Boards›Story, Art, & Sound

So who is Malzahar and why does he matter?

DG Ashabel·12/11/2014, 4:53:42 AM·14 votes·3,275 views

The diary that is supposed to be the lore for Rek'sai* mentions that "in the southern desert, a great deal of suffering is endured to elude xer'sai and the other outerbeasts". Apparently xer'sai are basically the Shuriman version of bears in that they maul goats out of boredom, and are so numerous that everyone in the desert is always quiet out of fear of attracting them.

So the question is, what does that say about Malzahar? He dedicated his entire life to founding a religion focused on the Voidborn, with his plan being to open a portal that would allow the Voidborn to invade Valoran. He even went as far as being consumed by Void energies to the point where he now has glowing eyes and a creepy echoing voice. Except you know, the species he wants to bring to Valoran is apparently already so numerous in southern Valoran that it might as well be a common cockroach.

Can we expect him to be rewritten completely, given that his motivations make no sense with this latest reveal?

  • Addendum: I felt calling it "the diary that is supposed to be the lore for Rek'sai" is much more fitting because it's less the lore for Rek'sai and more like the lore for a very sympathetic and interesting Noxian cartographer who will likely never be mentioned again.

37 Comments

Ebonmaw Dragon12/11/2014, 5:42:04 AM9 votes

Many men have gone mad beneath the glare of the Shurima sun, but it was during the night's chilling embrace that Malzahar relinquished his sanity.

http://oi62.tinypic.com/1jwb44.jpg

He is crazy... i dont think that many people actually cares about him.

Gentleman Gaston12/11/2014, 4:36:20 PM4 votes

So, a couple of notes:

  • This is a teaser, not meant to be their short story. Note that Sion (Reborn) and Kalista (that video thing) both had short stories and teaser stuff. It doesn't seem to be mutually exclusive.
  1. Malzahar's motivations stand. His goal has never just been "Oh, hey, let's bring a few of one kind of Void being to Runeterra. That's it. Just the one."

Beyond it lain the alien geometry of a ruined city and the giant decaying idols of dark and horrific gods. His eyes, seeing what others cannot, and what none should, were filled with the essence of the Void. His once shifting visions of the future were replaced with the immutable promise of Valoran beset by creatures of the Void.

Malzahar is a doomsayer with the full belief that the world will become overtaken by the Void. Not just a few desert hunters, but Valoran as a whole. To him that's the future; he's seen it. If anything, the Xer’sai infestation only prove he's right. Look at how completely they've taken over the Shuriman deserts. They kill livestock and (at least attempt to kill) any travelers who cross their path. I'd imagine to many of the Shuriman poor, like the ones referenced in Rek'Sai's teaser, and other lost souls would easily turn to Malzahar's prophecies for belief and guidance. Edit: Especially so when there is clear evidence to the Void's ability to dominate like there is in Shurima. When you live every day in fear of being eaten by hellbeasts and then some prophet shows up with visions of even more terrifying monsters coming through, I feel like a lot of people would simply give up and join him.

  • What I want to know is: How the hell do the Shuriman people know that they're called the Xer’sai? These creatures don't talk so I'm assuming they didn't formally introduce themselves, and I'm assuming "Xer’sai" is their actual designation from the Void and not just a given name on Valoran. Presumably someone informed the Shuriman people (Malzahar? Kassadin? Someone else?) and was like "Oh hey, those buggers are called Xer’sai. They'll @#$% you up." but who were they? If they weren't Malz or Kass how'd they find out? And, more importantly, how long ago did the Xer’sai and their name enter the Shuriman consciousness? How long have these creatures been around? A decade? Millennia? I feel like these are the questions we're supposed to be asking, but I am really curious.
Legacy of Xion12/11/2014, 5:01:27 AM4 votes

I will say it again.

Rek'Sai doesn't need to be Void. You could literally remove VOIDBORN and nothing changes.

As for Malz, he now is a prophet for rampant monsters destroying Runeterra, devouring all in the parh.

Oh if only something contained them or piqued the interest. ...

Narasimha12/11/2014, 1:27:39 PM3 votes

He wants to bring over the Void to conquer/destroy Valoran. I hardly think a few mindless drones stuck in Shurima is going to solve that problem. Plus, since Riot explicitly said Rek'sai would only see Malz as a meal, its safe to say she's no ally of his. He still has work to do.

Laughing Fish12/11/2014, 5:53:45 PM3 votes

While the Xer'Sai may be voidborn, they are not like the other creatures of the void. They are merely animals (insanely strong animals, but still animals). Comparing them to the greater voidborn (such as Cho'Gath) is like comparing chimps to humans. Both chimps and humans are primates, and look similar. But we are not even slightly the same. Malzahar would bring on millions of creatures like Cho'Gath and Vel'Koz.

Kemando12/11/2014, 5:03:30 AM3 votes

Rito just has fun ruining all the established lore for LoL and pooping all over everything.

Overlord Forte12/12/2014, 6:45:10 PM2 votes

Given Rek'Sai's ambiguous pseudo-title of Queen, it's possible she's sharing characteristics of ants or Xenomorphs (ala Kha'Zix) and simply spawning hordes of underlings. They don't need to migrate or expand if the area they live in is already sufficient for their needs. It's also possible they don't like the surrounding terrain compared to Shuriman deserts, so opt to stay there and hibernate.

If the Void is to be understood as some twisted mirror image of an actual eco system, then this is in line with animalistic behavior. What Malzahar undoubtedly wants is to collapse the barrier between worlds, to allow every type of Voidborn into Runeterra. Thusly, Rek'Sai's story doesn't necessarily contradict, she's just an isolated occurrence and an example of what is to come later.

AdgharKH12/11/2014, 5:45:30 PM1 votes

Who is Malzahar and why does he matter?

Space AIDS. That's all you need to know.

Spellbound187512/11/2014, 7:21:03 PM1 votes

I'd argue that the Xer'sai are in Valeron because of the work of creatures and people like Cho'gath and Malzahar. This just means he's doing his job well. Also the Xer'sai are not necessarily Voidborn. They are from the void but Cho'gath's lore refers to the existence of other creatures which serve the Voidborn. If anything this increase in Void creatures just means Malz needs a raise. :P

aaronconlin12/11/2014, 8:53:46 PM1 votes

I was wondering how an entire species of void creatures made it to Shurima, I was thinking maybe when Malzahar or one of the Voidborn made it through to Valoran, Rek'Sai came through. She's the "Queen" of her species, maybe she birthed them all and now they're a plague on Shurima.

I'm not sure if the "new lore" that's supposedly coming will support or negate past lore but it'd be interesting to see how Azir interacted with them now that he's back.

Shaded Striker12/12/2014, 9:27:22 PM1 votes

I think your mischaracterizing when you said Malzahar let void energies into him for his established religion.

I don't believe he ever established anything before getting void-ified. He was a seer and visions were haunting him when he found Icathia. Then he got infected with some kind of void thing any changed.

DWT1234512/11/2014, 5:18:45 AM1 votes

he is the anti-kassadin who is the anti-void

Stars Shaper12/11/2014, 2:39:27 PM1 votes

It's obvious that Shurima hosted a hidden cult of the Void far before it's Empire destruction and this might bind this traces of voidborn to Xerath vision of Shurima and his choices.

I do also think that Skarner might be a sort of Crystaline void-shaped creature whose role is to guard the world from what's inside the tomb he roams around.

Shurima sands hold indeed great secrets...

I really hope that Riot will keep up with the updates and stories. Shurima and the Shadow Islands are the strongest Lore pieces ever in this universe.

Trample12/11/2014, 2:53:26 PM1 votes

I figured that since it specifically said that the Xer'Sai live in southern Shurima that it's possible that Azir's empire and such existed more to the north, making the culture of "avoid the outerbeasts" separate from the "Shurima golden empire" culture. Plus it's possible the Xer'Sai cam after Azir got blown up.

Chromatic Eagle12/11/2014, 5:03:57 PM1 votes

I feel as if Malzahar's problem has existed before Rek'Sai. Most of the Void champions aren't really depicted as global threats against humanity. Most of them are independent creatures driven by different urges. I'm not sure how Malzahar's vision was ever going to happen.

GreenLore12/11/2014, 5:07:40 PM1 votes

he wants a full void invasion and it is implied that the void is so full of monsters that they would overrun all of runeterra. Individual void creatures already invaded runeterra as did Rek'sai and her species,but there are many more who need to come.

ArbiterOfTruth12/11/2014, 5:20:17 PM1 votes

Malzahar was a seer when he started hearing voices that led him to Icathia. There he entered the void and he embraced the Void so he could survive. The void filled his head with visions of desolation so he thought that these visions were going to come true so he is trying to bring the void to valoran to make the visions true. Before the retcon in the Journals Malz had sacrificed Kassadin's daughter to the void. They could certainly expand on Malz's personality and his plans possibly in some sort of void event which would be cool.