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.

An Aptorian demon from the Shadow realm who has adopted and fiercely protects a young boy. Apt is a deadly creature whose maternal instinct toward the child creates one of the novel's stranger and more affecting relationships.

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 crime lord within the otataral mines of Skullcup who controls access to food, shelter, and safety. Felisin enters into a degrading arrangement with Beneth to survive, and he represents the brutal power dynamics of the mining camp.

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 Fist commanding the Aren garrison. Blistig is a competent officer who finds himself increasingly frustrated by High Fist Pormqual's cowardice and political manoeuvring as the rebellion closes in on the last Malazan stronghold in Seven Cities.

Coltaine's veteran Wickan second-in-command. Bult is scarred, laconic, and utterly loyal to his commander. He serves as the bridge between Coltaine's Wickan warriors and the Malazan regulars under their command.

A Malazan captain serving in the Chain of Dogs. Lull is a grizzled, practical officer whose dark humour and steady competence make him a reliable presence amid the march's mounting horrors.

The Fist commanding the Malazan 7th Army and a Wickan war leader. Coltaine is tasked with escorting tens of thousands of Malazan refugees across the Holy Desert Raraku to the safety of Aren while under constant attack from the forces of the Whirlwind rebellion. His tactical brilliance and iron will define the Chain of Dogs.

A young Malazan corporal attached to the 7th Army who becomes Duiker's companion during the Chain of Dogs. List is earnest and observant, providing a younger soldier's perspective on the horrors of the march.

One of the two gods who rule the Realm of Shadow, Cotillion is the patron of assassins and one of the sequence's most active divine participants in mortal affairs. Where Shadowthrone operates through misdirection, Cotillion is more direct - he intervenes personally and is bound by a personal code that distinguishes him from the series' more purely transactional divine figures.

A young thief operating across Darujhistan's rooftops, Crokus Younghand is drawn into events considerably beyond his experience when a routine theft places him at the intersection of imperial and divine interest in the city. He is defined by the combination of competence in his chosen field and complete unpreparedness for everything surrounding it.

A Malazan sapper veteran serving in the 14th Army under Adjunct Tavore. Cuttle is experienced, cynical, and devoted to his explosives with the professional affection common to Malazan sappers.

An Imperial Historian attached to the Malazan 7th Army on the Seven Cities continent. Duiker is a veteran observer of military campaigns who finds himself drawn into the Chain of Dogs, the desperate march of Coltaine's forces across the Holy Desert. His role as chronicler forces him to witness events he is powerless to change.

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 within the Whirlwind rebellion who conspires against Sha'ik. Febryl is scheming and treacherous, pursuing his own path to power by manipulating the rebellion's internal politics and playing various factions against each other.

The youngest sister of Ganoes Paran, cast into the otataral mines of Skullcup during the Malazan nobility purge ordered by Adjunct Tavore. Felisin's experiences in the mines harden her into someone very different from the sheltered noblewoman she once was. Her journey through suffering and rage shapes the Whirlwind rebellion.

A sapper and one of the Bridgeburners' longest-serving members, Fiddler is defined by a sardonic pragmatism that functions as both coping mechanism and genuine philosophy. He is exceptionally good at his work and exceptionally tired of the circumstances that require it. His card readings recur across the sequence as moments of unwanted clarity.

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 Malazan sergeant whose experiences during the novel transform him in ways he does not fully understand. Gesler is a veteran soldier, practical and laconic, who endures extraordinary circumstances with the stoicism characteristic of long-service marines.