Malric Vale

Malric Vale was an influential figure during the Years of Burning. After the publication of his book 'The Wicked Arts and their Undoing', he gained much public support, and before long was regarded as the unofficial leader in the fight against the witches. Due to his public standing, the Archbishops of the Church used him as the figurehead for their military campaigns, before long granting him a lordship for his service.

Early Life

Having grown up in the lower parts of the city, Malric wasn't destined for much. His family ran a bakery, and were constantly struggling for money, so at the age of 14, he decided to join the army for the little money they gave. Despite his life, Malric was a highly skilled psionic mage, and from a young age he was able to read and manipulate people's emotions, eventually growing up to become one of the greatest empaths in history. For this reason, he quickly moved up in the ranks, eventually being one of the few chosen to work closely with the Archbishop of Defense in a special task force. However, his skills were not always appreciated, with older and more experienced soldiers despising him as he overtook them in everything.

Witches

The start of Malrick's rise to fame happened when he was stationed with some colleagues at a camp on the edge of the forest of Thaele, near a cluster of witch huts. At this time, tensions between witches and mages were high, so the group had been ordered to keep an eye on the witches and report back any suspicious activities. One night, Malric had been patrolling the trees when he was ambushed and badly injured by something in the forest. As he was unable to get back to camp, he lay there, accepting his fate. However, before it was over, someone found him and he was carried away to safety. When he woke up, he realised that he was in a witch hut. His saviour; a witch. But this was not how he saw it. And certainly wouldn’t be the account he told his colleagues or superiors. This witch was the one who ambushed him, and yes was the one to drag him away. This witch had taken him captive. A plan, a twisted truth, woven from the threads of his delirium, which painted him as the hero. He ‘fought’ off his captor, and rushed back to the camp to recount his attack, and this was just the spark needed to alight the kindling of racial tension. That night, the mages raided the witch settlement, stealing anything that looked valuable and torching their huts to the ground. Their superiors, it's safe to say, were pleased with their success… No longer must they twist hearsay and suspicion, now they had concrete proof of the villainous nature of witches, and from their loot of scrolls, books and potions, a much greater (mis)understanding of their dark art. And of course, Malric Vale was the saviour of the story. After this fateful event, Malric Vale received promotion after promotion, and soon became the most renowned witch hunter to ever live.

Witch Hunts

For the years to follow, Malric lead countless raids on the witches, pushing them further and further back into the depths of the forest. Many witches were killed in these raids, the soldiers burning down their huts, the ones that managed to escape ran as far as they could, deep into Thaele, where no mage would ever dare enter. However, some were not so lucky, being caught in their escape by the soldiers positioned at strategic locations to catch any stragglers. These were often taken back to the capital or other major cities and towns to be burned in public displays, although some were said to be beaten to death by soldiers. However, this was never confirmed. Other witches might have been sold off to the highest bidder for the illegal bottled spores produced by the witches. Despite being the commander of the witch hunters, Malric remained on the field until a fateful injury left him unable to fight, continuing to lead from the sidelines afterwards. For his duty to the country, the Archbishops decided to give him a lordship, ensuing that him and his family could live in luxury for the rest of their family's lives.