Silverfox

Silverfox was a Soletaken and Imass Bonecaster. She was reborn of the Rhivi woman known as The Mhybe, who carried a child with no soul.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 11, p.352-359 She aged extremely rapidly to achieve maturity, but this accelerated growth was at the physical expense of her birth mother who aged at a similar, alarming rate.Memories of Ice, Chapter 3
==Birth==
On her way to warn Whiskeyjack of betrayal, the Malazan mage, Tattersail, encountered the Thelomen High Mage, Bellurdan, who had been tasked by Tayschrenn to return her. With Bellurdan was the body of his former partner Nightchill, killed at Pale, upon which Tattersail had previously laid a preservation spell. The presence in the area of a T'lan Imass had made accessing Warrens extremely dangerous and seeing no other way out, Tattersail resorted to desperate measures. She opened up her Warren fully, causing a conflagration in which both she and Bellurdan, whom she embraced at the last moment, were incinerated. According to Steven Erikson, the nature of the Tellann sorcery kicked out by Tool essentially locked Hood's Gate for any soul leaving mortal flesh within range of its influence.In a Q&A on the TOR Website Steven Erikson stated that: In my mind Bellurdan's essence always played a role in Silverfox. The nature of the Tellann sorcery kicked out by Tool essentially locked Hood's Gate for any soul leaving mortal flesh within range of its influence. Bellurdan was one such character. But he's a Thel Akai, and that makes his soul a very powerful thing indeed. To answer you, Silverfox got a small part of him, but the rest of him went elsewhere…. The souls instead shifted to the body of Nightchill where all three souls were preserved.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 10
One of Kruppe's dreams was hijacked by the Elder God K'rul to create a Soletaken. Through the efforts of a pregnant Rhivi woman, the Mhybe, prepared by means unknown, and the T'lanIn Gardens of the Moon editions, the pre-ritual T'lan Imass are referred to as the T'lan, whilst the correct name is Imass. Pran Cole takes part in the soul-shifting prior to the Ritual of Tellann Bonecaster Pran Chole they transferred the three souls into the body of the unborn child. The child was born with silver fur which sloughed away immediately, hence the name, Silverfox. Kruppe's dream ended with that scene.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 11
Besides the souls of Tattersail, Nightchill, and Bellurdan there was the soul of Silverfox herself, the seed-child of the Bonecaster Pran Chole.
== In Gardens of the Moon ==
Ganoes Paran was surrounded by Bhederin on the Rhivi Plain. He was attacked by Rhivi warriors but saved by his sword and the words of a strange, seemingly five year old girl. He realised as the group left that the girl was Tattersail, that the woman he thought dead had not in fact entered Hood's realm. He was distressed by her apparent youth.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 16, UK MMPB p.497-505
It was said by the Elder God K'rul that Tattersail/Silverfox "[grew] swiftly, as [was] the nature of Soletaken" and also that "a powerful warlord now [sheltered] her."Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 13
== In Memories of Ice ==
Now appearing as a ten-year-old child, she was in the custody of the warlord Caladan Brood, much to the displeasure of Brood's second-in-command, Kallor. During the meetings to secure an alliance with Onearm's Host, the High King called her an abomination and demanded her immediate death. He was halted by Brood and by Whiskeyjack, who struck Kallor in defiance.
Even before Whiskeyjack's act in her defense, Silverfox trusted the Bridgeburner, calling him "uncle". The circumstances of her birth gave her a wisdom beyond her years, granting her knowledge few possessed (such as the true origin of the Great Ravens). Yet, she was still shocked to discover that her growth came at the expense of her rapidly aging mother. The souls of Tattersail and Nightchill fought for dominance within her and Whiskeyjack brought her to Tattersail's former lover, Ganoes Paran, in attempt to bring Tattersail to the forefront.Memories of Ice, Chapter 4Memories of Ice, Chapter 5
As the first flesh and blood Bonecaster in hundreds of thousands of years, Silverfox knew her task was to summon the T'lan Imass to a Second Gathering. She hoped to use them to assist Brood and the Malazans against the horrors of the Pannion Domin.Memories of Ice, Chapter 4
Kallor took his hatred of her so far as to attempt to kill her himself. However, Whiskeyjack stepped in to defend her and was killed.
After the Siege of Coral, she refused to release the T'lan Imass from their vow though Onos T'oolan convinced her to release the T'lan Ay. When she later realized the cruelty of this decision, she offered to release the undead warriors and was shocked to learn that the T'lan Imass had decided to wait, and go to the rescue of their remaining kin in Assail.
Speaking for herself as well as Nightchill, Tattersail, and Bellurdan, she decided to join them.
==In House of Chains==
Onrack T'emlava told Trull Sengar on Seven Cities that a new, mortal bonecaster had summoned the T'lan Imass to a distant land. He did not heed the call as he was no longer bound to the Ritual and no longer sought release and oblivion like his brethren. But he speculated that The Unbound were working with the Crippled God and the Tiste Edur to seize the First Throne and thus control of the T'lan Imass. Such a move would compel the mortal summoner to obey as well. The bonecaster, Monok Ochem, revealed that Logros had sent only representatives to the summons because the bulk of the Logros T'lan Imass army was needed on Seven Cities.House of Chains, Chapter 20, US SFBC p.657-660
==In Reaper's Gale==
Upon discovering the Refugium, where T'lan Imass could live beyond the Ritual as living Imass once more, Quick Ben wondered what would happen if Logros or Kron were to lead their undead legions there. But he quickly concluded that Silverfox would never allow it as she needed her soldiers for another war.Reaper's Gale, Chapter 17, US HC p.510
==In Toll the Hounds==
The Cult of the Redeemer rose around the fallen Itkovian's barrow at Black Coral. The cult believed the T'lan Imass who had once knelt before Itkovian had made themselves his immortal servants, but Seerdomin knew they had only knelt in gratitude. The T'lan Imass served only Silverfox.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 4, US SFBC p.129
A year or more after the Siege of Coral, Kallor was surprised that Korlat and Orfantal continued to hunt him. He could not believe they or Anomander Rake could be so angered by his failure to stand by them at Coral. He believed Silverfox deserved to be betrayed by the T'lan Imass.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 6, US SFBC p.224 Later, Kallor told Spinnock Durav that he had not intended to kill Whiskeyjack, but Silverfox needed to die and Whiskeyjack had just gotten in the way. He claimed they would all one day rue his failure to take the Bonecaster's life.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 22, US SFBC p.886
== In Assail==
Silverfox was in Assail with Pran Chole to rescue more of her people. There she found Tolb Bell'al, revealing that at least one Ifayle was still alive. The Kerluhm T'lan Imass refused to end their war on the Jaghut and she pursued their marauding bands across the continent as they approached the center of Jaghut power in the Salt Peaks.Assail (novel), Chapter 3
After enlightening the Kerluhm about the hope for redemption, Silverfox and Pran Chol represented the T'lan Imass in the reforged peace of the four founding races (Forkrul Assail, T'lan Imass, Jaghut, and Tiste Andii).Assail (novel), Chapter 15 Then she continued her search to save the remainder of her people.Assail (novel), Epilogue
==Notes and references==
==See also==
*Silverfox (poem)
Category:Bonecasters
Category:Females
Category:Imass
Category:Mages
Category:Rhivi
Category:Soletaken
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