Brash Phluster

Brash Phluster was an ambitious young poet of Reliant City who knew he was destined for greatness in his field. He was brilliant in most things and succeeded through bluster and arrogance in things where he was not.Crack'd Pot Trail, Chapter 2 
Brash was a tall man with fulsome hair, even teeth, full lips, and a well groomed mustache and beard. He wore a charcoal cloak with silver ringlets and favored a three-string lyre.Crack'd Pot Trail, Chapter 3
Poet Avas Didion Flicker thought he had a face "commissioned for self-pity" and Brash was prone to wild mood swings regarding his talent. One moment he was sure of his genius and the next he was sure he had no talent at all.Crack'd Pot Trail, Chapters 3/4
== In Crack'd Pot Trail==
Despised by Calap Roud for seven years, Brash was determined to show the old artist up by winning the competition for The Century's Greatest Artist in Farrog. His dreams turned into a nightmare when his caravan traveling the Cracked Pot Trail across the Great Dry ran out of food. The well armed travelers of the caravan decided their "useless" artistic companions would be more useful as meals. Every night Brash and the other poets and singers performed in competition for the right to live another day.Crack'd Pot Trail, Chapter 3 
Brash was upset that his serious compositions were often seen as comedic triumphs, but they did allow him to survive as other poets became dinner. His attempts to make Fisher kel Tath's Anomandaris more accessible to children by adding rhyme were picked apart by Calap and Tulgord Vise. His attempt to join Calap Roud's scheme to blackmail Flicker backfired when Flicker artfully convinced Tiny Chanter to murder Calap.Crack'd Pot Trail, Chapter 4 Ultimately, Brash survived the trip to Farrog and won the title of The Century's Greatest Artist.Crack'd Pot Trail, Chapter 6
==In The Fiends of Nightmaria==
Brash Phluster was one of the ultimate survivors of the dire events of the Cracked Pot Trail who arrived safely at the city of Farrog. After being named the Century's Greatest Artist at the 'Festival of Flowers and Sunny Days', Brash was arrested on the orders of the new King of Farrog, the usurper and necromancer, Bauchelain the First. Brash (together with six other Cracked Pot Trail survivors - i.e., Apto Canavalian, Flea Chanter, Midge Chanter, Steck Marynd, Tiny Chanter, and Tulgord Vise) was taken to a torture chamber beneath the Royal Palace of Farrog. There, the seven survivors were tortured in rotation on the rack by the Royal Torturer, Binfun, in preparation for their execution. Brash spent the time moaning and squabbling with Apto Canavalian, much to the others' displeasure.The Fiends of Nightmaria, Section 4 Ultimately, the prisoners were able to escape with the aid of Seneschal Shartorial Infelance, who was smitten with Steck Marynd,The Fiends of Nightmaria, Section 10The Fiends of Nightmaria, Section 11 and were soon wandering the dungeon tunnels.The Fiends of Nightmaria, Section 14 Brash promised to write an epic poem of at least twenty thousand stanzas of the reinvigorated Nehemothanai's pursuit of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach.The Fiends of Nightmaria, Section 14
At one point, Brash and the others had a mayhem-filled encounter with a group of thieves--the 'Party of Five'--who were searching the tunnels for their imprisoned Guild Mistress, Dam Loudly Heer. The brawny thief, Barunko, bulled through Brash's group sending them tumbling down a flight of stairs. As Brash leapt to avoid his falling companions he slammed his head into the ceiling and bit off half his own tongue. Then Symondenalian Niksos threw a knife deep into Brash's right shoulder before the two groups managed to disentangle themselves and rush off in opposite directions. Apto was pleased to report that Brash would likely never sing again.The Fiends of Nightmaria, Section 17 
The Seneschal brought them to the Royal Apothecary for some badly-needed healing, but they were ambushed there by thirty-two of Bauchelain's demons.The Fiends of Nightmaria, Section 20 Apto fled and did not return.The Fiends of Nightmaria, Section 23 After surviving the melee, Brash ransacked the apothecary for healing salves and successfully restored his tongue. He also accidentally ingested a Potion of Ineluctable Genius which instantly sharpened his wit. While the rest of the group moved on to confront Bauchelain and Korbal Broach in their throne room, Brash pocketed as many vials as he could carry and wisely left the palace on his own.The Fiends of Nightmaria, Section 24The Fiends of Nightmaria, Section 28
Brash wandered Farrog's streets, which were littered with corpses from the necromancers' flight from the invading army of Nightmaria. He saw the Royal Palace's collapse, but was busy plotting his next masterpiece, a ten volume, ten million word poem written in the style of the Lost Droners of Ipscalon called the Epic Lay of Brash Phluster. When the potion empowering his genius suddenly wore off, the poet ran screaming for the nearest sewer hole.The Fiends of Nightmaria, Section 27The Fiends of Nightmaria, Section 28
== Known Poems ==
*Fragment of "Missingla's Tale"
*A modified selection from Anomandaris' penultimate chapter of The Slaying of Draconus
*"Night of the Assassin"
*"Fragment of Gotho's Folly, the Lullaby Version
==Trivia==
Steven Erikson says Night of the Assassin is the poem he is proudest of in the Malazan books.Critical Conversations 06: Poetry in Malazan with Steven Erikson - A Critical Dragon - See 12:15
==External links==
*Critical Conversations 06: Poetry in Malazan with Steven Erikson - Author Steven Erikson's analysis of Night of the Assassin along with a dramatic reading.
==Notes and references==
Category:Authors
Category:Males
Category:Poems