- "Convert now, or fall forever."
- —Zhylaw, speaking to Riddick
Zhylaw the Last appeared as the Main Antagonist in The Chronicles of Riddick and was the sixth Lord Marshal of the Necromonger Empire. He adopted their darkest philosophy about the planets unwilling to convert, with infanticide. He was believed to be the last Lord Marshal —the one who would lead all Necromongers through the Threshold and into the glory of the Underverse—. But alas, this was not to be, as he was killed at the hands of the Furyan known as Riddick.
History
As a young warrior, Zhylaw distinguished himself in forward operations, a branch of the Armada that forays to unexplored worlds. Normally these teams conduct simple mapping and targeting missions, but Zhylaw —with a fleet of fast frigates at his disposal— redefined its role. He attacked and removed nascent colonies of man wherever he found them, before they could grow to military significance. Zhylaw believed in killing his enemies young. His actions won the praise of his superiors, including Lord Marshal Kryll, who came to think of Zhylaw as a brilliant if wayward son.
Thirty years ago, the warrior who would become Lord Marshal, mounted an attack on the world of Furya, killing all young males he could find, and even strangling some with their own umbilical cords. He did this because of a prophecy that declared a Furyan would later cause his downfall and destroy him. All but a few surviving Furyans, perhaps converted to and joined the Necromongers, as the Necromonger Purifier.
During the Fifth Regime, Lord Marshal Kryll's time ended unexpectedly. With no verbal announcement, he committed ritualistic suicide. Thankfully, a pyro-doc was found near his corpse by the trusted officer, Zhylaw, and this succession document averted the rancorous in-fighting that marked the transition between the Fourth and Fifth Regimes.
The Sixth Regime: Zhylaw the Last
The Lord Marshal plans for his next planetary conquest
The succession document named Zhylaw as the next Lord Marshal, but some questioned its validity. Rumor led to tribunal, and soon, a public debate ensued: some suggesting that Zhylaw was somehow complicit in the passing of Kryll. Zhylaw was promptly exonerated, and the perpetrators of these spiteful stories were hunted out and killed before due time. In an attempt to protect his reputation for the ages, Zhylaw had the succession document naming him Lord Marshal stored in the Necromongers' most secure vaults, under the tightest of guard. There it will remain, protected for all posterity.
He created many Conquest Icons that served not only to be a memorial of the battle that took place where it landed but also to start that battle. The campaigns he led across the planets of the Coalsack System and Aquilan systems often only had Conquest Icons remaining to remember the battles that took place.
During his rule, he began a devastating campaign against the Aquilans, and ordered the destruction of Aquila Major with a massive bombardment known as the "Final Protocol". He also considered targeting Quintessa for invasion, and blackmailed Aereon into telling his future by saying that he would leave Quintessa as his last target.
Lord Vaako, urged by his ambitious wife considered killing the Lord Marshal and take his place. At the penultimate moment, Vaako did try to kill Zhylaw, but he dodged —right into Riddick's clutches—.
After converting Kyra, Zhylaw used her to taunt Riddick and agreed to a one-on-one fight with him. Although Riddick did make him bleed (something he said had not happened in a very long time) and was able to hold his own a little, Zhylaw's powers were too much for Riddick to handle and he went to kill him. While he was distracted, Kyra stabbed him in the back with a spear, wounding and weakening Zhylaw before he backhanded her into a column. Vaako then tried to kill him while he was weakened in order to take his place, but Zhylaw used his speed to narrowly escape, ending up in front of Riddick who had positioned himself. Before Zhylaw could react, Riddick stabbed him in the head with the knife he had pulled from the back of a Necromonger warrior, finally killing him and making Riddick the new Lord Marshal by default.
He was played by Colm Feore in The Chronicles of Riddick.
| Preceded by Kryll |
Lord Marshal of the Necromongers | Succeeded by Richard B. Riddick |
Sources
- The Chronicles of Riddick (Film)
- The Chronicles of Riddick (Novel) by Alan Dean Foster
Gallery
