The Complete Malazan Book of the Fallen

by Steven Erikson

‘You have mentioned the name earlier. Who is Tool?’ ‘Onos T’oolan, First Sword. The last time I saw him, he was even more bedraggled than you, dear, so there’s hope for you yet.’ ‘Onos T’oolan. I saw him but once.’ ‘The First Gathering, no doubt.’ ‘Yes. He spoke against the ritual.’ ‘So of course you hate him.’ The T’lan Imass did not immediately reply. The structure shifted wildly beneath them, their end pitching down as the floe punched clear, then lifting upward once more. There was not even a waver to Lanas Tog’s stance. She spoke. ‘Hate him? No. Of course I disagreed. We all did, and so he acquiesced. It is a common belief.’ Lady Envy waited, then crossed her arms and asked, ‘What is?’ ‘That truth is proved by weight of numbers. That what the many believe to be right, must be so. When I see Onos T’oolan once more, I will tell him: he was the one who was right.’ ‘I don’t think he holds a grudge, Lanas Tog. I suppose, thinking on it, that makes him unique among the T’lan Imass, doesn’t it?’ ‘He is the First Sword.’