Malareth



Malareth is one of Vous's more recent Elites, and is the main antagonist of the adventure. He was originally a character from the official D&D 4th Edition Red Box Starter Kit, but was adapted for further uses in original campaigns.

Backstory
Nothing is known about Malareth's history, except that he, at one point, managed to gain the trust of Vous enough to become one of his Elites. Twenty years before the start of the story, Malareth was ordered to collect mysterious runes from the labyrinths of the Mortal Realm. He took his orders to the extreme, and made every labyrinth on the planet disappear, as well as their minotaur inhabitants, in order to get the runes. Terrios was the only minotaur spared, as he was out hunting at the time of Malareth's raid.

Mortal Realm (Fallcrest)
After foolishly mistaking a dwarf named Traevus for Czech, Malareth "returned" the key to the mines to him and stole a possession of his (a box with a jewel inside) out of spite for his absent teammate. Later, Numan, Aelar, and Terrios storm his temple and kill him, having been petitioned to do so by Traevus. That night, Malareth's necromantic failsafes take effect, and he manages to reassemble himself, killing everyone in the bounty hunter's guild during his escape (and effectively putting Terrios out of a job). He returns to Every Star Station, and is sent to Shinaclestra to start his next mission.

Shinaclestra
Malareth prepared for Vous's coming by first stealing the Ancient Sword from Lord Emon after being taught how to use it. Once Vous had weakened the deity known as Dormin with the aid of the heroes, Malareth emerges from the shadows and uses his necromancy to absorb Dormin's spirit into himself, a strain he feels won't last long. To repent for accidentally leading the heroes to Every Star Station, he is ordered to do this, and to assist them in their first mission.

Malareth teleports about the Forbidden Land, causing pain and havoc wherever he could. In the end, he was responsible for the disappearances of all three of the country's towns, as well as the imprisonment/metamorphosis of fifteen innocent humans and animals. With the reluctant help of the heroes, Malareth frees his body of most of Dormin's spirit, but decides to keep the last fraction for himself to remain immortal. The fifteenth colossus he creates, Barba, is made from one of Terrios's family members, all of whom had actually been captured as data by Malareth.

At Cataclysm Circle, Malareth attempts to finish off the liabilities, as they know far too much about his treachery now. But when he is defeated, the last fraction of Dormin's spirit takes over and transforms him into Malus. Forever fixed in place as a colossus, Malareth is deemed MIA on the official records of Every Star Station.

30 years later, long after the heroes had left him behind, a young boy named Wander manages to fell Malus, taking Dormin's and Malareth's spirits into himself. Wander is unable to control this power, until he is reverted into a newborn and the power is quelled. Wander's descendants spread the spirits of Dormin and Malareth among each other, until they are all captured centuries later by an evil queen seeking immortality. However, Dyren travels to this time and easily kills her, leaving the entirety of Dormin/Malareth's soul in the petrified body of the queen's daughter, Yorda. As the castle begins crumbling around her, Dormin sacrifices his soul in order to spare her. She survives, while Dormin and all the spirits that make him up were sent to the Shadowfell.

Letherna
No longer restricted to a physical body, Malareth finally regained control and took the reins. Having fully assimilated Dormin and the colossi, he immediately began hatching a plan to resurrect himself. He needed a physical body, so he decided to manipulate the vengeful minds of Kalarel and Dreadfang. Using his knowledge of necromancy (as well as the knowledge gained from the god Dormin), he provided Kalarel with two rituals: one to turn him into a Vampire Lord, the other as a trick. Kalarel was told that the second ritual would open a perfect gate back to the Mortal Realm, but it was actually a custom ritual designed to put Death under Malareth's control. Dreadfang was also supposed to receive the powers of a Vampire Lord, but Kalarel betrayed them both and instead turned Dreadfang into Vampirespawn. With Dreadfang as a servant, and Malareth as a spirit, no one could stop Kalarel. That is, until the heroes were sent on a mission to stop him.

The timing was impeccable. Kalarel was defeated by the heroes at the exact same time as the ritual's completion. It was only because of his defeat that Malareth was able to immediately command Death to steal Kalarel's soul, and replace it with his own. Malareth, now in possession of Kalarel's body, now had the power of a god, sixteen titans, a vampire lord, and two necromancers. Though his power seemed limitless, he was not satisfied, and won't be until he's as strong as the Imperator.