As an avid lore scholar, few characters in Elden Ring have enthralled me as much as Maliketh – the mysterious beast bound to Queen Marika and protector of the stolen Rune of Death itself. From his tragic backstory to his profound impact on the game‘s cosmology, Maliketh‘s enigmatic tale serves as the keystone to unraveling the Shattering and current state of the Lands Between.
Maliketh‘s Burden as Marika‘s Shadowbound Beast
Elden Ring offers glimpses of Maliketh‘s origins as Queen Marika the Eternal‘s closest living half-brother. Unlike her treacherous children who would turn against her, Maliketh served as her undyingly loyal shadowbound beast. FromSoft developers have hinted that his ghastly, skeletal beast form may in fact have been a curse placed on him by Marika herself – perhaps to control Maliketh as her instrument despite his autonomy as her kin.
As her sworn companion, Maliketh was tasked with shielding the Rune of Death itself after Marika secretly stole Destined Death from the Elden Ring to render herself and the demigods eternally undying. She broke the sacred cycle of life and death woven by the Greater Will and the Erdtree into the cosmic Order of the world.
By confining Destined Death into Maliketh‘s own shadowy flesh, manifested as an arcane black blade, Marika prevented this dangerous Rune from being seized and misused by other mystic forces or heretic demigods. Doomed to an existence solely as the living sheath of Destined Death‘s power, Maliketh guarded the secret of demigods‘ immortality beneath Leyndell – capital of the Golden Order‘s now-crumbling empire. Little did the noble beast know how his queen would ultimately betray their age-old pact.
Stolen Death and the Night of the Black Knives
The turning point emerged when a cabal of heretical Godskin Apostles discovered means to pilfer traces of Destined Death from Maliketh‘s black blade itself. Scriptures link these fanatics to an ancient tribe who once worshipped a primeval outer god of fiery rebirth, opposing the Greater Will‘s sacred Erdtree reincarnation.
Obsessed with their former god, the Godskin Apostles honed ‘apostasies to peel away matter‘. Using their forbidden flame-based flesh magic, they managed to distill fragments of the Rune of Death entwined in Maliketh‘s blade – likely while he rested dormant beneath Leyndell.
With shards of the Destined Death imbued into their ceremonial daggers, the Godskins could indeed ‘peel away‘ the immortality of demigods blessed by the Erdtree‘s golden aura. Yet according to legendarily skilled interpreter Vaatividya, even the heretical Godskins dared not trifle with the whole scope of Destined Death and its apocalyptic cosmic purpose as a safeguard crafted by the Greater Will itself.
Eventually Maliketh discovered their blasphemous theft and utterly annihilated the Godskin leadership in accordance with his duty to Queen Marika. However, echoes of their sinister soul-peeling flame sorcery lived on and a fragment of Death‘s power now existed beyond his and Marika‘s control for the first time. This lone variable in Marika‘s supposedly flawless designs would prove to be her ultimate undoing.
With the Black Knife plot, Queen Marika surreptitiously contracted the most devout Godskin followers to orchestrate the Night of the Black Knives. In a ritualistic assassination, these Black Knife Assassins employed their Death-imbued daggers to slaughter Marika‘s son Godwyn the Golden while he slept – delivering the first ‘true‘ death to one of her blessed children.
As lore expert Iron Pineapple explained through close textual analysis, Godwyn‘s unique half-death fate triggered the unravelling of the Golden Order‘s cardinal virtues in a metaphysical phenomenon known as the Dusk-Eyed Queen‘s chilling "Death Prince" prophecy. This existential corruption is symbolized in Godwyn‘s archtree avatar as a misshapen mass of malformed humanoid limbs and skull-like growths twisting beneath Stormveil Castle.
With her beloved son transformed into the monstrosity of an undead demigod no longer under her control, Marika‘s designs grew bolder and more desperate, plunging the realm into open war and calamity.
The Shattering and Its Aftermath
In the immediate aftermath, the other demigod children of Marika vied for shattered shards of the Elden Ring that governed all aspects of Order across the Lands Between. Swathes of the Erdtree‘s blessings were destroyed, as Maliketh remained underground – never breaking faith in his duty to Queen Marika. Godfrey, first Elden Lord and father to many warring demigods, was also banished from the realm by his wife in a symbolic dismissal of all past Golden Order glory.
The civil war between Marika‘s offspring and their followers raged for generations, laying waste to cities and killing hundreds of thousands from the Lake of Rot to the snowy Mount Gelmir. According to fan calculations, the Shattering War may have spanned over a century of brutal, stalemated bloodshed before the Tarnished hero awakens to make their legends.
Maliketh continued hiding away the bulk of Destined Death to prevent further catastrophe, but the stolen traces secretly spread an undead "Deathblight" curse across the scattered kingdoms. Deathroot growths caused by the stolen Rune‘s seeping influence drove men mad, spawnng vulgar monstrosities reflecting the terror of undying anguish in rare cases.
However, Maliketh could feel himself slipping ever deeper into the temptation of Destined Death‘s plague-like influence over the world as its lonely jailor. Marika‘s betrayal stung and her silencing of the Greater Will left troubling uncertainty regarding his purpose protecting the lands they once built together. In his isolation below the crumbling royal capital, the noble beast‘s mind slowly deteriorated for lack of steady guidance from Order‘s now-hazy grand design.
As Gloam-Eyed Queen lore speculator Zullie demonstrated through obscurer item drops, Maliketh‘s confinement beneath Leyndell slowly transformed him into the notorious Gurranq, a terrifying colossal wolf beast of Deathroot-riddled Farum Azula who ruthlessly stalks and devours Tarnished champions. In this feral corrupt state, his black blade lies dormant and fractured. Only by returning all traces of Destined Death from the stolen Godskin shard could the "Deathbed Companion" Gurranq be granted mercy from his curse.
The Tragic Figure Behind the Legend
Maliketh‘s full reveal after consuming nine Deathroots is cleverly obscured to enhance emotional impact, but this heartrending soul shift underscores FromSoft‘s signature tragedy baked into characters with depth. Hunched in sorrow, Maliketh emerges from Gurranq as a small, wizened warrior clasping the restored black blade.
Where savage Gurranq was accompanied by relentless war drums and guttural roars in his boss battle, the second phase pits a mournful viola melody against the renewed sleek black blade‘s vocal clashing with sparking bloodflame sword attacks. Maliketh‘s very musical theme echoes the melancholic betrayal endured by a once-noble knight.
In his dying words, even the restored remembrance of duty provides negligible comfort. The revived black blade whispers that no matter how Maliketh struggles or seeks justice for Queen Marika‘s callous schemes, their souls remain inextricably linked until the bitter end.
This blend of cryptic environmental clues and emotionally charged reveals in Maliketh‘s arc highlight Elden Ring‘s brilliance as an interactive mythmaking engine. Few game narratives have ever achieved such multilayered scenic storytelling, with intricate high-fantasy tragedy accentuated by the gameplay journey itself.
Unanswered Questions and Speculation on a Shadowy Future
With his unholy burden restored after ages without clarity of purpose, Maliketh‘s reemergence in a time between Orders raises troubling questions. Does the Queen‘s loyal shadow now carry out her original vision, or pursue closure regarding her intricate betrayals?
Noted lore theorizer Ziostorm points to a key lineage reveal that an Empyrean daughter was born of a single god – implicitly identifying her shadowbound guardian. Maliketh‘s continued behavior toward Marika may inform the motives of recurring optional guide Melina, heavily implied to be this empyrean daughter. Is Melina‘s "burning the Erdtree" ritual all that it seems? What role might the restored Destined Death still play?
For many fans, it‘s difficult not to wonder whether Maliketh will ultimately turn the Rune of Death against Queen Marika herself once their unfinished business is concluded against the accursed Erdtree. Even if aligned with her future hopes, Maliketh‘s devotion may be the only way to end the suffering she brought unto the realm.
Whatever struggles still await, Maliketh stands tall as an Elden Ring icon of the havoc wreaked across kingdoms when man dares pervert fundamental cosmic Order. But he remains a solemn, noble guardian even in the face of betrayals driving figures to beastly madness in FromSoft‘s bleak uncompromising vision. For the good of all people, someone must safekeep the fragile balance between light and dark – no matter the cost.