The story of Malus Darkblade is a tale of greed, betrayal, and immense bloodshed. A member of one of the noble families in a city within the Shadowfell, Malus is the bastard son of Galagakhar, a Shadar general, and the Sorceress Eldire of the Shadar dark fleet. Thus, his surname is Darkblade—a name Malus despises, as it is commonly used to denote the bastard status of Shadar-kadai children born to a witch. Malus is the perfect embodiment of the Shadar-kadai ideal, displaying all the "virtues" expected of them: a total lack of scruples or mercy, ruthlessness toward his enemies, an insatiable bloodlust, and terrifying cunning.

Given his status, he was loathed by his father and his five half-siblings, who kidnapped him to murder him when he was only eight years old. They took him to a human city so his mother, the sorceress Eldire, could not track him or identify his killers. Upon reaching a warehouse in a port within this city, Malus managed to escape; he had always been exceptionally skilled with his hands and succeeded in untying himself. He made his move when a pelican crashed through a glass window, shattering it and making his captors nervous enough that they failed to notice him standing up and heading for the window. There, Malus shouted at them: "I am Malus! Malus Darkblade! Kill me if you dare! Kill me if you can!!" A heated pursuit followed, but Malus escaped by hiding in a barrel, which was loaded onto a ship without anyone noticing.

His life as a stowaway began on that ship, where he met a man of God. This man was the only one who noticed his presence and began leaving food for him until he won Malus's trust. When Malus finally presented himself, the man of faith took pity on his poor soul, giving him new clothes and a holy symbol of Kelemvor, the Judge of the Damned. This paladin, named Roland, taught him how to survive and took him to a city where he had a mission to slay a demon. Once they arrived, Roland headed into the mountains to perform his duty and never returned.

Consequently, Malus was kicked out of their tavern and forced to live on the streets of a poverty-stricken city. The boy grew up lost, without contact from his mother, constantly seeking a way to reach his family. In this city, the boy became a youth, and the youth became a man. Eventually, he managed to enter a temple of Kelemvor as a student of the Executioners of the Damned. It was here that he discovered the latent power Roland had perhaps seen in him. In this temple, he became a paladin, mastering the use of the rapier, heavy armor, the shield, and his connection to the divine.