Malekith

In the fictional world of Warhammer Fantasy, Malekith is the King of the Dark Elves or Druchii as they refer to themselves. He is also known as the Witch King of Naggaroth. An illustration of Malekith can be seen in on the front cover of the Dark Elves army book.

Background
Malekith is the son of Aenarion, the first of the High Elf High Elf Phoenix Kings, and the mysterious and beautiful seeress Morathi.

The first Phoenix King, Aenarion the Defender, was the greatest warrior to walk the earth. It was by his hand that the first great invasion of Chaos was thwarted. During this war, he rescued an Elven maiden from a Slaaneshi warband. Her name was Morathi, and she was beautiful beyond description. Aenarion fell deeply in love with her, and she bore his son Malekith.

After his father's death, Malekith succeeded his father as Prince of the province of Nagarythe and considered himself the obvious choice to be Phoenix King. Assuming that the legacy of his father would guarantee his ascension to the throne, Malekith agreed to let the council vote on whether he should rule. But many amongst the Elf court felt Malekith was unsuited to rule. They preferred a less hot-headed leader now that the war with Chaos was over and elected Bel Shanaar, Prince of Tiranoc, in his place. Malekith was instead appointed Commander of the High Elf armed forces. On the surface, Malekith seemed to take the turn of events well, and was amongst the first to pay homage to Bel Shanaar upon his coronation.

Malekith proved to be a brilliant general, gaining power and allies all over the world. At one period of time he was appointed as the ambassador of the High Elves to the Dwarves in Karaz-a-Karak. In the colonies he continued to lead successful armies against the Orcs and the forces of Chaos. His expeditions took him to the cold colonies of the northern New World. In the rubble of an abandoned city he found the Circlet of Iron, a talisman of awesome sorcerous power. It was during this time that he, with his mother's guidance, started experimenting with Dark Magic. After many decades, Malekith worked himself into a position of power second only to the Phoenix King's, and then acted. Malekith was discontented; In his mind the Elves had to remain a warlike people to face the ever-growing menace from the forces of Chaos. Seemingly proving his point, the Cult of Pleasure, a society of poets and artists that was very popular with the High Elf elite, turned out to be a front for a Chaos cult of Slaanesh. Malekith took personal command of the investigation of the cult, and used this power to eliminate his political enemies. In truth, his mother was the High Priestess of the cult, and held an army to complete Malekith's coup.

In -2751 IC he accused Bel Shanaar of being a Slaaneshi devotee. Shortly after his accusation, Bel Shanaar died of poisoning. Some say Bel Shanaar took his own life in order to avoid the shame of interrogation, others say Malekith had him poisoned. Malekith showed little hesitation in presenting Bel Shanaar's 'suicide' as proof of his guilt, but the ruling Council of Princes was sceptical. The argument turned violent and Malekith and his followers ended up killing most of the Princes in the name of saving Ulthuan.

Believing all he now had to do was crown himself as Phoenix King, Malekith confidently marched into the sacred flame of the god Asuryan, a trial that marks each Phoenix King as the chosen of the Elven creator god. The flame, drenched in the foul magic of jealous rivals, refused to suffer Malekith's presence. Malekith managed to exit the flame on the same side he entered. He returned north to his stronghold in Nagarythe.

Morathi was able to nurse her son back to health. Malekith then gathered the sorceresses whom he and his mother had trained. Together with Hotek, an ex-Priest of the Elven smith god Vaul, the sorceresses forged a great suit of black armour to lend strength to Malekith's scarred body. The suit was fused to his skin while still hot from the furnace as after his torment within the flames of Asuryan, Malekith felt little pain. When the suit was complete, few could look at him without dread. From that day onwards, Malekith was known as the Witch King.

Meanwhile the High Elves had elected Imrik of Caledor as the Third False Phoenix King, who assumed the title Caledor I upon his coronation. Caledor and Malekith gathered their supporters and battled each other for the throne of Ulthuan. Time proved to be Caledor's ally, as Malekith's treachery became more evident and more Elves flocked to Caledor's banner. In a climactic showdown, Caledor defeated Malekith in single combat over the Field of Maledor. The Witch King's supporters retreated back to their strongholds.

Malekith then instructed his sorceresses to undo the spells that bound the Ulthuan Vortex, to bring back the tides of Chaos and bind them to the will of the Witch King. For hours they struggled to undo the barrier. In the end, the task proved to be too great for even the combined might of Malekith and his coven. Their efforts were thwarted by the mages trapped within the Isle of the Dead. A surge of raw power struck back at Malekith's fortresses, killing many of his sorceresses in an instant. The land itself buckled under the strain. A tidal wave came crashing down on northern Ulthuan. Mighty earthquakes devastated the land and fine cities of Ulthuan. The lands of Nagarythe and Tiranoc were submerged. Thousands of Elves were killed in the cataclysm known as The Sundering.

Exile and Founding of Naggaroth
The fortresses of the Witch King survived the catastrophe, being protected by powerful spells. Supported by Dark Magic, the fortresses broke off from the land and floated out into the sea. Thus the dreaded Black Arks were born. Large as icebergs, they floated to the northern part of the continent called the New World where they grounded. Naming the desolate chilled land Naggaroth or "Land of Chill", the Witch King claimed it as his own new domain and proceed to exterminate or enslave the native greenskin and human barbarian populace. The kingdom of the Dark Elves was born. Over the ages the Witch King continued to plot and wage a war against the Phoenix Kings of Ulthuan from Naggaroth till today.

Current Status
During the summer of 2522 IC, during the Chaos Incursion known as the Storm of Chaos, Malekith landed on the Shadowlands (formerly Nagarythe) with his army. He crushed the High Elven army led by Eltharion, Warden of Yvresse, and casually defeated him in single combat with his sorcery. After the battle, Malekith tried to blackmail Eltharion into supporting him by threatening the lives of the High Elf survivors. When Eltharion refused, Malekith had all the prisoners executed, and set his most skilled torturers to work on Eltharion. After months of torture, Eltharion was sent back to Lothern, crippled and blinded, as a warning to all who would oppose him.

Malekith's forces invaded Ulthaun in force and fought battles over Ulthuan all through the summer. During an attack on the Everqueen's gardens, Malekith was wounded in single combat with Eltharion, and quit the battlefield. Though only suffering a flesh wound, it was the first time in centuries the Witch King had been wounded in battle. Malekith is now wary of Eltharion's renewed resolve.

Army Rules
In the sixth edition of Warhammer Fantasy Battle, Malekith the Witch King is a Dark Elves special character. Riding the Black Dragon, Seraphon, he wears the Armor of Midnight, which makes him near invulnerable to physical attacks, and is armed with a sword called the Destroyer and a powerful gauntlet called the Hand of Khaine. Malekith is however vulnerable to magic, and it is prophesied that he will be killed by a sorcerer.

Previously in the fifth edition of the game he rode in a chariot pulled by four cold ones

Quotes
''"We shall strike down our foe with sharp steel and cold hearts. The weak die so that the strong prevail and none shall be spared. Then and only then will our enemies know the true meaning of fear." - Malekith, the Witch King of Naggaroth

Trivia
It should also be noted that Malekith the Accursed is unrelated to the Dark Elves's Witch King Malekith. Malekith the Accursed is an intellectual property of Marvel Comics and is unrelated to Warhammer Fantasy which belongs to Games-Workshop. He is the villain of the Norse God Thor in the Marvel Comic books. He appeared in Thor #344-348, and was slain in #367, while trying to take the crown of Asgard, disguised as Balder.