Hairlock

Summary

Hairlock is a cadre mage of the Malazan 2nd Army and an unpleasant rival of High Mage Tayschrenn. He is one of the most memorable minor characters of Gardens of the Moon, serving as a catalyst for several major plot developments. Ambitious, paranoid, and deeply unpleasant even before his transformation, Hairlock's fate illustrates the dangers of sorcery pushed beyond its boundaries and the consequences of bargains made with dark powers.

After being mortally wounded at the Siege of Pale, Hairlock's soul is transferred into a wooden puppet through a forbidden ritual performed by Tattersail, making him a soul-shifted entity — a marionette with the full sorcerous power of a cadre mage. This transformation progressively drives him mad, and he becomes an increasingly dangerous and unpredictable agent in the shadow war between the Bridgeburners and the Imperial command.

Arc by Book

Book 1: Gardens of the Moon

Hairlock first appears as one of the cadre mages attached to the Malazan 2nd Army during the Siege of Pale. He is stationed alongside Tattersail and Calot, and is noted for his bitter rivalry with High Mage Tayschrenn. When Tayschrenn orchestrates the deaths of the other High Mages during the battle against Anomander Rake and Moon's Spawn, Hairlock is critically wounded — his lower body destroyed by sorcery.

Tattersail, at Quick Ben's urging, performs a soul-shifting ritual that transfers Hairlock's soul into a small wooden marionette. This saves his life but at a terrible cost: the puppet form progressively erodes his sanity. Hairlock becomes a spy for the Bridgeburners, using his abilities to travel through warrens and gather intelligence on Tayschrenn's plans and the movements of Adjunct Lorn.

As his madness deepens, Hairlock begins to serve his own agenda. He travels through the warren of Shadow, attracting the attention of Shadowthrone and Cotillion. His increasingly erratic behavior and growing power make him a threat to everyone around him. He discovers Lorn's mission to free the Jaghut Tyrant Raest but uses this knowledge for his own purposes rather than sharing it fully.

Hairlock's end comes when Quick Ben and Tattersail confront him. His madness has made him uncontrollable, and he is ultimately destroyed — the puppet shattered and his soul dispersed. His brief existence as a soul-shifted marionette serves as a dark mirror to the series' themes about the costs of power and the fragility of identity when divorced from the body.

Key Relationships

• Tattersail — fellow cadre mage who performs his soul-shift; an uneasy alliance
• Quick Ben — the Bridgeburner mage who arranges the soul-shift and ultimately helps destroy him
• Tayschrenn — rival High Mage whom Hairlock despises and spies upon
• Whiskeyjack — sergeant who uses Hairlock's intelligence, warily
• Shadowthrone — god of Shadow whose realm Hairlock trespasses through

Notable Quotes

"They were all watching me, you know. They wanted me to fail." — GotM, Ch. 2

Appearances

See Also

• Bridgeburners — the military unit Hairlock serves
• Warrens — the magical paths Hairlock travels as a puppet
• Convergence — the convergence at Darujhistan that Hairlock becomes entangled in
• Malazan Empire — the empire Hairlock serves