Challice D'Arle

Challice D'Arle was the youngestGardens of the Moon, Chapter 5, UK MMPB p.179 daughter of nobleman Estraysian D'Arle of House D'Arle in Darujhistan.Gardens of the Moon, Dramatis Personae, UK MMPB p.xiv At the time of Gardens of the Moon she was courted by many suitors, and tales of the rich gifts she was receiving made the rounds.
She had pallid white skinToll the Hounds, Chapter 9, US SFBC p.362 unstained by the sun.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 9, US SFBC p.380 She wore the latest fashionable clothing, decorated her cheeks with rouge and her throat with powder, and thickened her lashes with kohl. When entertaining, her hair was tied up and her body was adorned with jewelry.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 9, US SFBC p.380
== In Gardens of the Moon==
Crokus Younghand stole the content of Challice's jewel box from her bedroom whilst she was asleep.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 5, UK MMPB p.184 The young thief became infatuated with the thought of her and decided to return the jewels.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 7, UK MMPB p.235/240 He also considered to become well-read and to be presented to the young woman as a gentleman and suitor.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 11, UK MMPB p.369 Challice woke up whilst Crokus returned the jewels but she did not call the guards. That and the brief conversation they had further strengthened Crokus in his feelings for her.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 13, UK MMPB p.419/422
Crokus ran into Challice again at Lady Simtal's Gedderone Fête. She momentarily mistook him for Gorlas Vidikas, a handsome young nobleman.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 21, US HC p.437-438 Challice rebuffed Crokus' affections in favour of Gorlas, who later rescued her from the destruction caused by the Jaghut Tyrant Raest's attack on the city.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 24, US HC p.484
==In Memories of Ice==
At the meeting between Caladan Brood, Dujek Onearm, and representatives of the Darujhistan Noble Council, Kruppe enquired Estraysian D'Arle about the status of his daughter's marriage to the hero of the fete. Estraysian responded that the wedding had not yet taken place.Memories of Ice, Chapter 5
== In Toll the Hounds==
Challice and Gorlas were now wed and her husband became the newest member of Darujhistan's Noble Council.Toll the Hounds, Dramatis Personae But Gorlas' new position left him only with contempt for his fellow nobles.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 1, US SFBC p.32 Their marriage was cold and loveless, and both she and Gorlas retired to their own rooms at night.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 7, US SFBC p.251 Challice dreaded their future together and ruminated over lost opportunities,Toll the Hounds, Chapter 1, US SFBC p.43 and she took to smoking Rustleaf. Her supposed barrenness estranged her from her husband's parents.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 7, US SFBC p.252
Gorlas began holding court at his estate with fellow young councilmembers, Hanut Orr and Shardan Lim, and the three plotted ways to increase their power on the Council. Whenever Challice made an appearance, Gorlas did nothing to stop the two men from leering at his wife.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 1, US SFBC p.41-43 None of the men saw each other as true friends, but merely as means to an end.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 7, US SFBC p.248-250Toll the Hounds, Chapter 9, US SFBC p.382 Gorlas considered that either man might spare him the work of supplying an heir to his estranged wife.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 9, US SFBC p.361 Consequently, when Gorlas left the city on business he arranged for Challice to host his friends in his absence. Hanut left the estate in a fit of anger when Challice appeared uninterested in strengthening ties between House Orr and her own House D'Arle, leaving her alone with Shardan. Shardan promised to free her from Gorlas and the two embarked on an affair.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 9, US SFBC p.360-361/380-385
By chance, Crokus (now Cutter) met Challice again in the street after his prolonged absence from Darujhistan.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 11, US SFBC p.456-457 They spent hours talking with Challice admitting she married Gorlas because she felt he owned her life after saving it on the night of the Gedderone Fête. They began meeting for trysts at a building House Vidikas owned by the docks.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 13, US SFBC p.541-543Toll the Hounds, Chapter 15, US SFBC p.615-620 Challice's infidelity was an open secret with her husband,Toll the Hounds, Chapter 17, US SFBC p.673/683-684 but while Gorlas seemed to relish his wife's descent into depravity, he could not abide her affairs with men who were unknown to him. He promised they would have a long discussion about the newest man in her life after he returned from a business trip to the Eldra Iron Mongers mine.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 15, US SFBC p.615-620Toll the Hounds, Chapter 17, US SFBC p.683-684
At the Phoenix Inn, Cutter learned his friend Murillio had gone to the Eldra iron mine in search of the missing boy Harllo and been slain in a duel with Gorlas Vidikas. He raced to the mine on horseback seeking vengeance.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 19, US SFBC p.787-788/798 Gorlas recognised him as the man who had taken Challice as his lover and decided Cutter had come to challenge him in his wife's name. When Cutter refused to be drawn into a duel, Gorlas drew his sword anyway and proclaimed that cowards did not deserve the honour of convention. In the blink of an eye, Gorlas was dead with two of Cutter's knives in his chest.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 21, US SFBC p.827-832 The young man rode back to the city determined to inform Challice her husband was dead and she was free, but their affair was over. He would not subject her to the gossip that would entail if she stood with her husband's killer.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 23, US SFBC p.924-925
However, unbeknown to him, Challice had heard about the death of Gorlas from Shardan Lim and, fearing the investigation and Cutter's execution, committed suicide by jumping from the tower of her estate.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 21, UK HB p.760-762/775/776Toll the Hounds, Chapter 23, Chapter 23, UK HB p.846-848
==Trivia==
According to Steven Erikson, Challice's name was meant to represent something unobtainable by Crokus--in effect a holy grail.Critical Conversations 08: Character Agency in Gardens of the Moon with Steven Erikson - A Critical Dragon - See 34:45
==Notes and references==
Category:Daru
Category:Females
Category:Nobles
de:Challice D'Arle
es:Cáliz D’Arle