Bauchelain

Summary

Bauchelain is a necromancer of formidable power and urbane sophistication who appears in Memories of Ice alongside his silent partner Korbal Broach and their long-suffering manservant Emancipor Reese. The pair are traveling serial killers — Bauchelain provides the intellectual veneer while Korbal Broach commits unspeakable acts of mutilation and experimentation.

Bauchelain is notable as one of the few Malazan characters to cross over into his own spin-off series — the Bauchelain and Korbal Broach novellas by Steven Erikson, which follow their misadventures across the world. In the main series, they provide a darkly comic counterpoint to the grander dramas.

Arc by Book

Book 3: Memories of Ice

Bauchelain and Korbal Broach appear as travelers in the same caravan as Gruntle and Stonny Menackis, heading through territory threatened by the Pannion Domin. Their presence is unsettling — mysterious deaths follow in their wake, and the other caravan members gradually realize they are in the company of something very dangerous.

Bauchelain is portrayed as cultured, articulate, and genuinely interested in intellectual conversation — he simply happens to be a necromancer with no moral compass. His magic is potent, drawing on Hood's Path to raise and control the dead, and he demonstrates a casual mastery that suggests he is far more powerful than his quiet lifestyle would indicate.

During the events at Capustan and the wider campaign, Bauchelain and Korbal Broach pursue their own agenda, interacting with the larger conflict only when it serves their interests. They eventually depart the narrative, continuing their wanderings.

Key Relationships

• Korbal Broach — his silent, murderous partner
• Emancipor Reese — their manservant, a decent man trapped in service to monsters
• Gruntle — caravan companion, mutual wariness

Appearances

See Also

• Warrens — Hood's Path, the death warren
• Hood — the god of death whose warren Bauchelain draws on