Markal
From the Might and Magic Wiki - Might and Magic, Heroes of Might and Magic, King's Bounty
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Markal was a necromancer, an advisor to two queens of the Holy Griffin Empire, Fiona and later Isabel, and, at the pinnacle of his power, the undisputed de facto ruler of the Empire.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early days
Markal was taught in his dark art by Sandro, a famous necromancer killed by Cyrus the wizard during the siege of Lorekeep — something his apprentice could never forgive the Silver League and Cyrus himself for. During Queen Fiona's reign, Markal was her court counselor, astrologer and mage, and, at the same time, the leader of a secret cult of death in the Griffin Empire. Eventually, the Church of the Dragon of Light grew suspicious of his motives, and, after Fiona's death, her brother Godric banished Markal from the Empire with the blessing of her son, King Nicolai.
Markal retreated to the valley of Heresh — the former domain of the Necromancers, who were defeated a century ago by the Wizards during the War of the Broken Staff — taking Fiona's ashes with him, overseeing the political situation in the Empire from afar and waiting for the best moment to return — and, meanwhile, plotting his revenge against Cyrus.
He saw his chance after receiving the news that Nicolai died in the war against demons. Knowing that the new queen, Isabel, would try anything to get her love resurrected — in any form — Markal secretly left Heresh, patrolled by the Wizards, and headed to the Empire. Enslaving any undead he met along the way, he soon gathered a considerable army.
[edit] Alliance with Isabel
Markal found the Griffin Empire in the state of civil war. Although Isabel was the legitimate queen, whom Nicolai himself named his successor with his dying words, Archbishop Randall and a number of nobles formed an opposition, aiming to replace her with either Randall and Nicolai's cousin Andrei, a boy at that time. Markal did Isabel a favor by defeating the armies of Duke Duncan, one of her enemies, and by doing so, attracted her attention.
Even though Isabel realized that the old man, who claimed to be able to accomplish what even the Archangels failed at — bring Nicolai back to life — was a necromancer, as he referred to the Primordial Dragon Asha as the "Spider Goddess", she nevertheless decided to try. Markal's plan sounded simple: to reacquire the Vampire's Garment, which Cyrus had allegedly stolen, and bring it to the Hall of Heroes, where Nicolai's body rested, to empower the ritual he intended to perform. The complications, however, were quick to present themselves.
First of all, Markal — ironically, with Godric's help — rebuilt Lorekeep, discovering that Cyrus had separated the Vampire's Garment into four parts, and captured Hikm, a Silver City located on the same small island, where the first part — the Amulet of Necromancy — was kept. Isabel, however, was hesitant to hand it to him just yet, instead entrusting Godric with keeping it, much to Markal's chagrin.
With Isabel's help, the necromancer launched a full-scale invasion of the mainland Silver Cities, where the three other artifacts were kept. He soon got hold of the Staff of the Netherworld, which had the power to curse cities and transform them into Necropolises. Soon he brought the League to its knees — even reinforcements from Irollan were unable to turn the tides, although the elves' intervention left Isabel doubting whether Nicolai's life indeed justified the costs.
In no time Markal had all of the Silver Cities converted, except for the capital, Al Safir, and acquired the Cloak of Death's Shadow. The only remaining artifact was the Ring of the Unrepentant, in possession of Cyrus himself. When Markal approached Al Safir, Cyrus retreated to the magical reality of the Ring, a maze full of traps, guards and other surprises. However, it did not take long before he, too, met his end.
Everything was now ready for the ritual... except the Amulet of Necromancy. Godric, who no longer trusted Markal after he manipulated Isabel into destroying an allied state, refused to serve the Queen any longer and hid in Hikm with his forces — which grew in numbers every day as Isabel's troops, disillusioned, were defecting to Godric.
Markal decided to bring Godric's daughter Freyda to Lorekeep for "questioning", believing that her father, as a true knight, would come to rescue her. Godric did not and sent angels instead, which only worsened his position: using the dead angels' wings, Markal flied over the mountains separating Hikm and Lorekeep, and eventually Godric's citadel fell.
The Vampire's Garment was assembled, at a terrible cost, and Godric's fate remained an open question. Markal argued that he was be too dangerous to be left alive, but Isabel, out of respect for Godric's many years of faithful servitude to the crown, spared him. The old knight, Nicolai's uncle, was brought to an underground prison on the outskirts of the Empire and forgotten for many months.
[edit] Peak of power
On their way to the Hall of Heroes, Isabel was approached by Raelag, Clanlord of Ygg-Chal, who reasoned with the Queen, telling her that the demons only needed her and tried to persuade her to come with him through Irollan. He did not tell her the purpose of this proposed journey, however, and Markal appeared in time to dismiss Raelag as a madman.
The necromancer did live up to his word: his ritual revived Nicolai — but as an undead Vampire Lord, Markal's hesitant servant. Isabel, consumed with grief, was rendered unable to rule the Empire, and Markal, hypocritically talking about a "tragedy", took control in his own hands.
His rise, which started the rise of undead throughout the Griffin Empire, caused a wave of refugees led by Lord Caldwell to fleeing to Irollan. They begged King Alaron to give them shelter in the uninhabited lands on the border with the Empire. The king of Irollan, believing that old alliances must not be forgotten, agreed, entrusting the defense of the border to Findan, his former ambassador in the Empire.
It was only a matter of time before the undead, led by Vampire Lord Nicolai, invaded the elven kingdom, which proved disastrous for Irollan, the Griffin Empire, and Markal himself.
[edit] Downfall
Nicolai's attack, very successful at first, stalled; although the undead managed to take over most of Irollan and even besiege and for a short while capture the capital city of Syris Thalla, Findan appeared with reinforcements in the form of Emerald Dragons just in time. Although Alaron died defending the capital, Findan took command over what remained of the Irollan military and, with the help of the heroes Talanar and Dirael, who had been imprisoned by the undead and whom he freed, raised the siege off Syris Thalla and fought back. The war turned from a blitzkrieg into a lengthy war, which the undead, fighting on hostile territory, were unprepared for.
Meanwhile, Cyrus' son Zehir, elected the First of the Circle of the Silver League, decided to avenge his father and took advantage of the prolonged Irollan campaign, for which Markal recalled most of the forces in the League's lands, except for town garrisons. Zehir started with Sihaam (known as Kadashman during its existence as a Necropolis), and then moved on to other Silver Cities, including the capital, Al Safir. In no time, Zehir had his homeland, as well as Lorekeep, reclaimed.
Eventually, the invasion of Irollan turned into a disaster as well, as Findan killed the undead Nicolai — who, at last, was truly dead, with his body destroyed by fire — and entered the lands of the Empire, although driven by another purpose: the one of cleansing Isabel from demonic magic. The alliance of Findan and Zehir, striking from two fronts and freeing Godric from his prison, meant the end of Markal's short-lived rule.
Cornered, his sources of power destroyed, the necromancer still did not lose his everlasting composure. When approached by the trio of Findan, Godric and Zehir, he archly said, "I accept your surrender". When Findan and Godric ran to finish him off with swords, Markal only laughed, believing that he would be later revived as a lich. Zehir's fireball, which incinerated his body, ended these hopes — along with Markal's life.
[edit] Behind the scenes
Markal's internal development name was Berein.
[edit] Trivia
Markal's dead skull can be found as a magic item in Hammers of fate expansion set.
Markal is also back in the upcoming DS prequel, Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes.
[edit] Appearances
- Heroes of Might and Magic V
- Heroes of Might and Magic V: Hammers of Fate
- Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes
| Heroes of Might and Magic V characters |
|---|
| Campaign protagonists |
| Isabel · Raelag · Markal · Findan · Zehir |
| HoF campaign protagonists |
| Freyda · Wulfstan · Ylaya |
| TotE campaign protagonists |
| Quroq · Arantir · Gotai · Zehir |
| Antagonists |
| Alaric · Biara · Cyrus · Erasial · Hangvul · Kha-Beleth · King Tolghar · Laszlo · Nicolai · Rolf · Veyer |
| Supporting campaign characters |
| Andrei · Anwen · Alaron · Beatrice · Duncan · Gilraen · Godric · Kujin · Kunyak · Lord Caldwell · Lord Giovanni · Ornella · Sareth · Tieru |
