The middle Beddict brother, a former Sentinel who betrayed the tribes he was sworn to protect when Letherii expansion demanded it. Hull is consumed by guilt and has turned against Lether, seeking to bring about its destruction through alliance with the Tiste Edur.

King of the Lether Empire; head of the Diskanar dynasty. Increasingly remote from his court as the Edur invasion unfolds.

Queen of Lether, mother of Prince Quillas. Manoeuvres against her husband through the Errant and her own faction at court.

Crown Prince of Lether, son of Ezgara and Janall. Boorish and rash; suggests assassinating Rhulad during the Letherii embassy.

A Letherii Finadd (military officer) and serial killer who uses his position and wealth to indulge his compulsion for murder. Gerun is powerful, politically connected, and deeply dangerous.

A young Darujhistani nobleman and skilled duellist who has married Challice D'Arle. Gorlas is ambitious, cruel, and uses his skill with a sword to eliminate political rivals through the legal fiction of the duel.

Chancellor of Lether and chief politician of the Diskanar court. The poisoner whose tainted water kills Brys Beddict after the duel with Rhulad.

Factor of Drene, brutal Letherii bureaucrat behind the Awl displacement and the assassination war against rival officials.

The head of the Patriotists, the secret police of the Letherii Empire under Tiste Edur rule. Karos is intelligent, sadistic, and obsessed with puzzles and power. He uses his position to terrorise the population while pursuing his own agenda.

Letherii oligarch and head of Liberty Consign. Obsessed with the strange artifacts being dredged from the estate excavation.

The First Concubine to Emperor Rhulad. Nisall is a Letherii woman who navigates the dangerous politics of the Edur court, using her position close to the emperor to pursue her own survival and the interests she serves.

A councillor in Darujhistan and a skilled political manipulator. Turban Orr is ambitious and ruthless, working to consolidate power within the city's Council of Nobles. He schemes to align Darujhistan with the Malazan Empire for his own benefit.

Letherii academic tortured in the Patriotists' dungeon by Tanal Yathvanar; freed by Bugg and given refuge in Tehol Beddict's household. Later becomes Chancellor under Emperor Tehol.

A Letherii Acquitor - a sanctioned diplomat and guide between the Letherii and the Tiste Edur. Seren is competent and perceptive but carries emotional scars from a past betrayal. Her role as intermediary places her at the nexus of the coming war between two civilisations.

A thief in Letheras who happens to be dead - an undead woman animated by residual magic, she retains her personality and appetites despite her condition. Shurq is pragmatic, darkly humorous, and enlisted by Tehol in his economic schemes.

An agent of the Patriotists and subordinate to Karos Invictad. Tanal is cruel, weak, and abuses his power over prisoners. He represents the petty evil enabled by authoritarian systems.

Letherii bodyguard rising in Chancellor Triban Gnol's service; the agent assigned to manage Rhulad's grievances at court.

A wealthy Malazan noble among the refugees of the Chain of Dogs. Nethpara is self-important, cowardly, and endlessly complaining, representing the civilian burden that Coltaine's forces must protect even as they fight for survival.

An Atri-Preda (military commander) of the Letherii forces tasked with subjugating the Awl'ari. Bivatt is competent, pragmatic, and increasingly troubled by both the Awl resistance and the political machinations of the Tiste Edur overlords she nominally serves.

Tehol Beddict's apparently humble manservant, an old man of unassuming appearance who handles the practical details of Tehol's schemes with quiet competence. Bugg's true nature is considerably more than his presentation suggests.