MalegTheDestructor

The Horrible, The Destructor, The Prophesied.— MalegTheDestructor's About Me

MalegTheDestructor, additionally known in the story as King Maleg the Horrible in the past and The Lost King of Iceland in the present is a popular modern myth renowned for his subversion of ancient mythologies and historical events and his use of dead languages for puzzles in his games. He is the ghost of an ancient king of Iceland who had been possessed by a malevolent demon of Mesopotamian origin, Barakagazuun, who had escaped his original imprisonment from Akkad centuries prior.

Biography

Demonic Origins

Once upon a time, in the once flourishing city of Akkad, an ancient force of evil known to the populace as “Barakagazuun, the Destructor; Dark Child of Anu” was sealed inside an underground chamber somewhere in a remote area of the land, yet close enough to the residence for people to remain wary. His father, Anu, Sky Father and King of the Gods of Mesopotamian mythology, had locked him inside this chamber for currently unknown reasons, and enlisted Utu, Mesopotamian God of the sun and justice, to guard the prison.

One day, after an undisclosed amount of time, an anonymous mortal managed to enter the tomb and free the Destructor who would then hide within the body of the mortal who liberated him, effectively possessing him. With this new-found freedom, he would search for Ra, the Head Deity of the Egyptian pantheon and God of the sun, in hopes of working together with him to overthrow his father as revenge as Ra desired Anu’s land for himself. Once both met, Barakagazuun managed to persuade Ra by promising he would share with him Anu’s only weakness if they became allies. For their plan to occur, Ra would lead Barakagazuun to the Duat, the Egyptian Underworld, where he would harvest souls to become a more powerful deity. During this journey, Inpu - also known as Anubis who, in this story, is a child of Ra, becomes Barakagazuun’s new guide through the Afterlife despite an initial distrust of Barakagazuun. With this, Ra left both deities to themselves.

Further details are a bit fuzzy, as this saga is not yet complete. However, it is assumed that Barakagazuun had become stronger due to his visit to the Duat. What happened next is unknown. What is known is that Barakagazuun, in some way, somehow, at some particular time, for some reason, managed to reach Iceland.

Lost King of Iceland

Sometime during the 11th century AD, a once healthy and renowned ruler by the name of Maleg reigned over Iceland with his wife, Queen Hallbera. He would rule benevolently while he was alive until the fateful day when he would be cursed and known henceforth as “Maleg the Horrible”. One unassuming day, the king would suffer from an unknown ailment which made him considerably weaker and turned his skin green. He would puke all around his home and his wife had to carry him to bed. Soon enough, the truth of his peculiar sickness would be revealed when he was seen devouring the corpses of his subjects. His teeth had turned into fangs and he could sever limbs effortlessly. The demon, Barakagazuun, had taken control of his body; the more soldiers that were sent his way, the more his kingdom would turn into a bloodbath.

Eventually, forces managed to restrain him for a short while. The elites of the Icelandic Commonwealth would come to assume that Maleg’s predicament was purely demonic, and an exorcism was performed, to little success. With outright killing him being out of the question, likely due to him being too strong, a tomb was made on a little isle, north of modern-day Reykjavík, where the monarch’s decaying body would lay inside a stone coffin for however long they could trap him. The majority of the kingdom would believe that he was dead; however, the Althing - the Parliament that had been made during Iceland’s Commonwealth era - knew that inside his tomb was a beast that was trying to claw and growl its way out. His wife, however, would not be informed of Maleg’s true status, and would thus mourn his “death”.

Queen Hallbera would come to give birth to an heir - a baby boy, doomed by fate to never become king. The Althing would deem him a “spawn of Loki” and attempt to forbid him from becoming King of Iceland. The Queen, however, would stand her ground and maintain his hereditary right. This action would make the Althing take more drastic measures by committing a Damnatio memoriae on Maleg: his entire life and short-lived reign would be erased from all historical records; his treasury would be thrown into the ocean, roaming the vast waving tides forever; his house would be burned down to a crisp, with Queen Hallbera and her child still inside. To the Council’s dismay, however, Hallbera would escape from her fiery prison, leading to the formation of a search party. Queen Hallbera’s fate is currently unknown.

Maleg’s body would lay dormant inside his tomb for years. As a safety precaution, guards were sent onto the island his tomb resided on to make sure that nobody either came in to steal his valuables or that the Destructor would escape from his prison. This mandate would last past Iceland’s conversion to Christianity, which meant guards were assigned additional crucifixes to protect them from evil spirits. It wouldn’t be until the year 1159 that his body would awaken from his long slumber. The tomb would finally open and, amidst the chaos, at least two lives were taken. The remaining two guards, one of them a new recruit, would defend themselves to the best of their abilities from the monster. Climactically, the newbie would manage to get ahold of the beast while the other guard would weaken him with his crucifix. His limbs would be severed from his corpse, and the decaying remains of Maleg the Horrible would finally be laid to rest. On this day, the Destructor would finally die.

Present Day

To this day, Maleg’s memory is simply the fruit of a legend, treated like nothing more than a folktale all the way to modern times. Iceland would develop without ever knowing the horrifying monarch that once ruled their land, the only evidence of his existence being his tomb. As such, he would become the “Lost King of Iceland”.

An excavation would begin on the ruins of Maleg’s tomb, in which the British took a very peculiar interest, constructing the century-old dock the game spawns the player on. Any efforts to continue the excavation would abruptly stop, however, and entry to the island would be prohibited. Soon after, rumors of ghost sightings around the island his tomb resides in would pop up; teenagers claiming to have witnessed spirits when they visited and the mysterious appearance of fireflies on the isle, found nowhere else in the country. One unsuspecting night, under a full bright blood moon, the Destructor’s spirit would rise from his tomb, intangible and oblivious to the world, yet observable and curious about the developments that had passed by him during his slumber. To this day, it is said the spirit of King Maleg the Horrible roams the ruins of his memorial, linked to his only remaining possessions and searching for a new vessel to inhabit.

History

MalegTheDestructor’s account was created on the 9th of October, 2022, and his game, “Ruin.”, was published on the same day. A day later, Maleg would create a discord account and would end up joining the RMH Myth Development server on the 11th. From here, he would start to advertise himself on the server and showcase a few teasers of what was to come from his game. He would quickly grow in fame as soon as he began since a hunt on the myth would be hosted in the Robloxian Myth Hunters by user Sjurtz just two days after its creation. Since then, Maleg has grown more popular throughout the community due to his increasing roster of games and consistent, active, and enjoyable character interactions.

On the 12th of October, Maleg would begin to create the 1st saga’s games. This included “The Horrible.”, created and published on the 12th, “Control.”, created on the 16th and published on the 18th, and “Exorcism.” which was created and published on the 20th. After the creation of Exorcism, Maleg took a small break from developing the first saga by instead creating the game “Origins.” which was created and published on the 24th. This would be the beginning of the 2nd saga of games. However, the later games of the 2nd saga would not be created until Maleg had finished every game from the 1st saga.

After creating and releasing Origins, Maleg would continue to create the 1st saga’s games. This list included “Entombed.”, created and published on the 3rd of November, “Hallbera.”, created and published on the 4th of December, and “Condemnation of Memory.” which was created and published on the 24th of January, 2023. This would mark the completion of the 1st saga’s games and would allow Maleg to begin developing his 2nd saga’s games again. Before beginning his development of the 2nd saga, he created an additional game called “Northern Coast of Reykjavík.” which was created on the 27th of January. This game serves as an extension to Ruin and is primarily used to give the hunters additional information on topics pertaining to Maleg and his games along with some world-building of the game. Maleg also had an interview with the First Robloxian Researchers myth hunting group on the 11th of February where he answered a variety of questions posed by the FRR team.

On the 15th of February, Maleg finally continued with the 2nd saga of his game. The new places were “Imprisonment.”, created on the 15th, and “Solar Temple.”, created and published on the 20th. Although the Solar Temple takes place in a different area entirely, it is still considered to be a part of the 2nd saga. On the 21st of February, Maleg updated a few of the places involved in the 1st saga with visual updates. These included “Ruin.” and “Control.” where the atmosphere was enhanced somewhat with the addition of better lighting. On the 4th of March, Maleg would create his current final game, “The Duat.”, which was publicized on the same day. This serves as the current final game of the 2nd saga. It is unknown whether more is to come but the conclusion of the game would suggest that it is a possibility. On the 18th of July, Maleg was assessed by the Robloxian Myth Hunter’s myth committee and was granted the rank of Popular Myth, the penultimate rank from the top of the Robloxian Myth Hunter’s myth ranks.

Appearance

MalegTheDestructor often wears black chainmail Viking armor, consisting of leggings, leather boots, a cuirass, a pair of leather gloves, and a Gjermundbu helmet. On occasion, he takes off his armor and puts on his normal clothes - a set of vivid purple garments. Additionally, he sports a dark gray skin tone, a disturbing zombie face, a black festive beard, a black fur cape that also covers both his left and right shoulder, and a necklace with his name written in runes. He also appears to be wounded, judging by the scratch mark on his left eye and the blood running down his face. Before Maleg’s modern outfit, his avatar was pretty simplistic, with a gray head and arms, brown legs, and a green torso, along with a t-shirt that said “Maleg” in Nordic runes.

Personality and Traits

When in-game, Maleg is usually calm and curious. He does not know the outside world apart from what visitors of the island inform him of and, thus, he typically takes an interest when people explain modern concepts to him. He also has a habit of using some incorrect English, likely due to his Icelandic origins, his time of birth, and, possibly, the limited time he has had to learn whilst overhearing conversations. He usually declines ever having died to the majority of visitors, claiming that he is still alive and well and that he does not know who is buried in his tomb.

Maleg's live character is starkly contrasted by his in-game character, after the possession at least, who is shown to be savage and feral, more akin to the likes of a wild animal. This change also made him far stronger than the average person, easily being able to rip two guardsmen apart with just his hands. The difference between the two characters could be explained by the time that has passed since Maleg was first titled "The Horrible.", considering he had nearly a millennium to regain his social composure. It is also possible that, upon death, his curse leading to his ferocity simply dissipated, leaving his spirit to act more civilized.

On other platforms, Maleg acts much the same. Despite this, he now also has access to images and thus he tends to show the people he interacts with things such as teasers or arbitrary pictures relating to him in some way. A few examples of arbitrary pictures he sent were a portrait of him in his rotting state and another where he met Emperor Constantine IX Monomachos.

On occasion, when Maleg is playing “Ruin.”, he can be seen not as himself but as the demon Barakagazuun, similar to how he is depicted in “Origins.”. In this state, he usually creeps around the Ruins and watches the player from a distance, only appearing in places that are dark and teleporting away if either a player agitates him or lights his proximity. It is possible to approach him in a manner that doesn’t scare him away, which allows him to converse with the player in an intimidating tone and answer whatever questions the players ask, of his choice.

Game

Ruin

This section has not been written in the source archive.

Theories

• Barakagazuun is the demon that possesses Maleg.
  • This segment only exists simply to clear any confusion in the biography, since there’s no direct mention of that fact within the myth and there are some people who seem to be confused on the matter. The main piece of evidence that does not spoil any contents of the game is the fact that the eyes of the demon that haunt Maleg in the first saga, seen in “Control” and sometimes when MalegTheDestructor is in Ruins, as well as Maleg’s eyes when he’s possessed, seen in ”The Horrible”, “Exorcism”, and “Entombed”, are the same eyes that can be seen in “Origins” once the player opens up the chamber Barakagazuun resides in.
  • Another piece of evidence would be how both characters are referred to as Destructors, Maleg mainly after he gets possessed, hence linking the two.
• Maleg was the first-ever king of Iceland.
  • In our reality, between the 10th and 13th centuries, Iceland would be ruled by a parliament called the Althing, where Goðar - leaders/ chieftains of areas in Iceland - would meet in Þingvellir to discuss amendments to the law. There would never be any form of king in Iceland until 1262 when Norway took control of the country.
  • However, this is contradictory to what we see in the myth, as, according to the library on the “Northern Coast of Reykjavík”, Maleg would have supposedly ruled during the 10th century, long before any kings were to have ruled. Ergo, it’s possible that he was the first and only king of Iceland during its Commonwealth era before becoming possessed by Barakagazuun, leading to his Damnatio memoriae and the Althing becoming the central government in Iceland at this time.

• Maleg is dead and the character we interact with throughout the myth is Barakagazuun.
  • In the library on the “Northern Coast of Reykjavík”, one of the books from the fiction genre detail the trope of “Demonic Possession”, which describes how a demon, when they possess a human body, tends to not pursue the basic necessities that may keep its host alive, such as eating and sleeping, killing them while they’re still possessing the body, like with what happened in the example presented in the same text.
  • “Control” seems to be a symbolic representation of Maleg’s fight for control over his own body, ending in him losing as Barakagazuun tells him that, in the end, “Thou art dead.”
  • Taking both of these pieces of evidence into account, it is highly likely that the Maleg hunters have interacted with is not the actual King Maleg of Iceland that was possessed but rather the demon that possessed him in the first place.
    • As for why he still has memories of himself as a human, the academic book in the library on Demonology states that demons are capable of acquiring their memories - specifically stated to happen when they create apparitions of other human beings but may also occur when they possess a human body.
• Barakagazuun, in Maleg’s body, consumed the flesh of human beings to become stronger.
  • In “The Duat”, Ra claims that “Gods are made powerful with the souls of man. Belief and ritual give [them] a consistent flow of a portion of their souls.” This is implied to be the reason why he brought Barakagazuun to the Duat: to become a more powerful deity so that they could battle Anu.
  • In the Reykjavík library, there are also reports on food items that were made with blood as a key ingredient: Viking Blood Bread and Black Soup. In the case of Viking Blood Bread, it is said that the Vikings believed that consuming blood, human or animal, would give them more courage for battle.
  • Therefore, it is possible that the reason why Barakagazuun immediately mutilated and consumed human beings almost as soon as he had possessed the king was so that he could become more powerful, likely by somehow consuming their soul through their body.
    • The reason behind this is currently unknown though, since Mesopotamia would crumble centuries before the events of the Lost King saga take place, so it’s improbable that his motives are connected to taking revenge on his father.
• The books featured in the library in “Northern Coast of Reykjavík” foreshadow plot elements in the story of the myth and may predict those that have not been revealed yet.
  • The demonic nature of King Maleg’s ailment is described in the academic paper titled “Demonology”, which describes a demon’s tendency to trick and tempt people, the report on the fictional trope of “Demonic Possession”, and the twelfth - “Condemnation” chapter of an unknown fictional story, where the protagonist, Elizabeth, exorcises the demon Gazgok out of somebody she cares about by invoking its name and damning it to hell.
    • “Condemnation” also serves as an additional clue as to how one may obtain the “Condemned” badge in “Ruin.”
  • The historical reports on Viking Blood Bread and Black Soup also serve as a reference to Maleg’s consumption of other human beings and an explanation for such an act, since it is said that the Vikings believed consuming blood would make them more courageous.
  • There are more obvious pieces of evidence that further strengthen this theory, those being the historical reports on the Akkadian Empire, which is the setting of the Origins saga, and on the Lost King of Iceland, a title given to King Maleg in the present day.
  • This is where the last remaining books begin to stray from the story as we know it, such as the mentions of curing disease with the historical records on “Medieval cures for the Black Death” - a list of cures the medieval people believed would cure the Black Death - and “The Royal Touch” - the belief that the single touch of a king could cure all disease. The only remote ties to the story these books contain are the fact that prayer and care under a monastery could cure the black death, which connects to the fact that Maleg, who was originally believed to be sick, would undergo an exorcism (though with a significant lack of blood-sucking leeches and tied chickens), and the mentions of kings. This may imply that either these cures had been used on Maleg off-screen or that the Black Death and the Royal Touch - or something similar - may be a fundamental part of the story in a future saga.
    • It’s also possible that “The Royal Touch” was simply added as a form of irony on Maleg’s ailment since he, a king, had become sick during a time when it was believed that kings could cure diseases with a single poke.
  • This gets more interesting when we consider the book on Antarctica, which has not yet been mentioned at all in the myth. This implies that, if this theory were to hold, Antarctica would be a future setting in the story somehow.

    

• Fireflies are closely tied to Barakagazuun and his presence.
  • Every time we see Barakagazuun, he is always surrounded by bright floating orbs - which we know from the bartender in Reykjavík are meant to depict fireflies. They can be seen in “Control” and “Origins” floating around, places where we know Barakagazuun is present. He also utilizes them as a light source when we play as him in “Solar Temple.” and “The Duat.”, with the additional Enochian description of “Adpun”.
    • The Enochian text has not been translated yet, so the true significance of the fireflies has not yet been revealed. It’s important to note that this text can also be seen etched on the walls of Barakagazuun’s cell in “Origins.”
  • The bartender also informs the player that the Ruins of the tomb of King Maleg, a character closely tied to Barakagazuun due to getting possessed by him, is the only place in Iceland where fireflies are present, implying that Barakagazuun is still present around the Ruins.
    • This theory serves as further evidence that the character hunters interact with is, in fact, Barakagazuun, and not the real Maleg.
• The color red and its ties to Barakagazuun and destruction.
  • There’s a peculiar motif present in the myth with the color red and Barakagazuun, mainly with his connection to the Blood Moon. For one, it is prophesied on the stone tablet in Maleg’s tomb that “the devil will awaken on a red moon.” The mention of blood moons can also be verified in “Origins.” inside Barakagazuun’s cell written in Enochian.
    • Ancient civilizations often believed blood moons to be a bad omen of some kind, the Mesopotamians specifically linking such an event to death and/or the overthrow of a king. Modern fiction also depicts blood moons in a bad light, such as video games utilizing it to temporarily strengthen enemies, like in Terraria or Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
  • There are two other odd elements tied to Barakagazuun that are colored red: a flower next to the entrance to the entrance chamber to the cell in “Origins.” growing on a sand pile and Maleg’s name whenever he speaks in-chat in his games, as mentioned in the trivia.
    • The flower itself may either be a rose, a carnation, or a dahlia. The type of flower is likely irrelevant, though, as most interpretations of red flowers tend to represent love and passion. Whatever the purpose, the depiction of a flower out of anything else is still unexplained.
  • An argument can be made that the color red can also be tied to Barakagazun’s actions as well, since all he does as he possesses Maleg is mutilate and eat people, leaving a bloody mess behind. Therefore, we can assume that, in the myth, the color red is not only meant to tie with Barakagazuun but also represents destruction and violence. The blood moon, specifically, considering its established ties to disaster, serves as a warning for the impending catastrophe that will come once Barakagazuun reawakens.
• Leftovers of the past have been left in Maleg’s tomb for a reason.
  • Behind Maleg’s coffin, the player may find four vases, one of them broken, which allows the player to see the inside, presenting little grey bricks. These vases may very well be urns for the four guards that encountered Maleg when he escaped his coffin, placed there likely as a memorial to the people who had to deal with the demon. Rather than simply dust, the bricks may represent broken pieces of armor or loose bones. This theory is further strengthened by the fact that this pottery is not present in “Entombed.”, where Maleg’s
    • Despite only two of them dying that day, the possibility remains that, after passing away from an irrelevant cause, their remains were placed there anyway. That, or they did die close enough to that day off-screen, either because of Maleg or by execution from having witnessed such an event.
  • Another item present is a gold horseshoe-looking object thrown on the floor next to one of the columns along with five gold coins with Maleg’s name written. These objects once belonged to a treasure chest and the horseshoe is a handle belonging to one of the chests that held Maleg’s treasury and were thrown away at sea. We see the moment this handle is obtained in “Condemnation of Memory.” in the final scene, where the female guard is holding a very similar handle in her right hand.
    • This does serve as fuel for a theory that Queen Hallbera, after having escaped the house fire, disguised herself as a guard, and the reason she kept the handle was to keep a trinket/souvenir to honor her memory of Maleg; however, this theory becomes far less likely once you consider that the only thing she would have changed in her disguise was her hair and that anybody could have easily recognized her. Although, a counter-argument could be made that not that many people could recognize her face, as she was only a queen in the 11th century. Faces of monarchs, especially queens, would usually be exaggerated and romanticized. It is also important to note that the Earl was, in fact, not in the final scene of the game with the treasury thrown at sea. If this theory holds, then we may see more from the Hallbera arc in the future.
• Why was Barakagazuun sealed away in the first place?
  • We know from “Imprisonment.” that Anu had sealed away Barakagazuun for an unknown reason and that the demon already had his title of “Destructor” by the time he was imprisoned. It is clear that Barakagazuun, prior to the events of both “Imprisonment.” and “Origins.”, had caused some form of catastrophe.
  • Previous theories have already established ties to Barakagazuun from when he was originally sealed away and from when he possessed Maleg. Ergo, it’s safe to assume the reason for his original incarceration would be similar to why he was sealed inside a tomb, or, in other words, that Barakagazuun had massacred a lot of people somewhere in Mesopotamia, either having possessed another body or not, hence earning his title of “The Destructor”.
    • Another likely reason for his imprisonment would be because he was a Gallu - a strong devil from the underworld in Sumerian and Akkadian mythology that would drag unsuspecting victims to Erṣetu (the Mesopotamian Underworld). One of the inscribed Akkadian texts in Barakagazuun’s chambers - “𒅆𒌨” - does translate to “gallu”.
    • It is also evident that Barakagazuun was not responsible for the destruction of Akkad (or at least not yet) since we still see houses that are intact in the background of “Origins.”. We know that the game takes place in Akkad due to the intro text (𒀀𒂵𒉈𒆠 = Akkad) and the description of the game.
• On which island does Maleg’s tomb reside?
  • An exact location for Maleg’s tomb is never given to the hunter, only that it is somewhere north of Reykjavík. Knowing this, we have quite a few candidates as to where his tomb might be, since there are, in total, six islands north of Reykjavík, all part of Faxa Bay, that are not connected by bridge. Knowing the bare minimum, a list of any characteristics we should be looking for will be needed, including a dock. dense foliage including trees. and a lighthouse on one of the corners of the island.
  • There are no islands that perfectly match the island in “Ruin.”; However, out of the seven listed, three may serve as valid candidates:
    • Hólmar Nature Reserve, a small wooded isle situated northwest of Reykjavíks harbor. Being a nature reserve, it is very densely wooded, like in the games, so it makes for a good candidate, compared to the rest of the islands, which are mostly filled with dried-up grass and occasional shrubs. This island, however, does not seem to contain a lighthouse or a dock.
    • Engey, the second largest island in Faxa Bay, with a lighthouse on its northwest corner that was built in the 1900s. It misses out on the woods and the dock, but this seems to be the only island in this bay that has a lighthouse.
    • Viðey, the largest island in the bay that had been inhabited, once having a village and the house of Skuli Magnusson, “father of Iceland”. Other than the fact that it has a reason for such a tomb to exist, it does not meet any of the previous criteria and it is accessible to the public via ferry.
• Maleg picked up English from the British excavators who came to the Ruins.
  • According to the bartender in “North Coast of Reykjavík”, the dock the players spawn on in “Ruin.” was made a century prior to the events of the present for an excavation, in which the British had a peculiar interest.
  • Maleg is capable of interacting with hunters in English, albeit a slightly broken variety of it. Maleg was a king of Iceland, so he would have no business knowing how to speak modern English to any visitors. He would at least have to have known Anglo-Saxon or Anglo-Norman.
  • Connecting both points, we can thus assume that Maleg learned how to speak English by observing the British excavators who came to his tomb.
• Barakagazuun also suffered a damnatio memoriae.
  • Barakagazuun is not an entity that existed in the Mesopotamian mythos. The character was fabricated for the myth, but the point still stands that there’s a chance that he is also not mentioned on any records in the myth’s universe.
  • We already know that Barakagazuun’s original imprisonment and his entombment in Maleg’s body are pretty similar to each other. Therefore, it wouldn’t be too outlandish to conclude that Barakagazuun had also gone through a Damnatio memoriae due to his misdeeds in the Akkadian empire, and that is why his name is not mentioned in any Mesopotamian records.
• The importance of the Vegvísir and its alternate purpose.
  • The symbol etched on Maleg’s tomb and on top of his skeletal remains depicts a Vegvísir, a symbol that is said to help whoever carries it not get lost. This symbol was also present during Maleg’s exorcism. Considering how feral Maleg usually is, it seems this symbol was placed on him as a way to paralyze him, so that he may not only stay still during his exorcism but also be restrained when sealed inside his tomb.
  • The Vegvísir is meant to be a symbol intended to make sure its carrier doesn’t get lost while traveling the seas, hence people call it a “Viking Compass” (despite there being no records of such a symbol dating back to the Viking era). However, in this myth, the Vegvísir is used in a completely different context: restraining the possessed.
  • It’s also important to note that the Vegvísir isn’t commonly depicted with the circle in its center like how it’s built in the game. That feature is, in fact, part of its identical cousin, the Aegishjàlmur, a symbol used to protect warriors in battle. Despite there being versions of the Vegvísir floating around in present records and tattoos, the possibility remains that this may have been a completely new symbol, hence explaining its alternate purpose featured in this story.

Trivia

• Reykjavík is the capital of Iceland and the first-ever Norse settlement on the island of Iceland by Ingólfur Arnarson in 874 AD.
  • Its etymology derives from the old Norse for “Smoke Cave”.
• Both Maleg and Barakagazuun are characters created for the myth that does not exist in real life nor can be compared to any other entity. There was never a king of Iceland called Maleg,  his tomb doesn’t exist, and Anu never had a child called “Barakagazuun”.
  • This links both characters thematically, as both have presumably been long forgotten by history due to their misdeeds (though technically Barakagazuun was responsible for both instances)
• When Maleg was more active, he was prone to offer hunters nicknames of old Nordic origin, for example, Gudrid/Pyfa (Akuji), Dunfjall (Zark), Yngvild/Sæunn (Spelling), Ulfbjorn (Corky), Ulfbjorn’s Friend (Kin), Sigegar (Sera), etc.
• When somebody takes note of the blood that covers Maleg’s body, he usually claims that it does not belong to him but rather somebody else, often in a tone that suggests the questioning individual shouldn’t be alarmed.
• There are two statues on Maleg’s tomb by the stone tablet that do not seem to depict anybody the player has encountered in the story yet.
• “Solar Temple” is a recreation of the real-life Solar Temple of Niuserre.
• In “The Duat”, Ra is depicted with the head of a green ram. This coincides with actual Egyptian mythology, as, whenever he travels to the Underworld, he is always depicted with the very same head.
• The drawing in the hidden room in “Solar Temple.” depicting a giant snake and a ram-headed individual on a boat represents a battle between Ra in his underworld outfit and Apep, the embodiment of disorder and sworn enemy of Ra and Ma’at.
• The reason why Inpu treats Ra as his father despite most representations of Egyptian mythology depicting him as his great-grandchild is due to him having been his son during the Old Kingdom era of Egypt, along with the primary god of the dead, a role later replaced by Osiris.
  • The Old Kingdom of Egypt and the Akkadian Empire match in periods, hence the use of this relationship in the myth.

Gallery

References