Malathar¶
Contested
Named in the open question Marcella or Marcayllis at Urdhar; Malathar and the Circle. An expedition log (S047) calls Malathar a "High ranked member of the Circle of Eternity"; the later campaign notes say the Circle expelled and killed him and that Eksuru revived him to destroy it. The page follows the later notes.
Malathar the Pestilent is a High Elf necromancer and warlock, "master of plagues" (S068), who once worked beside the exiled prince Arvandor on experiments upon elves, was killed by the Circle of Eternity, and lay entombed in an old iron mine in the High Vale. The red dragon Eksuru arranged his resurrection, and from Mist Keep on the Rift rock of Urdhar he now works on a new plague and plots revenge on the Circle (S028, S047, S050, S061).
Also called: Malathar the Pestilent (S058); Malathor (S039).
Origins¶
The notes call him "a Nexa-Vinian Necromancer of considerable power" (S047), linking him to the Nexa-Vinian tradition of the Circle, and "High-Elf Warlock, master of plagues" (S068). His past is told through his partner: Arvandor Sel'Dorais, a prince of Vael'Dorais, was exiled by his father in 426 AL "for terrible magical experiments committed against the citizens of Vael'Dorais", and "joined with another high elven exile known as MALATHAR and worked together on your experiments on Elves living on the edges of the realm of Vael'Dorais"; Arvandor was believed slain in a raid by his father's troops in 432 AL (S044). The plague Arvandor made in those years to save the High Elves from the Hollowing is the foundation of Malathar's present work (S042, S050).
Death, tomb and return¶
Malathar was a member of the Circle of Eternity until it turned on him: he "was expelled (and killed by them). He is seeking revenge" (S028, S061). His tomb lay "within a buried IRON-MINE" in the Slatestone Ridge, a day north of Banbridge, where "His mummy lies here … waiting for his enchantments to be reborn" (S047).
His release "was orchestrated by main Antagonist. They sent the expedition to get the items and open the tomb and provide fodder for Malathar" (S058). An expedition of Radulf's Relics & Recovery opened the tomb, and its workers became his first plague-dead: awake but not fully restored, "He needs more Anima/lifeforce for that … He has devised a magical plague that will kill the host while extracting their lifeforce. But the bodies are needed" (S047). Eighteen of the expedition's dead marched on Banbridge and spread the plague there (S047, S058). A High Elf and a dagger were needed to finish the awakening; the witch-queen Marcella "needed a High Elf to revive Malathar" (S061), and the dagger Mala'thazus, "linked to Malathar", left him soul-linked to the elf who carried it (S058, S060). He escaped the tomb by a teleportation circle (S058).
"She brought back Malathar … He is seeking revenge and does not know his current patroness is a Dragon" (S061). He "isn't working for Eksuru": he was "recruited to dismantle the Circle" (S028, S061).
The plague¶
"MALATHAR was brought back by EKSURU to re-engineer the magical plague that ARGO (old name?) used to save the high elves. EKSURU wants it to be lower mortality, more contagious and cross-species. Specifically, she wants it to neuter Humanoid's magical abilities" (S042).
At Mist Keep, "Primary Research Center for Malathar's Mithrot Plague", the work goes badly. "He is having trouble tuning it for non-elves. Many subjects are immune and many others die quickly. Neither case ends up being very contagious, which is a bit of a disaster. He is basing it on an early version of Arvandor's Plague … one which not only destroyed the Mithin in their blood but left them scarred such that they were unable to tap their Anima at all." He has "thoroughly tested a carrier insect" and is searching the ruins of Urdhar for an ancient relic, Cordycell's Censer, the Censer of Swarming Blight (S050).
His test subjects come from the raids of Urdhar's pirates or from the refugee townsfolk, taken by "a subservient undead" so that the town believes it is "plagued by a demon" and has asked Malathar himself for help (S045, S049). The keep and its defences are described on the Urdhar page.
The Etterwood expedition¶
As Proturas went to war with the Boreal Elves, Malathar sent a party of his people to the Etterwood to search "the Ruins of Kae'Ferrel, an ancient Elven Shrine. Apparently there is something important beneath it related to a Dragon"; "Malathar himself is not going" (S051). His steward Perithus led it, hiring diggers and rangers in Etterdun under orders that "this is a one-way trip for everyone involved, except him and his people", with a kobold clan as cover "to be eliminated on the way out" (S052). Its guide Pye'dara also scouted the Shrine of Caerylas "for Malathar" (S056). The shrine held a claw of Vixseranyol (S056).
Earlier accounts¶
The Radulf expedition's own log names him "a Nexa-Vinian Necromancer of considerable power. High ranked member of the Circle of Eternity" (S047), without the expulsion; the question is filed. Early prep also floated him as the killer in "a grisly murder of a well-known and powerful warlock", an idea that was not developed (S040).
Gap
The sources do not say when Malathar died or how long he lay entombed, why the Circle expelled him, or how his partnership with Arvandor ended.
What the party did at his tomb and his keep is told in the Proturan Campaign, where he is a principal antagonist.
The Mist Keep household¶
Mist Keep is "Home to: Malathar", four High-Elven zombies, three servants, eight hired swords, an undead host and a red drake on the roof (S050). The household's places in the keep are on the Urdhar page.
Perithus¶
An undead High Elf, "steward, ex-royal guard. Arcane Warrior. Green eyes" (S050). "Perithus (who is an Undead High Elf working as Malathar's Steward) is leading a group of mercenaries from Malathar's contingent", hiring diggers and woodsmen in Etterdun for the Etterwood dig. "He is under order not to reveal the location of the 'Gate' to the Proturans", and "is to acquire someone/something called Elysius at the Lundewic library" (S052).
Otksalon¶
"Head apprentice. Arcanist", the most capable of the zombie arcanists, with blue-green eyes (S050, S049). S045 counts two apprentices in all (S045).
Lescilla¶
A High-Elven zombie, "lab worker. Arcanist", with yellow eyes (S050).
Bervandil¶
A High-Elven zombie, "lab worker, Arcanist", with white eyes (S050).
Dago, Georgia and Laskail¶
"3 Servants, treated nearly like slaves. Humans" (S050). Nothing more is said of them.
The Red Blade¶
The leader of the keep's first squad of mercenaries, a sword-and-shield fighter. "7 Mercs + the Red Blade … they operate as 2 squads of 4. 4 are always at the keep and the other 4 accompany Malathar when he leaves the keep" (S050). The hired swords were "provided by Eksuru"; S045 counts four of them (S045, S049).