Lord Malachai, The Grand Commander

A behemoth of a man, Lord Malachai is one of the few mortals that can stand eye-to-eye with Mistress Katrina. That doesn't mean anything of his allegiance though, as his loyalty to his Mistress is infallible. He serves as the Grand Commander of the Black Legion, responsible for managing battalion and division organization, tactical decisions and strategic battleplans.

Origins

Lord Malachai was born on Elysian Earth as a Phoenician settler in Northern Africa on 4622 AE (126 BC in Elysian timeline), in the ancient city of Carthage. A humble lineage, he was raised by a family of cattle herders. His size and strength, however, was noticed by army recruiters of the era who eventually convinced him to join Carthage's mercenary foot army. He was 20 years old when the third Punic War was lost, Carthage was burned to the ground and the invading Romans forced him into slavery.
Meanwhile, the Domina Realms were caught up in the Second Cosmic War (4223 AE - 4750 AE), a colossal conflict that drained most realms of both resources and manpower. During the later stages of the war, Mistress Katrina passes the forced conscription law, which leaves her industry and food production stagnant, sending most of the working slaves to the frontlines. To fill the missing positions, Katrina sends her agents to capture and kidnap able men from Elysia - one of the first instances of Dominas mendling in earthen matters. Malachai, already a slave to a wealthy Roman family after the fall of Carthage, is noticed by an agent of Katrina for his formidable size, is captured, and transported to The Realm of Dusk.
Malachai worked as a slave in Katrina's Bitterweed Fields till his 40ies. He is eventually conscripted into the Black Legion too, where his true value is unraveled. Being tall and strong, he serves in the Black Legion vanguard, quickly proving his worth on the battlefield and earning several medals for his bravery and prowess. He rises through the ranks in a matter of years, earning his freedom and becoming a professional bannerman. Malachai is later recruited in the Midnight Order and his word now has weight in the strategic table.

Rise to Power

Malachai's prowess, might and tactical brilliance was critical in Katrina's operations during the Second Cosmic War. However, seeing as he was merely an Elysian mortal and his aging body was starting to weaken upon reaching his 50ies, he is seriously considered for the gift of immortality. Mistress Katrina however refuses to offer immortality to a male, wanting to keep her cabinet of immortal elites as a strict sisterhood. Malachai is left to the Nightshade Coven, the dominant sect of necromancers in The Realm of Dusk, who have their own ways of achieving immortality through vile magic, the only group in the realm that is allowed such power other than Katrina herself. Archmage Calyx is personally assigned to the task of making Malachai immortal; however Calyx can't resist committing the knight to his personal experiments alongside his assigned task. Malachai is bound in the Archmage's table, at the top of his tower, and experimented upon by the wizard for days, who was more than ecstatic to have found a specimen strong and formidable enough to withstand his experimentation.
The original goal was to not only make Malachai immortal, but to also enhance him with necromantic prowess; turning him into a killing machine that can withstand both the passing of time and the sting of the blade. Subjected to harrowing necromantic rituals that delved into the forbidden arts of soul manipulation and resurrection, Malachai suffered unimaginable pain at the hands of Archmage Calyx. The rituals twisted him not only in psyche but in form, enhancing his agility and strength to superhuman levels, while stripping away much of his humanity and past identity. His once sun-kissed skin blackened and rotted away, giving him an even further layer of terror.
The new entity that emerged was no longer the man he once was; he was a creature of darkness, his very essence infused with necromancy. Recognizing the potential in this reborn warrior, Katrina took him under her wing, molding him into the perfect general for her armies. His loyalty to Katrina was absolute, forged in the dark magics that created him and the newfound purpose he found in serving a power greater than any mortal shackles he had known.
As Grand General of the Black Legion, Malachai proved to be an unstoppable force on the battlefield. His tactics were ruthless, his cruelty legendary, earning him a fearsome reputation across all realms. His immortality to both age and blade, successfully implemented by the Nightshade Archmage in recognition of his service and loyalty, allowed him to lead from the front, never faltering, a beacon of relentless dominance in Katrina's campaigns. Unbeknowest to him, Calyx left a major weakness on the man; while he could safely ignore physical weaponry, he was still vulnerable to magic - a safeguard measure in case he ever chose to betray his duties and loyalty to Katrina.
It is said that Lord Malachai never feared a single man. However, even now, over 2000 years later, Archmage Calyx and the trials he put him through on that table are still scarred in his psyche; likely never to fully leave his mind.

The Maple Hills College trading card of Malachai, Grand Commander.

Ruled Locations

• Gloomwatch