Malachi Darkthorne †

Infobox

Malachi Darkthorne †

General Information

Type	Stat
Type	NPC
Pronouns	He/ Him
Tiles	King
Race	Human
Languages	Common
Nationality	Lost Haven
Residence	Luminara

Status

Type	Stat
Status	Alive
Cause of Death	None... yet

Appearances

Type	Stat
First Seen	Session 44
First Mention	Session 32
Last Scene	N/A

Overview

Malachi is the king of Lost Haven and the primary antagonist of the Freedom's Flame saga. He is an incredibly cruel man with an obsession with all things gold. He is even known for turning people into golden statues who still have the ability to think but not move.

Description

Appearance

Malachi is a slender man dressed in luxurious attire, including an ornate crown. He possesses a golden arm and has long, dark hair.

Personality

Malachi is an incredibly cruel man who takes great joy in hurting people he sees as lesser. To him, salvery in the harshest of conditions, where the slaves, who have often been kidnapped from their homes, is not only acceptable but necessary to maintain the lavish lifestyle of himself and the people of Luminara.

He is known to be ruthlessly killing, maiming and experimenting on the slslaveshat live in the siltwater slums. This was most evident during the First Lost Haven Slave Revolt, when he personally joined the Lost Haven Guards in quelling the rebellion and took great delight in specifically torturing and then brutally killing all of Ka1's friends in fropnt of him before 'killing' Kal and throwing his body into the ocean. After the revolt, it was also revealed that many of the people who took part in the rebellion were maimed, for example, he ordered that Lull's hand and leg were cut off.

By far, his most cruel act was taking Kal's best friend, Sara, and turning her into a monstrous cyborg that also acted as the epicentre of the Antimagic field. The machine would constantly electrocute her and force her mind to think and act in specific ways, keeping her in a state of constant fury.

However, he takes great care of the people of Luminara, seeing them as not just ordinary people but worth protecting and exerting effort to help. This was best shown when he turned them into gold to make them easier to protect when the party assaulted the palace.

Intelligence

Malachi has been shown to have an incredibly keen intelligence. The best example of this was when Chenris analysed the process he used to turn Halfbie and Mordecai into gold. It was revealed that Malachi has used alchemy. This was significant because all though powerful wizards of Strixhaven believed it was possible to perform alchemy on living matter, none had been able to do it.

It is also implied that he is responsible for turning Sara into a cyborg, a feat that would be increasingly difficult for the professors at Strixhaven.

Relationships,

Kal/ Korrigan

Malachi has a deep hatred towards Kal because he started the rebellion, which most likely resulted in the death of many Nobles and the loss of a lot of money for him.

Xekai

Before Xekai's relationship with the party was revealed, they seemed to be close allies, sharing information and advice and having tea together.

History

Not much is known about Malachi before the slave revolt, or how he came into power.

Appearances & Mentions

§	Interactions
Session 46	They all entered the next courtyard, where Malachi stood atop a balcony overlooking them. His crooked smile emanated evil, and he let down and drew his weapon. The battle was long and complex as the party traded blows with the King of Lost Haven. Although he wielded a weapon, his magics were much more deadly. Surrounding him throughout the fight was his Aura of Avarice, which caused anyone who entered to have their senses attacked, making them look at Malachi in awe for his beautiful golden form. Lying a finger on him would hurt them without Malachi having to do anything. Despite this, they pushed on, absorbing the waves of deadly attacks and psychic pain.
Session 46	Mordecai unleashed miniature meteors and powerful spells that struck the king with the force of lightning, targeting his golden visage, which conducted electricity to the detriment of Malachi's health. Drache thought through the mental anguish and onslaught of attacks from close range, striking weak points at every available opportunity. Aidan used his pact magic to cause his strikes to hit harder and faster than ever. Halfbie stood back, letting the spells arc across the battlefield, elegantly dancing from dealing damage to healing and picking their friends up to continue the bloody fight.
Session 46	Korrigan's arrow landed from his bow, hitting their mark accurately. At the same time, others thought of a battle in real space, while Korrigan also thought of a secondary struggle of wills and ideology between Malachi and himself. He stood with the weight of his people's freedom on his shoulders. He ran with the cries of his friends as they were slaughtered mercilessly for a regime that could not hear their pleas. And nooked each arrow for every person who died of starvation, or had been whipped for trying to breathe or those that had gone to bed knowing they would not wake up when dawn broke. All of it was theirs, and all his might, skills, and knowledge were leveraged in this battle to free the slaves of Lost Haven.
Session 46	As the fight waged on, Malachi's rage became increasingly rapid, and he resorted to cruel methods to beat his old enemy. At one point, he even ripped his golden arm away from his shoulder to stop the party from using it to hurt him even more. Roaring in pain, he set his eyes on Korrigan, goading him to come closer. The battle continued, and Korrigan did not fall for the king's provocation. Soon, Slyva landed the final blow, and Malachi's body crumpled to the ground.
Session 46	There was a brief pause as the party watched Malachi's corpse on the ground, almost not believing he was dead. Their unsceretained was proven correct when the king's body began to glow a brilliant golden light. Light got brighter and brighter before vanishing; its place was a Golden Golem that stood before all of them. Malachi's body was missing as the Golem began to charge up its next attack.
Session 46	The power began to corrupt Korrigan's body as the flesh on his arm began to decay and fall off, revealing rapidly, bone and tendon. Chenris whispered to Halfbie with grim neutrality, explaining that mortals were never meant to wield such power. Korrigan knew his time was limited, so he rushed towards Malachi's golden golem and launched the word like a spear. It flew through the air with a cackle of laughter and power. Upon making contact, it exploded, throwing Halfbie back into a wall, but completely decimating the golem.
Session 46	Everything fell deathly silent. It was done. Malachi had been defeated, but at what cost?
Session 45	Malachi entered the court stand on a balcony above everyone's heads as their screams continued. His eyes surveyed the crowd, and he seemed calmed by his presence. His eyes meandered until they locked with Korrigan's. His disdain was evident even from a distance. Korrigan's face twisted into a mischievous smile as he mockingly greeted the king. Malachi returned the smirk, saying, "I wondered when you'd be back"
Session 45	He then raised his golden arm to the Nobel crowd, and a brilliant golden light shot from his palm, turning everyone in the crowd to gold. Malachi explained that he refused to let his people get hurt again. Holding his gaze on Korrigan, he smirked before saying, "I do have a surprise for you, though..."
Session 45	"You know what? I'm not into Mad Kings. I'm sorry. It's not my style. I do like playing catch, though. And he shoots an arrow," replied Korrigan, and quickly drew his bow and fired an arrow square at Malachi. He did not react to the arrow's feel on his golden skin.
Session 45	With a click of his fingers, a pair of side doors swung open as Sara's hulking, golden form entered the courtyard. Korrigan froze, his jaw gaping, as a singular tear ran over his cheek. Another then followed. His legs gave out as he fell to the floor, unable to hold back the torrent of tears and emotions. Satisfied, Malachi turned on the spot and returned inside the palace, the doors clanging shut behind him.
Session 45	Halfbie and Mordecai slowly awoke to find themselves in an exquisite room filled with gold and brilliant white marble furnishings. The room was filled with incredibly lifelike statues of people in various states of fear, tears, and pain. Halfbie commented on how little taste Malachi has. However, no words left their mouths. Mordecai found the same was true for them. They both looked down, and to their horror, their bodies, up to their eyes, were made completely out of gold.
Session 45	Before the two could even begin to panic, a grand door opened, and two figures walked in. One was covered in his usual robes, which the party had recognised instantly, and the other bore the crown of Lost Haven. A flicker of hope crossed Mordecai's eyes as they recognised Xekai.
Session 45	Malachi replied with an enthralled smile, excitedly pointing to some of his new favourites in the collection. He gestured at a few, including Slyva, who seemed to have a defiant look on her face. Mordecai tried to use the dispel magic spell by subtly spelling it; however, the antimagic field appeared already active. In fact, from their vantage point, it seemed like Xekai was actively trying to ignore them, whether he could hear them or not.
Session 45	Xekai and Malachi sat at a grand table in the heart of the room. It was, too, made of solid gold. Malchai poured him a cup of tea. Genturing to Halfbie and Mordecai, he explained that they were the most recent ones; he caught them a few hours ago messing with Sara.
Session 45	Mordecai suddenly realised that while the antimagic field was active, it hadn't been for long enough to be at full power, allowing them to use the message spell. They tried to message Xekai, but still refused to reply or even react [^1]. The two talked about a range of topics around politics until the topic eventually turned to the rebellion, where Xekai said, "We'll have to quell this rebellion as soon as possible. I recommend sending all your guards straight into the quarters." Malachi nodded in approval, and once they finished their team, they began leaving the room.
Session 45	Malachi stopped in his tracks, the air around him becoming very tense. He turned to Xekai and asked, "How does the Tiefling know your name?" The silence was deafening in the room before it was broken with a long, exasperated sigh from Xekai. Before anyone could react, he turned on the spot and punched Malachi in the stomach. The force was enough to make the king vomit before passing out.
Session 44	Suddenly, a man in ornate clothes and a decorated crown entered the room, cackling wildly. He ordered a guard to pick up the half-alive chenris. He looked at his machine, saying, "It's alright, my pet. You put up a good fight." he then turned to chenris "Well, you tried, and that's all we can hope for." And with a cruel laugh, he punched chenris unconscious.
Session 44	They kept walking forward, ready to make their message clear: The king would die today.
Session 42	The crooked, built-all-too-familiar handwriting of King Malachi Darkthorne † read, "They died, and it was all your fault." Upon reading this, Korrigan lets out a guttural scream of rage as all his memories finally returned with the sensation of a white hot blade being stabbed into his mind.
Session 42	We tried every single peaceful thing. By 17, we were seen as a symbol of hope. We operated out of a pub, secretly running underneath my father's forge. We called it the Ember's Refuge. That's where I was heading down towards the day yesterday. But soon after my 18th birthday, Malachi the King ordered our execution. We did nothing aggressive. We didn't, you know, we weren't planning attacks. It was all peaceful. Broke into our houses and slaughtered some of the resistance. He slaughtered Alandra in front of me and my father.