Marshal Teal was a Letherii aristocrat and commander of an army of fortune hunters on Assail. His title was likely self bestowed as that rank did not exist in the Letherii military.[1] He was aloof and keenly aware of class differences.
A typical Letherii, Teal made sure to draw up contracts and agreements clearly defining anything resembling a business relationship between himself and others.[2] He believed in strict discipline and kept a strong leash on his soldiers, setting limits on how much food they could steal from the farms they passed. Fisher kel Tath, the bard, thought him "more than familiar with the art of taxing to the very bone--but not beyond."[3]
Teal was a "tall, pole-slim and sour-faced man" and his eyes were half hidden in "nests of wrinkles".[4][5]
In Assail[]
Marshal Teal arrived in Assail with a small army of forty ex-soldiers to pursue his fortune in the gold fields of the Salt Mountains. He soon joined forces with Malle of Gris and Enguf the Broad as they made their way up the Bone Peninsula.[6] On the Wight Road they were faced by Yrkki the bonewright, who demanded a toll of the deaths of one man in three to cross his bridge. Teal was ready to make the deal before Jethiss offered himself in their place. Teal momentarily ignored his Letherii calculating, and saluted him for his sacrifice.[7]
Arriving at Mantle, Teal reported to fellow Letherii, Luthal Canar, and took command of the army of outlanders besieging the town. Once the native King Ronal and his men were bottled up in the town's keep, Teal coordinated the invasion of the Iceblood holdings on the slopes of the Salt Mountains.[8] In the name of King Luthal of Goldland, he drove the Lost brothers out of their Greathall and burned it to the ground.[9]
Teal continued to pursue the Losts and their hearthguards. He was especially interested in seizing Kyle's Whiteblade for its lucrative trade value. Teal perished when the Jaghut icewall exploded from the Salt Mountains and destroyed his camp. Seeing his doom coming, Teal chose to meet it with dignity rather than spend his final moments running in terror.[10]