Molag Bal

"Revenge? No. I want submission. I want the priest who did this to bend his knee and give me his soul."

- Molag Bal

Molag Bal (Daedric: ) is the Daedric Prince of domination and enslavement of mortals. His only desire is to harvest the souls of mortals and to bring mortals souls within his sway by spreading seeds of strife and discord in the mortal realms. He holds much importance in Morrowind, where he is seen as the archenemy of Boethiah, the Daedric Prince of Plots.

Appearance and personality
"Fool! Did you think Molag Bal, the Lord of Domination, would so easily reward you?"

- Molag Bal

Molag Bal resembles a large, bipedal crossbreed of a monkey and snake, and usually comes in a form adorned with horns, claws, and a long tail. His scaly appearance is matched by his demeanor, seeing as how this serpentine Daedric Prince is the master of corruption, the King of Rape, and his entire realm of Coldharbour in Oblivion consists of nothing but death and destruction.

Gender
Like all of the Daedric Princes, Molag Bal has no specific gender. Most often, however, he appears to his followers as male. Sigillah Parate mentions in her spiritual commentary that she belonged to a cult known as the "Witches of Molag Bal", where Molag Bal often appeared to its members in the guise of a mortal female.

Shrine
"Yes. It's an altar. Men would come and sacrifice the wretched in my name. The weak would be punished by the strong."

- Molag Bal

Molag Bal's Shrine can be found in Markarth, in a tunnel underneath the Abandoned House. For a Daedric Shrine, it is extremely small, consisting only of a sort of stone basin decorated with a stylized skull. A panel on the floor in front of it can extend spikes in order to trap sacrificial victims. The Rusty Mace, and later Mace of Molag Bal, are found here by the Dragonborn.

Plane of Oblivion
Molag Bal's plane of Oblivion is Coldharbour. The book The Doors of Oblivion says that his plane resembles a copy of Nirn, including the Imperial Palace, but desecrated and ruined. The ground is sludge, the sky is on fire, and the air is freezing.

Morrowind
He is the main source of the obstacles to the Dunmer (and preceding Chimer) people. In the legends, Molag Bal always tries to upset the bloodlines of Houses or otherwise ruin Dunmeri 'purity'. He is also the god of rape and is said to be the father (along with Vivec, whom he seduced) of a population of mutant degenerates living in the Molag Amur region of Morrowind. Most disturbingly, this race may have been the first eventual vampires, a corruption of Vivec's ties to the Heart of Lorkhan transmitted to mortals. It is possible he assisted Jagar Tharn in his temporary procurement of the Imperial throne. He was also responsible for the destruction of a city at the end of the First Era.

First Era
In 1E 2920, Molag Bal, under the summon of King Dro'Zel of Senchal, destroyed the city of Gilverdale. All the inhabitants were killed in a bright red mist. This Daedric massacre forced Sotha Sil to make a journey to Coldharbour, dealing with some of the prominent Daedric Princes in order to avoid the fate of Gilverdale to befallen to other cities in Tamriel, considering that Morrowind was still fighting in the war against Cyrodiil.

Hero of Daggerfall
The Hero of Daggerfall received Mace of Molag Bal in exchange for eliminating a heretic mage or priest, respectively. {C}

Champion of Cyrodiil
Molag Bal was summoned by the Champion of Cyrodiil. He wished for the champion to corrupt Melus Petilius, by forcing him to kill with the Cursed Mace. The champion was able to enrage Petilius and this made him to grab the Cursed Mace and used it to kill the champion. Right before the final blow, Molag Bal transported the champion back to his shrine and pleased of job well done. He gave the Mace of Molag Bal. The same artifact was given also by Molag Bal to the Hero of Daggerfall some decades earlier.

The Elder Scrolls Online
Molag Bal will appear as the main antagonist in The Elder Scrolls: Online, an MMO recently announced by ZeniMax Online Studios.



Dragonborn
"The Mace of Molag Bal! I give you its true power, mortal. When your enemies lie broken and bloody before you, know that I will be watching."

- Molag Bal During the Fourth Era, the Dragonborn helped a Vigilant of Stendarr named Tyranus investigate suspicious activity at an Abandoned house in Markarth. The Vigilant was killed, and the Dragonborn learned that the strange behavior was being caused by Molag Bal. Upon speaking with the Daedric Prince, he promised the Dragonborn his mace if he returned a Boethiah Priest to the abandoned house and killed him on Bal's altar.

Creator and patron deity
The Dunmeri Temple's doctrine, "Vampires of Vvardenfell, Volume II", states that The Daedric Prince Molag Bal is the father of Vampires. He spawned the first vampire upon the corpse of a defeated foe. On a side note, Galur Rithari, one of the Bouyant Armiger was cured from Vampirism by Molag Bal. It is recorded in his "Private Papers of Galur Rithari, Buoyant Armiger". Somehow, the Dunmeri Temple keeps this record from the world, with no clear reason.

Molag Bal as the father of Vampirism is also recorded in the book called "Opusculus Lamae Bal ta Mezzamortie." The book tells a story of Molag Bal, in his hatred towards Arkay, corrupted a body of a Nedic female, Lamae Beolfag. Lamae later is known as Lamae Bal and she is also known as the Blood Matron and the First Vampire.

Evolution
The Vampires of Iliac Bay and Vvardenfell are easily recognized by the common folks, but this is not entirely true for Cyrodilic Vampires. It's obvious the Cyrodiil have different blood. They have three states of vampire form; this all depends on the time of feeding. When the Cyrodilic Vampires are well fed, they are hardly recognized by the common folks and can even walk on daylight. When they are starving, all the vampire traits are showed up and they cannot fool the common folks anymore as their face are changed. This unique trait of Cyrodilic Vampires, according to "Manifesto Cyrodiil Vampyrum," was a gift from Clavicus Vile. Therefore the Cyrodilic Vampires worship Molag Bal as well as Clavicus Vile.

Trivia

 * The name 'Molag Bal' and his believed involvement in the creation of the first vampires may be based on two of the three angels in vampire lore, 'Moloch' and 'Ba'al', whom turned away from God and bear similar genealogical traits, desires and physical appearances to the Daedric Prince.
 * According to "Darkest Darkness", the crocodile-headed humanoid Daedra called the Daedroth is a servant of Molag Bal.
 * Molag Bal's shrine in Oblivion is in fact, similar to the model of Satan in popular Folklore and Christianity.
 * An alter similar to the one dedicated to Molag Bal within the Abandoned House, in Markarth (Skyrim), can be seen in the trailer for the official Dawnguard plug-in for Skyrim. It has been speculated that this alter may have some role in the transformation into a Vampire Lord.
 * In the Official Trailer for the Dawnguard plug in the Vampire Lord Harkon is shown to be wearing a clasp featuring a similar design to that of the Molag Bal alter in Markarth.
 * Voiced by Christopher Corey Smith.