Balkoth

Lord Balkoth is a fictional character from the Lords of Magic series based on a PC game and serves as the main antagonist in the plot. Balkoth is an Arch Demon that was summoned by Golgoth, the Lord of Death, to herald the coming days of darkness having deemed that the world of Urak was ripe for another era of terror and bloodshed.

Lord Balkoth was once a minor lord of the Elves. He lived more than a thousand years ago, born during the Seventh Rising. There was a prophecy that a White creature would turn Dark during this Rising, but of course it had been long forgotten by the time Balkoth came into the world. The blackness had wrapped around his heart when he was but a child. By the time he reached the Age of Sentience he had built a following of other elves who had been seduced by the terrible beauty of the darkness. He yearned for power and control, and appealed to Golgoth for help. He and his Dark Elf minions vowed their lives to their god if he would but grant them the power to subjugate and possess the world. Balkoth and his followers conducted a blood ritual involving the slaughter of hundreds of innocents from all the races of Urak within the Temple of Death. This so pleased Golgoth that he granted Balkoth Demonhood together with the power and authority to lead the armies of Death against all of Urak.

Balkoth the Destroyer now began his campaign of death. He led the Dark Elves and others who ascribed to the Black Religions against the powers of Life and the Elements. Town after town shattered under his onslaught, and the mortal beings who stood against him fell by the thousands. But standing against him were the lords of Urak. They battled Balkoth, and in a frenzy of death and destruction trapped his soul inside the Great Amulet of Darkness.

As the horrors of the Battle of Golgoth and the War of Balkoth faded through the centuries, Urak became ripe for another onslaught from the powers of Darkness. Five hundred years have passed since Balkoth was cast into the Amulet, but even that great stretch of time meant nothing to the powers of Evil. Golgoth had returned and freed Balkoth from his eternal prison to lead the forces of Darkness in a final campaign against all of Urak.

Balkoth is Golgoth’s most favored disciple and leads the armies of Death against all the other seven faiths of Urak. His armies consist mainly of Dark Elves and the Undead. Death magic is arguably one of the most potent forces on the face of Urak, boasting spells which corrupt the very land, which kill instantaneously or which raise the fallen to serve.

Lord Balkoth is truly a force to be reckoned with. He cannot be effectively categorized into any of the three main classes of Lords in Urak, despite his title as Necromancer Lord, but rather is an amalgamation of the three. Having spent a millennium perfecting his power and abilities, Balkoth combines the strength and resilience of the Warrior together with the range and agility of the Rogue as well as the sheer power and intellect of the Mage. In addition to his already formidable repertoire of skills, Balkoth rides to battle atop his steed – a fearsome giant bat, granting him the ability of flight – an ability that no other Lord of Urak possess.

As Golgoth’s most favored, Lord Balkoth was granted an artifact of legendry power that was named in his honor – Balkoth’s Scythe. The scythe can only be wielded by the Dark Lord alone, granting him vampirism, the ability to claim the souls of his victims – killing them instantly, the innate ability to summon a locust swarm upon his foes and dark crystal generation. The artifact is bound to Balkoth’s very soul and grows in power with it’s master.

The player’s role in Lords of Magic is to unite the faiths and ultimately defeat Lord Balkoth in combat, a daunting task, in order to restore peace to Urak. Having once defeated the Dark Lord however, will make Balkoth and the Death faith open to selection in future battles where the player will be able to take up the cause of Golgoth to purge Urak of all goodness and plunge the land into eternal darkness.

Note: The account of Lord Balkoth given is taken from "The Story of Urak" as told by Balathustrius, found in the Lords of Magic game manual, as well as from actual gameplay.

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