History Characters / EldenRingMalenia

* FatalFlaw: Averted, in that unlike many of the other Demigods, her troubles do not stem from any specific personal failing or character flaw on her part. She isn't motivated by Pride or Ambition in the way that characters like Godrick, Rykard, or even Radahn are. She doesn't display cruelty or resentment towards others, nor even any more minor character flaws, whereas even [[TheGoodKing Morgott]] suffers from a bad case of fatalism. Tragically, in a similar vein to [[Literature/TheLordofTheRings Frodo and the One Ring]], she's simply in a situation where it's fundamentally impossible to win, as the Scarlet Rot is a force that cannot be overcome or resisted by any mortal being in the setting without external intervention.

* FatalFlaw: Averted, in that unlike many of the other Demigods, her troubles do not stem from any specific personal failing or character flaw on her part. She isn't motivated by Pride (as evidenced by the fact that she's a GracefulLoser towards the Tarnished) or Ambition (she gives up her claim to Godhood in favor of serving Miquella), nor does she display cruelty or resentment towards others, and in general doesn't seem to display any of the vices or faults that her siblings do. Tragically, in a similar vein to [[Literature/TheLordofTheRings Frodo and the One Ring]], she's simply in a situation where it's fundamentally impossible to win, as the Scarlet Rot is a force that cannot be overcome or resisted by any mortal being in the setting without external intervention.

[[Characters/EldenRingMainCharacters Main Characters]] ([[Characters/EldenRingTheTarnished The Tarnished]] | [[Characters/EldenRingMarika Marika]]) | [[Characters/EldenRingRoundtableHold Roundtable Hold]] | [[Characters/EldenRingSecondaryCharacters Secondary Characters]] ([[Characters/EldenRingRenownedAshes Renowned Ashes]]) | [[Characters/EldenRingOuterGods Outer Gods]] | [[Characters/EldenRingDemigods Demigods]] ([[Characters/EldenRingGodfrey Godfrey]] | [[Characters/EldenRingMorgott Morgott]] | [[Characters/EldenRingMohg Mohg]] | [[Characters/EldenRingRadahn Radahn]] | [[Characters/EldenRingRanniTheWitch Ranni the Witch]] | '''Malenia''') | [[Characters/EldenRingEnemiesAndBosses Enemies and Bosses]] ([[Characters/EldenRingDragons Dragons]] | [[Characters/EldenRingLiurniaOfTheLakes Liurnia of the Lakes]] | [[Characters/EldenRingRecurringEnemiesAndBosses Recurring Enemies and Bosses]] | [[Characters/EldenRingTarnishedInvadersAndTargets Tarnished Invaders and Targets]]) -]]]]]

* FatalFlaw: She holds great pride in her reputation as Miquella's undefeated protector and is implied to use her status as a shield against the Rot's constant attempts to claim her mind. When she has trouble in battle against opponents like the Tarnished and Radahn she is willing to let the Rot advance in her body and mind over a defeat that could shame her brother. It doesn't help that Miquella has been missing and the Scarlet Rot tries to destroy the sense of self of those infected so the few things Malenia can still identifies herself as is slipping away.

* MythicalMotifs: As a valorous warrior deity with a missing arm, she's likely partially inspired by Týr from Myth/NorseMythology. Her armor is also extremely reminiscent of modern depections of a Valkyrie.

* PhysicalGod: She 'blooms' into the Goddess of Rot in the 2nd phase of the fight, and it's not simply a badass title: it's implied that she becomes to the Scarlet Rot what Marika is to the Greater Will, just without the Elden Ring in her possession. Even then, she mostly uses her swordsmanship and only sometimes uses her immense control over the Scarlet Rot to attack.

[[Characters/EldenRingMainCharacters Main Characters]] ([[Characters/EldenRingTheTarnished The Tarnished]] | [[Characters/EldenRingMarika Marika]]) | [[Characters/EldenRingRoundtableHold Roundtable Hold]] | [[Characters/EldenRingSecondaryCharacters Secondary Characters]] ([[Characters/EldenRingRenownedAshes Renowned Ashes]]) | [[Characters/EldenRingOuterGods Outer Gods]] | [[Characters/EldenRingDemigods Demigods]] ([[Characters/EldenRingGodfrey Godfrey]] | [[Characters/EldenRingMorgott Morgott]] | [[Characters/EldenRingMohg Mohg]] | [[Characters/EldenRingRadahn Radahn]] | [[Characters/EldenRingRanniTheWitch Ranni the Witch]] | '''Malenia''') | [[Characters/EldenRingEnemiesAndBosses Enemies and Bosses]] ([[Characters/EldenRingDragons Dragons]] | [[Characters/EldenRingLiurniaOfTheLakes Liurnia of the Lakes]] | [[Characters/EldenRingRecurringEnemiesAndBosses Recurring Enemies and Bosses]]) -]]]]]

* BraggingRightsReward: Defeating her earns you her Great Rune, [[spoiler:which enables you to rally your yellow health back a la ''Bloodborne''.]] However, having defeated Malenia, there's a good chance you're so overpowered that no enemy presents a challenge worthy of her Great Rune, or you don't need its power at all. Great runes also don't carry into NG+, and by the time you beat her, there's probably little left to fight anyway in your current playthrough. Also from an in-universe point of view there's little reason to kill her; the Tarnished only needs two Great Runes to succeed and there's five others whose holders are easier to defeat and in most cases far easier to get to plus unlike some she's not really doing any harm, just moping at the bottom of the Haligtree, as far out of everyone's way as it's possible for her to be.

[[Characters/EldenRingMainCharacters Main Characters]] ([[Characters/EldenRingTheTarnished The Tarnished]] | [[Characters/EldenRingMarika Marika]]) | [[Characters/EldenRingRoundtableHold Roundtable Hold]] | [[Characters/EldenRingSecondaryCharacters Secondary Characters]] | [[Characters/EldenRingOuterGods Outer Gods]] | [[Characters/EldenRingDemigods Demigods]] ([[Characters/EldenRingGodfrey Godfrey]] | [[Characters/EldenRingMorgott Morgott]] | [[Characters/EldenRingMohg Mohg]] | [[Characters/EldenRingRadahn Radahn]] | [[Characters/EldenRingRanniTheWitch Ranni the Witch]] | '''Malenia''') | [[Characters/EldenRingEnemiesAndBosses Enemies and Bosses]] ([[Characters/EldenRingDragons Dragons]] | [[Characters/EldenRingLiurniaOfTheLakes Liurnia of the Lakes]] | [[Characters/EldenRingRecurringEnemiesAndBosses Recurring Enemies and Bosses]]) -]]]]]

* AntiVillain: Combination of [[SlidingScaleofAntiVillains Woobie and InNameOnly]] and [[HeroAntagonist Type IV]]. Malenia was said to be a noble warrior who greatly valued the camaraderie she shared with her men, had immense loyalty to her brother, and understood the value of mercy, as she spared Godrick's craven life when he begged her. By the time events of the game begin Malenia isn't even active anymore, instead waiting in vain to reunite with her brother by the Haligtree. Alas, in her effort to defeat Radahn she is said to have cast aside the "dignity and sense of self" which allowed her to resist the scarlet rot. This unleashed a bloom that permanently transformed Caelid into a rotting nightmare and left her so hazardous that she inadvertently allowed the rot to infect the Haligtree from the roots up.

* AntiVillain: Combination of [[TragicVillain Type II]] and [[HeroAntagonist Type IV]]. Malenia was said to be a noble warrior who greatly valued the camaraderie she shared with her men, had immense loyalty to her brother, and understood the value of mercy, as she spared Godrick's craven life when he begged her. By the time events of the game begin Malenia isn't even active anymore, instead waiting in vain to reunite with her brother by the Haligtree. Alas, in her effort to defeat Radahn she is said to have cast aside the "dignity and sense of self" which allowed her to resist the scarlet rot. This unleashed a bloom that permanently transformed Caelid into a rotting nightmare and left her so hazardous that she inadvertently allowed the rot to infect the Haligtree from the roots up.

* HeroAntagonist: Despite technically being an opponent of the Tarnished, and even then only if they actively seek her out, Malenia is by far one of the most noble characters in the setting. She fights for an unambiguously good cause (creating a new order where oppressed minorities such as the Albinaurics and Misbegotten can live free from persecution), is intensely loyal to Miquella, who's probably the closest thing the setting has to a BigGood, and is shown to be a humble and honorable warrior who doesn't seek out conflict for the sake of glory or thrill. Pretty much the only things that could be considered remotely villainous about her can mostly be attributed to the [[TheCorruption ScarletRot]] forcing her.

* AntiVillain: Malenia was said to be a noble warrior who greatly valued the camaraderie she shared with her men, had immense loyalty to her brother, and understood the value of mercy, as she spared Godrick's craven life when he begged her. By the time events of the game begin Malenia isn't even active anymore, instead waiting in vain to reunite with her brother by the Haligtree. Alas, in her effort to defeat Radahn she is said to have cast aside the "dignity and sense of self" which allowed her to resist the scarlet rot. This unleashed a bloom that permanently transformed Caelid into a rotting nightmare and left her so hazardous that she inadvertently allowed the rot to infect the Haligtree from the roots up.

* BraggingRightsReward: Defeating her earns you her Great Rune, [[spoiler:which enables you to rally your yellow health back a la ''Bloodborne''.]] However, having defeated Malenia, there's a good chance you're so overpowered that no enemy presents a challenge worthy of her Great Rune, or you don't need its power at all. Great runes also don't carry into NG+, and by the time you beat her, there's probably little left to fight anyway in your current playthrough.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Malenia is easily one of the nicest Demigods, being a noble warrior who inspires great loyalty from her followers and fights for the sake of creating a world where persecuted minorities like the Albinaurics and Misbegotten can live free from oppression. She's also indicated to be humble and honorable woman, based off her depictions in the Haligtree, and the fact that she congratulates you on your victory in both her current and cut dialogue. She's also a terrifyingly powerful warrior and full-on Lightnigbruiser, with each one of her Waterfowl slashes carrying enough energy to [[https://www.reddit.com/r/Eldenring/comments/yfmrez/malenia_vs_tanks/ cut through the frontal armor]] of a [[{{Tank Goodness}} Panther tank]], and she's also the game's foremost SuperBoss.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Malenia is easily one of the nicest Demigods, being a noble warrior who inspires great loyalty from her followers and fights for the sake of creating a world where persecuted minorities like the Albinaurics and Misbegotten can live free from oppression. She's also indicated to be humble and honorable woman, based off her depictions in the Haligtree, and the fact that she congratulates you on your victory in both her current and cut dialogue. She's also a terrifyingly powerful warrior and full-on LightnigBruiser, with each one of her Waterfowl slashes carrying enough energy to [[https://www.reddit.com/r/Eldenring/comments/yfmrez/malenia_vs_tanks/ cut through the frontal armor]] of a [[{{Tank Goodness}} Panther tank]], and she's also the game's foremost SuperBoss.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Malenia is easily one of the nicest Demigods, being a noble warrior who inspires great loyalty from her followers and fights for the sake of creating a world where persecuted minorities like the Albinaurics and Misbegotten can live free from oppression. She's also indicated to be humble and honorable woman, based off her depictions in the Haligtree, and the fact that she congratulates you on your victory in both her current and cut dialogue. She's also a terrifyingly powerful warrior and full-on Lightnigbrusier, with each one of her Waterfowl slashes carrying enough energy to [[https://www.reddit.com/r/Eldenring/comments/yfmrez/malenia_vs_tanks/ cut through the frontal armor]] of a [[{{Tank Goodness}} Panther tank]], and she's also the game's foremost SuperBoss.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Malenia is easily one of the nicest Demigods, being a noble warrior who inspires great loyalty from her followers and fights for the sake of creating a world where persecuted minorities like the Albinaurics and Misbegotten can live free from oppression. She's also indicated to be humble and honorable woman, based off her depictions in the Haligtree, and the fact that she congratulates you on your victory in both her current and cut dialogue. She's also a terrifyingly powerful warrior and full-on Lightnigbrusier, with each one of her Waterfowl slashes carrying enough energy to [[https://www.reddit.com/r/Eldenring/comments/yfmrez/malenia_vs_tanks/ cut through the frontal armor]] of a [[{{Tank Goodness}} Panther tank]], and she's also the game's Superboss.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Malenia is easily one of the nicest Demigods, being a noble warrior who inspires great loyalty from her followers and fights for the sake of creating a world where persecuted minorities like the Albinaurics and Misbegotten can live free from oppression. She's also indicated to be humble and honorable woman, based off her depictions in the Haligtree, and the fact that she congratulates you on your victory in both her current and cut dialogue. She's also a terrifyingly powerful warrior and full-on Lightnigbrusier, with each one of her Waterfowl slashes carrying enough energy to [[https://www.reddit.com/r/Eldenring/comments/yfmrez/malenia_vs_tanks/ cut through she's by far the frontal armor]] of a [[{{Tank Goodness}} Panther tank]]. hardest boss you'll meet in the game.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Malenia is easily one of the nicest Demigods, being a noble warrior who inspires great loyalty from her followers and fights for the sake of creating a world where persecuted minorities like the Albinaurics and Misbegotten can live free from oppression. She's also indicated to be humble and honorable woman, based off her depictions in the Haligtree, and the fact that she congratulates you on your victory in both her current and cut dialogue. She's also a terrifyingly powerful warrior and full-on Lightnigbrusier, with each one of her Waterfowl slashes carrying enough energy to [[https://www.reddit.com/r/Eldenring/comments/yfmrez/malenia_vs_tanks/ cut through she's by far the frontal armor]] of a [[Tank Goodness Panther tank]]. hardest boss you'll meet in the game.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Malenia is easily one of the nicest Demigods, being a noble warrior who inspires great loyalty from her followers and fights for the sake of creating a world where persecuted minorities like the Albinaurics and Misbegotten can live free from oppression. She's also indicated to be humble and honorable woman, based off her depictions in the Haligtree, and the fact that she congratulates you on your victory in both her current and cut dialogue. She's also among the mightiest of them all, having been able to match Radahn at his prime despite having been reduced to a blind cripple, and she's by far the hardest boss you'll meet in the game.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Malenia is easily one of the nicest Demigods, being a noble warrior who inspires great loyalty from her followers and fights for the sake of creating a world where persecuted minorities like the Albinaurics and Misbegotten can live free from oppression. She's also indicated to be humble and honorable woman, based off her depictions in the Haligtree, and the fact that she congratulates you on your victory in both her current and cut dialogue. She's also a terrifyingly powerful warrior and full-on LightnigBrusier, with each one of her Waterfowl slashes carrying enough energy to [[https://www.reddit.com/r/Eldenring/comments/yfmrez/malenia_vs_tanks/ cut through the frontal armor]] of a [[Tank Goodness Panther tank]].

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Malenia is easily one of the nicest Demigods, being a noble warrior who inspires great loyalty from her followers and fights for the sake of creating a world where persecuted minorities like the Albinaurics and Misbegotten can live free from oppression. She's also indicated to be humble and honorable woman, based off her depictions in the Haligtree, and the fact that she congratulates you on your victory in both her current and cut dialogue. She's also among the mightiest of them all, having been able to match Radahn at his prime despite having been reduced to a blind cripple, and she's by far the hardest boss you'll meet in the game.

** To [[{{LoserDeity}} Godrick]]. They're both among the youngest demigods who both split off from the Golden Order. Other than that, they're complete opposites in almost every way. Godrick is a pathetic wealking who has to steal strength from others through Grafting to pose any semblance of a threat, and even with that, he's still by far the weakest of the Demigods. Malenia is reliant solely on her strength and skill, which is continuously being chipped away by the Scarlet Rot, yet is one of the, if not the, mightiest of the Demigods, to the point of being a contender for WorldsStrongestMan. Godrick's grafting has left him with dozens of additional limbs and appendages that leave him a lumbering, ungainly, brute while Malenia has lost all but one of her original limbs yet still fights with extreme poise and finesse. Where Godrick is shown to be a [[{{Gonk}} hideous man]] even underneath his grafted body parts, Malenia, even after being ravaged by the Scarlet Rot, is still very beautful despite her deformities. Godrick is a GeneralFailure who's military ventures end in abject failure, while Malenia is an extremely successful commander, who led an undefeated campaign against all multitude of foes even while under a number of disadvantages. Godrick is the Caligula and HatedByAll, with even his own followers despising him and lacking any sort of respect for him, as evidenced by Gostoc repeatedly insulting him and stomping on his corpse. Malenia is a MagneticHero who commands UndyingLoyalty from her followers, to the point they're willing to fight alongside and support her even knowing it will inevitably lead to them to suffer agonizingly painful deaths. Godrick leads an ArmyOfThievesAndWhores who are by far the weakest and most ineffectual of all the major factions in the Shattering, whereas Malenia's troops are among the best of them all, with her [[BadassArmy Cleanrot Knights]] in particular, explicitly being described as "the strongest in the Shattering". Lastly, whereas Godrick broke off from the Golden Order purely for the sake of glory, power, and the desire to prove himself "worthy" of his legacy, Malenia does so in order to support her brother Miquella, to the point of explicitly describing herself as his blade, and willingly gives up her chance at attaining the Elden Throne for herself in order to advance her brother's agenda, which is among the most selfless of all the Demigods.

* {{Nerf}}: Her first phase was [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vATpVh-sev8 weakened]] from v 1.0 to all subsequent versions, most notably by making her less aggressive and removing one of her [[SuperSpeed "slashes faster than eyesight"]] combos.

* PyrrhicVictory: She could be said to have won the battle with Radahn back in Aeonia, but the desperate gambit of giving in to Rot to end the battle started a disastrous chain of events that saw everything she and her brother were trying accomplish left in ruins.

** To Radahn. They're both demigod children of Radagon and supremely accomplished warriors and contenders for WorldsStrongestMan, along with being charismatic generals who command UndyingLoyalty from their followers. Other than that though, the two are almost diametric opposites in many ways. Where Radahn is the largest demigod (unless you count Rykard after he fused with the God-Devouring Serpent), Malenia is one of the smallest. Radahn is an ArchMage whose entire [[MagicKnight fighting-style]] is heavily reliant on magic, while Malenia is a MagicallyIneptFighter whose solely reliant on physical prowess. While Malenia is generally associated with water as her ElementalMotif, Radahn tends to be associated with fire, which is reflected in their demeanors. Whereas Radahn is Hot-blooded and spends much of his fight roaring and growling, Malenia is calm and collected, and does not make any vocalizations during her fight except when she speaks. Lastly, whereas Radahn continuously became more powerful throughout his life up until the Battle of Aeonia (learning gravity magic, growing massively in size), Malenia has been slowly wasting away as a result of the Scarlet Rot eating away at her body and mind.

** To [[{{LoserDeity}} Godrick]]. They're both among the youngest demigods who both split off from the Golden Order. Other than that, they're complete opposites in almost every way. Godrick is a pathetic wealking who has to steal strength from others through Grafting to pose any semblance of a threat, and even with that, he's still by far the weakest of the Demigods. Malenia is reliant solely on her strength and skill, which is continuously being chipped away by the Scarlet Rot, yet is one of the, if not the, mightiest of the Demigods, to the point of being a contender for WorldsStrongestMan. Godrick's grafting has left him with dozens of additional limbs and appendages that leave him a lumbering, ungainly, brute while Malenia has lost all but one of her original limbs yet still fights with extreme poise and finesse. Where Godrick is shown to be a [[{{Gonk}} hideous man]] even underneath his grafted body parts, Malenia, even after being ravaged by the Scarlet Rot, is still very beautful despite her deformities. Godrick is a GeneralFailure who's military ventures end in abject failure, while Malenia is an extremely successful commander, who led an undefeated campaign against all multitude of foes even while under a number of disadvantages. Godrick is the Caligula and HatedByAll, with even his own followers despising him and lacking any sort of respect for him, as evidenced by Gostoc repeatedly insulting him and stomping on his corpse. Malenia is a MagneticHero who commands UndyingLoyalty from her followers, to the point they're willing to fight alongside and support her even knowing it will inevitably lead to them to suffer agonizingly painful deaths. Godrick leads an ArmyOfThievesAndWhores who are by far the weakest and most ineffectual of all the major factions in the Shattering, whereas Malenia's troops are among the best of them all, with her CleanRot Knights in particular, explicitly being described as "the strongest in the Shattering". Lastly, whereas Godrick broke off from the GoldenOrder purely for the sake of glory, power, and the desire to prove himself "worthy" of his legacy, Malenia does so in order to support her brother Miquella, to the point of explicitly describing herself as his blade, and willingly gives up her chance at attaining the Elden Throne for herself in order to advance her brother's agenda, which is among the most selfless of all the Demigods.

** To [[{{LoserDeity}} Godrick]]. They're both among the youngest demigods who both split off from the Golden Order. Other than that, they're complete opposites in almost every way. Godrick is a pathetic wealking who has to steal strength from others through Grafting to pose any semblance of a threat, and even with that, he's still by far the weakest of the Demigods. Malenia is reliant solely on her strength and skill, which is continuously being chipped away by the Scarlet Rot, yet is one of the, if not the, mightiest of the Demigods, to the point of being a contender for WorldsStrongestMan. Godrick's grafting has left him with dozens of additional limbs and appendages that leave him a lumbering, ungainly, brute while Malenia has lost all but one of her original limbs yet still fights with extreme poise and finesse. Where Godrick is shown to be [[Gonk hideous man]] even underneath his grafted body parts, Malenia, even after being ravaged by the Scarlet Rot, is still very beautful despite her deformities. Godrick is a GeneralFailure who's military ventures end in abject failure, while Malenia is an extremely successful commander, who led an undefeated campaign against all multitude of foes even while under a number of disadvantages. Godrick is the Caligula and HatedByAll, with even his own followers despising him and lacking any sort of respect for him, as evidenced by Gostoc repeatedly insulting him and stomping on his corpse.