Elder

Elder was a gigantic being--roughly four storeys high--who built Azath Houses.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 8, US TPB p.268-269 He was a prisoner of the Jaghut, Gothos, who kept him in a Warren-like place that only Gothos knew how to access. It was a world of ash and pumice made from the blood of dragons who had fallen in the first war against the Tiste Andii, Tiste Edur, and Tiste Liosan. The hostile Tiste spirits still remained, forcing Elder to live in a caldera whose sides they could not scale. Elder did not know how he came to be there or whether there were others of his kind. He referred to himself as "an Elder" because that was what the spirits called him.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 8, US TPB p.269
The gigantic builder worked the raw stone with bare fists, rounded hammerstones, and wooden mallets wrapped in leather--producing blocks which fit cleverly together like an immense puzzle. Each time one of Elder's Houses neared completion, Gothos appeared to declare it "adequate"--a term Elder despised considering how much sweat and blood he put into his construction. Then the Jaghut entered the House whereupon it disappeared, leaving Elder to start again.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 8, US SFBC p.328
The mason had an oddly child-like face with round, smooth cheeks, thick lips, and a pug nose. His forehead sloped back behind an undulating brow-ridge with eyebrows hung down in thick snarls of pale, almost white hair. He had bright yellow skin, emerald-coloured eyes, and a pale bulging wattle beneath a rounded chin. When he smiled he displayed dagger-like fangs and he spoke with a child's soft voice.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 8, US TPB p.268
==In Toll the Hounds==
Nimander Golit and his party of Tiste Andii kin were on their way to Bastion in central Genabackis with Kallor when they came upon a ruined tower which Gothos was then inhabiting. Kallor, Nimander, and Skintick went to investigate and were reluctantly invited inside for tea by the Jaghut. Kallor and Gothos argued, and Kallor hastily departed when the Jaghut revealed the tower was a former Azath House that could still be awakened to its former purpose. The two Tiste Andii were overcome by a drug Gothos put in their tea and Nimander collapsed, falling through a portal of Omtose Phellack in the tower's wall.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 8, US SFBC p.316-322
thumb|197x197px|Nimander and Elder by [https://www.instagram.com/p/B7oZ6qmDQDc/ Autumn Tavern]
Nimnader awoke in a world of ash where he was pursued by hostile spirits until Elder brought him to safety in his caldera. Learning of the mason's plight, Nimander decided to sacrifice himself so that Elder could return home. He convinced Elder to build a tower around himself, leaving the final stone for the Tiste Andii to place from the outside. The House, made from the ashen remains of dead dragons, vanished with Elder inside and the angry spirits descended upon Nimander.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 8, US SFBC p.326-333 
Meanwhile, Desra entered Gothos' tower looking for her lost kin. When the Jaghut claimed he could not retrieve Nimander, she reached through the portal herself and pulled him to safety. What had felt like days or weeks for Nimander had only been moments. The Jaghut chastised Nimander for setting Elder free while mulling over the idea of a new Azath House built in the blood of dragons.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 8, US SFBC p.329-334
The time spent with the giant mason — being full of unanswered questions — continued to prey on Nimander's mind long after he was able to rejoin his travelling companions.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 10, US TPB p.334
==Quotes==
==Speculations==
A number of readers have wondered if the Builders in Fall of Light, Maker at the Shores of Creation in Orb Sceptre Throne, and Elder in Toll the Hounds are the same individual/entities at widely different places and times or are closely related in some other way. There might possibly be interconnections of some sort, especially since the names used are more descriptive than specific. However, despite similarities, there are distinct differences amongst them as well, and the issue remains speculative.
==Notes and references==
Category:Males