#malvernis

I’m going to be eternally intrigued by Malvernis

-What is he? -How does he exist? -When he takes the form of a human, is he reflecting Hawke? Because until then he would only have seen dwarves and underground creatures? And, apparently, also a High Dragon. -Why is Corypheus locked away right next to him in the closest hole? -Were the Carta there descendants of one of the Warrior caste dwarves tasked with guarding Malvernis? -Much like Corypheus he was locked away by the most powerful dwarves costing many lives, rather than slain... so did Hawke really kill him (if you even go there), or is he going to pop up again? But if he does pop up again, why was there not a single reference to him in DAI? -If Hawke doesn’t go back to slay him, why doesn’t Corypheus recruit Malvernis? Is Malvernis too strong even for Corypheus and his aspired godhood to handle?

Along the short path we follow into the Carta Hideout, there are three small pillars with a symbol that I don’t know what it is  [a book icon? a house?] but we will find it again in DAI in the Western Approach: the Old Chantry Trail Signs.

These monoliths in DA2 seem to perform the same function than in DAI: they are pointing out a secret location where something unique exists: Malvernis. [this function only works that way in the DLC. In the DA2 base game they only offer codices.  Each of these monoliths, however, trigger different codices about Amgeforn:

Amgeforn the Wasteyard

Amgeforn the Lonely Vigil

Amgeforn the Foul

If we analyse each of the codices, we gather pieces of information with a potential interpretation:

The Pestilent One is slumbering, if it awakes, the air fills with fetid odour, you hear a sound of drums, and will ask you to take an orb.

The dwarves consider Malvernis a poison to the Stone.

Sharpers bound it: chained in lyrium stained with the blood of hundred warriors.

"Within the orb, it hungered, it waited."

Paragon Ilona [probably a sharpers since they were the ones who bound it] ordered to seal this creature and leave one single watcher per generation from the Warrior caste on the surface. A worthy and necessary sacrifice to preserve the Stone.

It "devoured" taighs: living creatures were turned into slime.

There is no date of these events to place Malvernis in time.

With all these small vague fragments of information, I can come up with three weak hypothesis.

Malvernis could be an ancient demon like Imshael. Since these demons are so unique in their own style, we could consider that Malvernis’ particular preference for thaigs and dwarves instead of the living on the surface had to do with its peculiarity. However, it’s hard to believe that a demon, even an ancient one, could have more interest in the Stone than in living creatures. Malvernis has an orb and part of its essence is within it, apparently, [if these codices are reliable, which is something we can't say for sure]. We know that's not exactly how demons work at all, not even rare ones [Forbidden ones] like Xebenkeck, Imshael or Gaxkang. From the three options, I see this one less likely with the little information we have. However we saw already a demon having a reflection of a spectral high dragon in DAO with the Baroness [check The Blackmarsh and the High Dragon].

Another alternative could be that Malvernis is one of the Sideral Magisters

He is called The Pestilent One, a denomination that follows the style of Corypheus when he is called “The Elder One”.

He is slumbering, sealed like Corypheus. He makes people listen a sound of drums, and asks you for an orb [although, people doesn’t need to be blighted to hear him]

The fetid odour can potentially be consequence of being tainted after stepping into the Golden City.

The skin used to represent Malvernis has a human shape [it’s bulkier than the thin elven one] but this can be just a technical issue. It’s DA2 after all. 

However, it makes little sense that a magister can put a bit of himself inside an orb. We know Corypheus can do it with a dragon, maybe this one can do it with an object like Flemeth did? I don’t know, it feels a lot of speculation without any proof.

The part of devouring living creatures makes little sense when you think in the blight or the corruption of the Red lyrium, which are self-sustaining. If the Pestilent One is similar to Corypheus, we know the blight itself sustains them, he should not need to “devour” stone or dwarves.

Last option: He could be a lesser elvhen mage [who never made it into being an evanuris] or a forgotten one

We know that Andruil went to the Void and brought disease in her and her weapons. So it seems fair to assume that anyone living there, where the Forgotten ones were exiled [according to the unreliable Dalish Tales but also the codices found in the Shattered Library], gets corrupted. That could potentially explain the pestilence theme with Malvernis.

We know elvhenan have songs inside [Cole talking about Solas in banter], and in Trespasser it was hinted that those entering to Uthenera were part of a unison song. There seems to be something related to the elven nature and a natural song in them. Corrupted and diseased, Malvernis could have a corrupted, sick song; similar but not the same as the Darkspawn have.

It is a poison to the Stone: we know the evanuris mined the titans and used lyrium. They know about the lyrium veins and the power of it.It’s even possible that they were responsible for the blight and the red lyrium. Poetically, the Evanuris poisoned the Stone. On a more literal note, if this creature is tainted with this pestilence condition, it could infest other parts of the Stone with its disease, so the dwarves needed to seal him.

It has an orb which keeps a piece of himself inside, like Flemeth and the amulet that Hawke carried to Marethari. Like Solas and “his power” locked inside his own orb.

It turns himself into a [spectral] dragon. The only characters we know who can do that is Flemeth and the Baroness, whose nature was more of a demon, but at the same time, she had bound-items that seemed to grant her dual shape.

As a con to this option, it's strange that a powerful elvhenan mage could be sealed and restrained by lyrium and blood magic performed by dwarves. Solas had to create the Veil to keep the evanuris sealed. Malvernis’ seal is quite cheap if even dwarves can do it. 

By exploring the Carta hideout, we find a warm orb in a chest.  As soon as we touch it, some companion will claim to hear a drum.The signs of its awakening are evident. Sadly we have no visual about this orb’s shape to suspect if it's remotely related to an Evanuris' orbs.

If we walk back to the entrance, we will find a "pulsing obelisk", which is not other thing than one of those Strange Skull-Dragon totem.

We know these structures are later used in DAI to create pits of undead and to fence places related to blood magic. It’s hard to say if they are Tevinter in nature or Elvhen. Here, in DA2 it feels more like a reuse of an asset.

When touching the obelisk with the orb in the inventory, a burst of energy is released and we see the figure of Malvernis, a creature which is not clear what it is. By the mere shape of its skin looks like they used a human model and not an elven one. So what is it? Maybe it's a demon? Maybe it's a dragon? A Forbidden One? Impossible to know for sure.

His armour is something we didn't see in the game so far I remember, so I imagine it was exclusively designed for him, which is interesting: it seems to be done with stones, giving an impression of a profane, if you will. It glows in blue, that can or cannot be related to lyrium. We can’t see its face since it’s covered with a mask. However, he doesn’t use gloves, so we can see his humanoid skin.

Its final design in Heroes of Dragon Age shows a tabard with a symbol that it’s impossible for me to point out what it is. I think I never saw it before in-game.

His combat is a bit more complex than the standard, since he summons minions: ghostly archers and ghostly skirmishers; and then he turns into a dragon. We know so far in the series that evanuris or high servants of them [like Morrigan if she drinks from the well of Sorrow] can be able to turn into dragons. But there is nothing more to add or think about it.

Sadly, the loot it drops [ichor and smite] gives us no additional information to suspect its nature. Malvernis remains quite a mystery from a lore point of view.