Malacath

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Malacath
Religious information
Religion	Daedra Worship
Pantheon	Daedric Princes
Type of deity	Patron of the Ostracized
Artifacts	Volendrung Scourge

For this character in Online, see Malacath (Online).

Malacath (Daedric: ) is the Daedric Prince of the spurned and the ostracized, the keeper of the Sworn Oath, and the Bloody Curse.

Background

Sometimes called Malak, Orkey, or Mauloch, Malacath is considered one of the most evil Daedric Princes by the Dunmer due to his membership in the House of Troubles. He is the patron Daedra of the Orsimer. Malacath's teachings put a large emphasis on conflict, and he seems to enjoy watching mortals fighting one another. The summoning date of Malacath is 8th of Frost Fall. However, Malacath can also be summoned at his shrine, if the summoner offers Troll Fat. While not technically a "good" Daedric Prince, Malacath does have, to a certain degree, a sense of honor and an almost paternal concern for his followers, especially the Orsimer. Malacath was not allowed in most daedric meetings, most likely because of his Aedric origins. He is the god of curses, the betrayed, and the orcified.

Plane of Oblivion

The Ashpit is Malacath's plane of Oblivion. While not one of the original planes of Oblivion, it was created when Malacath was spawned in the Mythic Era. It was designed according to Malacath's spheres—emptiness, betrayal, broken promises, and anguish—and his personality. Such is the opinion of mainstream scholars. However, the Orsimer and those loyal to the Code of Malacath believe they are rewarded in this realm with immortality, drink, food, and constant battle, all with their father Malacath.

History of Malacath

Merethic Era

During the exodus of the Chimer in the Merethic Era, one of the most powerful Aldmeri heroes, Trinimac, tried to stop the movement. The Daedric Prince Boethiah, who was the mastermind behind the movement, confronted Trinimac. It was a legendary battle between the two, but in the end Boethiah defeated Trinimac and devoured him. Boethiah then spoke with Trinimac's voice, in order to increase the morale of the Chimer while at the same time mocking the opposed Aldmer. The remains of Trinimac were excreted from Boethiah's bowels, and transformed into the Daedric Prince Malacath and Trinimac's followers were changed as well. They are now known as the Orsimer and they worship Malacath as their god. This is recorded in the Changed Ones.

Third Era

The Hero of Daggerfall received his hammer, Volendrung, around 3E 417, after he did a service for Malacath. He was tasked with the death of a troublesome Daedra Seducer. After wandering throughout Tamriel, the hammer returned to Morrowind and came to be in the possession of Yagrum Bagarn, the last living Dwemer, who had the hammer in his closet. At that time all the enchantments of the hammer had vanished, for no apparent reason. It was just a mundane hammer. However, in 3E 433 the hammer came into the possession of Malacath again, and all its powerful enchantments returned. Volendrung is best known for the paralyzing and strength leeching effects it has when hitting an enemy.

There is a less well-known artifact of Malacath, named Scourge. The Requisite Book of Daedra (under the heading of Malacath) says:

"... yet though Malacath blessed Scourge to be potion against his Daedra kin, he thought not that it should fall into daedric hands, then to serve as a tool for private war among Caitiff and Forsaken. Thus did Malacath curse the device such that should any dark kin seek to invoke its powers, that a voidhole should open and swallow that daedra, and purge him into Oblivion's voidstreams, from thence to pathfind back to the Real and Unreal Worlds in the full order of time."

and Legendary dragons states:

"The mace Scourge, Blessed of Malacath, Macckan's legendary weapon, forged from sacred Ebony in the Fountains of Fickleire, has ever been the bane of the dark kin, and many a black spirit has been hurled back into Oblivion with a single blow of this bold defender of the friendless."

This mace was found in the Battlespire by the unnamed hero of the Battlespire. It changed owners, and finally the mace came to the possession of the Telvanni lord, Divayth Fyr. As any of Fyr's artifacts, it was free for the thieves to steal - if they could. It might have passed into the hands of the Nerevarine.

Gortwog gro-Nagorm was an orc leader and the founder of Orsinium the Orc Capital established in 3E 399. Gortwog gro-Nagorm created controversy among orcs because he accused Malacath of being a false god and created a priesthood dedicated to Trinimac the ancient champion of the Aedra. This view contradicts the common belief that Malacath is Trinimac after he was devoured by Boethiah. Gortwog believed that Trinimac is still alive and that Malacath is a demon. His views were regarded as heresy by most orcs.

Fourth Era

During the Umbriel crisis, Prince Attrebus and Sul confronted Vuhon in Umbriel. They discovered Vuhon could not be defeated without recovering Umbra Sword. Sul noticed that Vuhon had mentioned that Umbriel was part of Oblivion, so he opened a gate so that Attrebus and him could escape. They ended up in another Oblivion plane.

When Attrebus woke up, he was greeted by female elf. The woman told Attrebus she was Silhansa, and that they were in Malacath's realm. Silhansa had healed Attrebus' wounds. Attrebus was shocked that she was naked. Her hair was rosy gold, her skin alabaster white and her eyes twin emeralds. She had the slender, pointed ears of an elf.

Attrebus told Silhansa about his adventure to stop Umbriel from destroying Tamriel. He also told her about a tale he had heard about Malacath while he was seven years old. When he finished, Silhansa started to grow, and she transformed into Malacath. Malacath now held both Attrebus and Sul in his hands. Malacath reveals that Sul had swore an oath by him once. Attrebus manages to convince Malacath of releasing them and teleporting them into Solstheim so that Sul could fulfill his curse. Before leaving his realm Malacath tells Attrebus that if he ever had use for him, the prince would know it.

Personality and worship

Despite his ferocity, Malacath is genuinely caring towards his followers. In his Oblivion quest, he refers to his enslaved Ogre followers as his "little brothers" and ensures their safety. In the Skyrim quest "The Cursed Tribe," Malacath tells the Dragonborn that he cursed Chief Yamarz due to his negligence as chief. Though he may often be extreme in his dealings, the majority of Orcs remain deeply loyal to Malacath's word. Malacath is also the only Daedric Prince to have actually shown to be capable of sorrow, as shown in Volume XII of the Accords of Madness when Sheogorath tricked him into killing and damning his mortal son Emmeg Gro-Kayra.

Identity

"He is more commonly known as the Daedric Prince Malacath, 'whose sphere is the patronage of the spurned and ostracized, the sworn oath, and the bloody curse.' He is not technically a Daedra Lord, nor do the other Daedra recognize him as such, but this is fitting for his sphere. Of old he was Trinimac, the champion of the High Elven pantheon, in some places more popular than Auri-El, who protected them against enemies without and within. When Trinimac and his followers attempted to halt the Velothi Dissident movement, Boethiah ate him. Trinimac's body and spirit were corrupted, and he emerged as Malacath. His followers were likewise changed for the worse. Despised by everyone, especially the inviolate Auri-El, they quickly fled to the northern wastes, near Saarthal... In Skyrim, Malacath is called Orkey, or Old Knocker, and his battles with Ysmir are legendary." - Original text from the book "The True Nature of Orcs"

Other mentions

Malacath is also one of the Dunmer Four Corners of the House of Troubles. Four Corners of the House of Troubles consists of Molag Bal, Mehrunes Dagon, Malacath and Sheogorath. These Daedric Princes rebelled against the counsel and admonition of the Tribunal, causing great kin strife and confusion among the clans and Great Houses. They are holy in that they serve the role of obstacles during the Testing. Through time they have sometimes become associated with local enemies, like the Nords, Akaviri, or Mountain Orcs. As written in the books The House of Troubles and Varieties of Faith in the Empire, Malacath is the reanimated dung that was Trinimac; Malacath is a weak but vengeful god and strikes back with a tough punch. The Dunmer call him Malak, the god-king of the Orcs. He tests the Dunmer for physical weakness.

An interesting record in the Varieties of Faith in the Empire' says:

"Mauloch (Malacath): An Orcish god, Mauloch troubled the heirs of King Harald for a long time. Fled east after his defeat at the Battle of Dragon Wall, ca. 1E660. His rage was said to fill the sky with his sulphurous hatred, later called the "Year of Winter in Summer."

It is known that the year is the time when Red Mountain's eruption brought disasters throughout Tamriel, so it is highly likely that the claim says that his rage filled the sky with sulphurous hatred is rather exaggerated.

According to Sheogorath, the Backbone of Malacath's realm, Ashpit, is an actual backbone, although this may just be the ramblings of a madman. Also according to Sheogorath, Malacath is not popular at parties, but more so than Jyggalag, the Daedric Prince of Order, which may refer to how the other Daedric Princes do not recognize him as a Daedric Prince.

Quests

Shrine of Malacath in Oblivion

Morrowind

During the time of the Nerevarine, Malacath was summoned by the Nerevarine in his Shrine of Assurdirapal. The Prince of Curses asked the Nerevarine to track and kill the last of the Oreyn Bearclaw family line. He was upset that Oreyn Bearclaw took all the glory to be a hero while in fact all the deeds were done by Kharag gro-Khar, Oreyn's Orcish companion. The target was finally killed by the Nerevarine and Malacath rewarded him the Helm of Oreyn Bearclaw. However Malacath was wrong in believing that the Oreyn Bearclaw's family line had ended, as one of the family members was still alive. This person, named Modryn Oreyn, became a rather important person in the Fighters Guild after his role in the quest to eliminate the dangerous competitor of the guild, the Blackwood Company.

Oblivion

Malacath's quest in Cyrodiil involves the Hero of Kvatch's rescue of another group of outcasts, namely, a group of enslaved Ogres. He requires an offering of Troll Fat, and the Hero must be level 10 to start the quest. He will send him/her to the Home of Lord Drad, the slave owner, with instructions to free the Ogres without harming them. After speaking with Lord Drad and then his wife, an easy way to complete this quest is to simply walk into the mine and ignore the guards. As long as they are not attacked, they will tolerate the Hero's presence, and in a simple manner, go to the two Ogre cages and pick the locks of each of the cell doors. Once freed the Ogres and the guards will fight each other, leaving the Hero to simply pick what he likes from the dead bodies of the fallen. Neither side will attack the Hero as long as he remains passive, and even if one or more of the guards survive they will not care as the Hero loots the chests throughout the mine. Note that even if all the Ogres are killed during the battle with the guards, this will not affect the outcome of the quest.

As a reward for finishing the quest, Malacath gives the Hero Volendrung, his enchanted two-handed warhammer.

Skyrim

In Skyrim, an Orc named Atub asks the Dragonborn to bring her troll fat and a Daedra heart so that she can pray to Malacath to end the curse he put on her tribe. After doing so, Atub suggests that Yamarz the chief and the Dragonborn to join in the summoning. Yamarz unwillingly accepts, and Atub begins the ceremony. Malacath then speaks to Yamarz and he commands Yamarz to go and bring back a warhammer. Yamarz orders the Dragonborn to come along with him, stating that the Dragonborn got him into this mess. At the shrine, Yamarz will say that he will pay the Dragonborn to kill the giant. The Dragonborn can accept the deal, but Yamarz will betray them. Alternatively, the Dragonborn can let Yamarz attempt to kill the giant. The chief may die in the process, unless the Dragonborn helps kill the giant. If Yamarz survives, he will betray the Dragonborn in order to claim sole credit for killing the giant. Regardless, once the giant and Yamarz are dead, Malacath speaks again telling the Dragonborn to take Shagrol's Warhammer back to the stronghold. The Dragonborn can either lie to Atub and conceal Yamarz's cowardice/betrayal or reveal the truth of his fate. Malacath speaks once more telling the tribe that they have earned a second chance and appoints a new chief from within the stronghold. Finally, he tells the Dragonborn they have earned his favor with their valorous conduct and to place Shagrol's Warhammer on the shrine to accept his reward. The hammer then transforms into Volendrung.

Gallery

Malacath as he appears in The Elder Scrolls Online.

Statue of Malacath in Ashurnibibi, Vvardenfell in The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind

See also

• Trinimac
• Daedra
• Malacath's Shrine – Oblivion
• Malacath's Shrine – Skyrim

Appearances

• The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall
• The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
  • The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles (mentioned only)
• An Elder Scrolls Novel: Lord of Souls
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
• The Elder Scrolls Online
  • The Elder Scrolls Online: Orsinium

References

Notice: The following are unlicensed references. They are not copyrighted by a ZeniMax Media company, but can still be considered part of The Elder Scrolls lore and are included for completeness.