Malefor

Age
 Status
 Gender
 Species
 Element(s)

*"Who is gonna save you now?"*

Malefor, also known as the Dark Master, is Spyro and Cynder's former archenemy, and the first purple dragon ever born.

## **Personality & Character**

It was said he was the first Purple dragon ever born. Malefor was, in many ways, the exact opposite of Spyro. As his name dictates and represents, he was completely malevolent; the unbalanced embodiment of evil after having gained full command over the dark side of Aether, a powerful element of the Purple dragon that draws in the essence of the very universe itself. Despite being calm and courteous, Malefor was also cunning, highly intelligent and manipulative, being able to devise twisted plans. While Spyro does good and wishes to protect the world he lives in, Malefor seeks the destruction of it, and will use all he can to finish what he started.

Malefor was, no doubt, a murderer as he killed millions of creatures in his "quest to fulfill the destiny of the purple dragon", willing to use anything he can to complete his goal, and destroy everything in his way or anyone useless to him in cold blood unless they can be of use to him again later on. Malefor is also a skilled orator, able to strike doubt in the resolute and courageous minds and use it to his advantage. With this powerful skill, he is very experienced at using his enemy's faults against them; a prime example is his use of Cynder's past deeds and the fact he used her to free himself to make her doubt herself long enough for him to break the magic preventing Zirra from gaining back control over Cynder and for Zirra to take control of her mentally.

Because of his deeply tainted state, Malefor believed that it was his fate and destiny to purify the world by destroying it so a new one would be created. Therefore he most likely did not perceive himself as evil. But he undervalued the power of friendship and ultimately love when he broke Spyro's magic on Zirra and tries to use Cynder to kill Spyro for his nonacceptance of the alleged truth and nature of the purple dragon race, only for her to break Zirra's bind over her when Spyro tells her that she has left him with nothing left to fight for, somewhat revealing a trace of his love for her.

Despite his current malevolent nature, during his youth Malefor was a rather caring and courageous individual. Chief Prowlus mentioned that when he was young, Malefor's personality was rather similar to Spyro's. Based on the ruins below Warfang, the ancestors had very high hopes for Malefor and had built the whole area as a training ground for him, as well as a statue of him which was placed at the Dragon Temple.

## **Attacks and Abilities**

Malefor was unfathomably powerful. Being a rare purple dragon like Spyro, he controlled many abilities others cannot, but to a greater extent, such as the element of Fire, Ice, Electricity, Earth, Wind, Aether, and perhaps even Time itself. Malefor's elemental abilities were far more developed than Spyro's, and on a much larger and more powerful scale that what Spyro displayed.

Living up to his self-proclaimed title after choosing evil, Malefor has full mastery over the darkness that corrupted him. After embracing the sinister influence of Dark Aether, he possessed enough willpower to not let the Aetherial darkness consume his mind. With Dark Aether at his disposal, he wields powerful dark magic that enables him to corrupt anything or anyone as he pleases. This is demonstrated when he transforms a temple from Warfang into a Fortress of his likeness and makes it levitate, turns the Apes into undead ghouls, creating artificial creatures like the Grublins, and crafted an energy chain that his minions shackle Spyro and Cynder together. His notable power was breaking the magic that prevented Zirra from gaining back control over Cynder.

## **Background**

Born in ancient times, Malefor was the first purple dragon, and a talented one at that. He first mastered Fire, despite not being a Fire dragon, and harnessed the powers of Ice, Wind, Earth, Electricity, and many other elements none thought existed. Thus, Malefor was the first dragon to be able to use more than one element, which other Dragons were restricted to only one. Believing him to be the dragon to usher them into a new age, the past Guardians willingly taught him how to master these elements. When Malefor got old enough, he was taken to the Dragon City where he and Frillisean lived together. However, as time went by, Malefor became arrogant and over-confident and his power and knowledge grew far beyond what was expected, as did his lust for power. The fateful day came when Malefor used the Aether element, the signature raw ability of the Purple dragon, on Artocus, killing the Ice Guardian, and was banished from the Dragon Lands to exile.

Filled with hatred for his own kind, Malefor abandoned his true calling and embraced the darkness of the Aether element The dark power corrupted his physical appearance and altered his voice, but Malefor was able to gain full command over Dark Aether and not let it consume his consciousness. He took on the title as "the Dark Master" and recruited an army of Apes, teaching them how to artificially harness the power of the gems, which are the Dragons' lifeforce. It wasn't long before he sought more and greater power, waging a war against the Dragon race. His actions sent the world spiraling into chaos, ruining the peaceful reputation of the Dragons in the process. With his army established and growing by the day, Malefor built a great fortress upon a mountain, and there he resided, staring out upon the lands. His sheer malice so great, that it split the earth and created a pit of despair, called the Mountain of Malefor, also known as the Well of Souls, by the evil-hearted.

Eventually, Malefor was defeated by Zirra when his Aether and her Golden Light collided together, sealing Malefor in Convexity and destroying Zirra's body while her soul was sealed. While his soul was imprisoned in the Mountain of Malefor, his essence was trapped in Convexity. He sought to escape the mountain he had created, and while Malefor manipulated a plan to do so, his army was still able to carry out his orders.

## **Trivia**

* Malefor's corruption was caused by something dark and powerful.
* Malefor had a dark form just like Spyro, which resulted from him embracing his Dark Aether and changed his appearance just like Spyro's did, and spending more and more time using it, he started becoming evil. Unlike Dark Spyro, Malefor remains conscious and is in full control of his actions. His Dark form is what altered his voice.
	+ In addition, it is possible for Malefor to be "stripped" of his dark form and be returned to normal.
* The massive statue in the Dragon Temple training room and the dragon statue in the large shrine near the top of the Well of Souls are both of Malefor. Two more massive statues of Malefor also appear outside the temple of each of the elemental dreamscapes Spyro is taken to regain his elemental breaths in *The Eternal Night*.
* Malefor is the only dragon in *The Legend of Spyro* series and *Zirra's Return* who has reptilian pupils. This is the result of his corruption under Dark Aether, but he retained full control over his actions and didn't let the dark power consume him.
* In *Connected Bonds* and the flashbacks of *The Eternal Night*, his eyes are depicted as completely yellow with no pupils, which show off his full corruption under Dark Aether. However, in *Dawn of the Dragon*, he has snakelike pupils, making his face seem more gentle and sinister, revealing that he has not let the Dark Aether element fully control him.
* Malefor is presumably the most evil and darkest villain in the *Spyro* series.