The Dread King

Phanuus

Kordam (formerly)

**Malerion, The Dread King** of Aldarnesh is a powerful figure. He rules over the white elves of Aldarnesh from the city of Salak Tor. He doesn't appear to take much interest in white elf politics, the chaos that it is. While he doesn't care if many of the nobility are killed by one another, none dare try to usurp the Dread King. Not for lack of wanting, but because they know that they would die trying. Rumoured to be nearly seven thousand years old, the Dread King likely witnessed that dawn of man.

## History

### Early Life

Malerion was born to unknown parents, but he quickly came to the attention of Prince Arianna of the white elves. She saw his potential and uncharacteristically decided to make him her apprentice. She taught him both how to fight and how to use magic, and he even learned while she was not teaching, as he watched her slowly shape and guide the white elves into the race they are now.

### Meeting the Dwarves

While the rest of the elves found their homes and settled, the white elves were never satisfied. Arianna listened to Malerion when he felt unsatisfied by the land they were on, the land which would later become The Empire of Lûeth. As they continued to explore, they came upon a group of small humanoids fighting harpies in the mountains. These were dwarves that were exploring the area that would much later become Khûndil. The white elves moved in and saved the dwarves, and Malerion saw a chance for an alliance with these creatures. Arianna, wanting to give her apprentice a challenge, let him take charge of the negotiations, wanting to see what he could do.

Despite the language barrier, Malerion managed to gain audience with the king of the dwarves, Grimm, and his elves endured one of the large roasted dinners that the dwarves are now famous for. Grimm enjoyed watching the elves suffer the fatty foods and bitter ale that they clearly weren't used to, and jested to Malerion about it.

Over a few weeks, Malerion began to rely less on magic to communicate with the dwarves, picking up the language slowly with his conversations with the dwarf king. The two began to form a bond, with Grimm eventually inviting him on one of the royal troll-hunts, a privilage usually only enjoyed by the king's most trusted advisors.

Over the coming months, the white elves grew restless, not liking the underground home of the dwarves, so Malerion told Grimm that he would be taking his people to settle somewhere. The white elves left on good terms with the dwarves, and when they settled on the easten coast of Nore, the relations continued.

### Uplifting the Humans

When Orion abandoned his project to develope the primative humans, Malerion saw the same potential that Orion saw. He rode to Khûndil and spoke to Grimm, who, despite having fought wars with the other elven races, still greeted him as an old friend. He heard what Malerion told him, that they seemed to be intelligent and quick-thinking, despite their primitive minds, and Grimm was sold. The two set about finding small tribes of humans and bargaining with them, using Malerion's magic to communicate with them and Grimm's charisma to bring them to side.

It didn't take long for the pair to realise that the humans were extremely short lived, but they learned at an outstanding rate, and would pass down what they learned to the next generation. Over a few hundred years, the humans knew how to make axes and crude swords, and had a rudimentary language of their own. Some had even started learning magic.

### The Secret to Immortality

Once humans began evolving by themselves, forming their own cultures, Grimm and Malerion left them alone, watching their project succeed with pride. But after all these years, Grimm had started to grow old, and Malerion had to return to his people. When he returned to the white elf city of Salak Tor, he immediately locked himself in his  tower, speaking only to Arianna. He studied his magic and nursed it, his mastery over the mortal soul slowly improving, but it wasn't enough. His natural aptitude for magic wasn't good enough for what he wanted to do. So he left Salak Tor, journying to the Elfhome forest, looking for Prince Dorian of the high elves. He told Dorian what he wanted to do, and Dorian forbade it. In anger, Malerion struck at Dorian, dealing him a solid blow. However, Dorian was a Fae Prince, and would not be felled so easily. Malerion's life was only saved when Arianna intervened, fighting her peer, the two being evenly matched. While Dorian was distracted, Malerion stole an artefact from Dorian, an book known as the Liber Infinium, a tome that contained all of Dorian's knowledge and more.

Upon returning to Salak Tor, Malerion was berated by Prince Arianna for his rash actions, and Malerion took it, knowing that he now had what he needed. Upon studying the Liber Infinium, he found what he needed. The key to  eternal life. But he wasn't happy with what he found. It needed time. More time than he had, though he could partially achieve what he needed.

### Khûndil and Pandemonium

Malerion left Salak Tor just before high elf armies arrived at its doorstep, travelling into the mountains of Darhold to see his old friend, and wasn't greeted the best news. The king's health was starting to deteriorate as he approached his 600th year of life. Malerion secretly beganning to weave his magic, magic that would take a thousand years to make the recipient immortal. In a matter of weeks, the king recovered, finding a spring in his step and being genuinely less curmudgeonly, which is saying something for a dwarf. After another few months they heard the news that Salak Tor had split off from the continent in the war with the high elves.

Hearing this news, Grimm offered Malerion a place by his side, since his people his people no longer lived on this continent. Malerion accepted, and lived his life wtih the dwarves for years, his magic subtly keeping their most revered king alive longer than any dwarf had ever lived by centuries. Malerion assisted the dwarves in a war against the high elves and in the building of Khûndil, and together the two watched as the humans began to form empires. The humans fought amongst each other, but also quickly made amends. They did not hold grudges as long as the elves and dwarves did.

Whenever the two talked about the humans, they spoke like teachers talking about their star pupil. Like proud parents when their child succeeds. Until the calibration that took place just before Grimm's 1,200th brithday. A particularly ambitious human uncovers ancient magicks and opens the portals to Pandemonium. Demons pour forth into the world, and it seems like nothing can stop them. The dwarves want to dig deeper into the ground to escape this, and Malerion accepts that he will have to return to his people. Grimm persuades him and the dwarves that they should fight. Malerion travels to Aldarnesh, declaring that they will be joining the dwarves in their venture to close the portals. With Arianna no longer present, several white elves look to him for leadership and decide to follow.

The incursion into Pandemonium is quick, the white elves and the dwarves work well together, like they did long ago. The trip is deadly to almost all involved, save for the two heroes. Upon leaving, they come to the horrific realisation. A sacrifice would be needed to leave. Both refused to leave the other, but as many people say, the stubbornness of a dwarf is unmatched. Leaving his sacred weapon, Kordam with Malerion, Grimm pushed Malerion through the portal. Angered by his friend's actions, Malerion forced the portal back open to try to reach him, as he would not survive armed with only his smithing hammer, or Malerion's magic to sustain him. His desperate attempts were nearly successful, but the primordials are always more powerful than people think.

As Malerion stepped into the portal being maintained by powerful white elf sorcerers in Aldarnesh, the primordials quickly reacted, forcing the portal shut. Malerion, a hand on Grimm's shoulder, was pulled back through into the Mundanus, screaming in agony as the raw magical energy from the closing portal nearly ripped him apart. It took months of painful surgeries and magical enchantment to affix a powerful suit of armour over Malerion's wounds, and after it was done, he wove an enchantment to ensure the wounds would never fully heal, that he would always feel a dull pain, representing his failure. He began weaving his dark magic into himself, his mortal body attaining immortality, as he had once desired for his dwarven friend.

He emerged from his chambers a new person. No longer was he the naïve prince of the white elves who thought they could do anything. No, he was the Dread King of Aldarnesh. He knew fully his capacity to fail. He just wouldn't allow it to happen.

### Emergance of the Dread King

The Dread King took control of the white elves immediately, mobilising their naval forces to attack the surviving humans, trying to wipe them out. The Dread King believed that the humans were his biggest mistake; they took away the dwarves' greatest hero, and the Dread King's oldest friend. They had squandered the gifts they had been given, and no longer held the right to live.

Ruling with an iron fist, the humans were hunted relentlessly, and would have been wiped out were it not for the betrayal that the Dread King suffered. A cult, rumoured to have been lead by Arianna herself, emerged in Aldarnesh. With the armies out hunting humans, the cult took root in Salak Tor and began tearing down the Dread King's rule. When Arianna came out of the shadows to take down her former protégé, she greatly underestimated him and his grip on his people.

A great battle ensued, the two engaging in a duel that would see no victor until the sword that Grimm personally forged for the Dread King, Celestial Fury was shattered. Arianna, seemingly having won, berated her old student as she used to, but didn't expect him to take up Grimm's axe, Kordam. An elf using a greataxe is normally a preposterous idea, but the Dread King's time with the dwarves combined with his magical surgeries gave him the physical strength he needed to wield the weapon. And why the weapon deemed him worthy at this moment was a mystery, but he grabbed the weapon and used it, dealing an almost fatal blow to the Fae Prince. She fled, taking her cult with her. Their current state and whereabouts is unknown.

The Dread King withdrew his armies from the hunt of the humans, holding them in Salak Tor in case Arianna returned. He still holds his grudge against the humans, but will always respect a dwarf.

After reforging his sword by studying Kordam's design, he set about setting up his ruling Black Council. When it became clear to the white elves that the Dread King cared naught for who sat on the council, as long as they were efficient, they would be allowed. This lead to a spiral of ordered chaos, where nobility would betray each other, stabbing each other in the back with poisoned knives as they fought for council seats. One thing that the white elves still haven't noticed about this is that if a member holds favour with the Dread King, the assassination attempts on their life undoubtedly fail. The Dread King has more influence than meets the eye.

When the Witch clans of Aldarnesh come into contact with white elf settlers, conflicts ensue. The Dread King eventually decides to lead his forces personally, dividing the witch clans and claiming the lands for his people. The Dread King then uses his magic to manipulate the heads of the witch clans, though only the Glassnail clan are fully put under his spell. Some of the Oldseers are willing to see what the Dread King can offer, but the Redcloaks flee the continent, scattering into human society.

### War with the Humans

When the humans set up the empire of Krystal, the Dread King stopped hunting the humans completely, even withdrawing his corsair fleets from raiding coastal settlements. The Krystallans were certainly an imposing threat, especially as it was ruled by human mages. The Dread King built up his armies, even sending agents to help set up the Ancient Xelaran Empire, making them an ally they could easily manipulate. After only a few centuries, the Xelarans remove all Krystallan influence from their court. At this point, the Dread King removes the majority of his agents, the seed of hatred against the Krystallans already planted.

Twenty-seven years later, the Xelarans and the Krystallans go to war. The Dread King orders a few well-placed assassinations of key Krystallan archmages and generals. This leads to the Xelarans taking the upper hand, until eventually the Krystallans leave them alone, much to the Dread King's annoyance. He orders his corsair fleets back out to raid settlements.

Around four hundred years later, the Xelarans have been making a lot of progress with magic and technology, angering the Dread King. Not wanting to wage full war on the humans, he orders his best assassins and mages to orchestrate an attack on the Xelarans and frame the Krystallans, which works. Upon investigating, the Krystallans find evidence of magic not approved by the Krystallan empire, and the Great War on Magic begins. The Krystallans make a move on the Dread King, but he personally fights amongst his soldiers and beat the humans back with very few losses. The Krystallans do not underestimate the Dread King again.

Rather than being conquered, the Krystallans somehow erect a magical ward around their continent, stopping anyone from entering and preventing divination magics spying from the outside. With this in place, the Xelarans admit defeat and allow the Krystallan Laws of Magic to be instated. The Krystallans still want to remove the Dread King from power, but he is too powerful currently.

### Ahriman

Over a thousand years pass and little conflict is seen, and so the Dread King grew impatient. Word had it that Ahriman was now the ruler of the Xelaran Empire and was growing more powerful every day, having seemingly already mastering the human problem of aging. And so the Dread King gathered his armies from his squabbling lords and marched on Xelaphos.

Upon his arrival, the armies had already fought, the white elves having suffered considerable losses from the Xelaran forces. The Dread King, utterly disappointed with his generals but not in the slightest surprised, decided to join the fight, the human armies no match for his ancient training and magic, until Ahriman showed his face upon the walls of Xelaphos in order to issue the Dread King a personal challenge, which to the white elf generals' surprise, the Dread King accepted.

While many believe the Dread King accepted due to pride and arrogance, in truth, he took Ahriman's challenge because he wanted to see how truly powerful this human was; Ahriman was nearly two centuries older than any human had ever lived, and if it took Ahriman a few decades to master immortality, who knows what else he could do.

The two met in between a ring of soldiers, each cheering for their respective leaders but honour-bound not to intervene - or ordered so on the white elves' half - and they faced off against each other. Reports say that the two shared words of respect laced with insult, before feelings of unease spread across the crowd, as is normal when an area becomes devoid of magic. The two leaders, both extremely powerful wizards, were drawing so much power in preparation from the area around that the Weave couldn't keep up.

Finally, the two fought, the destructive magics in play killing some and injuring many in the crowd around, and the battle lasted almost an hour, blows being traded and countered, though Ahriman seemed worse for wear than the Dread King, not having the armour to protect him.

### Disappearance

As it became clear that the Dread King was to win, it is said that Ahriman offered a grin of defiance, muttering in some tongue unfamiliar to all, before a massive explosion wrecked the ground around him, dust and sand flying everywhere and the crowd looked on in utter silence. As the dust settled, no sign of the two rulers remained, the crater the only evidence of the duel.

After a moment's hesitation, the two armies sprung back into action, the white elves making a hasty retreat as the Xelaran armies went berserk at the loss of their greatest king. Upon returning to Salak Tor, several of the black council tried to take control of Aldarnesh and chaos reigned supreme, as none knew what to expect with the Dread King dead.

However, the Dread King was alive, albeit barely. What exactly happened is unknown, but supposedly Ahriman's spell transported them each to a random plane of existence, and each of them had to find their way home, Ahriman doing so in a matter of days. The Dread King however, returned half a century later, his armour having sustained heavy damage. Many who saw him limping back to the black spire were executed, though rumours of the Dread King's apparent weakness spread quickly like wildfire, though the Dread King managed to both quell the rumours and reign in his unruly subordinates quickly, having a new steely resolve that was not there before. As if during the time he spent in some other hellish plane, something was revealed to him.

### Aftermath

As for Ahriman, the Dread King never again ordered such an assault on the Xelarans, though it was clear it was out of respect of the human's prowess than of fear. The Dread King barely spoke of Ahriman again, often dismissing the subject in his court with a nonchalant wave, and no large force of white elves were sent to the Xelaran Empire again, until after the Fall of Xela where the Xelaran empire is wiped from existance. Even the Dread King does not know why, though others are unsure if they believe him. The forces sent to the Xelaran Empire confirmed that no human was left, their cities seemingly abandoned. And well trapped, at that. The Dread King instead turned his focus on the Krystallans, developing his magical power further to figure out the exact nature of this magical barrier they have put up, seemingly more suspicious of them than before.

Another few thousand years later, the Empire of Lûeth is formed faster than the Dread King can mobilise his forces to prevent it. This empire isn't anywhere near as powerful as the Xelarans were, though they now have the Inquisition, and order dedicated to fighting magic. The Dread King decides to ignore them for now.

### Battle of Five Paths

The Krystallans reveal themselves briefly to the Dread King as they bodge a kidnapping of one of the Dread King's council. This person informs the Dread King of an artefact that the Krystallans were looking for known as the Primordial Crown. This artefact was mentioned in the Liber Infinium, and was said to have the power to control the primordials. The Dread King diverts his attention to finding this artefact.

In searching, the high elf queen Maeve Faerilyrmor discovers the Dread King's goal of the artefact by reading the Liber Infinium. The Dread King searches for the book once more and marches an army through the Empire's territory towards Elfhome. Seeing the high elven armies mobilising, the dark elves of Irandé decide to take this opportunity to march on the high elves, though the wood elves soon march to stop this. In their arrogance, the high elves demand that the wood elves leave, and they refuse. The four armies meet on a plain to the west of Elfhome and begin to fight each other, each wanting to show superiority over their cousins. From the mountains of Darhold, several orc tribes unite and join the fight, just for fun. The Dread King manages to win this five-way battle, personally killing both the dark elf Matriarch and the orc leader. He marches into Elias and discerns the location of the circlet needed for the Crown. He is interrupted by the Council of Thirteen and is forced to retreat, Gaeonin Goldleaf dealing a serious wound to the Dread King before he flees.

Soon after recovering from his wound, the Dread King goes north, taking only a few trusted elves with him. He travels into the northern wastes, an area known for being close to Pandemonium. He finds a small abandoned villages steeped in snow. Delving into the depths of catacombs beneath a temple dedicated to the primordials, the team find nothing but undead, but the Dread King presses on. In the final room they find a large number of skeletons sat upon thrones, one of which wears a circlet. The Dread King takes this circlet and is shown a vision. What was shown in that vision, no one but the Dread King could say. All his companions knew is that he froze for several minutes while the skeletons around them came alive. When the Dread King snapped out of his vision, the skeletons seemed to just collapsed as he looked at them.

## Current History

Since returning to his throne in Salak Tor, the Dread King continued to send his spies out to search for any signs of the points to his circlet, though they found very little until one spy reported that an unlikely group of adventurers from the Empire had found six of the seven points once Kaelar Aurum was killed attempting to retrieve one. The Dread King quickly sent out one of his council, Lilith Krakenclaw, to find them and bring them to him. As such, the Dread King has recently come into contact with the Orphans of Fate. They arrived in Salak Tor in possession of their six points of the crown. Not knowing the group's plans and not trusting the humans in the slightest, he tested them. Getting the god's opinions of them, though really only one mattered. When the dwarf, Mickey Kriemhild returned with the blessing of Grimm, he became unsure. He did not trust the humans, but was reluctant to execute them.

In the end, he did not have a choice, as the Orphans of Fate stole the circlet, they killed several members of the black council, they destroyed one of his black arks, they crushed his throat and, most importantly, they stole Grimm's axe from his possession.

Now, angered more than ever, the Dread King finally mobilises his armies once more, determined to get what he deserves.

## Relationships

### Arianna

"*You put your own desires before that of your people. Even if those desires might help you in the long run. Consider this both a pat on the back and a slap on the wrist.*"
―Arianna to Malerion after she had to step in to save him from the Fae Prince Dorian. Arianna saw Malerion's potential when he was very young. He had ambition and a willingness to learn, as well as astonishing aptitude for both martial warfare and magic. She held him in high regard, though was highly critical of his errors, though Malerion knew this was just to make him stronger. Over the years, Malerion began to appreciate when Arianna let him take the lead, like when the elves encountered the dwarves and Malerion took charge negotiating with their king, Grimm.

Since his transformation to the Dread King, however, he came to immediate conflict with his former master. Seeing what he had become, Arianna made a cult to take him down and take back control of the white elves. Arianna underestimated the Dread King's personal power and was subsequently driven into hiding. As such, the Dread King always keeps looking over his shoulder, and will pay highly for any insight into her whereabouts, even though she hasn't been sighted for over three and a half thousand years.

### Grimm

"*I saw ye last night! Eyin' that puddle o' spilt gravy next to ye as if it were plottin' to murder ye some! Har!*"
―Grimm to Malerion after his first dwarven feast. Malerion and Grimm always were fast friends, though if Grimm were to see what Malerion has become, he certainly wouldn't recognise him. Where once stood an elf who would act in everyone's best interests before his own, now stands a creature consumed by anger and pain, hellbent on destroying those that took everything from him.

Some theorists years from now believe that Mickey Kriemhild was sent to the Dread King by Grimm to remind him of the friend he lost before.

### Grum

"*You fought me and escaped. You fought me again and survived. I don't know why you keep coming back to fight me, and that is a mistake on my part. I should have killed you sooner.*"
―The Dread King to Grum when he was in captivity. Grum is a human bounty hunter that found his way as a slave into Salak Tor. He worked his way up from a pot washer up to head chef in a small amount of time. When Grum confronted, the Dread King was surprised at the human's power and cunning, despite his (relatively) young age.

### Mickey Kriemhild

"*That dwarf wields the blade of Grimm. Leave him to me. If anyone tries to take the glory for themselves, I'll have their head.*"
―The Dread King to his generals before the Siege of Khârond. Mickey Kriemhild is one of the Orphans of Fate, and that is enough to draw the Dread King's ire. However, having both the blessing of Grimm and possession of his axe, Kordam, the Dread King is both more enraged and yet hesitant. Could his old friend be trying to send him a message?