Without another word, or a single glance spared for the boy standing beside the commander, she swung about and, flanked by her silent bodyguards, re-entered the citadel.
Ganoes and the commander returned their attention to the riot in the Mouse. Flames were visible, climbing through the smoke.
“One day I'll be a soldier,” Ganoes said.
The man grunted. “Only if you fail at all else, son. Taking up the sword is the last act of desperate men. Mark my words and find yourself a more worthy dream.”
Ganoes scowled. “You're not like the other soldiers I've talked to. You sound more like my father.”
“But I'm not your father,” the man growled.
“The world,” Ganoes said, “doesn't need another Izrine merchant.” The commander's eyes narrowed, gauging. He opened his mouth to make the obvious reply, then shut it again.
Ganoes Paran looked back down at the burning quarter, pleased with himself. Even a boy, Commander, can make a point.
Mock's Vane swung once more. Hot smoke rolled over the wall, engulfing them. A reek of burning cloth, scorched paint and stone, and now of something sweet. “An abattoir's caught fire,” Ganoes said. “Pigs.”
The commander grimaced. After a long moment he sighed and leaned back down on the merlon. “As you say, boy, as you say.”
In the eighth year the Free Cities of Genabackis established contracts with a number of mercenary armies to oppose the Imperium's advance; prominent among these were the Crimson Guard, under the command of Prince K'azz D'Avore (see Volumes III & V); and the Tiste And? regiments of Moon's Spawn, under the command of Caladan Brood and others.
The forces of the Malazan Empire, commanded by High Fist Dujek Onearm, consisted in that year of the 2nd, 5th and 6th Armies, as well as legions of Moranth.
In retrospect two observations can be made. The first is that the Moranth alliance of 1156 marked a fundamental change in the science of warfare for the Malazan Imperium, which would prove efficacious in the short term. The second observation worth noting is that the involvement of the sorcerous Tiste And? of Moon's Spawn represented the beginning of the continent's Sorcery Enfilade, with devastating consequences.
In the Year of Burn's Sleep 1163, the Siege of Pale ended with a now legendary sorcerous conflagration. .