Kurald Emurlahn

The Elder Warren of the Tiste Edur, breached into the mortal realm by magic and madness.

In Steven Erikson's Deadhouse Gates, Kurald Emurlahn appears not as a distant ancestral home, but as a dangerous, active warren that intrudes upon the mortal world. During a chaotic escape from an otataral mine on a small island off Seven Cities, Duiker, Baudin, and Heboric are drawn into this watery realm by a mad mage. It specifically as the Elder Warren of the Tiste Edur, distinct from the Shadow Warren claimed by Laseen. It is here that headless Tiste Andii oarsmen still row a vessel called the Silanda, while corpses of Tiste Edur lie in the captain's cabin.

Quick Facts

Type

Elder Warren

Inhabitants

T'lan Imass (Logros)
headless Tiste Andii oarsmen
Tiste Edur corpses

Nature

Watery extension in the mortal realm

Lore & Background

Kurald Emurlahn manifests in Deadhouse Gates as a watery extension that traps travelers within its bounds. When Baudin, Heboric, and Duiker enter this warren, they encounter headless Tiste Andii oarsmen who continue to respond to commands despite their decapitated state. In the captain's cabin of the ship Silanda, they find what appear to be Tiste Edur corpses. The realm is inhabited by Logros T'lan Imass warriors led by Bonecaster Hentos Ilm, who are pursuing an unnamed quarry within it. To heal a breach in the warren caused by human intrusion, one of these T'lan Imass sacrifices themselves, taking a severed Tiste Andii head with them before leaving the humans stranded to find their own way out.

Reader's Guide

Access to Kurald Emurlahn in this instance was accidental, resulting from a mad mage's spell that pulled travelers into its watery extension. Once inside, the realm is populated by entities such as headless Tiste Andii oarsmen and T'lan Imass warriors led by Hentos Ilm. Travelers cannot rely on these beings for rescue; indeed, when the T'lan Imass sacrificed one of their own to heal a breach in the warren, they explicitly left the humans behind. The only way out is self-reliance, as no external aid remains once the T'lan Imass depart.