Malenia’s Origins
Malenia’s origins are that of power and glory. She was the prodigal child of Queen Marika the Eternal and Consort Radagon, along with her fraternal brother Miquella. Malenia, like her brother Miquella, was born cursed. She would exude an essence known as the Scarlet Rot that would destroy anything in its path including Malenia herself. Any player who has taken on Malenia in Elden Ring will be very aware of the power Scarlet Rot possesses. Malenia, however, was not simply extraordinary due to her curse. She was perhaps the most gifted fighter in all the Lands Between. One who had never known defeat.
The Warrior who has never known defeat
The Scarlet Rot
To fully understand Malenia we must delve deeper into the Scarlet Rot. On the surface it may seem like a straightforward affliction with no cure, but Malenia’s Scarlet Rot is the doing of an Outer God. Outer Gods can impose themselves upon the world of the Lands Between through Empyrean vessels. As Malenia is the daughter of Queen Marika, a god, she is an Empyrean – meaning she is one who could ascend into godhood.
Perhaps, the obvious question is: what good is the Scarlet Rot? Outer Gods are those of order, however, the Scarlet Rot only seems to cause pain and suffering. Much of the interpretation arrives somewhere in the juxtaposition destructive beauty. , for example, is an NPC we find in the Lands Between housed in a shack deep in the rotted lands of Caelid. He describes the Scarlet Rot as “resplendent” as it describes the cycle of death and rebirth. Much the same as we see during our fight with Malenia. We see her fall, the scarlet Aeonia bloom once again and watch her rebirth as the Goddess of Rot.
The Scarlet Aeonia has destroyed what was once Caelid, and now buds of Malenia’s Aeonia litter the land
Malenia is in constant turmoil with the Scarlet Rot as she does not see its beauty. She lives with an unalloyed gold needle pierced within her to keep the Rot at bay. She would rather be proudly victorious as a combatant that resort to what she imagines is a cheap trick. Now that we understand the Scarlet Rot and Malenia’s feelings about it, it’s time to progress through her story
The Shattering
Following the shattering of the Elden Ring by Queen Marika, the Demigod children would receive its shards and complete their own destiny. The demigods would fight and attempt to take control of the Lands Between. The two final contenders; the mightiest of them all were Malenia and General Radahn.
The Battle of Aeonia
Malenia would lead her Cleanrot Knights to Caelid where she would face Radahn in an all-out war. The fight approaches a stalemate. We see a weakening Radahn remove Malenia’s right arm as she charges him. Malenia, in a final act of desperation, removes her unalloyed needle and unleashes the Scarlet Rot that she has so bravely contained inside herself. Radahn, afflicted by this poisonous rot becomes an animalistic shell of the being he once was, cannibalising nearby Cleanrot Knights and roaming the sands of the now destroyed Caelid mindlessly. Thus, ending what would be known as the Battle of Aeonia.
Malenia unleashes her Scarlet Aeonia against General Radahn
A Broken Warrior
Malenia is not proud of this victory. She abandoned everything that made her the fighter she was revered as. One of her warriors, Cleanrot Knight Finlay carried the incapacitated Malenia back to the Haligtree where she could regain her strength and ponder her battlefield actions. We have no cutscenes of this, but artist Mikko Pöyry gave us this fantastic imagery.
Knight Finlay's resolve #ELDENRING pic.twitter.com/AFRSe7Rq24
— Mikko Pöyry (@artmigu) March 30, 2022
Millicent, one of Malenia’s five children who bloomed – they were not born directly from Malenia, but bloomed like buds from the destructive Aeonian flower Malenia left after her contest with Radahn – following the Battle of Aeonia, attempts to save Malenia from her internalised turmoil. She tells us: “There is something I must return to Malenia. The will that was once her own. The dignity, the sense of self, that allowed her to resist the call of the Scarlet Rot. The pride she abandoned, to meet Radahn’s measure”.
Millicent, one of Malenia’s 5 children
Her Brothers Defender
Malenia sits aside her brothers resting place at the base of the Haligtree. She awaits her brothers return, unbeknownst to her and the other warriors of the Haligtree that Miquella had been abducted by his half-brother Mohg to be the Empyrean vessel for another Outer God.
Malenia sits in protection of her Brothers Haligtree
Malenia awaits anyone who will challenge her and her brother. As the Tarnished enters the arena we are greeted by a slumbering Malenia. She rises attaching her right arm and locking her blade in place. Malenia may be a broken warrior, but she is an undefeated fighter who will die protecting her family if she must.
Her Final Fight
The fight erupts at a frightening pace as Malenia sets the tone early. This fight requires patience, poise and an unfaltering attention to detail. Malenia’s flowing style can be hard to master, but her waterfowl dance is where she earns the title of the greatest fighter who ever lived.
Malenia readies to strike
If you can somehow conquer this trial, you will meet the same fate as Radahn. Malenia has no more pride to lose. She will use the Scarlet Rot to her advantage, even more so to protect her brother. As Malenia falls into the shallow waters, our blade striking her down, we hear her say: “wait”. The tarnished turns around and is met with a blooming Aeonian flower. From the sea of butterflies, we see a winged and rotten Malenia. She has abandoned all that she was before and embraced the Rot for all it can give her. She ascends beautifully reborn, a Goddess of Rot.
Malenia rises a Goddess of Rot
It is now we face not only the greatest warrior in the Lands Between, but one empowered fully by an Outer God. Malenia is no doubt the hardest opponent we have faced, and now she becomes even harder, with a wide array of moves empowered by the destructiveness of the Scarlet Rot. If you wish to watch the fight, Youtube Channel Shirrako has the full fight available here.
A Prideful Death
After an arduous battle, Malenia will fall. Her gracious words being: “Your strength, extraordinary… The mark… of a true Lord…” Following this, we hear a final plea to her brother Miquella: “O, dear Miquella… O, dearest Miquella, my brother… I’m sorry. I finally met my match…” Malenia may not feel prideful again following her complete acceptance of the Scarlet Rot, but in the full defence of her brother and the positive changes he was trying to make to the Lands Between, she died like a prideful warrior; in defence of something bigger than herself.
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