Malus Darkblade
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Malus Darkblade is a Dark Elf best known for his appearances in the "Tale of Malus Darkblade" comic & novel series.
Malus' name is a double play on words, with Malus sounding similar to malice, an attribute Malus' possesses in abundance, 'Malus' is also the Latin word for 'wicked'.
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[edit] Background
[edit] The Daemon's Curse
The bastard son of the Vaulkhar of Hag Graef, (hence the surname Darkblade, a name given to all bastard Druchii) Malus displayed all "virtues" expected from a Dark Elf - unscrupulousness, cruelty, cunning and ambition. Like all of his kin, he sought to extend his influence even more. In order to do so (and to escape the unfortunate consequences of an earlier business venture), Malus set off into the Chaos Wastes in search of an ancient treasure. He eventually found the treasure, but by doing so awakened the daemon Tz'arkan, called the "Drinker of Worlds" by some. After possessing Malus and threatening to kill him, he left the Dark Elf only one chance: to gather five magical artifacts the demon needed to free him. Tz'arkan set Malus a time limit of one year to succeed. The first artifact was a brass medallion in the shape of an octagon, covered in runes. Malus fought his way through a herd of Beastmen, killing a shaman and a mutated Beastman, which was guarding the Octagon in its cave. The Octagon protects the wearer seemingly from all magic, though Malus has not worn it during every interaction he has had with sorcery. While wearing it, he is immune to most spells and can pass through magical wards without ill effect. The Octagon is eventually destroyed by Tz'arkan who reduced it to slag with a single magical blast.
[edit] Bloodstorm
Before setting out to find the second artifact, the Idol of Kolkuth, Malus returned to his home city of Hag Graef. Infiltrating an underground cult within the city, Malus cooperated with the temple to root them out. He was then sent before the Drachau of Hag Graef, where he blackmailed him into giving him a Writ of Iron, a set of documents giving him virtually the same level of power as the Drachau to accomplish a goal. Malus convinced the Drachau to give him the Writ to exterminate the Skin Riders, a Norse pirate force who have no skin of their own due to the diseases that comes with worship of Nurgle, and must horde the skin of their captured prey in order to cover their raw bodies. The pirates were reportedly based on the Island of Morhaut, where Malus had previously determined the Idol of Kolkuth was hidden. He used the Writ to take command of his eldest brother Bruglir's reaver fleet and storm the pirate's fortress, taking with him his half-sister Yasmir and other half-brother, Urial. He proceeded to play his siblings off against one another to prevent any of them killing him. After a series of schemes, back-stabbing and double-crossing, Malus and the group finally defeated the Skinriders, although they were nearly undone when Bruglir's first-mate betrayed them to the Skinrider Chief. During the final battle, Malus and Bruglir took the opportunity to attempt to kill one another, with Malus emerging the victor. While slaying the Skinriders, Malus found what he was looking for: the entrance to a sanctum in another dimension, in which the sorcerer Eradorius had hidden the Idol. The idol is barely a foot in height, made from brass, and was created by the sorcerer Eradorius, who fled to the island and made a sanctum in another dimension to hide both himself and the idol from Tz'arkan. The Idol has the ability to warp space and time for its possessor, allowing for transportation to wherever, and perhaps even whenever, the user wishes to go. Malus has used it successfully, though he loathed the experience and it proved to be not as accurate as he hoped it would.
Malus only ever used the Idol twice in the series, once on the Isle of Morhaut to escape the tower it was placed in, and the second time to escape a party of murderous autarii out to kill him in revenge. The Idol was lost beneath the rubble when the Temple of Tz'arkan crumbled.
[edit] Reaper of Souls
The third artifact Tz'arkan required was the Dagger of Torxus, a long, black kris dagger, said to be so dark that it appeared as a shard of the Outer Darkness itself. The Dagger's modus operandi[1], so to speak, is ripping out the soul of anyone it stabs and binding the soul for all of eternity to that spot, meaning even a scratch is lethal. It was hidden within the crypt of a long dead Dark Elf lord, Eleuril the Damned. Getting into the crypt was comparatively easy for Malus, although somehow another group of Dark Elves had gotten to the tomb before him. Malus managed to sneak by them and get into the tomb first. It was when he picked up the Dagger that the problems started. The ancient lord awoke, took the dagger from Malus and slew all of his followers and nearly Malus along with them. However, the dagger's vicious powers did not work on Malus. His soul had already been taken by Tz'arkan and thus could not be taken out. Although Malus survived the wound, he fell unconscious. When he awoke, he found that the other Dark Elves had taken the Dagger. Tz'arkan refers to the dagger once as "The Reaper of Souls".
Following the other Druchii, he eventually found the raiding party which had taken the dagger - and was surprised to find out that his own father, Lurhan, who led it. His half-sister Nagaira had conspired with his brother Isilvar; together they’d known of the five relics he needed to find in order to free the daemon from its prison and reclaim his stolen soul. They knew he would seek the Dagger of Torxus in the tomb of Eleuril the Damned, and so they’d arranged for Lurhan, his own father, to get it first. Malus had to slay his father (although he did not know it was his father at first) in order to retrieve the dagger, making his name known as one who had committed patricide[2]. Hunted by his father's followers, he fled, wounded, to the Black Ark of Naggor, a Black Ark that had become trapped in a sea of ice back during the Sundering, it is ruled by the self-styled Witch Lord , Balneth Bale, brother to Malus' mother Eldire. Naggor is an enemy of Hag Graef in a bloody feud. When Malus first arrived, he faced the possibility of slavery. Bewitched by his half-sister, he eventually led Naggor's army in an attack of Har Graef alongside Fuerlan, the son of Balneth Bale. With the help of his mother, Eldire, he was able to throw off the spell of his sister and to flee once again, in the process, wounding the Drachau(ruler) of the city. However, he had now made an enemy of the Witch King himself. He had slain his father, the Vaulkhar (a military rank) of Har Graef and then marched on his very own home city. As Malekith regards all his servants as his possession, he does not take lightly to the destruction of a Vaulkhar, or to the mental crippling of the Drachau.
[edit] Warpsword
Malus then travelled to Har Ganeth, the City of Executioners, on the advice of his mother. From here, he infiltrated the Temple of Khaine. While inside, he fought with his half-brother Urial, a Chosen of Khaine. He encountered Yasmir once again, now a living saint of Khaine, who began to act strangely before Malus escaped. Within the Temple of Khaine, Malus discovered that the Warpsword here was actually a fake. Using a portal in the temple, he was brought to the Chaos Wastes. A group of Chaos Worshippers directed him towards the sword's location. The Warpsword was guarded by a Dragon Ogre, who was impervious to Malus' weapon, until Malus drew the Warpsword of Khaine, killing the Dragon Ogre with a single slash.
The name of the sword is certainly justified as the sword consumes the blood of its victims like one would expect from the Dark Elf god himself. However, the sword with the double-edged blade, a length similar to a draich, and a blade slightly wider at the point for extra cutting power is much older than Khaine, as indicated by Tz'arkan. Radiating invisible heat like the hottest Dwarf furnace, the hilt is always warm to the touch. The blade infuses the wielder with great strength, and can send its user into a murderous frenzy that will not stop until there are no enemies left in sight. The sword also possesses a quasi-sentience, able to help guide the wielders hand, know when enemies are nearby, and 'remember' the tastes of creatures it has touched before, such as Tz'arkan. Tz'arkan implies many times that the Warpsword is more than just a blade, perhaps meaning that it can do more than cut through steel and flesh as just as easily as it would butter. Although Malus has never used the sword for any large acts of power. The sword can also affect magic, seen when Malus uses the blade to greatly weaken and then shatter a magical barrier.
A prophecy of Khaine exists that claims a being known as the 'Scourge' will one day arise and usher in an age of blood and death, the Warpsword is part of this prophecy, and so, he who wields it is considered a candidate for this position. Malus' brother Urial, attempted to become the Scourge, however, the Warpsword he wielded was fake. Yasmir is believed by the Temple of Khaine to be the bride of the Scourge, an unusual event, as Khaine does not share his beloved lightly. Since Yasmir killed Urial, she proved he was not the Scourge, and now that Malus now wields the Warpsword, he is considered to be the strongest prospect for the position of Scourge.
[edit] Lord of Ruin
With four artifacts in his possession, only the Amulet of Vaurog a heavy, red-gold torque that renders its wearer impervious to all weapons, remained. However, the location of the amulet was known to neither Malus nor Tz'arkan. Using a ring given to him by his mother, Malus contacted Eldire, who told him that the path to the Amulet lay within the Fortress of Iron, Naggarond. Malus was later captured by the Endless, the personal bodyguard of dread Malekith, who brought him to Naggarond to be judged by the Witch King for his crimes. It is revealed that there was another purpose to Malus' capture, his sister Nagaira had arisen once more, and this time, she brought an army of Chaos with her, killing and destroying her way through the Watchtowers on the northern front. As two-thirds of the Druchii population were away due to it being raiding season, this was particularly bad news.
Malus was sent north by Malekith to take control of the forces at Ghrond, as well as acting as bait for Nagaira. Malus was unable to halt the Chaos horde, but he was capable of slowing them long enough for Malekith to arrive with reinforcements. While slowing the Chaos horde, Malus stumbled upon their leader, a Champion of Chaos, and he wore the Amulet of Vaurog. Malus was unable to kill the champion of the dark gods, no matter how many supposedly blows to the spine and abdomen he dealt with the Warpsword of Khaine, each time the Champion was unaffected. After escaping the champion, Malus was named the Witch King's champion, and fought on the walls to hold Nagaira's horde at bay. Malus' learned during an assault, that the Chaos champion was Lhunara, a druchii woman who served as Malus' lieutenant (and who came to love him) whom Malus murdered briefly after his possession by Tz'arkan. She was resurrected as an undead revenant and desired only to destroy Malus in revenge for his betrayal.
During the final battle of Ghrond, Malus finally killed Nagaira, by forcing her to use more power than the Ruinous gods were willing to give. Moments later, Lhunara attacked, and Malus finally killed her with his bare hands, calling upon Tz'arkan's power. With all the necessary artifacts in his possession, Malus finally completed the ritual and freed himself from the Daemon. Tz'arkan however, tricked Malus, attempting to devour his soul after being released. Malus used the time-slowing effect of the chambers in the Temple of Tz'arkan, along with the Warpsword of Khaine, to continue fighting. The Dagger of Torxus is finally used by Malus Darkblade to destroy Tz'arkan's corporeal form, the two's energies somehow ripping each other apart; it is unknown if the dagger survived, but it is unlikely. Although Tz'arkan had been banished, he managed to take Malus' soul when he left.
Soulless, Malus wandered through the Chaos Wastes for 10 years, not caring for life or death, with only the Warpsword of Khaine having survived the ritual. Then, one day, a sorcerer approached him and told him he knew where Tz'arkan was. Fearing for his life, the sorcerer had tattooed the map to Tz'arkan's hiding place onto his back to make sure Malus would need him further. Ending the man's illusions by slaying him, skinning the skin from his back and feeding the rest to his ever-loyal Cold One Spite, Malus set out to face Tz'arkan. Facing numerous foes from all the Four Gods of Chaos, he eventually found Tz'arkan within the realm of the Screaming God Child, a crazed entity of Chaos. Malus was able to trick the God Child and flee, but when the entity noticed that, he imprisoned Tz'arkan in Malus' body once more as punishment. From then on, Tz'arkan took control of Malus whenever he went to sleep. Thus, Malus now drinks a magical potion that keeps him awake infinitely. Only when the strength and savagery of the daemon is required does Malus imbibe a sleeping potion to wake the daemon.
After many years, Malus eventually returned to Hag Graef, where, with the backing of Malekith, he becomes the new Drachau, the lord of the city. Traditionally, the Drachau of Hag Graef is also the general of the Witch King's armies. Nowadays, Malus is one of the preferred servants of Malekith, and upon his bidding, he rides to battle on his loyal and unusually intelligent Cold One Spite with the Warpsword of Khaine in his hand.
[edit] Retainers
Due to the nature of Malus' fate, almost all those around him are eventually destroyed or killed. The only possible exception to this is Yasmir, as she is the Bride of Ruin, similar to his title of the Lord of Ruin.
- Hauclir: Hauclir is the only surviving member of Malus' retinue to-date, formerly the Captain of the Guard in Malus' tower within Hag Graef. He along with the rest of Malus' retainers, lost their positions after Malus killed Lurhan. Hauclir is a druchii of many talents, competent at commanding, stealing, and fighting just to name a few. Hauclir possesses an unusual loyalty towards Malus, this loyalty, along with his service, allows him and Malus to share an unusually light-hearted relationship between master and servant, Hauclir often making use of heavy sarcasm when talking to Malus, he is very impertinent, but too useful to kill. After Malus' murdered his father, Haculir, along with the other retainers attempted to kill Malus in order to restore their own honor, again displaying his strange loyalty, Hauclir wished to know if Malus had a clever plan, showing an incredible amount of faith in Malus, for a druchii that is. Hauclir and Malus later crossed paths at the siege of Ghrond against Nagaira's forces where Hauclir had become a mercenary captain and Malus was now the Witch King's champion. Malus and Hauclir were able to reconcile and work together, at the final battle of the siege Hauclir was mortally wounded, and in order to heal him, Malus was forced to relinquish control of his body for a time, and although Hauclir was healed, Malus' body was usurped by Tz'arkan, who took him back to the Chaos Wastes. This level of loyalty towards one another is unusual in druchii society.
