Korbal Broach
Also known as: — | Race: Human (necromancer/flesh mage) | Warren/Affiliation: Hood's Path, flesh magicSummary
Korbal Broach is the silent, grotesque partner of Bauchelain — a eunuch necromancer and flesh mage who conducts horrifying experiments on living and dead bodies. Where Bauchelain is articulate and urbane, Korbal Broach is mute and monstrous, a serial killer whose victims are found mutilated and surgically altered.
Korbal Broach represents the series' willingness to portray evil in its mundane, pathological form — he is not a world-threatening villain but a predator who operates in the margins, leaving a trail of horror wherever he travels.
Arc by Book
Book 3: Memories of Ice
Korbal Broach travels with Bauchelain and Emancipor Reese in the caravan alongside Gruntle. His presence is marked by the disappearance and mutilation of people in their vicinity. He never speaks, communicating through gestures and through Bauchelain, who translates his partner's intentions with genteel detachment.
His flesh magic — the ability to reshape and manipulate living tissue — is deeply disturbing and is used for no purpose that could be called benign. Korbal Broach collects body parts and conducts experiments that combine necromancy with surgical alteration, creating homunculi and other aberrations.
Key Relationships
- Bauchelain — his partner and spokesman
- Emancipor Reese — their manservant
Appearances
| Book | Role |
| 3. Memories of Ice | Minor |
See Also
- Warrens — Hood's Path and flesh magic