Malekith

Infobox Warhammer Character
name=Malekith


full name=
age= 6980 (Born I.C. -4458)
race=Elf
height=
nickname= Witch King of Naggaroth
status=alive
clubcrest=
profession=King of the Dark elves |In the fictional world of Warhammer Fantasy, Malekith is the King of the Dark Elves or Druchii as they refer to themselves. He is also known as the Witch King of Naggaroth.

Background

Malekith is the son of Aenarion, the first of the High Elf High Elf Phoenix Kings, and the mysterious and beautiful seeress Morathi.

The first Phoenix King, Aenarion the Defender, was the greatest warrior ever to walk the earth. It was through his leadership and sacrifice that the first great invasion of Chaos was halted. During this invasion, Aenarion rescued an Elven maiden from a Slaaneshi warband. Her name was Morathi, and she was beautiful beyond description. Aenarion fell deeply in love with her, took her as his second wife, and she bore him a son, Malekith.

After his father's death, Malekith succeeded his father as Prince of the northern province of Nagarythe and considered himself the obvious choice to be Phoenix King. Assuming that the legacy of his father would guarantee his ascension to the throne, Malekith agreed to let the Council of Princes vote on whether he should rule. But many amongst the Elf court felt Malekith was not suited to rule: they saw him as a warlike thug, as he bore his father's short temper and enjoyed settling disputes with violence. They preferred a less hot-headed leader now that the war with Chaos was over and elected Bel Shanaar, Prince of Tiranoc, in his place. Malekith was instead appointed Commander of the High Elf armed forces. On the surface, Malekith seemed to take the turn of events well, and was amongst the first to pay homage to Bel Shanaar upon his coronation. He even silenced the public outcry from his homeland and his mother in his support.

Malekith proved to be a brilliant general, gaining power and allies all over the world. At one period of time he was appointed as the ambassador of the High Elves to the Dwarves in Karaz-a-Karak. In the colonies, he continued to lead successful armies against the Orcs and the forces of Chaos. His expeditions took him to the cold colonies of the northern New World. In the rubble of an abandoned city he found the Circlet of Iron, a talisman of awesome sorcerous power. It was during this time that he, with his mother's guidance, started experimenting with Dark Magic. After many decades, Malekith worked himself into a position of power second only to the Phoenix King's, and then he acted. Over the years Malekith had grown discontented; In his mind, the Elves had to remain a warlike people to face the ever-growing menace from the forces of Chaos. Seemingly proving his point, the Cult of Pleasure, a society of poets and artists that was very popular with the High Elf elite, turned out to be a front for a Chaos cult of Slaanesh. Malekith took personal command of the investigation of the cult, and used this power to eliminate his political enemies. In truth, his mother was the High Priestess of the cult, and had marshalled an army from the cult to complete Malekith's coup.

In -2751 IC Malekith accused Bel Shanaar of being a Slaaneshi devotee. Shortly after his accusation, Bel Shanaar died of poisoning. Some say Bel Shanaar took his own life in order to avoid the shame of interrogation, others say Malekith had murdered him. Malekith showed little hesitation in presenting Bel Shanaar's 'suicide' as proof of his guilt, but the ruling Council of Princes was sceptical. The argument turned violent and Malekith and his followers ended up killing most of the Princes in the name of saving Ulthuan.

Believing all he now had to do was crown himself as Phoenix King, Malekith confidently marched into the sacred flame of the god Asuryan, a trial that marks each Phoenix King as the chosen of the Elven creator god. Yet the flame refused to suffer Malekith's presence and he was horribly scarred. High Elf scholars claim the sacred flame burned Malekith because his body was polluted by Dark Magic. Dark Elves however claim the flame itself was polluted by Malekith's rivals so it would burn whoever entered it.Gravely injured, Malekith managed to exit the flame on the same side he entered. His followers then carried him north to his stronghold in Nagarythe where Morathi was able to nurse her son back to health.

Malekith then gathered the sorceresses whom he and his mother had trained. Together with Hotek, a renagade Priest of the Elven smith god Vaul, the sorceresses forged a great suit of black armour to lend strength to Malekith's near-crippled body. The suit was fused to his skin while still hot from the furnace, as after his torment within the flames of Asuryan, Malekith felt little pain. When the suit was complete, few could look at him without dread. From that day onwards, Malekith was known as the Witch King.

Meanwhile the High Elves had elected Imrik of Caledor as the Third Phoenix King, who assumed the title Caledor I upon his coronation. Caledor and Malekith gathered their supporters and battled each other for the throne of Ulthuan. Time proved to be Caledor's ally, as Malekith's treachery became more evident and more Elves flocked to Caledor's banner. In a climactic showdown, Caledor defeated Malekith in single combat over the Field of Maledor. The Witch King's supporters fled the field and retreated back to their strongholds.

Running out of options, Malekith decided on one last gamble. He instructed his sorceresses to undo the spells that bound the Ulthuan Vortex, to bring back the tides of Chaos and bind them to his will. For hours the mages struggled to undo the barrier. In the end, the task proved to be too great for even the combined might of Malekith and his coven as their efforts were thwarted by the mages trapped on the Isle of the Dead. A surge of raw power struck back at Malekith's fortresses, killing many of his sorceresses in an instant and initaiting the cataclysm now known as The Sundering. The land itself buckled under the strain as mighty earthquakes devastated the land and fine cities of Ulthuan. A huge tidal wave came crashing down on northern Ulthuan, submerging the provinces of Nagarythe and Tiranoc and killing thousands of Elves.

Exile and Founding of Naggaroth

The fortresses of the Witch King survived the catastrophe, being protected by powerful spells. Supported by Dark Magic, the fortresses broke off from the land and floated out into the sea. Thus the dreaded Black Arks were born. Large as icebergs, they floated to the northern part of the continent called the New World where they grounded. Naming the desolate chilled land Naggaroth or "Land of Chill", the Witch King claimed it as his own new domain and proceed to exterminate or enslave the native greenskin and human barbarian populace. The kingdom of the Dark Elves was born. Over the ages the Witch King continued to plot and wage a war against the Phoenix Kings of Ulthuan from Naggaroth till today.

Current Status

During the summer of 2522 IC, during the Chaos Incursion known as the Storm of Chaos, Malekith landed on the Shadowlands (formerly Nagarythe) with his army. He crushed the High Elven army led by Eltharion, Warden of Yvresse, and casually defeated him in single combat with his sorcery. After the battle, Malekith tried to blackmail Eltharion into supporting him by threatening the lives of the High Elf survivors. When Eltharion refused, Malekith had all the prisoners executed, and set his most skilled torturers set to work on Eltharion. After months of torture, Eltharion was sent back to Lothern, crippled and blinded, as a warning to all who would oppose him.

Malekith's forces invaded Ulthaun in force and fought battles over Ulthuan all through the summer. During an attack on the Everqueen's gardens, Malekith was wounded in single combat with Eltharion, and quit the battlefield. Though only suffering a flesh wound, it was the first time in centuries the Witch King had been wounded in battle. Malekith is now wary of Eltharion's renewed resolve.

= Army Rules = In the sixth edition of Warhammer Fantasy Battle, Malekith the Witch King was a Dark Elves special character. Riding the Black Dragon, Seraphon, he wears the Armor of Midnight, which makes him near invulnerable to physical attacks, and is armed with the Destroyer, an enchanted sword capable of destroying other magical weapons and armour and the Hand of Khaine, a powerful gauntlet capable of dismembering a foe. Malekith is however vulnerable to magic, and it is prophesied that he will be killed by a sorcerer. [Johnson, J. & Blanche, J. 1998. Warhammer Armies: Dark Elves. (Nottingham: Games Workshop Ltd) ISBN 1869893166]

Previously, in the armies book used for the fourth and fifth editions of the game, he rode in a chariot pulled by four cold ones. [Johnson, J. & Blanche, J. 1995. Dark Elves Armies (Warhammer Armies). (Nottingham: Games Workshop Ltd) ISBN 9781872372884]

In the seventh edition Dark Elves armies book Malekith can be fielded either riding on his Black Dragon Seraphon, riding in his Black Chariot, riding a cold one, or on foot. He retains his Destroyer sword, and the Armour of Midnight but loses the Hand of Khaine he had in the sixth edition. However, he does regain the Spellshield he carried in the fourth and fifth editions and the Circlet of Iron is now classed as a separate magic item with its own abilities rather than assumed to be a component of the Armour of Midnight.

Quotes

"We shall strike down our foe with sharp steel and cold hearts. The weak die so that the strong prevail and none shall be spared. Then and only then will our enemies know the true meaning of fear." - Malekith, the Witch King of Naggaroth

References

Warhammer Armies: Dark Elves (5th & 6th Edition)

Warhammer Armies: High Elves (5th & 6th Edition)

Malus Darkblade: Lord Of Ruin

= External links =
* [http://uk.games-workshop.com/darkelves/ GW Online: Warhammer: Dark Elves]

Trivia

It should also be noted that Malekith the Accursed is unrelated to the Dark Elves's Witch King Malekith. Malekith the Accursed is an intellectual property of Marvel Comics and is unrelated to Warhammer Fantasy which belongs to Games-Workshop. He is the villain of the Norse God Thor in the Marvel Comic books. He appeared in Thor #344-349, and was slain in #367, while trying to take the crown of Asgard, disguised as Balder.

References

The Mighty Thor #344-348 and #367.

External links

* [http://www.marvel.com/universe/Malekith Malekith at Marvel.com]