Malchir

Malchir is the Master of the sorcerers of Pagan during Ultima VIII.

Description
Little is known about Malchir or his origins, and the acolyte Gorgrond would mention that he had already been old when he was but a child. dwelling in the Obsidian Fortress, he interacted little with the other members of the cabal, appearing to them only when he required their service.

The Avatar first beheld Malchir following the death of one of the enclave's acolytes (either Vardion or Bane depending on the hero's actions). The Master would reprimand whichever sorcerer had engineered the death of the other, and would tersely approve their sponsorship of the Avatar as a disciple, as the cabal would require a new recruit to make up for the void left by the dead magician.

Later, Malchir would test the hero by having them brave the trials of the Obsidian Fortress and perform a variety of sorcerous magic. Immediately after affirm the Avatar as a member of the cabal, the Master would bid them join him in the ritual summoning of Pyros, invoking the Titan of Fire that he might ask about the lost sun of Pagan. Following the ceremony, he would either congratulate or reprimand the hero depending on their performance.

Later, when the Avatar intruded upon his dwelling, Malchir would attack them for their insolence. He was slain in the resulting battle and the hero thereafter claimed the mantle of Master sorcerer.

Appearance as a Spirit
Later, after the Avatar returned to Britannia, Shamino summoned the restless spirit of Malchir from the Void that he might instruct the hero in a ritual necessary to summon Pyros once more for the purposes of entering the Abyss. Initially, Malchir refused, claiming that since his death he had suffered the ongoing agony of Pyros' flames and watched the ruination of his distant world. Shamino explained, however, that no fire truly plagued his spirit and that the agony he felt was due to his unrelenting hatred for the Avatar, which had prevented him from attaining peace. Understanding that his enmity for the hero had brought him nothing but pain, he relented in his objections, and explained the rite needed to summon the Titan of Fire on Britannian soil.

Trivia

 * Malchir provided some scant information for Bentic's Chronicle of Pagan, after he was assured that the scholar had no schemes against him.
 * Malchir's spirit in Ultima IX describes his death differently than it occurred in Ultima VIII, claiming that the Avatar had caused Pyros to destroy him through trickery rather than slaying him in the Obsidian Fortress.