Sword of the T'lan Imass, Onos T'oolan. The pair roused the Tyrant in an effort to produce mutually assured destruction between Raest and the lord of the Tiste Andii, Anomander Rake.

Another interaction took place in Memories of Ice where a psychologically abused Jaghut led the Pannion Domin against the free cities on Genabackis and was contested by Caladan Brood's Host and the outlawed 2nd Army of the Malazan Empire. This conflict devastated most of the 2nd Army. Ganoes Paran and Quick Ben of the Bridgeburners made contact when reuniting this Jaghut with his sister.

It was revealed in Toll the Hounds that the Lord of Death, Hood, was a Jaghut.

In Dust of Dreams and The Crippled God, an undead army of fourteen Jaghut , noted as the only army of Jaghut ever, travelled east to answer the call of Hood; in battle they were filled with laughter at the grim humor they found in war and death. They killed "over a hundred" Nah'ruk and were present at the Battle of the Spire where they fought alongside Onos T'oolan and the T'lann Imass as allies. Both undead races were rejuvinated by the blood of the war god Fener, allowing them a chance to rebuild their respective civilizations in peace once more in the aftermath of the war.

Descendants

• Jhag – half-blooded Jaghut living in the Jhag Odhan area of the Seven Cities continent.

Notes and References

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