Icarium

Major
First seen · Book 1 · Ch. 20

Icarium is a supporting character in Malazan Book of the Fallen (Book 1).

Gender: male
First appears: Book 1 · Ch. 20
Books: 2

Icarium first appears only as a legend in Gardens of the Moon, the mysterious builder who gifted Darujhistan a massive stone disc wheel more than a millennium ago, riding a Jaghut horse with a Trell at his side. In Deadhouse Gates the legend takes flesh: an ancient, towering Jhag warrior of half-Jaghut blood, wandering Seven Cities with his loyal Trell companion Mappo Runt. Beneath his gentle, scholarly demeanor lies a terrible secret: Icarium is a being of catastrophic destructive power whose memories are repeatedly lost. Mappo is sworn to keep that past hidden from him even as figures like Iskaral Pust seek to exploit him.

Description

The text identifies Icarium as a man of Jaghut blood but gives no details of his face, skin, hair, eyes, age, or build. His clothing and distinguishing features are likewise undescribed. The only visual particulars are his association with a Jaghut horse and the massive stone disc wheel he gifted to Darujhistan. An extraordinarily tall and lean Jhag warrior with dusky green skin and long braided black hair showing remnants of grey. His lined weather-worn face features slitted grey eyes, thin lips, and the ragged tips of tusks protruding from his lower lip. He wears a faded Tano telaba or deer-hide cloak over his lean frame, projecting an ancient and weathered presence.

Connections

Family & partnersFriends & mentorsRivals

G
Gothosfather
Icarium's Jaghut father, a figure connected to imprisonment by the Azath, whose legacy shapes Icarium's tragic nature.
IP
Iskaral Pustmanipulator
The scheming High Priest of Shadow who manipulates Icarium and Mappo toward his own ends involving the Azath and the Path of Hands.
Mappo Runtcompanion
The unnamed Trell glimpsed in Darujhistan's legend is likely the same kind of companion seen in Deadhouse Gates, where Mappo is revealed as Icarium's devoted friend and secret guardian. Mappo is sworn to keep Icarium from rediscovering his destructive past, so his loyalty is bound up with deception.
CB
Caladan Broodrival
A powerful Soletaken who stands opposed to the destructive force Icarium represents.

Story so far

BOOK 1Gardens of the Moon
- Referenced as having given Darujhistan a massive stone disc wheel over a thousand years earlier
- Remembered as riding a Jaghut horse with a Trell at his side
- Leaves an enduring but enigmatic trace in the city's history
BOOK 2Deadhouse Gates
- Introduced as a tall, ancient Jhag warrior wandering the wastes of Seven Cities alongside Mappo Runt
- His half-Jaghut heritage and lineage from Gothos are revealed
- Becomes entangled in Iskaral Pust's schemes concerning the Azath and the Path of Hands
- His latent, devastating power and lost memories emerge as a central mystery, with Mappo guarding him from the truth