"Ethur Azach! By the power of my blood, I create life..."
- Malacay breaking Aonir's rule
Janus Malacay was the main antagonist of SpellForce 2: Shadow Wars. He was the High Alchemist of the Hybernian Empire and creator of The Shaikan and Malar.
Background[]
Early Days[]
Janus Malacay was born on the shores of Muire and became a servant of the Hybernian Empire very quickly due to his high intelligence and ruthlessness on the search for new insights as a mage.
The following information is part of Hokan Ashir's vision and didn't take place in reality
It is possible that he was once a member of Tesites, an influential group of mages that researched the link between alchemy and magic.
The vision information ends here
Discovering the Materia Prima[]
On the search for the power of the Materia Prima, that germ of life that can still be found in the blood of the first creatures of the world, Malacay joined his own blood with the blood of a captured great dragon named Ur. Thus he created a bloodline in whose veins the blood of the dragons was mixed with the traces of the humans' ancestors and which created a substance full of vital forces. In it the original spark of life came back into existence. This blood not only made Malacay’s "children" stronger, faster and more robust than common people, the vital forces of the dragon blood even bestowed them with the ability to resurrect others by donating some of their blood .
Abusing the Materia Prima[]
After the Shaikan people was created, Malacay did not rest. Instead he did even more research and finally was able to use the blood of the firstborn to create an entirely new species: The Malar. This race was of extraordinary brutality but also of absolute loyalty towards Malacay. He used the Malar to invade nearby countries and slaughtered the other peoples. The guardian gods watched over Eo and when Malacay's newborn race was on the verge of obliterating Aonir's creation, they intervened.
Fight with the guardian gods[]
The morning rose with thunderstorm. The breath of the wind was heavy with blood and ashes, a black maelstrom rising up from the battle to devour the sky. As far as the eyes could see the bodies of the Malar were undulating.
Hirin spurred his horse on, away from the circle of light that the hammer of his brother Niethalf cut with wide sweeps into the hordes of the Malar. Hirin’s goal was the source of the stream of bodies. The god of death and dreams pressed his black mount through the enemies to mete out justice at last and to take the life of the human whose madness was the reason for all this.
Under the steaming hooves of his steed the Malar scattered to ashes and the heavy axe of the god swung left and right through the bodies of the monsters like a pendulum of inevitability. The steed climbed up a hill, stemming like a cockle boat against the wave of creatures. Behind the rider the storm, pierced by the lightning of his stormsister Elen, surged uphill and whipped the cloak of the god of death like a black flame around his armored body.
When at last the steaming mount of the god pierced the crest of the wave Hirin looked into the face of Janus Malacay, the human who once used to be the High Alchemist of the Hyboric Emperor and who now declared himself to be the master over life and death of the whole world. The gaze of the man was lost in reverie, while bloodmagic gushed from his wide-spread arms, forming one Malar after the other and filling them with life only to have them die under the axe of the deity moments later. Hirin pressed his horse on towards the man in whose eyes the mockery with which he had disobeyed the gods and the laws of life still gleamed.
Out of the maelstrom of the sky the dragon Ur descended on Hirin, ready to defend his master. But Elen’s lightning hit the beast and cast it a mile away, where it crashed into the sea of creatures like a meteor and for the first time Hirin saw a trace of fear in Malacay’s eyes. The lips of the alchemist seemed to form words as if he wanted to explain and appease. But the axe of the grim god rose high up into the black sky and came crushing down mercilessly, cutting deep into the flesh of the blasphemer. And then the Malar started screaming.
They reared their hideous visages to the sky and shouted out the pain of their master, a scream coming from a sea of mouths with a sound as if the whole world would be burst asunder. And when the bloodmagic fell apart, the Malar fell apart too. They dissolved into bloody pieces and were carried away in the whirling storm along with the dying echo of their screaming.
Silence fell on the field of battle. Elen’s storm died down and a cold wind scattered the black clouds to lay bare the remains of the battle to the sun’s face. The gods stood in a circle around the dying man, whose blood-covered lips were distorted in a derisive sneer.
“All the gods of Eo are needed to bring me down! So I can die in peace as I know now that your creation will always bear my mark! The mortal human who stole the secret of life! Even on the River of Souls my mocking of you shall be heard!”
“No, Janus Malacay“, said Ereon, the Wise. “You shall not experience the mercy of eternal sleep. Beyond the threshold of death your true punishment will wait for you, and it will be much crueler than your sick mind is capable of imagining. You shall never rest in peace!”
And then the gods heard the breath of the dragon Ur who, hurt and weak as he was, tried to reach his master’s side. Hirin menancingly stepped closer and lifted his axe, when the voice of his brother Ereon sounded again.
“Stop, brother! This first-born has simply fulfilled his bloodoath. Let the disgrace be punishment enough for him!” This is how the gods left Malacay and the dragon Ur behind. The old dragon lay still and listened to the last breaths of his master and with each gasping breath a heavy burden seemed to be lifted from his heart. But then Malacay’s hand reached out for him.
“Listen to me! We are both still alive and you are not yet freed of your bonds!“ And again the alchemist smiled his dying smile. “You are to take a last oath for me! An oath that will preserve my work and the bloodline I created forever! Now listen carefully…”
Old Shaikan Telling about the origins of their people
Overlord[]
Malacay did not survive the confrontation but before his death he ordered his dragon to enter into a blood pact with him and his descendants. Within each generation malacay's soul would choose a shaikan for his soul to manifest itself in, this shaikan would be called the Soul Carrier. The purpose of this pact was to escape the punishment guardians had prepared for him in afterlife, he would always exist within the very blood of the shaikan and would drive them to insanity on occasion, giving the shaikan reputation of "blood-traitors".
Shadow Wars[]
During the Shadow Wars he chose another soul carrier for himself and became the source of much trouble for the innocent man. (TBA)
Legacy[]
TBA
Trivia[]
- Although the novels explore malacay's origins in depth it is heavily implied that they were nothing but lies that the alchemist used to manipulate Goren to sympathize with him.