Prince Malcolm

Prince Malcolm

Prince Malcolm was Princess Katharine's father.

History

Malcolm was the third and youngest son of King Maol Chalvim I of Scotland (942-954), born in 954 at Edinburgh after his father's death. At that time, he and his mother, Queen Katharine, were hostages, held by the usurping Indulf to ensure his hold on the Scottish throne. Malcolm remained a hostage at court until 962, when he and his friend Robbie together worked out his escape, and thereby brought about Indulf's forced abdication and the accession of Malcolm’s older brother Duff to the throne. ("The Reach", "The Oath")

For the next five years, Malcolm was raised at court, being trained for his duties as a Scottish prince, and taken about Scotland to learn its ways and its peoples, including being introduced to various gargoyles (possibly including the Scone Clan and the Loch Ness Clan) and maybe even catching a glimpse of the Loch Ness Monster. But in 967, Duff was slain in battle against Indulf's son Culen, who then seized the throne; Malcolm and his older brother Kenneth were driven into exile at Northumberland Keep in northern England. ("The Promise", "The Dream", "The Pledge")

Prince Malcolm and Hudson forge their alliance.

In 971, at Robbie's advice, Prince Malcolm sought out the gargoyles at Wyvern Hill, and formed an alliance with them and their Rhydderch, In return for the clan's aid to Kenneth and Malcolm against Culen, Malcolm would protect them from danger. After the defeat of Culen and his brother coronated as King of Scotland, Malcolm received the title Prince of Wyvern. King Kenneth II and Prince Malcolm recognized the strategic value of Wyvern Hill and decided to continue their alliance with the local gargoyles. Prince Malcolm began to build Castle Wyvern and made it his home, dwelling there with his people alongside the gargoyles. Malcolm would name the gargoyles' leader Mentor and took on the Archmage as his primary advisor. During this time, he also promoted his old friend Robbie to Captain of the Guard, explaining the promotion was well-earned and overdue. Some nights later, he refused to let the Archmage think he was indebted to him after saving the sorcerer's life when a dragon attacked Wyvern Hill. Witnessing first-hand the Wyvern Clan fight to save the humans from the dragon reaffirmed his belief in the wisdom of his alliance with the gargoyles. ("The Reach", "The Promise", "The Pledge")

In the days when Wyvern Hill was visited by a traveling troupe of actors known as the Light-Bringers, he would gather by the fire each night with the Captain of the Guard and his daughter to hear the Tale of the Three Brothers told by Shahrizad. Malcolm and the Captain soon found it unsettling just how accurate the storyteller was, asking each other how she knew the two's exact words whenever they came up in the nightly tale. When the story approached the assassination of his brother Duff, Prince Malcolm left before revisiting those moments. He returned for the final part two nights later. ("The Promise", "The Dream", "The Pledge")

He remained a loyal ally to the Wyvern Clan, although perhaps not the most intelligent one possible. He was for a long while blind to the menace of the Archmage, who, while playing the part of his primary advisor, was scheming to depose him, and also foolishly used the gargoyles as means of frightening his daughter Katharine into good behavior, thereby helping to sow the seeds of prejudice in her that would have fatal consequences in 994. ("Awakening: Part One", "Long Way To Morning") It is possible that he may have given additional names to a handful of the gargoyle warriors, though over time only Goliath's was still used. [1]

Prince Malcolm married Princess Elena in 975. Princess Katharine was their only child. In 984, the Archmage made his attempt to overthrow Malcolm, failed, and was banished; however, he returned to vengefully poison the Prince with a venomed blow-dart. Fortunately, Goliath, Mentor, and Angel managed to recover the Grimorum Arcanorum from the Archmage, and the Magus used a spell from it to cure the Prince. Malcolm, however, did indeed die at some point between 984 and 994, from causes as yet unknown. ("Vows", "Long Way to Morning")

Appearances

• "Long Way to Morning" (First Appearance)
• "Vows"
• "The Reach"
• "The Draw"
• "The Oath"
• "The Promise"
• "The Dream"
• "The Pledge"

Production Background

Voice Actor: Roger Rees