Biography Variant 1 (ZBT).

A daemon commander from the ancient world, Balberith existed before the continent of Aurelica was formed and will likely persist after its destruction. A cunning Emissary of Chaos, Balberith is a far more dangerous opponent than virtually any other creature except potentially dragonkind. His two scimitars are enchanted with demonic energy to strike fear into weak-kneed opponents and his wings of bone are themselves dangerous blades, although few could survive an encounter with Balberith to inform others of this fact.

As a representative of Chaos within the realm of Aurelica, Balberith has gathered numerous Chaos-aligned species into his unholy army, chief among them the mountains ogres and the howler hordes, both of which were responsible for his greatest victory yet over the Titan-appointed dwarves of the Mountain Kingdom when he levelled their “impregnable” fortress, the Bastion, to the ground. Howlers had thrown themselves upon its walls for years without success, and so Balberith enlisted the ogres by plucking out an eye from their Warchief and brandishing it upon a sword for all to see.

Balberith ordered the terrified ogre legion to construct a great machine of war made from wood and stone capable of surmounting the high ramparts of Bastion. The siege tower crashed into the high walls while Balberith bought time for his legion of howlers and ogres by soaring to the ramparts and making a cruel slaughter of the defending dwarves and their defensive mechanisms. The destruction of the so-called “gate” to the Mountain Kingdom unleashed untold horrors upon the nearby dwarven cities, and has proved a blow by the Hand of Chaos from which the proud dwarves have yet to recover.

Biography Variant 2.

A daemon commander from the ancient world, Balberith existed before the continent of Aurelica was formed and will likely persist after its destruction. A cunning Emissary of Chaos, Balberith is a far more dangerous opponent than virtually any other known creature. His two scimitars are enchanted with demonic energy to strike fear into weak-kneed opponents and his wings of bone are themselves dangerous blades, although few could survive an encounter with Balberith to inform others of this fact.

Little is known about Balberith except that at some point he was defeated during the War in Heaven, and cast down into Aurelica, where he worked tirelessly to grant the Dark One unfettered access to our plane of existence. Balberith soon gathered numerous Dark-aligned species into an unholy legion, which he flung against the dwarves of the Mountain Kingdom and their “impregnable” fortresses surrounding the Rift.

While Darklings threw themselves against the battlements, Balberith soared to the ramparts and made a cruel slaughter of its defenders and their mechanisms. The dwarves looked on in horror as Balberith’s army leveled the so-called “key” to the Mountain Kingdom, the Bastion Gate, exposing the Rift and the dwarven cities to the Hand of Chaos.

Yet the dwarves did not fight alone that day. For the first time in many millennia, the Titan of Iron personally intervened in the affairs of mortals. The Titan cast Balberith into the Rift after extracting the daemon’s heart, which was to be kept safe by the ruling Molten Clan. The Titan then strictly charged his servants with the safeguarding of both the Rift and now “Heart of Fire”, warning the dwarves that neither the Dark One nor Balberith must ever be allowed to set foot once again in Aurelica without dire consequences.