Kilmandaros

Kilmandaros [kill-man-DAIR-ōs]^[1] was worshipped as an Elder Goddess by the Forkrul Assail. She favoured a form that seemed to possess the physical characteristics of that species, such as more joints than a normal humanoid, allowing her to manipulate her body into odd shapes. She was obsessed with death and destruction.

Physical Appearance

Kilmandaros was usually described as a very large, muscular, bipedal hominid. She was usually naked, with vaguely luminescent skin the colour of sun-bleached bone. Her hands and arms frequently displayed the effects of some recent battering.^[2][3]

In Midnight Tides

Shortly after the sundering of Kurald Emurlahn, the Malazan world was invaded through a violent rent by the combined armies of Silchas Ruin's Tiste Andii and Scabandari Bloodeye's Tiste Edur. The invaders defeated an army of K'Chain Che'Malle before Scabandari betrayed Silchas and murdered his surviving Andii. Although known within the Malazan world by Gothos, Kilmandaros came from the world on the other side of the rent. The Elder God, Mael, made an alliance with her to slay Scabandari and scatter his Edur.^[4]

Kilmandaros eventually tracked down Scabandari and shattered his skull while his spirit was imprisoned within a prison of eternal pain. The Tiste Edur believed Scabandari earned Kilmandaros and the other Elder gods' enmity because his invasion had spurred the dying K'Chain Che'Malle race to orchestrate a final ritual. This ritual created an endpoint for the eternal war between Dark, Light, and Shadow that would mean the end of all existance.^[5]

In The Bonehunters

Three Eleint chained in Shadow — Ampelas, Eloth, and Kalse — told Cotillion that Scabandari's soul remained alive, but in torment. The one who shattered his skull and so destroyed his body had no allegiance to the Eleint or anyone but herself.^[6]

While in the Imperial Warren, the ground collapsed under Quick Ben and Stormy sending them plummeting into a deep fissure. Kalam found them unconscious within a chamber decorated with large painted panels:^[7]

Cotillion identified the chamber as a temple to one of the Elder Gods. He suggested it might have belonged to Kilmandaros, Grizzin Farl, or even K'rul.^[7]

In Reaper's Gale

At the time of Kurald Emurlahn's sundering, Kilmandaros had sought and failed to save the dying realm as it was wracked by civil wars and broken into fragments. While Edgewalker was committed elsewhere, she slew many of the pretenders, who eagerly descended on the realm like scavengers to tear free their own private pieces. Among them were feral dragons. She traveled through a rent to the Malazan world in pursuit of Scabandari Bloodeye, who she subdued with the assistance of Mael. The Elder God insisted she refrain from delivering the killing blow until the newly arrived Gothos was ready to ensnare Scabandari's soul within a Finnest. Otherwise the Tiste Edur would retain the majority of his power. Gothos tricked both Elder Gods into letting the Jaghut retain possession of the Finnest afterwards. Kilmandaros and Mael argued over whether Kurald Emurlahn was worth saving, with the Goddess arguing that "the death of one realm is a promise to every other realm." Gothos also warned the Goddess that "your children in this realm have lost their way", but was met with indifference.^[8]

Kilmandaros returned to the rent to Kurald Emurlahn and found another figure standing before it—Anomandaris Purake. She warned Rake he was not welcome in Kurald Emurlahn and questioned why he seemed indifferent to Scabandari's betrayal of his brother. Ultimately, they both agreed that the Throne of Shadow must stay unoccupied and made a pact to drive the pretenders from the realm. As they readied to pass back through the rent and cleanse the ravaged world, Kilmandaros declared, "If Kurald Emurlahn must die, then let it do so on its own."^[8]

In the present day, the Tiste Edur Warlock King, Hannan Mosag, cut the spirit of Bruthen Trana free of his body so that he could search the bottom of the ocean for the soul of Brys Beddict.^[9][10] Bruthen soon became lost on the ocean floor, unsure of where to go until he stumbled across an underwater Azath House. He was invited inside at the door by Knuckles, who warned the Edur not to bring up the subject of dragons or Scabandari with his other guest. Knuckles did not want her pulled away from the distraction he had already provided her as she was most gentle when distracted.^[11]

Inside the House's tower--the only space that could fit her--his mother Kilmandaros studied a casting of bones looking for patterns. In this House under the Sea, Kilmandaros and her son, Knuckles, spent time playing a contentious game with small bones. After a violent outburst by Kilmandaros, Knuckles 'stilled the grains' stopping time temporarily so they could have a glass of wine with Bruthen, and his mother would have longer to look for a pattern in the bone arrangement.^[11]

During the ensuing conversation, it was revealed that Kilmandaros had once been imprisoned inside the Azath House by Anomander Rake. Knuckles was impressed that the House held her at all, but thought the Azath had let Kilmandaros escape. She did not agree and said, "Not even the Azath could hold me for ever." She had been imprisoned in the Azath House for attacking Rake, but she argued it was only in anticipation of a betrayal of his own. Knuckles assured her that if she had not first attacked Rake, she would not have faced Rake's wrath. He said Rake never broke his word, declaring that his Mother and Osserc had the bad habit of "anticipating" imminent betrayals.^[11]

Eventually, Knuckles informed Bruthen that what he sought could be found at the place of the Names of the Gods, then he restarted the grains of time. As he escorted the Edur to the door, Knuckles admitted he had no idea if there were patterns to be found in the game of bones they played, but "our kind [...] love patterns."^[11]

In Toll the Hounds

Anomander Rake gave Baruk a copy of Dillat's Dark and Light from his personal library. The archaic book described war among the dragons when all the First Born (but one) had bowed their necks to K'rul. The children of the dragons, bereft of their inheritance, rose in battle to reject the First Born. Osserick and Anomander Rake had already tasted the blood of T'iam and others came to do the same. War raged upon all the Realms as long as the Gates of Starvald Demelain remained open. Under Osserick, Kurald Liosan was the first Realm to seal the portal between itself and the Realm of the dragons. He cleansed the world of all rivals--the Soletaken and the feral purebloods--and drove out the D'ivers. Osserick and Rake battled sixteen times until Kilmandaros drove them apart.^[12]

In Dust of Dreams

(Information needed)

In The Crippled God

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

It was hinted that Kilmandaros, Sechul Lath and Errastas were behind the plan to steal the heart of the Crippled God. Kilmandaros freed Korabas, the Otataral Dragon. In retaliation, she was hunted down and killed by Draconus.

Significant plot details end here.

In Return of the Crimson Guard

In the Elder Age, the Child of Earth Denuth despaired for peace on a world filled with such powerful feuding entities as Draconus and Liossercal, among others. He recalled Kilmandaros saying that the unending strife was "no more than pettiness and childish prickliness."^[13]

In Forge of Darkness

Kilmandaros was revealed to be one of the Azathanai and the wife of Grizzin Farl. She was the mother of Sechul Lath and step-mother of Errastas.

She came across Haut, Varandas, and Korya Delath as she raced through the valley around the "Empty City" of Omtose Phellack, weeping and smashing down Jaghut towers. Haut and Varandas challenged her and drove her away.^[14] From there she ran to the Tower of Hate and encountered Draconus and his son, Arathan, nearby. She and Draconus argued as she forcibly tried to take Arathan to bed. Draconus informed her that Errastas and Sechul Lath had murdered Karish, the wife of Hood, and he recommended she kill them both. Kilmandaros went back into the night to continue her fit of rage and grief.^[15]

In Fall of Light

(Information needed)

Trivia

Author Steven Erikson "really liked the naming constructions of Sanskrit" and used them as the underlying basis for several Tiste names as well as Kilmandaros. "I love the rhythmic elements of those names."^[16]

Quotes

Notes and references