Ryllandaras

Name: Ryllandaras

Pseudonyms: the White Jackal, Ryl

Age: (since the Human First Empire)

Race: Presumably human originally (HFE First Hero)

Appearance: 

Soletaken/D'ivers Form: Man-Jackal, Desert Wolves, Jackals, Ag'kor, Ay'tog -  "The White Jackal", a First Hero who mastered the gifts of Soletaken and D'ivers - Jackals, Ay'tog, Desert Wolves, Man-Jacka

Further Info: D'ivers

A Soletaken altered by the Beast Ritual that resulted in the destruction of the Human First Empire,  he gained mastery of the 'gifts' of the Soletaken to a much further extent than most others becoming both Soletaken and D'ivers, and having had many different forms.

Ryllandaras was originally a First Hero of the Human First Empire. Like many other First Heroes, Ryllandaras became a shapeshifter in the Beast Ritual and also managed to evade the T'lan Imass' slaughter of the shapeshifters.

Over time, Ryllandaras mastered his talents of shapeshifting greater than most Soletaken or D'ivers, evincing both abilities and numerous animal forms. He also frequently worked in tandem and clashed with Treach.

For centuries a man-jackal form of Ryllandaras resided on the Seti plains, hunting and terrorizing travellers and ambushing communities. In the early stages of the Malazan conquest of Quon Tali, Ryllandaras, Treach and Emperor Kellanved fought near the recently Malazan-occupied city of Li Heng. In that battle, Treach knocked Ryl into a chasm before Kellanved drove Treach off. The man-jackal form of Ryllandaras was imprisoned inside the chasm.

During the rebellion of the Old Guard in Quon Tali, Ryllandaras' man-jackal form was released from its captivity by _____, the defender of Li Heng. After massacring the besieging rebels, Ryllandaras escaped back to the Seti plains and continued killing travellers and poorly defended military companies.

Other forms of Ryllandaras have been seen while the man-jackal was imprisoned under Li Heng, leading the theory that Ryl's mastery of shapeshifting allowed him to isolate the insanity of the First Empire's Soletaken and D'ivers (as seen in many other former First Heroes) into a single form that was then severed from the rest of Ryl's forms. This isolated form developed into the crazed man-jackal, while the rest of Ryllandaras maintained a powerful, sane and communicative existance as D'ivers.

During the Whirlwind Rebellion, Ryllandaras was encountered by Mappo Runt and Icarium, and again later by Karsa Orlong. Both times he took the form of desert wolves, six with Mappo and Icarium, over a dozen with Karsa. Unlike most First Empire shapeshifters, Ryllandaras demonstrated at these times the ability to communicate telepathically, possibly a sign of greater mental stability (though Gryllen also spoke to Heboric and co. when sembled as a human).

Ryllandaras, the White Jackal, a D'ivers 

DG, Dramatis Personae

"There are six desert wolves on our trail.'...They are six, but they are one. D'ivers...Tonight, Ryllandaras hunts in the desert." 

DG, UK mmpb, p.47

"Long way from home, aren't we. Your brother Treach had it mind that he killed you. Where was that chasm? Dal Hon? Or was it Li Heng? You were D'ivers jackals then, I seem to recall." 

- Mappo Runt

DG, UK mmpb, p.47

'The Emperor (Kellanved) clashed with both Treach and Ryllandaras outside Li Heng. I was there.' 

- Fiddler

DG, UK MMPB, p.92

Ryllandaras, old friend - we fell out, clashed, then clashed again on another continent. He had gone the farthest, found a way to control the gifts - Soletaken and D'ivers both. White Jackal. Ay'tog. Agkor. 

- Treach

MoI, UK MMPB, p.314

There, the flow of excrement dribbled from a sculpture twice Hurl's height that of a closed

snouted dog's maw. As Hurl's vision adjusted she could make out more detail: long pointed ears,

slanted canine eyes. An entire carved hound's head, down here! In the dark! What could be the

reason for that?

But the nose was too long, the head too narrow. All of a sudden she recognized it a jackal.

Ryllandaras. The White Jackal of Winter. Quon's Curse. The man-jackal First Hero who rampaged

for centuries across these central plains rendering them all but impassable but for the intercession of

the tribes who worshipped him the Old Seti.

RotCG, p. 90?

Hurl looked up to meet the lambent; flame-red eyes of the beast watching her. The eyes tracked the

munition in her hand. A leg moved as it stepped toward her - Gods, what a stride! An aim stretched out,

talons closing - what reach!

Rell's duel with Ryllandaras

RotCG, p. 278 ?

He knew this man-beast Ryllandaras could coveground faster even than a horse.

RotCG, p. 279?

Ullen caught fleeting glimpses of a huge grey shape, astonishingly fast.

RotCG, p. 323?

Ahead, between her and the roaring; bonfire shooting its sparks into the night sky an elemental vision

confronted her: men, arms outstretched, shuffling side to side, closing in on a monster rearing some

three times their height, slashing, bellowing.

(...)

So fascinated was Hurl that she'd forgotten the battle. Six men now closed upon the beast. Roaring his

outrage, Ryllandaras swept his long muscled arms to throw them aside. But none fell. His blows slid

from firm broad shields, met sharp iron. Rearing once again, he hammered Temp down with a swipe of

one long arm. He bent down to snatch the stunned man in his maw, larger than a horse's head, but

Braven Tooth was there to cover Temp. He wielded a great two-handed blade with which he deflected

raking swings from Ryllandaras. Incredibly, Temp stood once more, shook the shattered ruins of the

shield from his arm, drawing a second weapon. The Seti warrior, Sweetgrass, charged in next, slicing

savagely, bellowing his own challenge. He leapt in against Ryllandaras's leading leg a hamstring! But

the monster kicked him away; Hurl could almost hear the ribs breaking from where she stood.

RotCG, p. 414?

Rearing back to his full massive height the monster opened its black-lipped jaws and loosed an

infuriated eruption of frustrated blood-lust that stunned Hurl where' she stood. It leapt upon Sweetgrass,

hammering him to the ground, but Temp was there to bull him back like a man holding up a falling

tower. A slash from Ryllandaras's black talons raked the mail and banded armour from the man's front

and he fell to his knees. Rell lunged in, jabbing, thrusting, and the man-jackal yielded a step howling

RotCG, p. 323?

Once known as the White Jackal, has become more powerful and now takes the form of wolves. Thrown into a chasm in Li Heng by Treach and assumed to have died. (MoI mmpb p.314)

Return to Dramatis Personae

Return to Soletaken and D'ivers