Pearl

Pearl
Interpretation of Pearl by Corporal Nobbs
Biographical information
Pseudonyms	Salk Elan
Race	Human and Tiste Andii
Gender	Male
Social information
Affiliation	Claw
Occupation(s)	Claw agent
Rank	Clawmaster
Warren(s)	Mockra

For the demon see Pearl (demon)

Pearl was a Mockra mage and an agent of the Claw. Almost effeminate in appearance, Pearl was tall and handsome with dark skin and a lean face "too sharp-featured to be called friendly". He was fond of dressing in green silks and bedecked his long fingers with glittering rings. He was one-quarter Tiste Andii and three-quarters Human. Under his half-cloak he wore a belt across his chest containing throwing stars. Below his left arm was a brace of throwing knives.

For a time he was Topper's favoured lieutenant. Pearl admired the ex-Claw Kalam Mekhar as the finest killer they ever had.

In Deadhouse Gates

At the time of the Whirlwind uprising, Pearl was in Seven Cities for unrevealed reasons. While there he stumbled upon a suspicious opening in the Imperial Warren and discovered Lostara Yil of the Red Blades following Kalam. Pearl teamed up with Lostara to trail the assassin.

Their progress was interrupted when Empress Laseen sent him to assist Fist Coltaine against the Semk godling with Pearl mentioning he was the "last surviving operative". The pair were nearly killed in the attempt until the intervention of the demon Apt.

Arriving in Aren, Pearl arranged to travel with Kalam to Unta aboard the Ragstopper under the pseudonym "Salk Elan". Though Kalam had figured out that Elan was not who he pretended to be, he was unable to decipher his motives. On the trip, Pearl ensorcelled both the ship and its Captain with his mind magic, eventually redirecting them from their original destination to Malaz City.

Once in the harbour, Pearl ensorcelled Kalam, preventing him from moving, stabbed him, though not fatally, and threw him into the shark-infested water. As he threw the assassin overboard, he told him that while he expected the man to actually make it to shore, there were several Hands of the Claw waiting for him in the city. At that point, Apt and Panek materialised onboard the ship and attacked Pearl. He was forced to unleash a Kenryll'ah demon and flee, releasing the captain and his vessel from the spell that had held them.

Kalam succeeded in killing his way to the Empress at Mock's Hold. Afterwards an angry Topper promised to channel his frustration on Pearl.

In House of Chains

Spoiler warning: The following section contains significant plot details about Pearl.

Lostara Yil and Pearl by dejan delic

Pearl and the Red Blade Lostara were sent by Adjunct Tavore to search for Felisin Paran. During this journey, they became lovers. They also re-traced Lostara's assassination of Sha'ik Elder and figured out that Felisin had in fact become Sha'ik to take revenge against her sister and the Malazan Empire for sending her to the Otataral mines.

In The Bonehunters

Pearl was convinced that Lostara Yil had died in the fires at Y'Ghatan, alternately blaming Tavore and himself for her death. He was intent on killing Kalam Mekhar.

In Malaz City, Pearl had become Clawmaster after Topper's disappearance. During a conversation with the Empress Laseen and Mallick Rel, he realized that the position had since been offered to Kalam, who declined it by siding with the Adjunct and facilitating her escape during the events in Malaz. Pearl was left wondering where he stood.

When Kalam cut his way across a town full of Claw assassins in tour de force, Pearl, who had always been jealous of Kalam's skill, was left deeply shaken. He shot Kalam with a quarrel dipped in a poison so vile that its use disgusted his fellow Claw so much, he threw down his weapons and announced he was going to quit. As the man turned away, Pearl shot him thereby eliminating the last witness. Kalam pulled out the quarrel just before falling through a hole in the roof, but the poison had already seeped into his system.

Apsalar, whose last target on the list given by Cotillion had been Pearl, came on the scene, took the quarrel, and went after Pearl. She attacked him with her knives, slicing away both of his Achilles' tendons and hamstrings rendering him immobile. Pearl who was trying to flee via warren, was unable to do so due to the Otataral knives that he had picked up from Kalam. She brutally injured him by slicing off his tongue, breaking his face, left arm and hip and finally stuck him with the poisoned quarrel, leaving him to a prolonged, agonizing death, all in revenge for Kalam's death. His final sentient thoughts were of Lostara. Later, Grub led Lostara to Pearl and urged her to put an end to his suffering, which she did.

Significant plot details end here.

Quotes

"I am sorry, Kalam Mekhar. But you… I cannot accept… your existence. I cannot…"

―Pearl after shooting Kalam with a poisoned quarrel

Notes and references

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