Moranth

Moranth were a highly regimented people who were centred in the Cloud Forest of Genabackis.Gardens of the Moon, Glossary, UK MMPB p.705 Their culture was largely closed off from outsiders, who found their ways something of a mystery.Gardens of the Moon - Chatting with Steven Erikson, part 2 - See 48:11
The Moranth were at all times covered in chitinous armor, wearing helms with only small visor slots for sight. Their armour was difficult to remove and, in fact, appeared to be sutured on.Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 3 Chapter 4, US HC p.676Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 2 Chapter 6, US HC p.506 In the case of Twist, his mangled hand was visible, proof, that there was a flesh and blood man inside the armour.Memories of Ice, Chapter 11, UK MMPB p.457 Moranth were so thoroughly encased in their armour that it was difficult to identify their sex.Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 3 Chapter 3, US HC p.649
They spoke to each other in a language of clicks and buzzesGardens of the Moon, Chapter 2, UK MMPB p.84 and on the whole were reticent in communicating with outsiders.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 3, UK MMPB p.113 - example They spoke a clipped tongue that allowed them to communicate at a quick pace.Stonewielder, Chapter 8, US HC p.394 When necessary, they were capable of speaking in the native tongues of outsiders.
The Moranth had domesticated enormous flying insects known as Quorl which they used as a means of transportation.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 3, UK MMPB p.98-100 Their existence was not generally known and government agencies tried to keep it that way.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 3, UK MMPB p.99-100
The Moranth lived in valleys high above in the mountains of Cloud Forest, where they possessed fields of green farms, and canals for irrigation.Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 14 The Moranth had also built several towers in the mountains, where they presumably lived.Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 15 
Moranth and Barghast were both said to be descended from a sea-faring Imass culture that interbred with the Toblakai.
==Guilds==
Within the Moranth, colors denoted membership of different castesKellanved's Reach, Chapter 17, US HC p.258/260 or guilds. According to Malazan sources, the different clans (as the Malazans called the guilds) did not like to mix and there was rivalry amongst them.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 4, UK MMPB p.158
===Black Moranth===
Main InfantryStonewielder, Chapter 3, US HC p.132/137 Some were resentful of the Golds' refusal to include them in military decision making.
===Blue Moranth===
Sailors and Traders. According to V'thell, the Blues tendered transport contracts with everyone.Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 1, Chapter 2, UK large PB p.58
===Gold Moranth===
Ruling caste and elite infantry.Memories of Ice, Chapter 5, US SFBC p.181 Resented by the Black Moranth for not including them in military decision making.
===Green Moranth===
Mainly a courier and transport clanGardens of the Moon, Chapter 3, UK MMPB p.104Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 3, UK MMPB p.99
===Red Moranth===
Seemed to be Diplomats. Torn, a Red veteran, was attaché to the Malazan contingent under Aragan in Darujhistan.Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 1 Said by Balak to be the only other soldier caste among the Moranth besides the Black.
===Silver Moranth===
They were priests, sages, and mystics, the closest the Moranth had to the Malazan perception of Mages.Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 1, UK large PB p.49 They were thought to be the creators of Moranth munitions.
==Munitions==
:For an in-depth article see Moranth munitions
It was said that Moranth munitions made the Malazan Saboteur. The Moranth only traded some type of munitions as Ganoes Paran found out much later, when he raided a Moranth munitions warehouse via warren. Torvald Nom used some otherwise not seen alchemical devices which he had received as a token of gratitude for rescuing a Moranth.Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 14
==Alliance with the Malazan Empire==
In 1156 BS, they allied themselves with the Malazan Empire.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 1, UK MMPB p.10 Epigraph According to Moranth custom, a contract was valid for as long as one of the signatories was still alive. As of events that led to the rise of the Tyrant in Darujhistan, at least one of the signatories, was still alive and therefore the empire contract still stood. Negotiators of treaties with the Moranth included Aragan, Tayschrenn, and Onos T'oolan.Reaper's Gale, Chapter 17, UK MMPB, pg. 752 It was also recorded that Emperor Kellanved and Cotillion were about the only known people to have found the Moranth and sneaked into the Cloud Forest where they lived.Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 12 
In the eighth year of the Genabackis Campaign, the Free Cities allied themselves with the Crimson Guard and others. According to the historian Imrygyn Tallobant, in that year the Malazan Forces under the command of High Fist Dujek Onearm consisted of the 2nd, 5th, and 6th Armies, as well as legions of Moranth.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 1, UK MMPB p.10 Epigraph
In the 1163rd year of Burn's Sleep, the Empire military was under the impression that Moranth munitions were getting scarce. When Whiskeyjack mentioned this to a Black Moranth, wondering about the generous supply he and his squad had just received, the Black replied 'selectively', and told him that assistance for him would never be scarce.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 8, UK MMPB p.256
By the time of the Pannion War in 1164 BS, a schism had occurred amongst the Moranth, triggered by a succession of Gold defeats. Afterwards, only the Black Moranth remained loyal allies of the Malazan Empire, although the Blue continued to operate the Malazan sea-lanes to Seven Cities.Memories of Ice, Chapter 5, US SFBC p.181
==Relationships==
===Pale===
There was a long running rivalry between the Moranth and the the Free City of Pale over contested trade routes. The two mercantile powers were regularly at each other's throats and more often than not the city of Pale would win.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 2, UK MMPB p.84 
===Barghast===
The Moranth and the Barghast found themselves on opposite ends of a spectrum, both descending from their common ancestor, the Imass. The Moranth said that they did not fear change, and "the Barghast must accept that growth is necessary, even if painful."Memories of Ice, Chapter 23, US HC p.625-626
===Seguleh===
The Seguleh were ancient enemies of the Moranth going back to when both resided in Darujhistan.Orb Sceptre Throne,Chapter 2Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 19 The Moranth had devised their munitions with the preternatural martial skill of the Seguleh in mind.
===Tiste Edur===
The ancestors of the Moranth discovered a fragment of the warren of Kurald Emurlahn in the vast forest of Moranth, that should become their homeland and give them their name. There they discovered a small number of surviving Tiste Edur, lost as themselves and weary of war. They decided to make peace and the Tiste Edur were welcomed. This created the permanent rift between Moranth and the Barghast. While the Tiste Edur were long gone from Moranth forest now, they had a lasting impact on the the Moranth culture.
==Notable Moranth==
* Borun
* Galene
* Swirl
* Torn
* Tourmaline
* Twist
* V'thell
==In Gardens of the Moon==
In the late winter of 1163 BS, as part of an agreement, a group of Black Moranth were allowed by Laseen to enter the city of Pale for one hour after the Siege had ended and exact revenge. During that time, they killed 18,739 people, one for every Moranth confirmed as a victim of the trade war they had fought with the Free City.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 8, UK MMPB p.257Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 2, UK MMPB p.53
Around the time of the last Battle at Pale, Captain Paran was transported first by a Green Quorl from Genabaris to the Cloud Forest and then from there by Black Quorl to the, by then conquered, Pale.
A day or two later, a dozen fliers of the Black Moranth picked up Whiskeyjack and his squad and conveyed them overnight to the northern shore of Lake Azur.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 4, UK MMPB p.156-160Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 8, UK MMPB p.256 The crossing over the Tahlyn Mountains was hazardous as the Quorl were tossed about in the midst of three thunderheads. The Green Moranth supplied the squad with a larger than ordered quantity of ammunition as Whiskeyjack was highly regarded by the Moranth and would always be able to rely on their generous assistance. The Moranth name for him was 'Bird That Steals'.
== In Return of the Crimson Guard ==
The Gold Moranth under Commander V'thell allied themselves with the Talian League, under the command of most of the Old Guard, against the Empress Laseen and her Imperial troops.Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 1, Chapter 2
In the Battle of the Plains, the Gold Moranth fought against the Imperial troops, but when the Talian league surrendered, Urko and V'thell joined forces with the Imperial troops under Laseen to counter the looming threat of the Crimson Guard. Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 2, Chapter 6
== In Stonewielder ==
Fifteen years before the Malazan Expeditionary Force set sail for Korel, a thousand Black Moranth under the command of Borun were shipwrecked on Fist. They joined Overlord Yeull 'ul Taith and the "Black Hands" became the iron core of the renegade Malazan 6th Army.Stonewielder, Chapter 3, US HC p.132/137
 
The Moranth-Malazan agreement underwent a major re-structuring where the Emperor Mallick Rel re-negotiated the Malazan treaty with the Moranth.Stonewielder, Chapter 2
The Malazan Command negotiated with the Blue Moranth to provide them their expertise and services in seafaring and naval warfare, at the beginning of the Malazan re-conquest of Fist.Stonewielder, Chapter 2 To get to Fist however, the Malazans would have to go through the Marese, who were highly skilled seafarers.Stonewielder, Chapter 4 The Blue Moranth, under the command of Admiral Swirl, helped the Malazans overcome that obstacle, using novel machinery to overcome the stiff Marese resistance.Stonewielder, Chapter 5 They then re-established contact with Commander Borun's Black Moranth, and brought them back to the Malazan fold.
== In Orb Sceptre Throne ==
The Moranth were faced by the rise of one of their ancient enemies, the Legate of Darujhistan, actually a Jaghut Tyrant. They went on the offensive, bombarding the Seguleh, the Tyrant's army, with Moranth munitions.Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 17
The Moranth then proceeded to attack Darujhistan itself under the overall command of the Red Moranth, Twist. They sortied under the command of the Silver Moranth, the Elect Galene, and attempted to destroy the Orb of the Tyrant on Majesty Hill in Darujhistan by attacking it with munitions from their Quorls. Should the attack fail to penetrate the Orb and destroy the Tyrant, the Moranth planned to effectively destroy the entire city by launching a large scale bombing campaign.Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 19Towards the end of the sortie, when she was about to signal failure which would have initiated a large scale bombing campaign by the Moranth, Galene found that the Seguleh were no longer bound to the Tyrant, whose effect had been neutralized. She then met with the First Seguleh, Dassem Ultor, who managed to convince her with the help of his Malazan roots, to allow the Seguleh to leave Darujhistan unopposed, on the condition that the Seguleh never returned. The attack was called off, and the Seguleh retreated, with the Tyrant effectively neutralized.Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 20
==Author comments==
*Steven Erikson suggested the Moranth may be able to remove their helmets to eat, but they would do so in a ritualistic fashion only amongst their own kind.
*Ian C. Esslemont says magic is not one of the Moranth's (or the Seguleh's) strengths, saying "its there, but they chose to pursue other tools and put their time and resources and intellect to other purposes." Instead they focused on alchemy.Spoiler Chat: Orb Sceptre Throne with Ian C. Esslemont - A Critical Dragon - See 12:30
==Quotes==
==Notes and references==
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Category:Races