A young noble-born officer from a wealthy Malazan merchant family, Ganoes Paran enters imperial service with more idealism than the Malazan military is accustomed to accommodating. His assignment to the Bridgeburners as their new captain places him at the intersection of forces far older and more dangerous than any conventional military command. Paran is defined by his capacity to absorb disillusionment without becoming cynical - a quality the world he inhabits tests repeatedly.

A Teblor warrior of the Uryd tribe, descended from the Thelomen Toblakai. Karsa begins as a young warrior driven by arrogance and the desire for glory, seeking to raid the lowlands as his grandfather once did. His journey across the novel transforms him from a provincial tribesman into something far more significant, as he discovers the lies underpinning his people's beliefs and forges his own path against the machinations of gods.

A High Mage of the Whirlwind rebellion and a deeply malevolent figure. Bidithal is a practitioner of the Shadow warren who pursues his own agenda within the rebellion, driven by personal obsessions and cruelty that make him dangerous even to his supposed allies.

The ruler of the Malazan Empire, Laseen came to power through the Claw and has maintained that power through a combination of political ruthlessness and calculated distance from the empire's military campaigns. She is one of the sequence's most deliberately ambiguous figures - her decisions cause enormous suffering, and the sequence neither excuses nor simply condemns her.

A High Mage who has joined the Whirlwind rebellion and serves as one of its principal sorcerous assets. Kamist Reloe's power makes him a dangerous opponent for the Malazan forces, and his alliance with Korbolo Dom strengthens the rebellion's military capability.

A renegade Malazan Fist who has defected to the Whirlwind rebellion and commands the army known as the Dogslayers. Korbolo Dom is ruthless, ambitious, and driven by a personal hatred of the Malazan military hierarchy that once employed him.

The Adjunct - the Empress's personal instrument and the empire's highest-ranking operative below Laseen herself. Lorn is defined by the completeness of her dedication to the imperial purpose. She carries Otataral, a magic-negating ore, that makes her uniquely dangerous to mages.

A Jhistal priest and political adviser whose influence extends far beyond his apparent station. Mallick Rel operates through whispered counsel and careful manipulation, positioning himself at the intersection of power with a patience that suggests long-term designs.

A Jaghut Tyrant imprisoned beneath the Gadrobi Hills outside Darujhistan by the T'lan Imass thousands of years before the events of Gardens of the Moon. His potential release is the crisis that drives much of the novel's latter half. Raest represents a category of power that predates the current world's entire political and religious architecture.

An alien deity pulled into the Malazan world from another realm and chained by the Elder Gods. Broken and in constant agony, the Crippled God seeks to corrupt and destroy the world that imprisons him. His poisoned influence spreads through the Pannion Domin and touches events across the continent.

The First Child of the Dead Seed - the leader of the Tenescowri, the Pannion Seer's army of starving peasant cannibals. Anaster was born of a mother raped by an undead soldier and carries a connection to death that defines his terrible authority over the desperate masses who follow him.

Lord of Moon's Spawn and leader of the Tiste Andii, an ancient people of darkness who have outlasted most of what they once cared about. Anomander Rake is among the most powerful beings in the Malazan world, carrying a sword called Dragnipur whose nature is itself a kind of story. He is defined by the combination of immense power and genuine weariness, and by a code whose contours become clearer across the sequence.

A young fisher's daughter from a coastal village who was possessed by the god Cotillion and used as an instrument of assassination before being encountered by the Bridgeburners. Apsalar is defined by the difficulty of reclaiming an identity after it has been occupied by something else, and by skills she did not choose and cannot entirely discard.

A former priest of D'rek, the Worm of Autumn, who has fallen into alcoholism after the destruction of his temple and the murder of his fellow priests. Banaschar carries knowledge about the machinations of the gods that makes him both valuable and endangered.

A blacksmith and former soldier living in exile in Seven Cities. Barathol is Kalam's cousin, a massive man with a gentle disposition who is drawn back into conflict despite his desire for a quiet life.

A High Alchemist and one of the senior members of Darujhistan's T'orrud Cabal. Baruk is defined by the tension between his considerable power and his institutional caution - he is capable of decisive action but prefers to understand a situation fully before committing to it.

A necromancer of considerable power and refined tastes who travels with his partner Korbal Broach. Bauchelain is urbane, intellectual, and entirely amoral - he pursues knowledge of death and undeath with the detachment of an academic, indifferent to the suffering his studies require.

A heavyset, taciturn man sentenced to the otataral mines alongside Heboric and Felisin. Baudin presents himself as a common thug but his true nature and purpose are considerably more complex. He endures Felisin's contempt with a patience that hints at deeper motivations.

A Malazan mage of extraordinary latent power serving in the Bonehunters. Beak is childlike in manner, gentle, and appears simple, but he can open every Warren simultaneously - a feat that should be impossible. His story is one of the novel's most devastating emotional threads.

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.