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Girl Genius

"Hah! Being a Smoke Knight is what I do, not what I am. In my heart, I am a stonemason!" [1]

Description[]

Malek is a male Smoke Knight assigned to the service of Martellus von Blitzengaard (aka Tweedle). He has quite a dark complexion, straight black hair, and black or very dark brown eyes. He wears the same purple and dark gray/black colors as most Smoke Knights, but has a golden letter 'V' or V-shaped emblem on his cap. Martellus assigns him to keep an eye on Agatha.

Malek is first mentioned,[2], but not named, when Martellus's sister Xerxsephnia von Blitzengaard (aka Seffie) directs her Smoke Knight, Varpa, to interfere with him. Evidently Varpa's method[3] of interfering involves a lot of kissing; Malek doesn't seem to mind.[4] And it seems to be quite effective, since he is still distracted some time later.[5]

While in the catacombs of the Immortal Library beneath Paris, Agatha's own Smoke Knight (by Tarvek's release), Violetta, is aware that these two Smoke Knights are following her group, but doesn't call them out until she discovers that one of Dio Zardilev's party has been killed and disguised (as Zardilev himself) using Ghost Spider venom, indicating the work of Madwa Korel, a Smoke Knight loyal to Lucrezia Mongfish, aka the Other. Varpa and Malek are evidently loyal to Grandmother and set aside other all other assignments to destroy those in the service of the Other.

Malek and Varpa join Agatha's group at this point, at least temporarily. Malek's name is finally revealed when he is addressed by Violetta.[6]

Once back on the surface, Malek is able to identify the religious location the Library's pneumatic tube system transported them to as St. Lavoisiér on sight, thanks to, as he soon afterward confesses, his studies in ecclesial architecture. As it turns out, stonemasonry is a great passion of his .

Malek is first to take the controls of a commandeered multi-legged transport clank to rush Agatha to the planned masquerade in Tweedle's honor. However, they are blocked by a mob of suspected revenants led by a pair of Geisterdamen and flee to the rooftops to escape. After surrendering the controls of the clank to the more experienced driver Violetta, he is impaled through the chest and yanked off the clank by a grappling hook thrown by one of the Geisterdamen, who are riding their Ghost Spider mounts in pursuit across the rooftops. We don't know for certain that he has joined the ranks of the Living Impaired, but that kind of wound is pretty hard to come back from -- at least without Sparky intervention.

References

  1. "I studied ecclesiastical architecture at the University!" (See panel 3.)
  2. A sharp-eyed fan in the Girl Genius blog on LiveJournal remembered and pointed out the first appearance of Varpa, which includes an unnamed reference to Malek.
  3. Ways to distract a Smoke Knight. (See last two panels.)
  4. A poster for Heterodyne-style snail cheese hangs in the Black Market where Violetta first noticed they were following them.
  5. "…Less kissing…not no kissing…" (See panel 2.)
  6. "Malek! There you—" - volume 3 of act 2, page 079, panel 6.


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