Malum

"Malum was the most dangerous kind of warrior – one who did not fear death, for it would seem a comfort compared to the life he lived now."

- Tuma's thoughts, Empire of the Skrall

Malum was an extremely powerful, hot-tempered Glatorian. Originally serving as the Fire Tribe's Secondary Glatorian, he was later exiled to the Wastelands as punishment for committing crimes in the arena.

Core War
Nothing is known of Malum's history prior to the Ice Tribe's discovery of a spring of Energized Protodermis, which sparked the world-wide conflict known as the Core War.

During the war, Malum served faithfully under the Element Lord of Fire, and was granted command of a small military unit of his own. Near the end of the war, this unit managed to capture the Energized Protodermis spring, although they were later forced to retreat.

Mere hours before The Shattering, Malum was approached by two Agori, Raanu and Kyry, who attempted to warn him of the impending danger. Malum refused to believe the warning, insisting that the Fire Tribe was in the process of winning the war. The Shattering did occur, however, and Malum was stranded on the largest fragment of the planet, Bara Magna.

Bara Magna
Malum later obtained a position as the Fire Tribe's Secondary Glatorian after Perditus relinquished the role. Malum quickly gained a reputation in the arena as a harsh and brutal warrior; but as he never directly broke any rules, his ways were tolerated.

During an arena match with Vastus, Malum overwhelmed the Jungle Tribe Glatorian by force of strength, and was about to continue assaulting him when Strakk, the Primary Glatorian of the Ice Tribe, intervened. Ackar later warned Malum about his attitude, though Malum rebuffed his lecture and threatened the Primary Glatorian. The two then spotted several Vorox, and Malum expressed his disdain for the creatures.

Malum continued his violent arena ways, despite a warning from Raanu that other villages would refuse his tribe's challenges if Malum was made Prime Glatorian.

Exile
Several months after Raanu's warning, Malum battled the Ice Glatorian Strakk in the arena. Driven to fury by Strakk's dirty tactics, Malum overwhelmed and prepared to kill the Ice Glatorian, but was prevented from doing so by the quick intervention of Gresh. Due to his violations of the arena code of conduct, Malum was banished from Vulcanus and began wandering the Bara Magna wastelands, challenging any Glatorian he chanced upon for his own gain.

Against all expectations, Malum survived, and eventually encountered a pack of Vorox. He challenged the alpha male for pack dominance, and managed to defeat the Vorox by faking defeat, then attacking when the being's back was turned. The pack willingly accepted Malum as their new leader, and the next day, he sought out and killed the former pack leader.

During his time as an exile, Malum frequently encountered Bone Hunters. The raiders stole from him and his pack whenever possible, and Malum nursed a deep grudge towards them.

Several months before the beginning of the Skrall War, Malum and a group of his Vorox staged an unsuccessful attack on Berix and three other Glatorian: Gresh, Strakk, and Tarix.

Malum was later approached by the Hero Agori, who was assisting Raanu after Vulcanus began experiencing daily raids by the Bone Hunters. Malum refused to personally help the village, but promised to come up with a solution if the Agori gave him some Thornax ammunition. Receiving it, he reluctantly made good on his deal by telling the Agori to make a stew from the Thornax to feed to the Zesk, and then inform the primitive Agori that the Bone Hunters had more of it. Malum suspected that the Zesk would persuade the Vorox to raid the Hunters' camps to look for more, thus temporarily relieving Vulcanus of its problems. He subsequently traded with the Agori, receiving Thornax fruit in return for the Rock Saltneededto make the stew. In the aftermath of a failed attack on a party of Skrall, Malum was captured and taken to Roxtus. Tuma informed Malum that he desired the Vorox as allies, and thus needed Malum's help in gaining their trust. Malum was then forced into an arena along with several Vorox. Although greatly enraged at the torment they had suffered at the hands of the Skrall, Malum managed to calm the Sand Tribe warriors, and deceived one of the Skrall warriors into attempting the same. The Vorox attacked and killed the Skrall when he tried the same trick, granting Malum and the Vorox adequate time to escape.

While Gresh was practicing the night before the Great Tournament and the Fall of Atero, Malum, accompanied by several of his pack, approached the Jungle Glatorian and warned him of an impending 'storm'. He did not elaborate further, however, and retreated back into the desert.

Sometime after the beginning of the Skrall War, Ackar and Gelu learned that Bone Hunters planned to raid Vulcanus and tried to persuade Malum to defend his former home. Malum refused to do so, until Ackar reminded him that if the Hunters were capable of wiping out Vulcanus, they were certainly capable of wiping out Malum's pack. The three Glatorian then used the Vorox to attack the Hunters' camp, which was somewhat successful.

Personality and Traits
Malum's most obvious personality aspect was his violent, easily-aroused temper, as well as a manifest lack of honor. He did, however, have a certain amount of respect for Ackar, his trainer, and was known to be extremely protective of his Vorox pack members. This suggests that he was, perhaps, not quite as unfeeling and brutal as legend implied, although he undoubtedly possessed little empathy for his former tribesmen.

After gaining the dominant position in his Vorox pack, Malum eventually learned to understand and speak the language of the Sand Tribe, which consisted predominately of whistles and hand gestures.

Malum is known to have possessed great physical strength, rivaling that of the Skrall.

Powers and Equipment
Like most Glatorian, Malum possessed no special powers, elemental or otherwise.

During his time as a Secondary Glatorian, he is known to have favored a sword for use in arena battles. After his exile, he began utilizing a pair of Flame Claws as his primary choice of weapon, along with a shoulder-mounted Thornax Launcher.

Quotes
"The desert is a place of extremes. Blazing heat, chilling cold, fierce loyalty...and deep hatred. The Skrall won’t forget this day...and to their bitter regret, neither will I."

- Malum's thoughts, Empire of the Skrall

"You are the trash of the desert, and I am the one who will celebrate at your grave."

- Malum to Tuma, Empire of the Skrall

"Civilized society has no place for me. I will let you leave with your life... if you leave now."

- Malum, BIONICLE.com

"What brings you to my... empire? If you are seeking hospitality, I have none to offer. Food? Water? Whatever I have goes to my people."

- Malum, BIONICLE: Raid on Vulcanus

"I care nothing about Vulcanus. Let it burn. But I would see the Bone Hunters burn first."

- Malum, BIONICLE: Raid on Vulcanus

Set Information
Malum, set number 8979, was released in early 2009 as one of six Glatorian canister sets. The set consisted of a total of 59 pieces, including a rotating "life counter" piece on his back which is meant to indicate Malum's health in the BIONICLE Action Figure Game.

Instructions for the Sand Stalker, a combiner model of the Fero & Skirmix and Malum sets, were released in the March-April 2009 issue of LEGO Brickmaster magazine.

Trivia

 * Although Malum does not appear in BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn, the form that the Scarabax swarm took on greatly resembled him. This may, however, be purely coincidental.
 * Malum is Greg Farshtey's favorite 2009 character, to date.
 * Interestingly, "Malum" is the Latin word for "Evil" (mălum; with a long "a" vowel), however, it can also translate into "Apple" (mālum; with a short "a" vowel).

Appearances

 * Agori Defender (Non-canonical Appearance)
 * BIONICLE: Raid on Vulcanus
 * Comic 1: Sands of Bara Magna
 * Comic 2: The Fall of Atero
 * Decadence
 * Empire of the Skrall
 * Glatorian Arena (Non-canonical Appearance)
 * Glatorian Arena 3 (Non-canonical Appearance)
 * Mata Nui's Guide to Bara Magna