Malefor

Malefor, also known as the Dark Master, is the main antagonist of The Legend of Spyro series as well as the primary antagonist in The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon. He is Spyro and Cynder's archenemy, and the true villain of the series.

## Personality

It was said he was the first purple dragon ever born. Malefor is, in many ways, the exact opposite of every Spyro villain in the Spyro series. He is depicted as completely evil, possessing no comedic elements. He is also ruthless, sadistic, extremely cunning, deceitful, destructive, violent, and as his name dictates and represents, he is downright malevolent; the complete opposite of Spyro. While Spyro does good and wishes to protect the world he lives in, Malefor seeks destruction of it, and will use all he can to finish what he started.

He seems to personify the Deadly Sin of Gluttony for his uncontrollable hunger for power that has occurred since his corruption. He also possesses a fatalistic philosophy; believing it his fate and destiny to purify the world by destroying it so a new one would be created. Therefore, he most likely does not perceive himself as evil, more so as an anti-hero; using questionable means to accomplish a "noble" goal, though this may not be the case, as he doesn't appear to object to his title as the Dark Master. Judging from his ruthless and purely sadistic nature, Malefor is especially a murderer as he killed millions of creatures in his "quest to fulfill the destiny of the purple dragon."

One of his most defining traits is his skill. While it appeared he'd sent Gaul and Cynder to free him, it was ultimately all a plan to lure Spyro to the Well of Souls and set him free. He is also very skilled at using his opponent'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 take control of her.

But like all villains, he undervalues the power of friendship and ultimately love when he uses Cynder to kill Spyro for his nonacceptance of the alleged truth and nature of the purple dragon race, only for her to break his bind when Spyro says that she has left him with nothing left to fight for.

## Story

### Early Life

Malefor was a purple dragon and a talented one at that. He first mastered fire, then ice, wind, earth, electricity, and many other elements none thought existed. The Dragon Elders willingly taught him how to master the elements, but his power was unlimited and he consumed everything. When he would not stop, the Elders banished him to exile. After that, Malefor took on the title as the Dark Master and built a fortress. He recruited an army not of dragons but of Apes and taught them how to artificially harness the power of the gems, which are the dragons' lifeforce. His malice was 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, where he was imprisoned. While his spirit was imprisoned in the Mountain of Malefor, his essence was trapped in Convexity.

### The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning

During the Year of the Dragon, Malefor sent his Ape army to the Dragon Temple, under the command of his servant Gaul, the Ape King, to destroy all of the dragon eggs to prevent the next Purple Dragon from being born. He also ordered Gaul to capture a dragon egg, as he needed a dragon born on the Year of the Dragon to open the gateway in Convexity that served as his prison. Gaul captured Cynder's egg so she could serve Malefor and bring him back, while the Apes had smashed all the other dragon eggs, unaware that Ignitus has saved Spyro's egg. The Ape King used Malefor's dark powers to corrupt and influence Cynder, transforming her into a large, evil dragoness with greater strength and agility at an unnaturally fast rate. Cynder and Gaul then set out to bring Malefor back.

Cynder goes on a journey to open the Convexity portal which imprisoned her master's soul. Her Ape army scatters and leaves the land in ruins. Cynder's ultimate plan is to capture each of the Dragon Guardians during a battle which may seem to be a ruse for her to snatch all the guardians while they were distracted to fend off their enemies, and drain their energies into crystals which she would use to release Malefor from his prison. Spyro, the newly born Purple Dragon, and his adoptive brother, Sparx the Dragonfly, traveled across the land and rescued each of the four Dragon Guardians after Cynder drains their energies into crystals. She then goes to Convexity and places the last one into the portal containing her master. Spyro uses his full power and defeats Cynder, freeing her of Malefor's control and returning her to her normal size. As the portal opens, he saves Cynder and the three escape the collapsing Convexity dimension as Malefor's spirit emerges. After they get back to the Dragon Temple, Spyro and Cynder watch the sky, wondering if the Dark Master will soon return. While resting off the weakness from the battle, Spyro dreams of the battle and how he saved Cynder, hearing the Dark Master's voice in his head, calling his name.

### The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night

Gaul and his Ape army travel to the Well of Souls and set up their base there. Gaul plans to resurrect their master on the Night of Eternal Darkness and release him from the Well of Souls to satisfy the Apes' lust for power and get their revenge. He also captures Cynder, who leaves the Dragon Temple because she still blames herself for what happened, to lure Spyro in his unaware stage. Gaul then tells Cynder that Malefor can either take her back as his servant or kill her. Cynder refuses and is held prisoner by Gaul. Spyro, who has developed romantic feelings for her, and Sparx set out to rescue Cynder and eventually make it to the Well of Souls where Spyro confronts and fights Gaul. During the celestial moons' eclipse, Malefor's dark influence takes control of Spyro's mind and he destroys Gaul just as he planned from the start. Cynder saves Spyro from Malefor's control and the Mountain then begins to collapse, trapping the three. Spyro uses his Dragon Time powers to save them, encasing them in crystal. After the eclipse, Malefor finally escapes from the Well of Souls after his master and secret plan succeeded, and plagues the world.

### The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon

After being resurrected, Malefor immediately began plaguing the world in darkness. During that time, he attacked the Dragon Temple and reclaimed it, suspending it above the world as a symbol of his dominamce. It is also stated that Malefor cursed the Apes possibly sometime during his dark reign, turning them into shadows as a way of repaying them for not being truly loyal to him since they were greedy and thirsty for his power. Presumably afterwards, Malefor created a new army consisting of creatures he created called Grublins as replacements for the Apes.

After three years of being trapped within the time crystal, Spyro, Sparx, and Cynder finally awaken to stop Malefor from destroying the world. After going on a long journey, Spyro and Cynder make it to Malefor's Lair where they confront Malefor himself. He taunts Spyro by saying that they have more in common than just their color. Spyro denies this, saying that he is nothing like Malefor, who then frees the young dragons of an energy chain that his minions had shackled around their necks from the beginning of the game. He then claims that his influence over Cynder has not completely diminished and that she had led Spyro to free him. Cynder both denies Malefor's words and says that she no longer knows, to which Malefor replies by taking control over her again and renewing her dark side. Malefor attacks Spyro through Cynder repeatedly while he assures Spyro that there have been many Purple Dragons before him and that the history of their kind has been to resurrect the Destroyer and the Golems of the Deep during that age in order to bring about the "Great Cleansing", destroying the world.

Spyro denies Malefor's statements and continues to be struck by Cynder while Malefor laughs maniacally. Cynder angrily asks why Spyro won't fight back, and Spyro sadly responds that it is because Cynder has left him nothing to fight for. This breaks Malefor's hold on Cynder, and she lovingly tells him that there's always something. Malefor becomes enraged and chains Cynder to Spyro with the same energy cord around Spyro's neck, binding them together to kill them both. After a long battle against Malefor, Spyro and Cynder follow after him to continue their fight. However, the Destroyer, manages to jump into the maw of the Earth, breaking it apart. Spyro and Cynder then fight Malefor again as they are descending into the core of the world. After a final energy blast against Spyro and Cynder, Malefor is knocked to the Earth's crystal core, where he is pulled and sealed away into the crystal by several dragon spirits that appear to be "The Ancients", the dragons who trained him. Spyro then uses his powers to reconstruct the world, slowly putting it back together and ending Malefor's malice for good.

## Role in the Series

However, instead of being trapped inside the Core, the Ancients have sent him to the Banished Realms for his connections to the Void. Now he lies in wait for the day he takes his revenge on Spyro, Cynder and the Punch Time Exploders.