Yo, Tarnished! Let's talk about one of the most heartbreaking figures in The Lands Between in 2026: Maliketh, the Black Blade. This guy isn't just another skill-check boss at the end of a long journey; he's the key to understanding the entire mess of the Shattering, the Golden Order, and Queen Marika's ultimate betrayal. His story is a masterclass in tragedy, woven deep into the fabric of Elden Ring's lore.

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So, who the heck is Maliketh? Let's break it down. He's a Shadow, bro—a beast warrior personally chosen by the Two Fingers. His job? To protect an Empyrean, a being worthy of becoming a god. His Empyrean? None other than Queen Marika herself. 😮 Think of him as the ultimate bodyguard, bound by destiny to serve and protect. He was instrumental in ushering in the glorious Age of the Erdtree, but his most famous (and tragic) role involved the Rune of Death.

You see, way back when, there was another Empyrean called the Gloam-Eyed Queen. She was wildin' out, using the power of Destined Death (another name for the Rune of Death) to hunt gods with her crew, the Godskins. This was a direct threat to Marika. So, what does she do? She sends her ultimate weapon, Maliketh, to handle it.

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Maliketh clapped the Gloam-Eyed Queen and did something insane: he sealed the entire Rune of Death inside his own sword, destined to become the Black Blade. This act changed everything for The Lands Between. With natural death sealed away, people couldn't die of old age. The Erdtree's cycle of rebirth became the only way. Marika became known as the Eternal, and Maliketh became the "Death of the Demigods"—the ultimate enforcer who could permanently delete anyone, even gods, who challenged the Golden Order.

But here's where it gets messy. Maliketh had one job: guard the Rune. And he failed. 😔 The cunning Empyrean Ranni managed to steal a fragment of it. With that fragment, she armed the Black Knife Assassins, leading to the Night of the Black Knives, where Godwyn the Golden was murdered in soul, but not in body.

This event shattered the world. Godwyn's soulless body was buried in the Erdtree's roots, and it started festering, spreading Deathroot—a physical manifestation of the stolen Rune—like a curse across the land. This created the undead known as Those Who Live in Death, a total affront to the Golden Order.

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Consumed by guilt and determined to never fail again, Maliketh did the most hardcore thing imaginable: he sealed his own sword, and thus the Rune of Death, inside his body. As long as he lived, no one could steal it again. To hide and continue his duty, he took on his old name and became Gurranq, Beast Clergyman.

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That's right, the gentle(ish) giant you meet in the Bestial Sanctum, hungry for Deathroot, is Maliketh in disguise. His quest is a desperate, futile attempt to consume all the Deathroot and undo Godwyn's curse. He gives you powerful Beast Incantations, hoping you'll help him cleanse the land of Those Who Live in Death. But it's a losing battle. Godwyn's Deathroot keeps spreading, and Gurranq's hunger is eternal—a constant, painful reminder of his one failure.

Let me lay out the tragic sequence of his service:

  • ✅ Defeated the Gloam-Eyed Queen.

  • ✅ Sealed Destined Death.

  • ❌ Failed to stop Ranni's theft.

  • ✅ Sealed the Rune inside himself as penance.

  • ❌ Failed to eradicate Deathroot as Gurranq.

And then comes the ultimate, soul-crushing betrayal. To become Elden Lord, you, the Tarnished, guided by the grace of... drumroll Queen Marika, must travel to Farum Azula and kill Maliketh. You must take the Rune of Death from him to gain the power to kill a god (Radagon/Elden Beast). Think about that. Marika herself guides you to murder her own loyal Shadow, the being who dedicated his entire existence to her safety and her Golden Order.

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The worst part? He knows. In his second phase, he says, "O Marika... why... wouldst thou... gull me?" He recognizes her betrayal in his final moments. After a lifetime of unwavering service, his reward is to be eliminated by his queen's new pawn to further her own inscrutable plans to defy the very order he helped create.

It's honestly one of the most gut-wrenching stories in the game. Maliketh isn't evil; he's a profoundly dutiful warrior bound by a fate he didn't choose, punished for a single mistake, and ultimately sacrificed by the person he loved most. He's a guardian who became the final obstacle, a symbol of an order that needed to die, but a person who deserved so much better. Rest in peace, big guy. Your duty is finally over. 😭