Grigorii Malchenko (Lots of Large Pics)

[erglion]

Grigorii Malchenko died with many others along the Way about one week ago.  The day he died was exactly 52 weeks after he was created.



I really enjoyed playing Malchenko.  I did far more with him than I ever imagined at the start.  Mostly due to the many opportunities I had to play with a huge number of awesome players, to whom I give thanks.

Actually the first screenie I ever took with Grig about 1 year ago.  Foreshadowing!



And this did eventually lead him to the role that many knew him as, Associate (Lieutenant) Malchenko



What is less known is that he had a brief stint as a Seeker >.>



And later as a Watchman



He wasn't a Montezzi though....but could have been


And who would have ever thought he'd run for Council.  At least -I- voted for him



Here are some of the crew from his early time in the SGA (also pictured the traitor)



Proud servants of the Order, Noble and Dentra:



And Associate buddies Maylun and Ambermane:



The fate of an old friend is sealed:



One night a group of drow slavers attacked the gates.  They carried away subdued Watchman.  A group of SG, Seekers, and adventurers followed them to their camp.  They didn't want to play nice.



We had fun in the Spellguard.  (aka Buff bots Inc.)



Sometimes things didn't go according to plan, but we did have a meat locker in the Associates' barracks:



To illustrate exactly how cohesive the Loyalist forces were, we first meet a week after the overthrow (some of us for the first time ever...):



Three things inspired Grigorii's concept: Simon Belmont, Jurgis Rudkus from The Jungle, and I'll admit Cail Durris.  Once I had the whip from Belmont, I decided to work in Loviatar, and soon I had all the pieces I needed to put him together cohesively.

Worshiping Loviatar turned out to be rather interesting, even though I never took as hard a line with it as I first intended.

Praise Loviatar!


Err, praise...Her...*gulp*


Malchenko was a man forged by his past, to fully understand him it was necessary to understand exactly what made him who he was.  Central to this tale was his wife Anna who perished while they were both slaves at Traensyr:



The conversation that put him in that state, straight from the source:

Mourana Dusk:   ah yes....I have news for you
  Grigorii Malchenko:   *eyes flash eagerly*
  Grigorii Malchenko:   Let us talk somevhere...
  Grigorii Malchenko:   more private.
  Mourana Dusk:   *nods* the Stand perhaps
  Mourana Dusk:   in use it seems
  Mourana Dusk:   too public still
  Grigorii Malchenko:   *nods*
  Grigorii Malchenko:   *follows her along*
  Mourana Dusk:   this will have to do
  Grigorii Malchenko:   *removes his gloves and puts them in his pack, hands shaking slightly*
  Mourana Dusk:   *looks somber* Veilguard Marcato and I have spoken with a servant of The Judge upon the Fugue....not an easy task
  Mourana Dusk:   we have located your Anna.....sort of
  Grigorii Malchenko:   *eyes focused on her lips, hanging on each word*
  Mourana Dusk:   you are prepared for the truth? I will not soften this
  Grigorii Malchenko:   *closes his eyes for a moment*
  Grigorii Malchenko:   The Maiden vill help me to endure.  *nods slowly*
  Mourana Dusk:   *attempts to look compasionate, but fails* Anna indeed died faithless
  Mourana Dusk:   she wandered the Fugue for ten days....at which time no god claimed her
  Grigorii Malchenko:   *mouth hangs open but no words come out*
Door:   *knock*
--Anton Marcato enters the room--
  Mourana Dusk:   she was sentenced to eternal service in the wall
  Grigorii Malchenko:   *shakes his head slowly*
  Mourana Dusk:   her story does not end here however
  Grigorii Malchenko:   *his eyes are unfocused, he stares off blankly*
  Mourana Dusk:   we have determined that Anna's soul was torn from The Wall
  Grigorii Malchenko:   *he stammers* Vot?
  Mourana Dusk:   by a necromancer.....and used to reanimate an unkown foul one...an undead creature
  Anton Marcato:   [nods grimly]
  Grigorii Malchenko:   *shakes his head* No....It cannot be....
  Mourana Dusk:   Veilguard Marcato was able to determine the location of this newly animated creature
  Mourana Dusk:   not exactly...but roughly
  Grigorii Malchenko:   Vait.  Vait.  Give me a moment.
  Anton Marcato:   [nods]  Take all the time you need.
  Grigorii Malchenko:   *stumbles back, bracing himself against the wall*
  Mourana Dusk:   *inclines her head* I will defer to Veilguard Marcato to give his findings when you are prepared
  Grigorii Malchenko:   This cannot be....*shakes his head, voice distant and weak*
  Grigorii Malchenko:   *he slides down the wall, fists clenched tightly*
  Grigorii Malchenko:   *looks up from one to the other* You must have made some mistake....
  Mourana Dusk:   *face deadpan* no mistake...but there is some hope
  Anton Marcato:   I am sorry, but there is no mistake.  As she said, there is still hope.
  Grigorii Malchenko:   Hope for ....hope for vot?
  Anton Marcato:   Hope to free her from the curse of undeath.
  Anton Marcato:   If she can be freed, there is a chance that a deity will accept her soul, and she can live in happiness.
  Grigorii Malchenko:   *he writhes on the ground as if the words lash him*
  Anton Marcato:   To do so, however, you must destroy her animated remains.  It is not your wife that you must strike down, but her husk.  It will be difficult, but it is something that must be done.
  Mourana Dusk:   yes....souls returned from the curse of undeath are often claimed by deities such as Ilmater....for their suffering
  Anton Marcato:   She will live in happiness with Illmater, but in order for that to happen, you must take the necessary actions.
  Grigorii Malchenko:   *he slides back up the wall slowly*
  Mourana Dusk:   you see....we have determined that Anna's soul can be found within an undead being...somewhere near Sanctuary....her fate could be in your hands
  Anton Marcato:   Her zombie is somewhere in the Underdark.  I believe I know where, roughly.  
  Anton Marcato:   I think the drow sold it to a necromancer who's working in the area.  I can't be certain which one, though.
  Grigorii Malchenko:   *he looks ill, he tries to swallow but his mouth is dry*
  Anton Marcato:   Here, drink.  You will feel better.
  Anton Marcato:   [hands him a flask of wine]
  Grigorii Malchenko:   *he waves off the drink and clears his throat*
  Anton Marcato:   We will help you, Grigorii.
  Grigorii Malchenko:   Hem.  Vhere is this necromancer? *he asks semi-lifelessly*
  Anton Marcato:   I hate to see another man suffer like this.
  Mourana Dusk:   *shrugs* that will still need to be investigated
  Anton Marcato:   I'm not certain.  We'll have to kill them as we find them, in hopes of finding the right one.
  Grigorii Malchenko:   *meets Marcato's gaze, and utters with little conviction* Life is sufferink.
  Anton Marcato:   Your wife does not deserve this, though.  No man does.
  Grigorii Malchenko:   *nods* You are right.  Undeath is horrible.
  Anton Marcato:   This is what suffering has done to you.  It has reduced the woman you care about most to a fate worse than death.
  Anton Marcato:   Embracing the idea that you cannot end suffering in life has contributed to this.  I suspect the foul necromancer who animated her may think the same way.
  Grigorii Malchenko:   *speaking to noone in particular* She feels nothink now..
  Anton Marcato:   She does.  She is deprived of happiness and bliss because of this curse.
  Anton Marcato:   You can end her suffering, Grigorii.  You can shatter this idea that all men must suffer.
  Anton Marcato:   It is within your own power to do so.
  Grigorii Malchenko:   *quickly exhales and looks to Marcato* It is different than you think.
  Mourana Dusk:   *watches the two men speak*
  Anton Marcato:   Join us, my friend.  [extends a meaningful hand]  Together we will put an end to this.
  Grigorii Malchenko:   *his breathing increases*  I vill save her.  The necromancer vill know pain for this.
  Mourana Dusk:   *nods* indeed....as he should
  Grigorii Malchenko:   *grasps his hand firmly pulling him close*
  Grigorii Malchenko:   Vee vill make him pay.
  Anton Marcato:   You have my word that we will.
  Mourana Dusk:   then let the search begin
  Grigorii Malchenko:   *releases him and turns to Dusk, nodding slowly*
  Anton Marcato:   Indeed.  I will have my spies scour Lower and the surrounding lands for news of any active necromancer.
  Grigorii Malchenko:   *his eyes glimmer and he looks about the room, tensing and untensing his fists*
  Anton Marcato:   Should you ever feel lost, I humbly suggest asking Kelemvor for guidance.  He will be of great help in this quest of ours, if you let him.
  Mourana Dusk:   *tries to soften her features, again failing* take time....you need to come to understanding of all of this

(Thanks to Scalebane and GFWD!)

And so the journey began to search for zombie Anna, and punish whoever did that to her.  The hunt spanned many months (partly due to a long break from efu).  There were some successes, and at a time we drew close:


But I was a bit too late:


The hunt did not end there.  It ended in an unexpected place with a new understanding.


And once again Loviatar showed him the way.



Grig's shiny loot.  It worked well in pairs.

The Spider's Reach, which quickly silenced the remark, "Are you really going to use a whip?"


The Reach in action (although the whip feats helped too):


Complementary Boots (common):


Substance covered ring:


Ring of Unyielding Loyalty, which did motivate him to stay SGA at rough times:



Thanks again to everyone that I had the chance to play with along the way!  I couldn't have had more fun with Grig.

[Joe Desu]

A w e s o m e
A w e  i n s p i r i n g

[morva]

Bane and lovitar UNITE!

[Garem]

Grigorii was the best damned soldier Dentra ever had the pleasure of commanding, and one of the few that he trusted completely. I only wish our united faiths had come together like we had planned.

Great character. It's no wonder you're playing a sissy elf now, to balance out the badassness that was Malchenko. >.>

[Semli]

I enjoy a lot of the people I have the chance to meet and interact with, but I often feel like there's little I can say to end posts like these that doesn't sound corny or shallow, so I usually say nothing.

In this case I will make an exception.  For me, Grigorii really made the SGA what it was; absolutely badass.  Though I am certain other characters have come and gone that are worthy of praise, if anyone asks me, I will tell them that Grigorii Malchenko was the best character ever played.

He was cruel in a way, a devout Loviataran to the end, but there was a practicality about him that made him spooky and alarmingly efficient.  On top of that there were a million small touches here and there that just gave you this sense of Lieutenant Malchenko.

Truly awesome.  I look forward to interacting with your future characters.

[Cruzel]

From Merum, to Svir, to Colara,  Kurt, and Vera.

I met him as many different PC's, and it was awesome always.



Rock on, Erglion.

[Thomas_Not_very_wise]

An excellent character.

[Scalebane7676]

I wanted to involve you with so many of my characters, but they all managed to mysteriously die within a few hours of meeting Grigorii!  We were cursed, erglion.

[dragonfire9000]

Yes yes, he was grand and all, very scary and all that bull.

What I really want to know is... can I have the whip?

[IxTheSpeedy]

I've meant to say this for a while but Grigorii was a frickin' great character.  What a great concept.  The accent, the crazy damage with that sweet whip, and the journal of letters to your wife.  Nicely done all around.

[Howlando]

And Anna continues to labor away, unrescued. :-(

[Kotenku]

What a pro.

[AKMatt]

Malchenko was epic.

[Madskillsmike]

Malchenko was aaawesome!

[pyth]

"Also pictured, the traitor" Gave me a smile.

Great character though man. Always a pleasure to have Mal around to stand in front of us :)