bornofthedarkness | The Story ( we can watch the world devoured in it's pain )

Note: Headcanon abound. If you dislike headcanon, don't play.

The Story
And so the story goes that before the universe existed it was dark. The darkness breathed life and that life was what would become known as an elf and that elf was who would become known as Malekith.

Malekith is an ancient, a first born creation of the old universe, and whom in which all of his kind that followed was created after; moulded in his image. When they lived, everything was very small. Before the new universe was a knot of life that thrived. He created magic and life, but soon enough the universe ignited and soon enough there was Light.

So began the first great war.

As time passed, species of many kinds were breathed in to life and parted sides. The war waged on for centuries consuming lives and leaving their bodies to the stars. Enough blood, flesh, and bone was gathered to create from it and from it came Yggdrasil and the nine realms. Creatures fought for the the creation that came from their wars and as more died, more were born, and soon from the Jotun's came the Asardian's ripe with a need for conquest.

The war slowly came to a halt as powers that be were challenged and removed from their highest throne, Malekith one of them. Taking the peak of the realms the Asgardian's ruled over one race at a time until allegiance was made or opposition simply silenced. So began Malekith's rule of the Dark World and began his creation of the aether with vengeance in mind.

Many years were spent in silence and the Dark Elves grew in their army, their technology, their weaponry, and their magic. Finally the convergence - a rare happening where all realms align and transport between them becomes fluid and easy - neared, and Malekith planned to return the universe to the silence and glory of darkness with the aether.

His plans were thwarted by Bor in a war that ravished his race to the bones. With his family slaughtered and much of his lands and people destroyed, Malekith rallied what little remained and sacrificed the rest to ensure escape so that their race may remain alive. In exile, the Dark Elves grew silent and slowly turned to sleep.

5,000 years later they awoken with one more chance to return the universe toward what it once was.

About Malekith
Malekith is an ancient from where elves originated. He is the father of all his kind and began the birth of dark magic. He has a wisdom about the universe that easily rivals Odin although their perspectives are very opposing. Needless to say, Malekith holds an air about him that is regal. He has a proud presence and an old one.

As the Lord and King of his race, his people have an absolute belief in him that only further feeds this natural arrogance and pride; they would quite readily throw themselves in to fire for him and they have. As a race, the Dark Elves work like a machine in harmony (for the most part). They are a race that does not understand civil strife.

In personality, there is something distant about him when he deals with outsiders. Without needing to speak a word, it might be easy for a person to gather that he is very guarded. Malekith is scheming, manipulative, calculating, cautious, and has a bone-chilling mercilessness that has earned him his title unchallenged since the dawn of time (until the light).

Among those he respects or his own kind, he can be diplomatic and certainly is not one to stray from debate or intellectual conversation. When comfortable - albeit rare - he is impossibly inquisitive. Malekith is not impossible to talk to but if he has decided something he is impossible to persuade to do otherwise, and he will absolutely do what has been deemed necessary. Absolutely.

While his methods have been questionable and his sacrifices questionable he does care for his people with the same pride he holds upon himself. His people are the only people who will ever see any other side of him. You would have to be very special indeed to see something other than his cold exterior.

Further Powers and Weakness
Much of Malekith's power has been lost either by time or stagnation during sleep but long ago he was a powerful sorcerer capable of creating and destroying mass, fabricating grand illusions, and harvesting raw dark energy to manipulate at will. It is possible that such abilities will come back to him in time but rumor has it, in all truthfulness, he is nearing the end of his life. Everything dies, after all.

In combat, Malekith is a capable swordsman and more than adequate at hand-to-hand. Normally he prefers to stray from it. Whether this is partially due to age is uncertain. Malekith does not enjoy killing for killing sake. He has a purposeful way about him and finds no pleasure in taking small purchase. He will remove what is in his way. Otherwise, he doesn't care to look at you let alone lift a blade your way.

Dark elves in general possess gifted intellects and are extraordinarily intelligent creatures particularly in sciences and magic. They have superhuman strength, speed, stamina, durability, agility, and reflexes. Some Dark Elves, like Malekith, can use magic to shapeshift, teleport, project energy blasts, and so on.

However all things come with weakness and it is reoccurring among all elves that they are vulnerable to the element of iron so much so that it will injure them grievously. Malekith also has an extremely detrimental weakness in his psychology and it is the past. His ache to return to darkness is hollowing and great and he finds conflict with how much he is willing to sacrifice in order to achieve it.

Key facts (in how I play him)
Why did he sacrifice his people 5,000 years ago?
Because he is a King, and the simple fact is this: his people are his responsibility. The factor of self preservation is certainly there but in his own mind, these are his people, his choice, his decision, and ultimately their life and their death is on him. So should they all die, or should some of them die?

Why did he try to unleash the aether again?
I said Malekith is cautious, and he is. The truth of the matter is that he didn't entirely believe it would work but it was their only chance. Die standing, continue to sleep, or waste away. The choice, in his mind, seemed obvious. Suicide mission? Maybe.

Why didn't we see him use magic?
Because he has grown too weak to use it.

What is his motives; is he actually a villain?
If you're not on his side, yes. He is definitely a villain. If you are Asgardian, yes. He is a villain. Malekith is ambivalent toward those that are either a: not his own or b: known enemies. Is he a maniacal lunatic? No (that's 616, sorry). Can he be ruthless, cold, and terrifying? Yes. Can he be reasonable? Yeah, sometimes.

His motive is simple. He wants to live. He wants his people to live. He wants things to return to what it once was. The idea that he has to share something he helped create (ironically enough) irks him, of course it does, but at this point he'd be content with being able to breathe without pain... for the most part... for awhile.

What were the elves before war?
Scientists, scholars, and sorcerers. Once upon a time they were beautiful, graceful, and intelligent creatures who lived in peace. A theory I play with is that they are - unintentionally - responsible for the big bang.