Lord Marshal is the title of the ruler of the Necromongers, The One Rank that cannot be superseded. It is the task of the Lord Marshal to wage a crusade against humanity and bring all converts into the Underverse. On his armor are the faces of the previous rulers, carved in blessed steel. The first act of a new Lord Marshal is to conduct a pilgrimage to the gates of the Underverse. From a world they named Asylum, six of them would write the darkest chapters in the history of the universe.
Known Lord Marshals
- Covu ("The Transcended") - the first Lord Marshal
Covu discovered the Underverse, and began the order of “Necroism.” It was by his command that the Necropolis was built.
- Oltovm ("The Builder") - the 2nd Lord Marshal
Oltovm built the Necropolis, crafting the heart of the future armada.
- Naphemil ("The Navigator") - the third Lord Marshal,
Naphemil was the father of the Necro Philosophy, and placed the Necropolis unearthed and entombed in a large Basilica ship.
- Baylock ("The Brutal") - the fourth Lord Marshal
Baylock was the last to be born to Necroism and would not live to see his visage eventually grace the Conquest Icons left in the Necromonger's wake on so many murdered worlds.
- Kryll - the fifth Lord Marshal
Kryll brought about the Order of the Quasi-Dead, fragile yet powerful beings whose use to the Necromongers evolves even today.
- Zhylaw ("The Last") - the sixth Lord Marshal
Zhylaw was the most powerful Lord Marshal known, and adopted the Necromongers darkest philosophy - for those races unwilling to convert, their penance would be infanticide.
Riddick was believed to bring massive change to the Necromonger empire. These changes have yet to be seen, however.
- Vaako - the eighth/current Lord Marshal
After Riddick was believed to be dead, Vaako took over and lead the Necromongers to the Threshold.
Powers & Abilities
- "Leading them, The Lord Marshal, He alone has made a pilgrimage to the gates of the Underverse and returned a different being, stronger, stranger, half alive and half...something else"
- - Aereon.
Since Covu discovered the gate to The Underverse, called "The Threshold", each successive Lord Marshal has made a pilgrimage to The Underverse. His trip to the Underverse grants him a plethora of greater inhuman powers. All The Lord Marshals are extremely long lived, perhaps even immortal.
Zhylaw discovered a great ancient artifact on Helion Prime, within which the secrets of The Threshold were written, after studying and destroying the artifact so that nobody could ever find it, he would use it in his great crusade. With this knowledge he could use more of the Soulpower than any other Lord Marshal, making him the most powerful Lord Marshal in history.
He has enhanced strength that allows him to lift (press) over 10 tons, enhanced stamina, and enhanced durability to easily outmatch that of a Furyan. He also has the ability to detach his soul from his body, granting him super speed, by means of his soul quickly moving to a different place and his body following it almost in an instant. This acts to give him speed in short bursts (or long term use for long distance travel), and allows him to go anywhere his soul can get to, regardless of whether his body (under normal conditions) could or not (e.g., on top a statue to the right of his throne). He's able to fly with this ability.
He can also use his soul for extrasensory purposes (when Vaako tried to sneak up on Zhylaw, he turned his soul to look at Vaako without ever turning his body). He also has the ability to grab a person's soul out of their body, killing them, but he's unable to absorb the souls to become more powerful, but since the Soulpower recharges, he doesn't need to. This so called Soulpower he gained during his trip to the Underverse also grants him healing powers, which he can use to regenerate and to protect himself against harm. Despite this, the Lord Marshall is not indestructible and can be killed and injured, though it’s hard to do so. When Kyra stabbed Zhylaw in the back, he seemed severely weakened, asking for help from Vaako and moving slower with his soul-detachment super speed when escaping Vaako. With the Soulpower he can also live outside the vacuum of space and underwater (even under high pressure). This Soulpower is probably giving him all of these mentioned powers. This explains perhaps that when Covu stepped through the Threshold his family rose again from the dead.
The Soulpower can be seen as some kind of energy source, and those who are worthy and able to wield it, are able to use it. Thanks to The Soulpower The Lord Marshal doesn't need to drink or eat. Not all are able to use this power, since all converted (Necromongers) have a little of The Soulpower but don't have nearly any of the powers The Lord Marshal has.
That is what the name quasi-dead means, they only have a fracture of the power the Lord Marshal has. Only the Lord Marshal is capable of controlling the Ascension Protocol.
The Lord Marshal is able to control his voice inhumanly, as shown when he shouted for Vaako not to question his orders. This ability seems to increase The Lord Marshal's aura of authority and emotional influence over the beings around him. One of the major powers but not shown in the movie is that he can shoot energy blasts from his hands (all energized by his Soulpower), and when he charges the blast will become more powerful to a certain extent. He may also possess some sort of telepathy to maintain his subjects' loyalty without question; this is doubtful, however, since neither Vaako nor his wife were truly loyal to Zhylaw.
Commentary
The Purifier's commentary on Lord Marshals is as follows: "There have been six Lord Marshals since the beginning--since Covu the Transcended walked across the threshold and beheld his lifeless family reborn into the Underverse. And since that first journey, each successive Lord Marshal has made his own journey to the threshold. And from it, each has gained greater power. They are the half-dead. And ascendance to the rank of Lord Marshal comes to pass in many ways. But it is most often a violent transition. And this is why all Necromongers know that you keep what you kill."
Gallery
Statues
Film Screenshots
Note: All seen screenshots are from The Chronicles of Riddick (2003).
