Malaci

"The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled.”

— Plutarch

Malaci are Spirits of knowledge and intellect. They are being of pure thought and wisdom and retain great knowledge about everything they possibly can. To them, Knowledge is power, literally.

Creation: A Malaci is created from the soul of a mortal that in life had dedicated himself to the pursuit of knowledge or philosophy. If it is so willing, it is then elevated by Xaaris or one of his Arch-Malaci into the ranks of the Malaci.
Malaci vary greatly in their power, as their power is directly proportional to the amount of knowledge they possess. A malaci literally grows in power as it obtains more ancient lore and forgets some of its accumulated knowledge if it is hurt. This also often correlates with their size.

Hoarders of secrets: Knowledge is more useful and powerful the more secret it is. Malaci do not share their knowledge freely, for the more minds know something the less it empowers the malaci. Thus when two malaci exchange knowledge they barter with their knowledge and what one gains the other forgets. Such deals will also be offered to mortals, boons, power or secrets in exchange for erasing knowledge from the mortal's memory. This is why mortals often go to other sources of information rather than just summoning malaci for everything.

Mortals: Malaci do not care much about mortals beyond what they can deliver to them in terms of knowledge. They are often emotionless, cold and calculating, rather than warm and approachable. They often have no compunctions about assisting in horrendous evil, if it suits their need. They are interested only in knowledge and their own survival, everything beyond that can be negotiated.

That does not make Malaci inherently evil or dangerous, indeed they can be a great boon if called upon in the right way. For example they may be called upon to barter knowledge for knowledge, as scouts and explorers or to serve as familiars or as guardians of places of knowledge. However Malaci are very good at bartering and contract-making so one should be careful on how such an agreement is worded.

Arch-Malaci

Hierarchies among Malaci are determined by who has more knowledge, because those with more knowledge also have more power, intelligence and general experience.
Arch-Malaci are those malaci that have been further elevated by obtaining a stupendous amounts of knowledge, secret lore, experimental data and insight into history. They lead legions of lesser malaci in pursuit of their duties, according to their disposition and philosophy.
Listed here are the most well-known Arch-Malaci and a brief description on them.

Xa'akath - The Grand Librarian
Xa'akath is the Custodian of the largest collection of knowledge in the multiverse: The vaults of Xaaris. This place that allegedly exists outside of time and space is where Xaaris himself makes his home, and Xa'akath is its guardian. He is the undisputed strongest Malaci due to his casual browsing of the infinite library.
However, there are rumors that the knowledge within the vaults of Xaaris have driven the custodian mad, a worrying thought when considering that this being was made by a greater deity to fulfill this exact purpose.

Faust - The Inventor of Alchemy
Faust, once a mortal man, is the first being to ever practice alchemy. He has since improved his craft greatly, died and become a Malaci. Now he is one of the most well-known and powerful Malaci and a patron of Alchemists and Researchers everywhere.

A depiction of Xa'akath

A lesser Malacus

Appearance:

As spirits, Malaci have no set form. However, malaci usually take forms that are a mixture of avian or serpentine characteristicsm, though often with unnatural characteristics. A winged serpent or an owl with stars in its eyes or the like would not be unusual.

Usually, the more powerful the Malacus in question, the larger and the more unnatural and magical it appears.