Tehol Beddict

Tehol Beddict [teh-HOLEBlack Gate Magazine video interview - As pronounced by Erikson at 20:10 BED-ickt]Critical Conversations 05: Midnight Tides Chapter 19 with Steven Erikson - A Critical Dragon - As pronounced by Steven Erikson at 01:14:36 was an ingenious Letherii citizen in his early thirties.Midnight Tides, Chapter 10, US SFBC p.303 He was a middle child whose brothers were Brys and Hull Beddict. While acting the fool to trick those around him, Tehol was actually one of the most intelligent humans in existence.
Tehol was surprisingly fit and muscular considering his lack of exercise. He attributed his wit, physical prowess, natural grace, and multitude of talents to his Beddict blood, although he confessed he had an extraordinary ability to waste his gifts.Midnight Tides, Chapter 2, US SFBC p.71 He was haphazard about his clothing, wearing whatever his manservant Bugg was able to knit together or whatever was on hand. For example, he once wore only a woolen shirt with arms of mismatched lengths and a threadbare bedsheet he wrapped three times about his waist and tucked in at one hip.Midnight Tides, Chapter 2, US SFBC p.68/71 He later replaced the bedsheet with a pair of yellow trousers that clashed terribly with his grey shirt.Midnight Tides, Chapter 6, US SFBC p.195
Tehol and Bugg were well-matched collaborators in a variety of dubious schemes. They engaged in an ongoing repartee of dry and witty put-downs that others found trying.Midnight Tides, Chapter 25, US SFBC p.767
==Tehol's residence==
Tehol lived in Letheras in a one story building off Cul Street on the east side of the Quillas Canal near Biri's warehouse.Midnight Tides, Chapter 2, UK MMPB p.86Midnight Tides, Chapter 14, UK MMPB p.534 The building's main floor was reached by a rubbish-filled aisle so narrow one had to squeeze through it sideways. The long since missing front door was replaced with a ratty curtain. Inside was a single bare room lit by a front-facing window and containing only a pile of bricks serving as a hearthstone, Bugg's rolled up mattress, a battered pot, and a pair of wooden spoons and bowls.Midnight Tides, Chapter 2, US SFBC p.72 
A ladder missing many of its rungs led to the roof through a collapsed portion of the ceiling. Tehol's own bed was situated on the exposed rooftop along with a three-legged stool. In the distance could be spotted the still unfinished Eternal Domicile.Midnight Tides, Chapter 2, US SFBC p.68-69/72 When it rained, Tehol was forced to sleep downstairs with Bugg despite the man's incessant snoring.Midnight Tides, Chapter 4, US SFBC p.148
Despite appearances, the house was not entirely defenceless. The home's entrance could be secretly observed from only one place in the street making it easy to spot spies. A secret tunnel led outside to a hidden entrance. Every night Bugg raised wards around the premises that kept the sound of conversation from being overheard outside.Midnight Tides, Chapter 4, US SFBC p.151
==History==
Tehol was resourceful and clever ever since he was a young boy. When he was ten, an unscrupulous lender acquired one of his family's debts in order to force them to relinquish a certain holding. Tehol acquired a debt of his own against his tutor so that his absences from school would not be noticed while he set his own plans into motion. He started a business with two Nerek employees sifting through an estate district out-flow on the Lether River. The trio became flush with coin for returning jewelry recovered from the sewage. Tehol paid off the lender and afterwards orchestrated his grateful patrons into calling in their own debts on the lender to financially ruin him. All of this was done in secret and only ever pieced together by Hull.Midnight Tides, Chapter 21, US SFBC p.642-643
Tehol inherited his mother's intelligence while his brothers more resembled their father's gifts, learning his skill and grace with the sword.Midnight Tides, Chapter 4, US SFBC p.149-150 Their father had eventually been ensnared in debt and taken his own life. Tehol thought their mother could have saved him by tearing the Letherii system apart but for fear of what it would mean for her children. Apparently, she died not long afterwards as Tehol first met Bugg when the former dresser of the dead embalmed his parents.Midnight Tides, Chapter 4, US SFBC p.150-151
Before the start of Midnight Tides, Tehol was primarily known as a destitute wastrel who had retired from business after a brief but uncanny success in the Merchant Tolls financial markets. Inside a year, he had converted an initial investment of a hundred docks into a single peaks, almost ten percent the worth of the entire market. His rapid rise had captured the imagination of the financial market until its sudden failure collapsed the Tolls. His entire peak had to be written off, many investors lost fortunes, a dozen financiers commited suicide, and ten thousand curses were made in his name and thrown into the canal.Midnight Tides, Chapter 21, US SFBC p.643Midnight Tides, Chapter 2, US SFBC p.88-89Midnight Tides, Chapter 4, US SFBC p.131-132Midnight Tides, Chapter 12, US SFBC p.387-388
== In Midnight Tides==
Tehol was contacted by Shand, Hejun, and Rissarh, three women from tribes subjugated by the Letherii, who had pieced together the true story of his financial rise and fall. While it was commonly believed that he had lost all his money, they found out that he had actually used it to secretly purchase a number of islands where he had relocated some of the decimated tribes. The project was done for his brother Hull, whose naivety had unwittingly led to the tribes' demise, although Tehol never made Hull aware of his actions.Midnight Tides, Chapter 2, US SFBC p.75-77/87-92
The women demanded he partner with them on an even bolder revenge scheme. The three offered Tehol a starting seed of thirty thousand Thirds with the goal of making ten peaks, an amount ten times greater than Tehol's last attempt. This amount would allow them to purchase the remaining islands as well as destroy the corrupt economy of Lether. Tehol agreed and the women provided an office around which he and his manservant, Bugg, could organise the scheme. Although Tehol was happy to relocate the remainder of the indigent tribes who flooded Letheras' streets, his true goal was to bring down the economy to trigger a cultural reformation and reconfiguring of Letherii values.Midnight Tides, Chapter 14, US SFBC p.438 And despite his seeming poverty, Tehol was enormously wealthy secretly owning many interests in local property, licenses, mercantile investments, and transportation.Midnight Tides, Chapter 4, US SFBC p.131
Tehol and Bugg undertook a number of ventures to achieve this end. Tehol's manservant fronted Bugg's Construction to attract investors and complete the difficult project of shoring up the sinking Eternal Domicile.Midnight Tides, Chapter 6, US SFBC p.212 They also hired the Rat Catchers' Guild to handle the logistics of moving the tribes and to provide intelligence.Midnight Tides, Chapter 12, US SFBC p.390 Tehol kept Shand and the others busy buying controlling interests in local businesses and financial operations, supplying them with fake leads as often as real ones just to keep them out of his hair.Midnight Tides, Chapter 10, US SFBC p.317Midnight Tides, Chapter 12, US SFBC p.366 He also hired the enormous half-Tarthenal, Ublala Pung, to serve as the women's bodyguard.Midnight Tides, Chapter 4, US SFBC p.139-140
Bugg found the down on her luck undead thief, Shurq Elalle, to accomplish some of his master's more unlawful tasks.Midnight Tides, Chapter 4, US SFBC p.137-139/144-147 Tehol paid to have Selush of the Stinking House return a more healthy glow to Shurq's flesh and install an Ootooloo to restore her sense of pleasure.Midnight Tides, Chapter 6, US SFBC p.210-215 In return, the thief raided and looted the estate of the cruel and dangerous Finadd Gerun Eberict, who Brys warned was investigating too close into Tehol's true affairs.Midnight Tides, Chapter 4, US SFBC p.131/146 Shurq also breached the impenetrable Tolls Repository and royal vaults to compile a list of the royal debt owners and determine the state of the royal treasury.Midnight Tides, Chapter 14, US SFBC p.442-443
When it became clear that the war between the Tiste Edur and the Letherii was likely to end in the Edur's favour, Tehol halted the part of the plan to collapse Lether. Even the Letherii were preferable to an occupying Edur empire.Midnight Tides, Chapter 14, US SFBC p.438-440 As it became clear that Eberict was responsible for thousands of murders within the city, Brys insisted Tehol take on the Shavankrats triplets as bodyguards.Midnight Tides, Chapter 14, US SFBC p.449-450
On the day Emperor Rhulad Sengar's Edur army entered Letheras, Eberict made his move. He was aware that Tehol was responsible for the robbery of his estate and took advantage of Brys' duty to remain by the king's side. The Finadd abandoned his own post, assembled his best killers, and quickly made for Tehol's home. They murdered two of the Shavankrats while the third ran off with Tehol. The fleeing pair stumbled upon the body of the Edur noblewoman, Mayen, in the street just before a group of Edur warriors led by Theradas Buhn found them. The third Shavankrat died shielding Tehol from the thrust of an Edur spear before the others began kicking and stomping Tehol to death. Bugg came upon them as Tehol neared death. The manservant murdered the Edur with magic in rage and grief then carried Tehol's body away.Midnight Tides, Chapter 25, US SFBC p.719-724/729-730 
Bugg took Tehol to a crypt below the Lether River and healed him as best he could, even replacing one of his eyes (although not of the same colour).Midnight Tides, Chapter 25, US SFBC p.747-750Reaper's Gale, Chapter 24, US HC p.765 Bugg revealed himself to be Mael, the Elder God of the sea, and told Tehol that their association had been an unceasing delight after an eternity of boredom. He claimed Tehol had resurrected in him the pleasure of existence then noted he would have to remove his master's memories of the conversation. The Guardian of the Names carrying Brys' body soon found Mael and the unconscious Tehol and passed Brys' knowledge of the names of the Forgotten Gods to the still living brother.Midnight Tides, Chapter 25, US SFBC p.757-758 
When Tehol awoke, the city was conquered and Shurq said her goodbyes before departing by ship. Tehol thanked Bugg for allowing him to remember his servant's true identity and giving him the opportunity to grieve.Midnight Tides, Chapter 25, US SFBC p.766-767
==In Reaper's Gale==
He single-handedly orchestrated this downfall of the Letherii Empire through its financial system, creating chaos which the Malazans used to their advantage in their invasion. Specifically, Tehol borrowed money, constantly, and borrowed more money to pay those debts, effectively draining the city of its finances, then proceeded to flood the city with all his money, crashing the market, so to speak.
Bugg and Tehol saved the academic Janath from her imprisonment under the Patriotists. They were later found and imprisoned themselves.
After the outlawed Bonehunters defeated the Edur, and their emperor was killed by Karsa Orlong, Tehol was crowned king of Lether and thereafter known as "Tehol the Only", with Janath as his Queen.
==In Dust of Dreams==
Tehol provided Tavore and her army necessary supplies and passage through the Wastelands enroute to Kolanse. He also allowed Brys to accompany them with a large detachment of Letherii forces.
==In The Crippled God==
(Information needed)
==In Fall of Light==
While recalling the ancient tale of Anomandaris for Fisher kel Tath, the poet Gallan spoke poorly of a poet's fitness to rule a kingdom. Fisher asked him if he had ever heard of Tehol the Only. Gallan irritatedly said he had not and warned Fisher not to interrupt again.Fall of Light, Chapter 1, US HC p.30
== Quotes ==
==Trivia==
*According to author Steven Erikson, Midnight Tides "is a story of two sets of three brothers" with one set "on one side of the cultural divide and one set on the other." Tehol was the last of the brothers he needed to create as he was writing, "and I didn't know what to do with Tehol. So I put him on a rooftop and then I wrapped a blanket around his hips and his story sort of came from there. And he had his manservant. It just built from there. I think even initially I didn't understand fully who the manservant was going to be, but that kind of all fell into place."Interview with Dark Fantasy Legend Steven Erikson - See 17:25
*For the relationship between Bugg and Tehol, Erikson was inspired by the performances of Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie in Jeeves and Wooster.Ten Very Big Books podcast - Midnight Tides As pronounced by Steven Erikson at 29:15
==Fan art gallery==
File:Day 9 - Tehol's Blanket by Shadaan.PNG|Tehol's blanket by Shadaan
Tehols blanket 2-1.jpg|Tehol's roof and blanket by Corporal Nobbs
==Notes and references==
Category:Humans
Category:Letherii
Category:Males
Category:Rulers
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