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Malphite OriginalCentered
EditImageReference

Ixtal Crest icon

Biography

Shard of the Monolith

By Ian St. Martin

Biography[]

For more than two millennia, Shurima Crest icon Shurima dominated the known world—an empire that reigned over countless peoples without challenge, and without threat.

Until the day Icathia fell.

From the moment Void Crest icon the Void tore its way into the material realm, the armies of Shurima Crest icon Shurima faced an enemy that could not only lay their grand empire low, but one that seemed to grow stronger the more they fought it. The corruption spread rapidly from Icathia's ruins, boiling over the land and beneath the oceans, before its hideous tendrils reached the southernmost jungles of Ixtal Crest icon Ixtal.

Ne'Zuk of the Ascended Host was an Ixtali elemental mage of colossal power, and almost unrivaled arrogance. He went before the emperor, pledging to create a weapon powerful enough to take the fight to the Void, and eradicate it at the source of its original eruption.

After months of inhuman labor, Ne'Zuk revealed the Monolith—a floating fortress of living stone, maintained by the greatest elemental mages, and its ramparts manned by his fellow Ixtali god-warriors. The size of a city itself, the Monolith glided titanically toward the wastelands of Icathia, the lightning crackling from its magical inhibitors fusing the sands to glass beneath it. Ne'Zuk and his superweapon arrived at their destination, to face once more the howling infinite darkness of the abyssal realm, and the hordes of Voidborn monstrosities it had created.

The battle dragged into weeks. It was violence of a scale and intensity never before witnessed in Runeterra. Sorcery enough to raze entire civilizations, or render whole continents into naught but a memory, was unleashed upon the Void.

The darkness retaliated in kind. Its hideous energies gouged deep wounds into the living stone of the Monolith, whose surfaces became pocked and seared with unnatural malphite—from the Ixtali for “bad stone”—and leaving mineral-like scars. The fortress was pushed to the very limits of its design, struggling to self-repair and reknit its weakened superstructure... but even the incredible magics that held it aloft had a breaking point.

As Ne'Zuk fought to rally his Ascended brethren for one last, desperate charge, the unthinkable happened. Sagging for an instant, the Monolith crashed down to earth, cleaving through the bedrock of Icathia and opening the Void beneath to the skies.

Much of the fortress was lost within that gaping maw, vanishing into the silent nothingness beyond. The rest rained down as great ruins, littering a landscape already blackened by the terrible conflict that had been cut so abruptly short. Only a single Ascended survived—Ne'Zuk hauled himself from the wreckage, choking on the ashes of what was meant to be his grandest triumph, now his greatest folly, and fled for his life.

In defiance of all worldly reason, some disparate fragments of the Monolith endured, still imbued with something like magical life. The far-flung shards struggled to heal, to reform the whole to which they had once belonged. But the Void's endless hunger leached away at them, rendering them as little more than inert shapes clawing feebly in the dust.

However, against all that had been lost, a single shard remained.

Buried deep beneath the surface, forgotten even by those that dwelt in the abyss, it slowly gathered in strength. It lived, until at last it awakened after uncounted centuries, and realized it was alone.

In all the centuries since that dark day, Malphite, the last shard of the Monolith, has become something of a legend in Runeterra. It has reputedly been sighted everywhere, from Targon Crest icon Targon to Zaun Crest icon Zaun; heard sometimes as a tectonic roar in the deepest caverns, and sometimes as a quiet voice, humming to itself, that it might still remember the sounds of the world it once knew.

Despite the enormous span of its existence, the overwhelming drive enkindled by Ne'Zuk's creation of the Monolith has not wavered. Now, Malphite knows it must soon rise to meet the resurgent darkness it once battled, as the Void awakens to threaten all of Runeterra once more.

Change log[]

Shard of the Monolith
Enemy Missing pingMISSINGEnemy Missing ping Updated to the current version.
Enemy Missing pingMISSINGEnemy Missing ping Updated to remove references to the Institute of War.
Malphite Render
There is a world of perfect harmony, where all are part of the whole. The Monolith is the essence of all creation, and its denizens are but singular pieces of it. It is beautiful in its symmetry, and in its almost complete lack of uncertainty. The rocky beings that live there know their place and work to fulfill their duties to the fullest extent, functioning almost as a superorganism or hive. Malphite has always strived to live up to his full potential, as his own personal part of the whole, serving the role of a distinguished creature questing to enforce his people's flawless vision of order. One day, without warning, a dimensional rift opened, and he was pulled to the world of Runeterra. The transition was painful and terrifying for him, as he was cut off from the song of his people and the Monolith - things that had been ever-present in him since the day he was born. He raged, trapped in this new realm - Runeterra - a world that had nearly been consumed by its disharmony. Yet, it was a world that needed protectors to bring order out of chaos. It was to that end that the rock-creature found his true purpose. Looking past his own fear and apprehension, Malphite could see that Runeterra needed him. Today, he hammers those who would seek to upset Valoran's movement toward order, especially turning his attention to those that wield chaotic magic. Unfortunately, Malphite has also begun to change, as he has been forced to face his own profound loneliness among the world's vibrant individuality.
Enemy Missing pingMISSINGEnemy Missing ping Second version.
Malphite Render
There is a world of perfect harmony, where all are part of the whole. The Monolith is the essence of all creation, and its denizens are but singular pieces of it. It is beautiful in its symmetry, and in its almost complete lack of uncertainty. The rocky beings that live there know their place and work to fulfill their duties to the fullest extent, functioning almost as a superorganism or hive. Malphite Malphite has always strived to live up to his full potential, as his own personal part of the whole, serving the role of a distinguished creature questing to enforce his people's flawless vision of order. One day, without warning, a dimensional rift opened, and he was summoned across the cosmos to the world of Runeterra. The transition was painful and terrifying for him, as he was cut off from the song of his people and the Monolith - things that had been ever-present in him since the day he was born. He raged, trapped in the Summoning Circle, as those who had called him made their plea. Runeterra was a world that had nearly been consumed by its disharmony. It was a world that needed champions to bring order out of chaos. It was to that end that the rock-creature was summoned, so that he could aid them in this quest. Looking past his own fear and apprehension, Malphite could see that this was a respectable goal, and one in which he could participate - perhaps uniquely so. Today, as part of the League of Legends, he hammers those who would seek to upset Valoran's movement toward order, especially turning his attention to those that wield chaotic magic. Unfortunately, Malphite has also begun to change, as he has been forced to face his own profound loneliness among the world's vibrant individuality.
V1.0.0.32 (October 23rd, 2009) Original version.
Malphite Render
There is a world of perfect harmony, where all are part of the whole. The Monolith is the essence of all and its denizens are but singular pieces of the whole. Malphite Malphite has always strived to live up to his full potential as his own personal part of the whole, a distinguished creature questing to enforce the flawless vision of order. Then one day the dimensional rift opened and he was summoned across the cosmos to the world of Runeterra. At first outraged to be taken from the Monolith, Malphite quickly learned of this world's disharmony. There were those who sought to bring order out of chaos and it is they that summoned the rock-creature to aid them in this quest. It was a goal that Malphite could respect and one in which he could participate. Today he hammers those who would seek to upset Valoran's movement towards order, especially those that wield chaotic magic.

References

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