Jethiss

Jethiss was an amnesiac Tiste Andii found washed ashore on Assail. He was a very skilled fighter and could call on the warren of Kurald Galain. His name, given to him by the bard Fisher kel Tath, roughly translated in Andii to "one-who-comes-from-the-sea".^[1]

Jethiss was "tall and muscular", with "skin like midnight and black sable hair that bore streaks of white".^[2] He had the "build and grace of a swordsman".^[3]

In Assail

Jethiss was found unconscious and covered in ice by two boys on the beach of Holly.^[4] When he awoke he had no memory of who he was.^[5] Fisher kel Tath took him under his care and named him "Jethiss".^[6]

The pair travelled into the interior of Assail with a larger party led by Marshal Teal, Malle of Gris, and Enguf the Broad. At the bridge of Yrkki the bonewright, the spirit guardian intimated that it knew Jethiss' true name and offered to forgo the usual bone price for the party if Jethiss offered his own life. Jethiss agreed under the condition that Yrkki tell him his true name. Fisher opted to stay with Jethiss and both were seized and taken to a cave under the bridge.^[7]Jethiss and Fisher escaped the cave along with Coots and Badlands and confronted Yrkki. Jethiss helped them escape by instinctively drawing on the power of Kurald Galain.^[8] Later, when defending settlers from an outlander raiding party, Jethiss showed formidable two weapon hand-to-hand combat skills, ducking, kicking, and spinning in a whirl of death.^[9]

The group arrived in Lost territory in time to make an unsuccessful defense of the Greathall along with Kyle and the Crimson Guard Fourth Company against Marshall Teal and his men. Jethiss' magical exertion in the battle unlocked the memory that he had a mission to request a sword from the Forkrul Assail.^[10] In the Salt Mountains, Jethiss represented the Tiste Andii in the reforged peace of the four founding races (Forkrul Assail, T'lan Imass, Jaghut, and Tiste Andii) Despite Fisher's protests, he then requested of the Forkrul a weapon "worthy of us Andii...Worthy to protect us". The Forkrul agreed and took Jethiss with them.^[11] Fisher and Kyle waited four days before Jethiss returned, pale, missing his left arm, and clutching the Blade of Bone. His memories returned, he invited the two men to travel with him to Coral to meet an old friend.^[12]

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

Who was Jethiss?

Although Jethiss learned his true identity from the Forkrul, he did not reveal it to the reader, instead preferring the name Fisher gave him. But his journey was filled with hints that he might be a character who had previously appeared in the Malazan series.

• He was discovered in the ocean partially encased in supernatural ice^[13] and wearing thin clothing of an expensive weave, his only memory of "fighting for breath".^[14]
• He thrashed in his sleep when Fisher played portions of the epic poem, Anomandaris.^[15]
• He was willing to sacrifice his own life for others at the bridge of Yrkki the bonewright.^[16]
• Yrkki knew his identity and told him "your name would only make you weep".^[17]
• He was a powerful mage, drawing on Kurald Galain.^[18]
• He fought in an acrobatic, two weapon hand-to-hand style.^[19]
• When Fisher and Kyle discussed Rake, Jethiss' eyes widened with alarm when Fisher mentioned that Rake was also known as "Blacksword".^[20]
• Fisher came right out and asked Jethiss if he was Anomander Rake despite the difference in appearance. Jethiss could not say. He only remembered "a gate. An opening on to...something. And battle and pain. Then suffocating as if drowning."^[21]
• Fisher found it hard to believe Jethiss could be Rake because they looked so different, but he noted that Rake was a shapeshifter.^[22]
• Jethiss' use of Kurald Galain eventually unlocked the knowledge of why he had returned to the world. After the death of Rake and the loss of his sword, the Andii needed another protector and champion. Jethiss had been sent to find a sword and remedy that lack.^[23]
• When Jethiss had recovered his full memory he spoke to his friend, Fisher:

Some readers have speculated that the "good friend" mentioned here was likely Seerdomin, who often played Kef Tanar with Spinnock Durav in Toll the Hounds. Author Ian C. Esslemont confirms this theory. He says Jethiss originated in his and Steven Erikson's role-playing games that helped outline the Malazan series. In those games, Jethiss was indeed Anomander Rake. But when it came time to tell Jethiss' story in Assail, Esslemont had second thoughts, worrying "that I would be taking away from the emotional impact of his death, of Rake's sacrifice, if he came back. And so Steve and I talked about that and he was quite supportive. He said, 'You know if you want to do it, do it.'...But I thought that the readers would maybe not react well and they would feel that all the emotion that they had felt at that moment was being undercut. So I decided to go with a different Tiste."^[24]

Significant plot details end here.

Notes and references