Malcador the Sigillite is one of the most enigmatic characters in all of Warhammer, an ever-present figure in the councils of Terra throughout the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy with a name that echoes through the millennia, yet he remains shrouded in mystery.
So who exactly was he, and how did he earn the moniker ‘Malcador the Hero’, granted by no less than the Emperor himself?
In the recent Age of Darkness cinematic trailer, Malcador is the wizened figure who speaks with Constantin Valdor upon the gilded walls of the Imperial Palace. He has the hallmarks of some vizier of legend, his staff like that of a wizard from the fairy tales of Old Earth. The truth is, both of those things are close to the truth.
Malcador’s origins are shrouded in mystery. What is known is that many centuries before the Unification Wars in which the Emperor rose to absolute power on Terra, Malcador had been a member of a secretive order known as the Sigillites. For reasons that remain unclear, he volunteered his services to the Emperor and brought with him the secrets, mysteries and arcane technologies of his order. Was this an act of betrayal? If it was, it gave way to a new, unflinching loyalty to the Emperor of Mankind.
Malcador became the Emperor’s most trusted advisor: adviser, chamberlain and master of the Imperium’s daily governance. He dealt with logistics and administration to free the Emperor for more esoteric duties. It’s hard to overstate what an impact Malcador had on the nascent Imperium, not only at the time but in the millennia that have followed.
Malcador was a stalwart presence throughout the Unification Wars and later the Heresy, counselling the Emperor, Valdor and the Primarchs, and conducting the secret war for the Imperium’s soul via his hand-picked agents – the Knights Errant and later the secret police that would become the Inquisition.*
Malcador’s greatest act, however, and the one that earns him his epithet ‘the Hero’, was also how he met his doom.
Massive spoilers ahead
At the end of the Heresy, when the Siege of Terra was at its most dire, the only remaining hope for the Emperor and mankind was to take the battle to Horus aboard his flagship, the Vengeful Spirit. Someone had to sit on the Golden Throne and keep the powers of the Warp at bay. With Magnus fully committed to the traitor cause, only one psyker in the Imperium (perhaps the whole galaxy) was capable of this act. Malcador stepped forward.
Taking up the chair, Malcador used his immense psychic power for just long enough for the Emperor, Rogal Dorn, Sanguinius and Constantin Valdor to confront the arch-traitor in orbit above Terra. The act cost Malcador his life, but in a way saved humanity.
What’s awesome about seeing Malcador portrayed in the cinematic in this way is that he’s such an integral character behind the scenes of the Age of Darkness, and yet rarely portrayed. To see him standing on the walls of the Imperial Palace, his iconic staff perpetually belching nuclear fire, robes woven with arcane sigils, really brings his character to life.
Check back tomorrow for an investigation of the rules of the new edition of Warhammer: The Horus Heresy – Age of Darkness. We’ll be looking at weapon stats and how they work.
* We gradually see the Inquisition take shape throughout the Horus Heresy novel series. It starts with inquisitive individuals recruited to carry out certain special tasks, but by the end Malcador has solidified it into something more formal. He was also instrumental in the founding of the Grey Knights, but that’s a subject for another day.
