Icarium

Summary

Icarium is a half-Jaghut wanderer of immense age whose tragic curse is twofold: he possesses the power to destroy civilizations when his rage is unleashed, and he cannot remember doing so. Each time Icarium enters his killing rage, his memory is wiped clean, leaving him a gentle, curious scholar and tinkerer who has no knowledge of the devastation he has wrought. He has destroyed entire civilizations — leaving wastelands where cities once stood — and remembers none of it.

Icarium's tragedy is that he is, in his normal state, one of the kindest and most intellectually curious beings in the world. He builds intricate mechanisms, studies time and history, and treats others with genuine warmth. But this gentle nature is a facade over a weapon of apocalyptic power — one that various forces throughout the series seek to unleash or contain. The tension between Icarium the person and Icarium the destroyer drives every scene he appears in.

His partnership with Mappo Runt, the Trell warrior tasked with keeping Icarium calm and preventing his rage from manifesting, is one of the great tragic relationships in the series. Mappo's love for Icarium, and his burden of knowing what his friend truly is while Icarium does not, gives their dynamic a painful depth.

Arc by Book

Book 2: Deadhouse Gates

Icarium and Mappo travel across Seven Cities, encountering Fiddler's group and becoming drawn into the Path of Hands — the convergence of Soletaken and D'ivers seeking the gateway to ascendancy. Icarium's gentle nature is on full display, but hints of his destructive potential emerge in combat situations. Their journey to Tremorlor, the Azath House, reveals that Icarium was once trapped by an Azath and freed by Mappo — at enormous cost. The Azath attempts to reclaim him.

Book 4: House of Chains

Icarium and Mappo continue their wanderings, drawn into events in Seven Cities. The threat of Icarium's rage becomes more pronounced as various powers attempt to manipulate him. Shadowthrone in particular takes an interest in Icarium as a potential weapon. The relationship between Icarium and Mappo is tested as the truth of Mappo's guardianship becomes harder to maintain.

Book 6: The Bonehunters

Icarium is separated from Mappo through deliberate manipulation, removing the one person who can control his rage. He enters combat and begins to unleash his power, threatening destruction on a massive scale. Quick Ben confronts Icarium's unleashed power and barely survives. The full scope of Icarium's destructive capability is demonstrated, and the desperate need to either contain or redirect him becomes clear.

Book 7: Reaper's Gale

Icarium is brought to Letheras by Taralack Veed and the Senior Assessor as the intended weapon against Rhulad Sengar in the Emperor's arena. But the confrontation never actually happens. Before Icarium reaches the duelling ground, the Senior Assessor and Taralack successfully deflect him from the challenge entirely, and the trio flee the city. Word is brought to the throne room — "The challenger known as Icarium has fled, Emperor. Into the city. We are hunting him down." — and the relief among those who understand what Icarium is ("relief, yes, at what had been averted") is palpable. Contrary to popular memory, Icarium does NOT unleash his rage in Letheras in Reaper's Gale; the cataclysm is averted, not experienced.

Key Relationships

• Mappo Runt — guardian, friend, and the one person who can calm his rage; Mappo's devotion is absolute
• Shadowthrone — seeks to use Icarium as a weapon; manipulates events to separate him from Mappo
• Fiddler — encountered in DG; Fiddler recognizes the danger Icarium represents
• Quick Ben — confronts Icarium's unleashed power in BH
• Rhulad Sengar — the Emperor Icarium is brought to fight but never actually faces; the duel is deflected before it can happen
• Taralack Veed — manipulative handler who replaces Mappo

Notable Quotes

"I build things. I study time. I do not destroy." — DG (the tragedy being that he does, and forgets)

"Mappo, my friend — what am I?" — DG

"There are places in this world where nothing grows. Wastelands where cities once stood. Icarium has been to all of them." — DG

Appearances

See Also

• Jaghut
• Azath Houses
• Seven Cities
• Letheras