Ahl

Ahl was a city mage in Li Heng along with his brothers Lar and Thal.^[1]

He was "a chubby ugly fellow with a slack mouth and one drooping eye" who wore torn dirty robes and slurred his words. He showed astonishing strength.^[2]

All three brothers looked like versions of each other and acted strangely in sync. They often finished each others' sentences and appeared to move in concert.^[3]

In Return of the Crimson Guard

Ahl and his brothers first appeared as unnamed old acquaintances of Silk who had fought for the The Protectress before the city fell to the Malazans at the hands of the T'lan Imass. When the Talian League targeted Li Heng for subjugation during the Malazan civil war, Silk was searching for allies and found the brothers fishing by the river Idryn outside the walls of the city. He was able to recruit them to the side of the city's defenders even though the four of them had apparently had a falling out a century earlier over the matter of the Malazan conquest.^[4][5]

The League attempted to take the walls of Li Heng with the aid of traitors within the city's Urban Levy. Captain Hurl was treacherously stabbed from behind by Jeck, one of her own soldiers. Hurl's life was saved by a mage who cut down the assassin, then carried her down from the wall and took her to Fallow, a squad healer. When Hurl asked the man for his name, he answered "… Ahl …".^[6]

When Shaky set alight a large amount of oil Ahl commented to Hurl in distaste that "You saboteurs … you fight dirty," and her thoughts were "Likewise I'm sure, friend".^[7]

Hurl asked Storo Matash if he trusted Ahl, but the captain only answered that she'd have to ask Silk on that matter.^[8]

When Ahl and his brothers joined the others for a council, there was a great deal of reaction to their appearance. Hurl thought that although all three were dressed differently, they seemed to be three versions of the same man but then noticed subtle differences. The one she knew as Ahl had a droopy left side to his face whilst the face of one of the other two drooped on the right. The third had neither affliction. All three also displayed differing hairstyles and a variety of scars. City mage Liss visibly shrank back from the brothers and called them a creature and an abomination. The brothers in turn greeted her like someone they had known before.^[9]

Desperately outnumbered, on Storo's instigation, Li Heng's defenders resorted to releasing the man-jackal Ryllandaras upon their enemies. The three brothers were instrumental in breaking through the prison's wards left behind by Kellanved, Dancer, and Tayschrenn but appeared sour, almost uncomfortable when Rell at the behest of Silk removed the last ward, grinning insanely once the deed was done.^[10]

The besieged were able to hold out a lot longer than anticipated due to the help of the three brothers whom Storo described as 'a right horror'.^[11]

When the Empress Laseen arrived with the Malazan army to fight the League, the brothers joined Hurl, Liss, and Rell on a hunt for Ryllandaras.^[12][13]

They quickly abandoned the others to travel to the site of the ongoing Battle of the Plains. There it was revealed they were actually a human D'ivers whose primary form was Ho. The trio attacked Ho amidst the battle between High Mage Tayschrenn and Yathengar, but Ho proved victorious. The trio had once arranged for him to be imprisoned in a Malazan otataral mine, but now acceded to him and fled.^[14][15]

In Kellanved's Reach

(Information needed)

Notes and references