History Literature / DeadhouseGates

** Outside the ruins of a sacked city, Kalam encounters hundreds of children that have been crucified and left to die, once again hitting home how deep the hatred towards the Malazans runs in the ranks of the Army of the Apocylypse.

--> '''Baudin:''' Seven Cities has risen, lass. Dryjhna. The Whirlwind's come.
** "Sixty paces on, Keneb's mind was suddenly flooded with the memory of when he had last heard the word 'Jhistal'."

** This trope is first presented during flashbacks of Duiker, when he remembers how Empress Laseen crucified the defeated Wickan warlocks to the city wall in Unta.
** Then encountered by Kalam before outside the ruins of a sacked city. Hundreds of children have been crucified and left to die, once again hitting home how deep the hatred of the Malazans runs in the ranks of the Army of the Apocylypse.

* FirstEpisodeSpoiler: ''Deadhouse Gates'', the second book in the series, introduces a new setting and as soon as Chapter 5, Sha'ik, leader of the Whirlwind Rebellion, [[spoiler:is shot in the head on the brink of starting said rebellion]]. Seeing as the rebellion still is led by a seer named Sha'ik until its end, this comes as quite a shock to anyone not in the know.

* FaceHeelTurn: Korbolo Dom was a Napan Fist in the Malazan armies, but was passed over for promotion by Laseen due to his bloody nature. He opts to seize power as a military overlord and join the armies of the Whirlwind, slaughtering the Malazans ''en masse'' and even killing half of his legion (the half that refused to desert with him). He is left in command of the armies of the Apocalypse, answering only to Sha'ik.
** It gets worse. [[spoiler: In House of Chains, we find out that Korbolo Dom was actually Laseen's backup plan ''the whole time.'' If Coltaine wasn't able to pacify Seven Cities, then Korbolo Dom was supposed to betray Sha'ik to the Empress and destroy the Whirlwind from within (though much of this comes from Korbolo [[PleaseIWillDoAnything begging for his life]], but it would fit Laseen's MO to have a backup lackey).]]
** It gets so much worse. [[spoiler: Come ''The Bonehunters'', we find that Korbolo has become High Fist of ''all'' Malazan armies and is leading a pogrom against the Wickan people, taking out the anger of the Mezla for their impending starvation on those who fought hardest to ''stop'' it.]]

** It gets worse. [[spoiler: In House of Chains, we find out that Korbolo Dom was actually Laseen's backup plan ''the whole time.'' If Coltaine wasn't able to pacify Seven Cities, then Korbolo Dom was supposed to delivery Sha'ik to the Empress and destroy the Whirlwind from Within (though much of this comes from Korbolo begging for his life, but it would fit Laseen's MO).]]
** It gets so much worse. [[spoiler: Come ''The Bonehunters'', we find that Korbolo has become High Fist of ''all'' Malazan armies and is leading a pogrom against the Wickan people, taking out the anger of the Mezla for their impending starvation from the Whirlwind on those who fought hardest to ''stop'' it.]]

* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: As High Fist Pormqual orders the Aren army to march out and surrender en masse, Fist Blistig realizes how stupid this plan is and orders several companies of soldiers to remain inside the walls against the High Fist's orders. When the whole garrison is crucified the armies of the Whirlwind are confronted by just enough Malazans on the walls to hold it against them until Tavore arrives. Blistig's plan tags him as a coward but saves the civilians Coltaine gave his life to protect.

* ShootTheShaggyDog: After a continent-wide rebellion breaks out on the subcontinent of Seven Cities, a horribly outnumbered army manages to travel the entire breadth of said toward the city of Aren, the only remaining refuge for the Malazans, all the while defending huge numbers of civilians. After fighting and winning over two dozen large-scale attacks alone through all manner of obstacles they get within shoutong distance and the remaining soldiers fight to the death in order to get those they escorted to safety. The commander of Aren then listens to his treacherous adviser and marches out his 10,000 troops where [[spoiler:they are forced to surrender and are all crucified, together with the commander who led his army across the continent]]. If it hadn't been for some people acting on their own to secure the city, Aren and all its inhabitants would have been lost as well. For the bulk of the characters involved it was still too late, though.

* ThoseTwoGuys: Gesler and Stormy, members of the Malazan Coast Guard. They spend most of the book fighting each other like two brothers, but are still frighteningly competent. Even when they encounter a ship crewed by decapitated Tiste Edur, are ''accidentally'' made into Ascendants (Demigods) when they stumble into a Warren, smuggle a party of Imperial Fugitives off a prison island, find Coltaine by sailing the undead galley through magical dimensions, and continue to bully one another through the Apocalypse all the way to Aren's harbor. [[spoiler:And this doesn't take into account the shenanigans they get up to for the rest of the series.]]

* WarIsGlorious: A belief of Korbolo Dom's, as will be shown even more clearly in [[HouseOfChains ''House of Chains'']].

* ThoseTwoGuys: Gesler and Stormy, members of the Malazan Coast Guard. They spend most of the book fighting each other like two brothers, but are still frighteningly competent. Even when they encounter a ship crewed by decapitated Tiste Edur, are ''accidentally'' made into Ascendants (Demigods) when they stumble into a Warren, smuggle a party of Imperial Fugitives off a prison island, find Coltaine by sailing the undead galley through magical dimensions, and continue to bully one another through the Apocalypse all the way to Aren's harbor. [[Spoiler: And this doesn't take into account the shenanigans they get up to for the rest of the series.]]

* IconicSequelCharacter: [[spoiler: Karsa Orlong]] is first introduced in this book as [[spoiler: Sha'ik's unnamed Toblakai bodyguard]]. Also, Leoman of the Flails, Gesler and Stormy, Blistig, Keneb, Lostara Yil, Pearl, and T'amber.

* DefensiveFeintTrap: The 7th Army's Sappers build a stone road across a deep river overnight, with a Whirlwind army on both sides. Coltain leads half of the Wickans to ford the river on horseback while the other half stays to guard the crossing. The entire refugee train is able to cross in one morning, then the rearguard Wickans gallop to the safety of the other bank and reform to face their pursuers- but the Sappers don't move out of their way. The Whirlwind army crosses the road in pursuit when the Sappers reveal their own secret gambit: [[spoiler: they buried their ''entire'' cache of Moranth munitions in the road, linked to a single cord rope as the detonator, and blow it as thousands of Whirlwind soldiers are barely 50 paces away.]] Duiker nearly has a heart attack when he realizes how many people and animals just crossed a highway that could've exploded if any of the stones shifted too much.

* YouShallNotPass!: Cuttle's gambit at Sikhala River, when the Sappers blow up all of their munitions to destroy the road they'd spent all night building. Hundreds of Whirlwind soldiers are evaporated and Korbolo Dom is left stranded, with no way to pursue them for days.

* OccupiersOutOfOurCountry: The Whirlwind is a mass uprising of the peoples and tribes of Seven Cities to cast off Malazan "oppression" from their shores. After the uprising begins, only Aren and the Wickans [[spoilers: and the Khundryl]] remain to oppose an entire continent.

* RedShirt: When Duiker first arrives in Seven Cities, his tour guide is one Corporal List while everyone else in the army is undergoing training exercises. The reason List always has so much time to be his guide? He keeps getting killed right when the exercises start. [[Spoiler: List survives the entire Chain of Dogs, only to die within sight of the gates of Aren at Coltaine's side.]]

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Blistig calls on the best archer in all of Aren's garrison to [[spoiler: MercyKill Coltaine as he hangs from a crucifix, tortured by the army of the Whirlwind in sight of the entire Malazan army.]] Squint does it in one shot and is left a sobbing wreck, deserts, and becomes an inconsolable alcoholic.

* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Dryjhna the Apocalyptic, goddess of whirlwind.

* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: As High Fist Pormqual orders the Aren army to march out and surrender en masse. Fist Blistig realizes how stupid this plan is and orders several companies of soldiers to remain inside the walls against the High Fist's orders. When the whole garrison is crucified the armies of the Whirlwind are confronted by just enough Malazans on the walls to hold it against them until Tavore arrives. Blistig's plan tags him as a coward but saves the civilians Coltaine was able to lead to safety.
* TacticalWithdrawal: The entire Chain of Dogs is one long fighting retreat.

* ShootTheShaggyDog: After a continent-wide rebellion breaks out on the subcontinent of Seven Cities, a horribly outnumbered army manages to travel the entire breadth of said toward the city of Aren, the only remaining refuge for the Malazans, all the while defending huge numbers of civilians. After fighting and winning over two dozen large-scale attacks alone through all manner of obstacles they get within shoutong distance and the remaining soldiers fight to the death in order to get those they escorted to safety. The commander of Aren then listens to his treacherous adviser and marches out his 10,000 troops where [[spoiler:they are forced to surrender and are all crucified, togetehr with the commander who led his army across the continent]]. If it hadn't been for some people acting on their own to secure the city, Aren and all its inhabitants would have been lost as well. For the bulk of the characters involved it was still too late, though.
* TooDumbToLive: At the climax of the Chain of Dogs arc, [[spoiler:High Fist Pormqual panics when he notices the size of the enemy army besieging the city and attempts to surrender. All his officers agree that the city can hold easily against a siege, but Pormqual overrides them and marches most of the garrison outside to disarm--evidently forgetting that the Chain of Dogs happened because the uprising was conducting a pogrom against the "Mezla" outsiders. He is killed out of hand, and his army is crucified.]]

* WarIsHell: The Chain of Dogs.

** Also, the title "Deadhouse Gates," is a reference to how [[spoiler: the Chain of Dogs manages to reach the gates of Aren, only to be killed en masse.]]

* HeroicSacrifice: The end of the Chain of Dogs, with [[spoiler: the remnants of the Seventh Army and the Wickans sacrificing themselves to delay Korbolo Dom's army until the refugees reach Aren]].

* ShaggyDogStory: [[spoiler:The Chain of Dogs storyline ends with Coltaine and his soldiers slain within sight of the walls of Aren, and sees Duiker and ten thousand soldiers crucified, when their superior in Aren panics and tries to placate the Army of the Apocalypse's leaders, which only sees him killed.]] The only reason the [[ShootTheShaggyDog Dog was not Shot]] as well is because the metaphorical Dog succeeded at its mission.

* TheReveal: A major one pertaining to the MythArc: [[spoiler:Shadowthrone and Cotillion are actually Kellanved and Dancer ascended.]]

* {{DownerEnding}}: The Chain of Dogs ends with the [[spoiler: slaughter of Coltaine and the entire Seventh Army, and the subsequent execution of the Aren Army along with historian Duiker]]. Felisin starts to [[spoiler: lose her identity to the Whirlwind Goddess and is left only with her obsession with vengeance against her sister]]. Icarium awakens having forgotten the events of [[spoiler: the entire book, and Mappo leaves him to his ignorance]], leading to the realization that something like this has happened to them many times already. Adjunct Tavore arrives at [[spoiler: Aren to continue the war against the Whirlwind.]]

* Foreshadowing: Korbolo Dom's fondness for [[spoiler: crucifixion]].

* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: [[spoiler: Coltaine and the Seventh Army escort thirty thousand Malazan civilians across Seven Cities, and are systematically decimated by the Armies of the Apocalypse in the process, to finally be slaughtered within sight of the walls of Aren, the last city in the subcontinent under Malazan control.]]

** [[spoiler:Chapter 5 has several in a row as pieces fall into place. Apsalar still has the Rope's memories and at least some of his skills. The Emperor and his inner circle were not assassinated when Empress Laseen took over. They Ascended. Emperor Kellanved now rules High House Shadow and Dancer became the patron of assassins. If that led you to look at the appendix in the back of the book, you'll notice another of the inner circle in the high houses.]]
** [[spoiler:In the scene when Sha'ik fulfills the prophecy by opening the Book of Dryjna, all expectations are thrown aside as she is unexpectedly [[BoomHeadshot shot in the head]].]]
** [[spoiler:Felisin, Heboric and Kulp are ambushed by [[SwarmOfRats Gryllen]] inside the Whirlwind. Kulp is murdered, and Baudin [[BigDamnHeroes suddenly returns]] to save them in a gruesome HeroicSacrifice which leaves Felisin [[FreakOut broken]], providing the set up for the next wham:]]
** [[spoiler:After several chapters hinting at Apsalar journeying to Sha'ik's corpse to enact her prophecised resurrection, [[YouAreInCommandNow Felisin arrives instead]].]]
** [[spoiler:The slaughter of Coltaine and the entire 7th Army at the novel's climax is remembered as one of the most shocking moments in the series.]]