Who they are
Malzahar is a prophet of the Void who opens new rifts across Shurima.
Their story belongs to The Void and also touches Shurima. A realm of nothingness that wants to unmake the world.
Their story, step by step
- Step 1
A street seer
Malzahar was born in the Shuriman city of Amakra to parents who sold trinkets and died of a wasting illness. As an orphan he lived by telling fortunes, and his predictions were remarkably accurate. Wealthy patrons sought him out, but he grew troubled by the suffering and violence his prophecy could not prevent.
- Step 2
Into the wastes
Disillusioned, he gave up his possessions and wandered the Shuriman desert. There he suffered feverish visions and heard strange whispers of war and endless suffering. The voices drew him toward something beyond human understanding.
- Step 3
Icathia and the Void
He came to the ruins of Icathia and looked into an abyss, opening his mind for answers. The Void answered, flooding him with its strange energies. He gained a hole in his head that pulses with void power, control of void forces and visions of Runeterra's destruction.
- Step 4
The Prophet
The Void Empress Bel'Veth whispered to him that his purpose was to hurry the world toward its end. He took this as the meaning of his prophecy and founded the Cult of the Void among desert tribes. Using voidlings and earthquakes, he spread fear, and word of the Prophet traveled north.
Turning points
- Gave up fortune-telling and wandered the desert
- Opened his mind to the Void at Icathia
- Accepted his calling from Bel'Veth
- Founded the Cult of the Void
Where their story stands now
Malzahar leads the Cult of the Void, gathering followers and demanding sacrifices for Bel'Veth. Settlements offer livestock to keep his creatures away. Riot's lore leaves open how far Bel'Veth controls him and whether he is aware of Azir's return.
Who they are tied to
Where this fits in the story
- The Void · step 1
What the Void is
The Void lies beyond reality. Its masters, the Watchers, had no form or self-awareness at first and want to unmake Runeterra.
- The Void · step 2
The Freljord
The Watchers turned humans in the Freljord into immortal Iceborn. Avarosa led a rebellion, and her sister Lissandra entombed the Watchers in True Ice beneath the Howling Abyss. Some escaped, and those trapped made the first Voidborn.
- The Void · step 3
Icathia
Around 2500 BN the Icathians rebelled against Shurima, dug up a mysterious weapon and opened a huge rift. It destroyed their civilization and released countless Voidborn. The Rupture is still there.
- The Void · step 4
Today
Nine runic seals slowly weaken, and Voidborn keep appearing. Some champions hunt them while others, like Malzahar, serve the Void or open new rifts.