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| “ | O, Death. Become my blade, once more. | „ |
| ~ Gurranq revealing himself to be Maliketh, the Black Blade. |
Maliketh, the Black Blade, also known as Gurranq, is a major antagonist in the 2022 video game Elden Ring. Initially posing himself as a beast cleric, he is later revealed to be a shadowbound beast that happens to be the half brother of Marika.
Maliketh acted as Marika's shadow, stalking upon her enemies and striking them down. As her loyal warrior, he was later charged with protecting the Destined Death after it was removed from the Elden Ring. However, the death of his nephew, Godwyn, as well as the fall of the Golden Order, caused him to go into exile. He later takes up his mantle and blade once more, in order to prevent the Tarnished from unleashing Destined Death upon the Erdtree.
He is voiced by Jonathan Keeble.
Personality[]
Maliketh is said to be a loyal follower and warrior to Marika and her empire. As he was essentially her guardian and enforcer, Maliketh carried out his tasks of silencing those that opposed his sister. This act of loyalty was not returned from Marika, however, so much that she was willing to betray him. Combined with his powerful strength and magic, he grew a reputation that allowed him to be feared by many, including demigods such as Morgott and Radahn.
When Ranni stole a fragment of Destined Death to kill herself, Maliketh blamed himself for everything that would later transpire following this event. He believed the death of Godwyn, the fall of the Golden Order, and Marika's disappearance from the world were the results of him allowing the fragment of Destined Death to be stolen and as such, he considered it to be his greatest sin. This led to him exiling himself, in which he would later bound Destined Death to his blade so no one would steal it from him. This led to him becoming obsessed with obtaining and devouring deathroots, as the rune caused him to develop an unquenched hunger.
In spite of his menacing appearance and reputation, Maliketh is not entirely a malicious being of any sort and is only carrying out his duty as the guardian of Destined Death. Likewise, he harbors no malice or hatred towards the Tarnished. He later becomes hostile and feral when given certain amounts of deathroots but this is unintentional on his part and ultimately stops himself after the Tarnished subdues him. Later on, however, when he realizes what the Tarnished's intention was for Destined Death, he saw this as an act of betrayal and was willing to put them down without hesitation.
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Trivia[]
- Maliketh's armored appearance bears a strong resemblance to the Berserker Armor that Guts wears from the manga series, Berserk.
- Maliketh's role as Marika's shadowbound beast mirrors that of Blaidd's role as Ranni's, as both are wolfmen that act as guardians of their respective masters.
- The Remembrance of the Black Blade can be consumed for 30,000 Runes or handed to Enia to obtain either Maliketh's Black Blade or the Black Blade Incantation.
External Links[]
- Maliketh on the Elden Ring Wiki.
