Warrens are other planes which act as conduits of magic. You can travel into a warren, or simply draw on its powers in the material world. The number of warrens has not been revealed, but is probably around 20-30. There is a finite number of them. IIRC, the origins of the warrens are revealed in Book 6.



Check out this family tree:

http://forum.malazanempire.com/index.php?showtopic=3588&st=0

The Tistes appear to be (more or less) the same race split into three distinct species by events millions of years back in time, with the Andii following Darkness, the Liosans Light and the Edur Shadow.



The Jaghut were a race of tusked, green humanoids who were the dominant species on the Malaz world 300,000-odd years back. The Jaghut were rebelled against and almost destroyed by the T'lan Imass (Neanderthal humans, basically, before they became an undead race of badass warriors thanks to their Ritual). During these wars/pogroms the Jaghut unleashed their ice magic, creating the ice fields in Quon Tali, Genabackis and Lether, both as a way of slowing down the Imass and also allowing them to get into suspended animation to escape the Imass.

The average Jaghut is pretty tough, but far more powerful are the Jaghut Tyrants, who can get into ruckuses with dragons and survive.



The Azath are an extremely enigmatic and mysterious species. IIRC, no Azath being has actually appeared in the series, only the Azath Houses. The goal of the Azath Houses is to find powerful beings and imprison them as a sort of anti-Convergence safety measure, although the locations of the Azath Houses are pretty well-known and people can avoid them with care.



People 'Ascend' when they become unstoppably badass. That's about the only criteria that can be found. When they become powerful enough they will ascend to become Ascendants, who are effectively demigods. Ascendants are still vulnerable to death in battle, but effecively become immortal, gain magical powers and are far more resilient to injury. They also become far more likely to be picked by the gods to fulfil positions in the Houses.

Gods are a mixture of ancient beings from before the dawn of time (the elder gods) and Ascendants who have moved on to the next level beyond Ascendancy, usually by gaining worshippers and followers as an Ascendant. Gods have areas of interest and responsibility they must attend to. Gods are also pretty much supreme in their own warrens/planes, but are much more vulnerable if they enter the mortal world, and can die or lose their powers if they return to the mortal world (this is what happened to Fener in DEADHOUSE GATES).



The Houses are families or, more appropriately, organisations of gods and Ascendants which arrange them in a hierarchy (sometimes unwillingly). Once located in a House, the gods and Ascendants become locked into playing by a series of rules, adjudicated by the Master of the Deck, a non-permanant role 'spun out' a la a ta'veren whenever there are major fluctuations in the Houses, such as during the current situation in the books with the Crippled God. The Houses effectively provide a system of control and conflict which allows the gods and Ascendants to scheme and feud with one another without blowing up the entire universe. They also allow mortals to get glimpses of the current state of play in the heavens via the Deck of Dragons.

Holds are simply the older, less formal form of Houses. Rather than the Deck of Dragons, the Holds can be divined through a more primitive, less expositionary game called Tiles. IIRC, the Holds also have magical energies which can be tapped, but this form of sorcery was supersceded by warren magic millennia ago (aside from in Lether).



No, the Crippled God is not the Dark One or Sauron, although there are certainly those in the world who view him as such. Others see the Crippled God's presence as an opportunity to shake up the existing system of magic, gods and Ascendants and to rewrite the rules. Others are simply taking advantage of the factions wringing their hands over what to do with him to pursue their own agendas.

The Crippled God storyline is important, but I think the more prominent thread revolves around the shattered Warren of Shadow and the attempts of various groups to take control of it (most notably Shadowthrone and Cotillion).