BALTHAZAR, God of War and Fire

For weeks did the battle rage on, and those who had taken up the mantle of war grew weary and their courage began to falter.

Then did Balthazar, god of war and fire, appear to the soldiers, carrying with him a grand sword that did glow with such brilliance it blinded any who looked upon it. When he spoke, His voice was like thunder, and it shook the ground with force.

Then saith He, "Lift up thy weapons. For you are my soldiers, and must you be steadfast, strong, and brave of heart. They who neither hesitate nor stumble shall be rewarded. Then shall you have glory. Then shall your deeds be remembered for eternity."

And then did release from His sword a hundred thousand flames, which encircled the soldiers. For this was the fire of courage, and forthwith did they follow the god into battle without fear or hesitation. Thence was the enemy struck down.

-- Scriptures of Balthazar: 48 BE


Balthazar is the god of war and fire, and Patron of Warriors, Pyromancers, some fearsome Monks, and some Paragons.

Where does Balthazar comes from?

When 'The Enemy' was asked to choose one of his followers, he called for his first General, the bravest of all the ancient Demons, who could by himself keep all Pendemonium at Bay: The Mighty Belzebub, also known in some cultures as Belzebuth, Baal or... Balthazar.

In gratitude for his loyalty, Balthazar was offered his own followers, his own realm, beyond the Underworld, where the souls of the bravest of all warriors would be eternally rewarded.

In order to be recognized as the God of War and Fire, Balthazar decided to forge his own Sword in the very fires of Hell, and as he escaped Pendomonium in order to reach in his Realm, The famous Fissure of Woe, his Demon shape changed into something else. Indeed, Belzebub was not a demon any more but had been granted independance. First, he did not have part of his old Master inside him. Secondly, he did not belong the realms of demons any more. For Hell, in its unpleasant climatic condition, was the very reason that turned all the rebel angels into demons.

But Balthazar also wished to keep part of his demonic identity. And as he less and less demonic, he realized that he had turned into the shape of a scarred and strong warrior veteran, close to the Pagan God Odin, that the Vikings used to venerate. In the end, he was now an independant God with warrior followers and a promising realm of recognition for the mightiest of all. He was very close to that concept Odin used to be, and the Fissure of Foe was not far from the concept of Valhallah.

Today, it is not known though Balthazar kept his demonic horns, as we see in some of his effigies, or though his horns belong to his helm, as we can see in other effegies, in order to confirm his fondness for the Odin model.

After Belzebub assured 'the Enemy' to be supportive of the new leader of the Underworld (who ended up being Grenth), a breaching gate was opened in Pendemonium in order to let him out before 'The Enemy' would split his self among all the hellish creatures who dwelled below.

Menzies, Belzebub's half-brother (Indeed, among the first generation of Angels, all had 'The One and Only' as father... The fact that they were all created with seperate divine materials makes them half-brothers though...) who was also a great general of 'The Enemy' was very jealous of his master's unconditional decision. Menzies was not expecting any democratic manners from the Master of Demon-cracy, but he thought that Belzebub's appointment was too rushed and source of discord for the other important followers of 'The Enemy'.

Unnoticed (Menzies was reputated for his secrecy), he followed Balthazar through the breaching gate and also escaped Pendamonium with the latter.

Since that day, Balthazar and Menzies are at war, and Menzies is only craving for one thing: destituting Balthazar and proving his past Master that he had chosen wrong.