Given that Noish-pa was likely in his forties and possibly still living in Fenario at the time of Brokedown Palace, combined with the fact that we don't know his real name, it is interesting to consider the fact that he may, in fact, have made an appearance in that story--and who he might have been.
We know that he is of peasant stock (according to Verra's comments to Vlad in Issola), which precludes most of the major characters in the story. (Indeed, it eliminates almost everyone except for Miska).
Could Noish-pa be Miska the coachman? (If so, it would be odd that Morrolan does not recognize him in Phoenix, assuming, of course, that Miska from The Paths of the Dead is the same as the Miska from Brokedown Palace.)
Another possibility would be Ambrus the Fat, the cook. (See Speculation:Ambrus the Fat)
Noish-pa is renowned as a good cook, and he's fat--and even has a cat named Ambrus. Coincidence? Or something more?
It seems unlikely that Noish-pa would give his familiar the same name as himself, but who can say?
A third possibility is Károly, the door guard.
Noish-pa is known to be an excellent fencer. Could this be as the result of having served in the Palace guard in his youth? This might also explain how he became involved in military service.
But, considering Noish-Pa raised Vlad's father in the Empire, and Brokedown Palace ends with Cawti's birth, the timing seems unlikely
Noish-Pa's Military Service[]
We know that Noish-Pa served in an army when he was living in the East.
Could this have been the army of Fenario that was attacking the Northmen during the events of Brokedown Palace? While the timing of this would be about right, the Fenarian army at that time was successful in repelling the Northmen, which doesn't quite jibe with Noish-Pa's account of his military experience.
Secret Lover of Zerika[]
Noish-Pa is a male witch, which is to say, what Paarfi calls a Warlock. We do not know his true name, which might well be Laszlo. He has a white cat, Ambrus, as a familiar, who might be {a descendant of} Sireng. If he ever had a dog/wolf, it might well have been killed without siring offspring. Zerika spoke to Vlad of her lover Laszlo in the present tense, so he is presumably still alive, especially since witches are known to be long lived.
There is little enough evidence to support this, but it is an intriguing concept. Unfortunately, Vlad has met Lazslo since this theory was introduced, which debunks it.
His Given Name[]
Vlad's father was obsessed with becoming as Dragaeran as possible, and with bringing his son up to dress, behave, fight and think like one. So why did he not insist that the boy be given a Dragaeran-sounding name? Possibly because he felt obligated to name his child - his own father's sole living grandchild - after his papa. We never hear Noish-pa called by his given name because he's named "Vlad Taltos" too, and calling both characters by the same name would be confusing, both to readers and to others in-universe.