I had a little aha moment reading last night that I completely missed the first time around with this book. There’s a brief episode, right after Karsa and Torvald manage to escape The Nascent, where they come ashore on the continent of Seven Cities. They run across an enigmatic character who identifies himself only as Keeper. Erikson provides no backstory on the character in the book but you know he’s “somebody” because he responds to one of Karsa’s insults by punching him in the chest so hard that he knocks Karsa out and breaks his ribs. By this point in the book, you know this is no small feat. Over the course of the chapter, they mend their relationship and “Keeper” sends them on their way to Ehrlitan.
The first time I read through the book, I had no idea who “Keeper” really was. He appears later in both “The Bonehunters” and “Return Of The Crimson Guard” (which I still have yet to read) but even after reading “The Bonehunters”, I still hadn’t made the connection. Even if I had, I don’t know that it would have meant much at the time. It was only after reading “DeadHouse Landing” that I made the connection. “Keeper” is actually Urko Crust – a member of Kellanved’s Old Guard. FINALLY!! I know. I know. I’m slow – but I am steady – I eventually get there.
It never ceases to amaze me how these guys keep their story straight and how everything eventually ticks and ties – it really is cool. If you’re a casual reader, the first time you run across this character – he is no one to you. At this point, you know very little about the Old Guard and the early history of the Malazan Empire. S.E. just drops him into the story – gives him a few pages – never tells you who he is – and then walks away from him. As you move through the books, you’re likely to forget him.
The next time you meet the character is in S.E.’s “The Bonehunters”. Not fully understanding why at the time, Apsalar travels through Shadow to visit Urko in the same location where Karsa had found him in “House Of Chains”. They have a brief conversation where he’s finally identified as Urko and he provides just the slightest peek into the past and his relationship with Kellanved, Dancer and Surly. There’s also an intimation that Dancer is sending a warning or a message to Urko but nothing more. Then Apsalar walks out and Urko disappears again from the narrative until he appears with a major role in I.E.’s “Return Of The Crimson Guard”.
Now – in the last few months, I.E releases “Deadhouse Landing” and tells the story of Kellanved and Dancer’s arrival in Malaz as young men and their assembly of most of the Old Guard. For the first time, you get to know Urko and his history – five years after he appears as Keeper in “House Of Chains”.
I don’t know what to think – except that this really is a pretty amazing collaboration. It would be hard enough for one writer to weave all these strands into whole cloth. I don’t know how the two of them have managed. I’m just very thankful that they have.