Throatslitter

Throatslitter was a member of Sergeant Balm's 9th Squad Medium infantry in the 8th Legion of the Malaz 14th Army. He was Hengese by race. He had pale eyes and scars on his neck.

He was often described as displaying a murderous look in his face and eyes. It was known that he enjoyed killing members of the Claw. He thought priests were "good for nothing at all."

He carried twin long-knives in his gloved hands.

In House of Chains

Throatslitter was part of Adjunct Tavore Paran's punitive expedition against the Army of the Apocalypse. On the road from Aren to Raraku, his squad had done their share of the fighting, and their names were well known amongst the other soldiers in the legion.

In The Bonehunters

After the Battle of Raraku, Leoman led the Army of the Apocalypse westward to Y'Ghatan and the 14th Army followed. Upon reaching the outskirts of the city, Throatslitter, Corporal Deadsmell, and Widdershins settled in for a game of Troughs. Sergeant Balm, pessimistic of their chances, went off to create his death-mask.

Adjunct Tavore launched the Last Siege of Y'Ghatan by sending the army's sappers to breach the city's wall under the cover of night. First into the city were the Malazan marines, followed quickly by the heavy and medium infantry. Once inside the city, the Malazans immediately came under attack from swordsmen on the ground and archers in the buildings above them.

Balm's squad pushed forward well beyond the other Malazan troops and took cover in a building filled with bolts of silk. Throatslitter led Deadsmell and Widdershins to investigate a noise he heard upstairs while Galt and Lobe watched the street from the windows. The three soldiers discovered the walls of the entire building had been filled with olive oil. Realising what Leoman meant to do, Balm's squad attempted to report their findings to Fist Keneb. But it was too late. When enough Malazans were engaged in street fighting inside the city, Leoman sprung his trap. The city's olive oil-soaked buildings were set alight and the streets quickly became an inferno.

Fleeing from the flames, they soon joined a mixed group of survivors from Hellian's, Fiddler's, Cord's, and Gesler's squads, who made their way to the Temple of the Queen of Dreams. Balm ordered Throatslitter to kill Corabb Bhilan Thenu'alas, who had also taken shelter there, but was stopped by Galt's intercession. Throatslitter was among the small group of soldiers who survived Y'Ghatan by tunneling their way out from under the city. They spent three days crawling on their hands and knees through the dark led by Bottle and his rat.

After the survivors rejoined the 14th Army on the coast of the Kokakal Sea, Gesler and Stormy were given back command of the Silanda. They requested that Balm and Fiddler's squads serve as their crew for the return voyage to Quon Tali. Throatslitter was later among the soldiers on the Silanda who taunted the passing Jakatakan Fleet by waving and holding up one of the ship's animated Tiste Andii heads.

The Adunct's fleet travelled to Malaz City where Empress Laseen awaited Tavore in Mock's Hold. The Silanda joined Tavore's flagship, the Froth Wolf, to moor at the city pier while the rest of the fleet remained anchored in the harbour. The entire city seethed with magically induced anger against the 14th Army and the soldiers of the Silanda prepared to defend their ship from the mob after the Adjunct was escorted away. During the attack, Throatslitter suspected Claws were among the crowd inciting the violence. He attempted to slip into the mob to find and kill them, but Balm caught sight of him, called him an idiot, and ordered him back.

In Reaper's Gale

Adjunct Tavore clashed with Empress Laseen at Malaz City and took the Bonehunters rogue, following the Tiste Edur fleet that had ravaged Sepik back to Lether to invade the Letherii Empire. Balm and Cord's squads took the Silanda to the island of Second Maiden Fort off the coast of Lether to establish a headquarters and resupply base for the Adjunct. They found the island on the verge of being destroyed under a mountain of ice released by the collapse of Gothos' ancient Omtose Phellack ritual, but Sinn was able to hold the ice back with her magic until its force was spent. The island's self-declared ruler, Brullyg, gratefully welcomed the Malazans as royal guests until they placed him under house arrest and secretly took control of the island.

Balm's squad kept Brullyg under guard and monitored the island from its only town, as Cord's squad patrolled the island's coast and interior while awaiting Tavore's arrival. Throatslitter, Balm, and Deadsmell spent their days in Harridict Tavern observing the clientele. The three were free to speak their foreign Malazan tongue and argued frequently. A throatful of oily flames at Y'Ghatan had damaged Throatslitter's voice-reed, giving him a trilling, uncanny laugh that disturbed his comrades and anyone else who heard it. Throatslitter self-consciously tried to stifle the high-pitched cackle, but Deadsmell was known to purposely provoke him into fits of laughter. When Balm mooned over fellow bar patron, Shurq Elalle, Throatslitter found Deadsmell's mockery so amusing and Balm's protests so absurd that he had to bite hard on his tongue to stifle himself. Eventually, it proved too much and his eruption of laughter caused the entire room to go quiet.

Meanwhile Tavore sent Fist Keneb's marines to the mainland, spreading them in isolated pairs of squads across thirty leagues of coast and burning their transport vessels behind them. The marines moved forward into the Letherii countryside towards Letheras, the capital, with orders to kill Edur by night and stir the occupied Letherii into rebellion. Each squad had a mage responsible for hiding their presence and confusing their enemies.

When Adjunct Tavore arrived with the rest of the Malazan fleet, Throatslitter attended the meetings of her gathered officers. In his opinion it was time to promote someone to replace the spiritually exhausted Fist Blistig. He also felt contempt for Withal, whom the Bonehunters had sacrificed so much to retrieve without appreciation or recognition. The Adjunct hired Shurq Elalle to guide them to the mouth of the Lether River leading to Letheras. During the negotiations, the pirate came to the conclusion that Throatslitter "was not a nice man" and resembled other people she knew who took too much pleasure in their work. Balm and Cord's squads made the journey to Letheras on the Silanda.

The Adjunct's fleet made landfall near Letheras in time to see a massive release of enemy sorcery near Fist Keneb's reported position. Believing the marines had been wiped out, Tavore's forces defeated the city's Imperial Brigade. Balm's squad, along with Masan Gilani, secured horses to chase down fleeing Letherii soldiers before continuing further inland towards the city. When they arrived at the field where Beak had saved Keneb's marines, they were mystified to find no bodies. Throatslitter recognised Beak's barrow for what it was, but wondered if all the marines might have been turned to dust and laid beneath it. Approaching the city's western gate, they found it in control of Keneb's troops. By this time, "the Confusion" had come upon Balm and he was incapable of communicating with anyone. Keneb ordered Throatslitter and Deadsmell to bring Balm to safety behind the barricade while Deadsmell assured the Fist their sergeant would soon snap out of it. Masan Gilani raced back to fetch reinforcements from Tavore. Soon the City Garrison surrendered and the city fell.

In Dust of Dreams

He had been trained as an assassin and was an active member of the Talon inside the army, and generally approached life as such, choosing to gather as much information as possible between squads. It was also known for him to be in active contact (though still keeping his anonymity) with another Talon member inside the army.

In The Crippled God

Throatslitter had taken a shot to his chest during the battle with the K'Chain Nah'ruk but survived due to his chain mail. The impact dented his sternum however and impacted on his voice, which had turned into a cracking rasp.

History

Throatslitter was the eldest son of a potter in Li Heng, who had witnessed Emperor Kellanved's T'lan Imass depose The Protectress and conquer Li Heng. The potter regaled his family with stories of that day and produced a private firing of decorative pots commemorating "The Coming of the Logros" without commercial success. Throatslitter had no interest in joining the family business, and by fourteen years of age had joined the Talon to become an assassin. His father had not approved and struck his name from the family line. When Surly had sent her Claws to eliminate the Talon, Throatslitter had evaded their knives while his masters had not.

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