Malenia The Severed's History
Malenia, Blade of Miquella, later known as Malenia, Goddess of Rot, is an optional remembrance boss in Elden Ring. She is a Demigod Shardbearer who is encountered in Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree.
Early Life: Malenia was one of the twin children born to Queen Marika the Eternal and her second Elden Lord, Radagon. As Empyreans, both Malenia and her elder twin brother, Miquella,were candidates to ascend as gods of a new age. However, due to the nature of their parentage, the twins were afflicted with dreadful curses. Miquella was doomed with eternal nascency, while Malenia's body was ravaged by the scarlet rot.
The scarlet rot plagued Malenia from within, gradually consuming her and leaving her disfigured. Over time, she lost her eyes and several limbs to the rot. Despite her suffering, Malenia fought valiantly to suppress the rot’s influence, refusing to succumb to its ruinous nature.[citation needed]
Miquella worked tirelessly to undo the curses they had both inherited. While unable to find a cure for his sister within the Golden Order, Miquella designed a needle of unalloyed gold to keep the rot at bay. He also crafted the prostheses that enabled her to continue fighting.[verification needed]
At some point, Malenia encountered the legendary blind swordsman of the Flowing Curved Sword, who had long ago sealed away an Outer God of Rot. The swordsman became her master, enabling her to gain wings of unparalleled strength. Malenia eventually became a peerless warrior and her brother's sworn blade and protector.
The Shattering: After the Elden Ring was shattered, Malenia claimed a shard of the fractured Elden Ring.She would attract loyal servants like her Cleanrot Knights, who vowed to fight next to her, despite the inevitable gradual putrefaction of their flesh.
During the Shattering, Malenia led an army that marched south from the Haligtree down the Bellum Highway. She won many battles against the other Demigods, even humbling fellow shardbearer, Godrick the Grafted, who groveled at her feet for mercy after first insulting her and then suffering defeat.
Battle of Aeonia: Malenia and her half-brother Radahn would eventually be the last two demigods left standing in the conflict. Their forces clashed in the Caelid Wilds, and the two fought the Battle of Aeonia, a bitter duel to fulfill an unhonored vow.[12] In the midst of the combat with Radahn, Malenia unleashes Scarlet Rot, resulting in her first bloom.
The unleashed scarlet rot devastated Caelid, leaving it a rotting wasteland, and created the Swamp of Aeonia. The rot caused Radahn to rapidly degenerate, losing his wits and cursing him to wander the battlefield as a mindless beast, feasting on the bodies of friend and foe alike. Malenia herself was not unaffected and was left in a coma. She was rescued by one of her Cleanrot Knights, Finlay, who carried her halfway across the Lands Between.
When she had blossomed in Caelid, Malenia inadvertently brought forth the Scarlet Butterflies and Kindred of Rot. The pests, including Sage Gowry, 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. When Malenia and Finlay took refuge at the Shaded Castle, Maleigh Marais, the sickly-born head of House Marais, was naturally drawn to the unconscious Demigod. However, Malenia would reject her fate and disowned the Servants of Rot.
Finlay eventually brought Malenia to the Haligtree. Miquella had encased himself within the Haligtree in an effort to reverse his curse.[citation needed] However, either during Malenia's absence or during her slumber, Miquella was ripped from the womb of the tree and taken away by Mohg, Lord of Blood before he could emerge from his cocoon. Malenia dreamt while awaiting Miquella's return, and the scarlet rot seeped out from her and began infecting the Haligtree.
Malenia's slumber is eventually disturbed by a Tarnished, who found their way to the roots of the Haligtree. The two fight and Malenia finally meets her match, but she suffers her first true defeat. However, in the end, Malenia succumbs to the Scarlet Rot and blossoms yet again, reborn as a nascent goddess. She unleashes her full fury against the invader, but falls short yet again, her dying words an apology to her vanished brother. Having bloomed twice, Malenia withdraws within her scarlet blossom. Her third blossom will surely make her a true goddess.