| Master Malkhest | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Master Malkhest |
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| Race | Breton | Gender | Male |
| Born | Second Era |
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| Resided in | Infinite Archive | ||
| Appears in | ESO | ||
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Master Malkhest was a Breton scholar and a devoted follower of Hermaeus Mora, a powerful mage who served as the hierophant and custodian of the Infinite Archive during the Second Era's Interregnum.[2][3]
HistoryEdit
Little is known about Malkhest's past before his arrival at the Infinite Archive. He was not always a devotee of Hermaeus Mora. In his youth, he taught young mortals, but eventually, he was drawn to research, where he quickly proved himself highly capable. At some point, he arrived at the Archive to survey and assist in organizing the tomes. By then, he was already in his later years. A scholar at heart, Malkhest was particularly focused on the interaction of Apocrypha with other Daedric realms, rather than the more conventional study of its known history or Hermaeus Mora's influence on Nirn. Though he read widely—from geographical tomes to cookbooks—Malkhest was more interested in uncovering what he understood as 'truth' than in gathering objective facts. He was often distracted by marginal notes, indicating a curiosity that went beyond conventional scholarship. Despite his scholarly nature, Malkhest’s interests and methods were unconventional, often straying into areas that other researchers would have dismissed.[4]
He was assisted by many watchlings known as Filers. Some of them described him as a bit intense, especially in the face of a crisis.[5] Others claimed that he was meditative.[6] While they acknowledged his exceptional research skills, they felt he was ill-prepared for the dangers of combat.[7] They also considered him an incredibly curious individual.[4] Despite his expertise, comprehending the full scope of the Filers' duties was taxing for him.[8] Despite his vast experience, even he was not aware of the exact location of every tome stored in the Archive.[9]
At some point during his time in the Archive, he was visited by the Scribes of Mora, who attempted to map the intricate array of the realm. While they made some headway in understanding its internal logic, their rift began to close before they could complete the map. He later used this partial map during his academic expeditions deep within the Archive. At one point, he sought out The Elusive Traveler, a book of modest historical significance by Carnius Missonnie. It was a somewhat embellished account of the Vestige's travels. The fact that Index's catalog contained little information about The Elusive Traveler—along with a few other similarly obscure books—led him to theorize that the texts with scant information in the catalog were related to the history of the Vestige. During one of his expeditions, he also encountered a strange shift in the Archive's functioning.[10]
In 2E 582, the Infinite Archive was attacked by the forces of the Daedra Lord Tho'at Replicanum. She and her maligraphies invaded the halls, prompting Malkhest, the keeper and custodian of the Archive, to seek help.[2] Master Malkhest sent Filer Pix to seek assistance of the Vestige in dealing with the threat.[5][11][12] The crisis caused him and the Filers to become so overwhelmed with the troubles that they neglected other important matters, such as the death of Esalinwe, which resulted from a malfunction in the threads of fate.[13]
Tho'at's forces proved to be a challenge, so the adventurer or two that chose to participate in saving the Archive were aided by augmentations provided directly from Hermaeus Mora. The defeated maligraphies faded into puddles of ink.[14][2] In their confrontation with Tho'at Replicanum, Master Malkhest attempted to banish the Daedra Lord using her nymic, though before she was slain, she created maligraphic copies of herself, replicating herself hundreds of times across the Infinite Archive. Though copies, the Tho'at replicas were considered entirely new entities and required the gathering a new nymic entirely. Thus, getting rid of Tho'at permanently required finding and banishing each and every copy of her by gathering the distinct nymic of each.[2][15][16] Despite the final evolution's defeat, the Tho'at replicas and Maligraphies would continue to propagate through the Archive, and the Vestige and Malkhest would continue working to banish their spreading presence from the realm.[2][15][16] After the initial defeat of Tho'at Replicanum, he compiled notes on her nature, hoping to improve the chances of success should they face her again.[17]
Circa 2E 582, Master Malkhest responded to inquiries on various topics related to the Infinite Archive through a correspondence interview organized by Gabrielle Benele of the University of Gwylim. He noted that, in the grand scheme of things, there are far more prominent scholars across Nirn, Apocrypha, and beyond. However, he was eager to share his research and knowledge, including the news of the invasion of the Infinite Archive by Tho'at Replicanum, stressing the urgent need for assistance during these trying times. Among the subjects he addressed were the nature of the Infinite Archive's realm, the inner workings of its threads of fate, the nature of maligraphies, and their connection to Tho'at, as well as Tho'at Replicanum's true nature. He answered questions regarding Hermaeus Mora's power and provided detailed documentation of the history of the legendary Breton artifact, Chrysamere. Additionally, he offered words of warning on how to handle Daedric threats for seasoned adventurers. He also explained the limitations of the Archive when it comes to recording oral traditions, such as those of the Spinners or Vateshran practices, emphasizing that the Archive primarily records texts rather than stories, though he expressed respect for the oral traditions of the Bosmer and Reachfolk cultures. He also jokingly suggested that one of the questioners should check Infinite Questions and Potent Possibilities in response to one of the questions.[14]
Malkhest's Accursed Mirror was a magical trinket associated with him.[18]
See AlsoEdit
- For game-specific information, see the Elder Scrolls Online article.
BooksEdit
- Loremaster's Archive - Infinite Archive by Master Malkhest — Master Malkhest shares secrets of the Infinite Archive
- Malkhest's Journal by Master Malkhest — Malkhest's description of the Infinite Archive
- Meet the Character - Master Malkhest by Filer Xess, Filer Eru, Filer Kyf and Filer Jun — A series of letters between Daedra about a mortal guest of the Infinite Archive
- Notes on Tho'at Replicanum by Malkhest — Malkhest's documentation of the Tho'at Replicanum
ReferencesEdit
- ^ Infinite Archive's loading screen in ESO
- ^ a b c d e Master Malkhest's dialogue, abilities and correspondence in ESO
- ^ Archival Fortune Pouch, Archival Fortune Pouch, Grand, and Archival Fortune Pouch, Lucky antiquity codex entries in ESO
- ^ a b Meet the Character - Master Malkhest — Filer Xess, Filer Eru, Filer Kyf and Filer Jun
- ^ a b Filer Pix's dialogue in ESO
- ^ Filer Xess's dialogue in ESO
- ^ Filer Eru's dialogue in ESO
- ^ Filer Jun's dialogue in ESO
- ^ Destozuno's dialogue in ESO
- ^ Malkhest's Journal — Malkhest
- ^ Filer Myx's dialogue in ESO
- ^ Events of Aiding the Infinite Archive in ESO
- ^ Esalinwe's dialogue in ESO
- ^ a b Loremaster's Archive - Infinite Archive — Master Malkhest
- ^ a b Events of Replication Elimination in ESO
- ^ a b Events of The Margins of Ire in ESO
- ^ Notes on Tho'at Replicanum — Malkhest
- ^ Malkhest's Accursed Mirror item description in ESO