Dog-Runners

The Dog-Runners were a people that once lived in the forests of Kurald Galain before it became a Tiste realm. But as the forests disappeared they were driven far to the southwest, leaving only a trace of their lineage behind in the Deniers.Forge of Darkness, Chapter 10, UK HC p.296 
Dog-Runners were said to be "open to all pleasures and joys... they laugh with ease and weep with even greater ease. Every word is a confession and they do not understand dissembling. To speak with a Dog-Runner... is to be humbled and to feel blessed."Forge of Darkness, Chapter 10, UK HC p.297 Draconus said they were "vulnerable to deep hurts."Forge of Darkness, Chapter 11, UK HC p.321
Dog-Runners practiced magic through witches and warlocks called Bonecasters. Their magic was about fire and earth, and tree and root. It feared the sky.Forge of Darkness, Chapter 10, UK HC p.296 Their greatest witch was Burn, the Dreamer, who stayed behind when the Dog-Runners left Kurald Galain. In a hidden temple buried near Tulla Hold, Burn slept as her body became one with the thick roots of the forest. Rancept, the Tulla castellan and Denier, said Burn dreamed "so that we may live... she dreams, to give us our freedom."Forge of Darkness, Chapter 10, UK HC p.297/304
The Dog-Runners were a favorite of the Azathanai, Olar Ethil, who said she enjoyed spending time among them because she was a "cruel goddess" and they were "so easy to bait that I cannot help myself." Their worship fed her with its desperation and yearning. The prayers of the Bonecasters felt "like biting ants beneath the furs. It drives me mad."Forge of Darkness, Chapter 11, UK HC p.321
In addition to their spoken language they possessed a language of silent gestures. Their manner of singing as of with two voices was unnerving to the Tiste ear.Fall of Light, Chapter 6, US HC p.163
==Notable Dog-Runners==
*Cadig Aval
*Hataras Raze, Bonecaster
*Ifayle
*Vastala Trembler, Bonecaster
==In Fall of Light==
Korya Delath met a young dog-runner called Ifayle. He told her that his name meant 'falling sky' and said it was because he had fallen from the sky a statement Korlat dismissed.Fall of Light, Chapter 6, UK HC p.162-164
The Dog-Runner Bonecasters, Hataras Raze and Vastala Trembler were called by two captains of the Hust Legion, Prazek Goul and Dathenar, to perform a ritual. They explained to the man sent to fetch them, Listar, that the 'mother' (Olar Ethil by context) was keeping the sleeping goddess from waking and that this sleep was weakening the Dog-Runners who soon would be no more, however that 'mother' also hinted at immortality.Fall of Light, Chapter 21, UK HC p.637/638 Later on the journey, the two Bonecasters had sex with Listar which they said left them pregnant. They told him that his offspring would bear the tilt of his eyes and that their creation promised life beyond the fate of the dog-runners.Fall of Light, Chapter 21, UK HC p.641/657/658
The Bonecasters told Listar that they were able to detect the presence of any Azathanai with the help of their magic which they called Tellanas.Fall of Light, Chapter 21, UK HC p.658
Cadig Aval seemed to be explaining the prerequisites for conducting the Ritual of Tellann to Ifayle whom Korya Delath had brought to him.Fall of Light, Chapter 23, UK B p.713/714
==Conclusions==
The evidence is overwhelming that the Dog-Runners were the forebears of the Imass. The events from Fall of Light also seem to indicate the presence of Tiste blood within the Imass. In a 2021 interview, author Steven Erikson confirmed that the Dog-Runners were the ancestors of the T'lan Imass (and therefore the Imass).Deadhouse Gates: A Chat with Steven Erikson, Part 4 - Claudia Iovanovici - See 25:45
==Notes and references==
Category:Kurald Galain