MALENIA, daughter of Queen Marika and Lord Radagon and twin sister to her brother, Miquella. Her mother is a goddess while her father is the Elden Lord, ruler of The Lands Between. Both Malenia and Miquella were born as Empyreans, meaning they had the potential to one day replace their mother as the god of a new age. Her parents had a secret however. Many moons ago, they had fused their souls and became one in mind, soul, and body. As a result of this, Malenia and Miquella were born cursed. Miquella's curse came in the form of eternal childhood, meaning he would never age into adulthood and always be weaker than his other demigod companions. Malenia's curse came in the form of the Scarlet Rot, a lethal blight that consumed all it touched. With the Scarlet Rot ravaging her from within, she would later lose several limbs to the blight. Her family were always quick to fit her limbs with prosthetics, since a telltale sign of the rot consuming her body was discoloring and callousing of her skin. When her curse was discovered, none of her family would come near her. None except Miquella, who would always bring her flowers when he wasn't making her prosthetics.
Desperate to still make something of herself, Malenia took up combat despite it being uncommon among royalty. At some point along the way, Malenia encountered a blind swordsman who gave no name. During one of her lessons, she learned that the swordsman had sealed away an outer god of rot. Humbly, the demigoddess pleaded the mortal to teach her how, so she could contain her blight completely and do so without it killing her. Malenia got her wish, and was able to contain her curse completely. Soon after that, the swordsman revealed that he had taught her everything he knew, and to test her, challenged her to a duel. After much struggle, she was victorious. That was the last she saw of the swordsman, but she continued to practice and create her own techniques in his honor.
Her twin brother was hard at work as well. Malenia always knew him to be the best of all the demigods, regardless of what others thought. And one day, he showed why. During her months of practice, Miquella had created a magical tree that had the potential to rid them of their curses. This tree was known as the Haligtree, and was taller than most mountains and had cities imbedded into it.
The twins have quite the extensive family. Before her father married Marika, he was married to Queen Rennala of The Full Moon, a powerful sorceress. Together, they had several children. Radahn, Rykard, and Ranni. All three children were raised to demigod status when their father married Marika. Ranni however was also made an Empyrean, much to her dismay.
Before Marika married Radagon, she was betrothed to Godfrey, the first Elden Lord. Like Radagon and Rennala, they had three children. Morgott, Mohgwyn, and Godwyn. None of their children were Empyreans. Morgott and Mohgwyn were twin brothers, both omens however. Seen as hideous beings that only brought suffering, the twins were cast into the sewers and locked beneath the capital. As for Godwyn, an even more terrible fate was in store...
Ranni despised her Empyrean title, as it meant obeying the Golden Order's direct command. She refused to be their puppet. So to escape her fate, she orchestrated an assassination. After much planning, she stole a fragment of death, and imbued it into the daggers of her Black Knife Assassins, all who were women close to Queen Marika. The assassins fell upon the royal capital in what would come to be known as the Night of Black Knives. Godwyn was slain in his sleep that night, all to ensure Ranni could escape her Empyrean fate. At the same time Godwyn was killed, Ranni used one of her own daggers to slay her own flesh. As a result, Ranni's body perished, while her soul lived on and would later possess a doll she had created prior. Godwyn was slain in soul however, leaving his body an empty husk.
After that night, for reasons unknown, Marika shattered the Elden Ring. By destroying the Elden Ring, which acted as a connection to both the Greater Will and the Golden Order, the Greater Will's influence on the Lands Between was greatly diminished. Radagon simultaneously attempted to repair the ring as it shattered, but failed. Soon after the shattering, the Greater Will imprisoned both Marika and Radagon inside the Erdtree as a form of punishment for her betrayal. However as Ranni, the last worthy Empyrean, discarded her physical body in the Night of the Black Knives, Marika was still kept as a vessel for the Elden Ring, with Radagon conjoined in her body.
Chaos ensued. With the Elden Ring shattered, each of the demigods claimed a piece of it as their own. It didn't take long for them to start fighting for the pieces, or great runes. The demigods warred, with Ranni and Miquella staying out of the conflict. Malenia, as her brother's protector, vowed to not let harm come to him as he worked tirelessly to undo their curses. So she joined the fight, seeking to annihilate the threat before it reached her. The other demigods didn't stand a chance. She and her army of Cleanrot Knights were an unstoppable force that forced every army and demigod to surrender. In the end, it was only her and Radahn left in the fight. Their forces clashed in Caelid, where Malenia unleashed her Scarlet Rot for the first time. The region was decimated, and her half-brother's might mattered not as the blight consumed him.
Malenia herself was not unaffected. Unleashing the Scarlet Rot left her in a coma, but was rescued by a Cleanrot Knight by the name of Finlay, who carried the demigoddess back to the Haligtree to await her brother's rebirth, as he had encased himself within it in an effort to reverse his curse. Unbeknownst to her, when she had blossomed in Caelid, she had inadvertently birthed the Kindred of Rot, who worshipped her as a goddess and hoped to cause her to bloom once again, believing that she would usher in a new age of rot.
Now, Malenia continues her slumber, awaiting for her brother to emerge from the Haligtree.
