Ma'lash

Ma'lash was a Tal'darim highlord. Brutal, dangerous and unyielding, he was said to be favored by Amon himself, even being called the "Blade of Amon".

He wore a red mask and was considered the most powerful of the Tal'darim.

Biography
"The Highlord of the Tal'darim, a fanatical faction of the protoss that worships the dark god Amon. Ma'lash fought his way through their society slaughtering all who stood in his way. He is cold, calculating, and incredibly intimidating."

- Character description

According to Alarak, Ma'lash was a powerful warrior that rose through the Chain of Ascension with brutal wrath, taking sadistic pleasure in slowly killing his countless opponents in Rak'shir duels. It is stated that Ma'lash revels in bringing his opponents to the edge of death and tormenting them some time after. It was believed that his power and skill was so great that some came to believe he was blessed by the Dark God, Amon, himself. As a result, he gained the name, the "Blade of Amon".

Ascension
According to First Ascendant Nuroka, Ma'lash learned of Amon's true plans to wipe out all of the xel'naga's creations, including the Tal'darim. This convinced Nuroka that Ma'lash is a traitor to his people.

Nuroka told this to Fourth Ascendant Alarak, intending to gain his support in a Rak'Shir duel against Ma'lash. However, Alarak refused to grant support.

During the duel, Ma'lash was supported by Second Ascendant Guraj and opposed by Third Ascendant Zenish. Alarak was present, but did not declare for either side, a breach of custom. During the duel, Alarak attacked Guraj, appearing to support Nuroka, and after killing her combined his powers with Nuroka to put force Ma'lash toward the fatal pit. Nuroka revealed that he knew Amon's plans, and that Ma'lash knew this as well. Alarak then declared for Ma'lash, granting his power to Ma'lash to defeat Nuroka. Ma'lash took many hours to destroy Nuroka's mind and body before throwing him into the pit.

Ma'lash now worried because Alarak, who would be promoted to First Ascendant, was clever and could know too much. He asked if Nuroka had shaken his faith in Amon, but Alarak said no. Ma'lash said he knew Alarak's true power, and Ma'lash could defeat him one on one. In the meantime, instead of killing Alarak, he gave him his new duties.

Whispers of Oblivion
"You're finally cornered Nerazim."

- Ma'lash taunting Zeratul Ma'lash led the Tal'darim out of an ancient xel'naga temple in the Atrias system, where Amon had been reborn. When Zeratul and Talis came to the planet to investigate Amon's return, Ma'lash ordered his warriors to seal the temple entrance and defend it from them or face his wrath.

Talis' forces destroyed the temple entrance, and Zeratul led an infiltration of the temple. Ma'lash ordered his forces to bar the entryway and stall them while he conjured Amon. Amon manifested before Ma'lash from a Void catalyst, and Ma'lash informed him of Zeratul's arrival. Amon ordered Ma'lash to ready his forces for war and wait for further instruction. Zeratul and his allies fought to the void conduit as Ma'lash continued to taunt them, but when they reached the conduit, Ma'lash warped out and escaped.

Rak'Shir
"Our master has already won, Alarak. You will lead our people to their doom. You are right about one thing, Ma'lash. I will lead them."

- Ma'lash and Alarak in their Rak'shir duel's final moment

When Alarak and Artanis' forces came to the surface of Slayn, Ma'lash was guarded by ascendants and even Amon's forces. After the guardians' death's, Alarak then proceeded to the temple of the highlord and challenged Ma'lash for a Rak'Shir duel. Accepting the challenge and meeting at daybreak, the Rak'Shir duel occured and both Tal'Darim seemed to be equal in power. However, Alarak asked Artanis to assist him, while Ma'lash summoned several hybrids along with loyal Tal'darim. Eventually, despite the Hybrids aid, Ma'lash turned to be on the edge of a pit on his end, taunting Alarak before being cast down to the fiery abyss, leaving Alarak to be named Highlord of the Tal'darim.

Game Unit
Ma'lash uses a unique model of a highly modified ascendant, scaled up and given a higher polygon count.

Ma'lash first appears in "Evil Awoken," but he cannot be selected. In "Rak'Shir, he is engaged in a duel with Alarak and cannot attack or be attacked by the player's main forces. Because it was not intended to be used outside of this one mission, Ma'lash's unit has incomplete buttons and tooltips to use his various special attacks from the duel, and he has no normal movement animation.