Malakhims

Malakhims (マラキム, Marakimu), or just Malaks (マラク, Maraku) for short, are supernatural beings in the Tales of RWBY series. They are a tribe of spiritual beings who use the powers of nature and are used as familiars. An Empyrean Beast is an extremely powerful form of malakhim. Malakhims are beings whose origin can be traced back tens of thousands of years. The Normins are a form of malaks and use the name to differentiate them from the humanoid malakhims.

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 * —About Malakhims.

Anatomy and Design
Their concepts, are completely different to that of the Spirits - with exception of being a spiritual being used for their arte prowess and that they share the similar traits but are just abstracts of former spirit forms.

There are many different type of Malaks. Despite all being one race, some appear in shapes of animals and others in shapes of mythological beasts; something which is not present for a human variation of the form. They can exist in both human and non-human form.

Characteristics and Culture
Malakhims were said to originally carry a will during a certain point in their life referred to as "awakening" but the Malakhims under The Abbey's and in general of control of any exorcists, have their will sealed off and were somehow enslaved and used by exorcists to enact magical effects. Likewise, they are regarded by exorcists to be without ego, mere tools, but the existence of Eizen and Bienfu, with their own strong personalities, act as counters to those assumptions.

According to Eizen, a malak's true name holds a special meaning toward themselves and is not something to be told lightly to others, except to the their vessels. When it is told to those other than vessels, true names can mean both "an unbreakable trust" and a "love confession".