Editing Malyk

{{Infobox Deity
|Name = Malyk
|Symbol = Multihued Vortex or a Flame in a Tear
|Aliases = The Dark Mage
|Alignment = Chaotic Evil
|Divine Rank = Demigod
|Pantheon = [[Dark Seldarine]]
|Portfolio = '''AD&D:''' Wild Magic, Evil Magic, Rebellion <br> '''5E:''' Chaos, Rebellion, Wild Magic
|Domains = '''5E:''' Tempest, Trickery
|Home Plane = [[Pandemonium]]
|Worshippers = [[Wild Mage]]s usually of the [[Drow]], [[Derro]] and [[Alhoon]] races
|Favoured Weapon = Dagger
}}
'''Malyk''' is an obscure lesser deity of the Dark [[Seldarine]], the [[elf]] sub-pantheon relating to the [[Drow]]. Patron of drow anarchists and [[Wild Mage]]s, this obscure deity first materialized in the pages of [[Polyhedron Magazine]] #116, although he was also mentioned in several [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]] [[splatbook]]s: [[Drizzt]] Do'Urden's Guide to the [[Underdark]], [[Volo]]'s Guide to All Things Magical, and the Menzoberranzan boxed set. He made a surprise return after decades of having been forgotten in the pages of the [[Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition]] splatbook, [[Mordenkainen]]'s Tome of Foes.

==AD&D==
In AD&D lore, Malyk was a [[drow]] [[lich]] who, towards the end of the [[Time of Troubles]], attempted to ascend to godhood by using the power of a mighty zone of wild magic in the depths of the [[Underdark]]. Although successful in stealing a fragment of [[Mystra]]'s portfolio, he didn't get long to enjoy it; [[Tempus]] descended to the Underdark and destroyed the less-experienced deity, hoping to take the portfolio of wild magic for himself. Instead, [[Ao]] intervened and gave it to [[Talos]]... for some reason.

Now an aspect of Talos, Malyk began appealing to the restless and rebellious members of drow society... which, understandably, are pretty common. Instead of investing his power in them to grant them full [[Cleric]] status, he instead encouraged them to study the art of the [[Wild Mage]], rewarding their worship with the ability to cast certain cleric spells alongside their [[wizard]] spells. Through this activity, he began appealing to other rebellious souls amongst the Underdark races, predominantly [[derro]] and [[alhoon]]s.

It goes without saying that Malyk's budding cult did not get on well with the church of [[Lolth]], although Malyk faded into obscurity before anything more official than that was said.

==5e==
When Malyk made his surprise return in 5th edition, he lost the convoluted backstory and the status of being an aspect of [[Talos]]. Instead, he is a full-fledged [[Drow]] deity, and is in fact one of the two [[drow]] gods of arcane [[magic]]. Unlike [[Zinzerena]], who is often portrayed as his sister, or lover, or both, Malyk is associated with the raw, chaotic aspect of magic, making him the patron god of [[Sorcerer (Dungeons & Dragons)|Sorcerers]], especially those of the [[Wild Mage]] origin.

For this reason, unlike [[Zinzerena]], Malyk's chuch is officially outlawed in [[drow]] society. [[Sorcerer (Dungeons & Dragons)|Sorcerers]], who appear at random and develop their power through individual drive rather than subordination to [[Lolth]] or easily-restricted study at the [[wizard]]ly academies, are a threat to the repressive social web that holds [[drow]] society together in its [[Lolth]]-ordained form. As such, all [[Sorcerer (Dungeons & Dragons)|sorcerers]], whether they worship Malyk or not, are outcasts, and being one is punishable by death. Which ironically is why they tend to be rebellious because, hey, when the [[Cleric|priestesses]] come for your head, trying to blast your way out and escape is a perfectly rational response!

Malyk's cult is, obviously, rather unstructured, and usually takes the form of either subversive [[drow]] - males and low-status females alike - worshipping him for power whilst outwardly feigning devotion to [[Lolth]], or as anarchistic cells which help sorcerers strive to control their powers or escape. It's logical to presume he still has favor amongst the [[derro]], but this isn't gone into.

One surprising cock-up from WoTC is that, despite Malyk being strongly associated with arcane magic, he is ''not'' presented as having the Arcana domain in his writeup. This same issue plagues [[Zinzerena]] as well - in fact, [[Kiaransalee]] is the only drow deity with any arcane overtones to ''have'' the Arcana domain. One possible interpretation for this could be that the Tempest domain is meant to represent his dominion over the destructive powers of wild magic. Luckily, a reasonable DM will surely agree that a Malyk [[cleric]] should have the option of taking the Arcana domain.

{{D&D-Nonhuman-Deities}}

[[Category:Forgotten Realms]]