The Tiste Andii are an ancient people of darkness, led by Anomander Rake from their stronghold of Moon's Spawn - a vast floating fortress of hollowed-out black stone that has drifted across the skies of multiple continents over millennia. During the Genabackis campaign Moon's Spawn positions itself above the siege of Pale, its presence a constant reminder that the forces opposing the Malazan Empire include powers that do not measure themselves against human armies. The Tiste Andii are not simply a military asset - they are a civilisation whose concerns and griefs predate the current world by millennia, and whose involvement in present conflicts is shaped by obligations most mortals cannot fully comprehend.

The coalition of forces opposing the Malazan Empire's expansion across Genabackis, commanded by Caladan Brood and including the Tiste Andii forces of Anomander Rake, the Crimson Guard mercenary company, and various city-states and peoples resisting imperial annexation. The alliance is held together by shared opposition to the Empire rather than by any common positive vision, and the management of its internal tensions is a significant part of Brood's command challenge. The alliance has held the Malazan advance to a stalemate across years of war, an achievement that reflects the quality of its leadership as much as the scale of the forces involved.