| “ | Be'lakor, Chaos Daemon Prince, has known many different names. He is a creature who wields unholy weapons and abilities, and a figure who once commanded legions of unnatural beings. | „ |
| ~ The Dark Master |
Be'lakor is a major demonic villain from the Warhammer franchise and a main antagonist of Total War: Warhammer III. He is the first mortal to become a Daemon Prince of Chaos and the "Father-in-Shadows" to the current Everchosen, Archaon. He is known by many names: the First Damned, the First Prince of Chaos, the Harbinger and the One Who Heralds the Conquerors. He also appears in Slayer, the last book of the Gotrek & Felix series.
History[]
Warhammer Fantasy[]
Many thousands of years ago, Be'lakor was a mortal blessed and turned into a greater daemon by all Chaos Gods. In the time before the rise of the Elves against Chaos, Be'lakor held the world in an iron fist, commanding hordes of daemons in the name of Chaos. As absolute ruler of the world, Be'lakor began to look upon mortals with disdain. His arrogance led to his downfall, incurring the ire of the Dark God Tzeentch, Changer of the Ways. The Lord of Magic cursed Be'lakor and stripped him of his power, denying him physical form and forcing him into mindless subservience to Chaos. As a final twisted curse, Tzeentch forced Be'lakor to become the Harbinger, the one who would crown the Everchosen. Tzeentch granted the hate-filled spirit access to the secret paths to the Crown of Domination, an ancient battle helm that was the symbol of the Everchosen, attainable only by running a gauntlet of Daemons and Chaos Spawn at the First Shrine to Chaos, deep in the World's Edge Mountains. But Be'lakor would never wear it himself... a fact that incensed him more than his bodiless state.
Be'lakor first conducted his dark coronation thousands of years before the rise of Archaon. The first Everchosen, Morkar (the villain of Heroquest), had risen a great army and, with the blessings of the Dark Gods, was given the task of making the world a permanent wasteland of Chaos. Screaming his rage to the winds, Be'lakor descended into his own realm of madness, not seeing the battles won by Morkar, nor the rise of the man who would be a great bane of Chaos, Sigmar Heldenhammer. Sigmar met Morkar in combat in a battle that would determine the fate of the world. The battle was likened to that between gods, but in the end Sigmar struck the killing blow, destroying Morkar and ending his incursion. From the ashes of this battle, Sigmar became the first Emperor of the united human tribes. For thousands of years since, his Empire has endured as a beacon of humanity in the Old World.
Because of the fickle nature of Chaos, Be'lakor was able to avoid fulfilling his hated role by assuming the form of the Shadowlord in the blighted city of Mordheim. There, he possessed the body of the next favoured warlord, Khaardun the Gloried. Believing he had defeated the Dark Gods' curse, Be'lakor grew enraged when he discovered he was trapped. He was unable to reach the Crown of Domination in his physical form, and could only be sustained by the warpstone permeating Mordheim's ruins. His fury and insanity eventually destroyed his physical body, forcing him back into the shadow paths to guard the Crown of Domination. Be'lakor, watching from the heavens, screamed in fury as new chosen conquerors fell in combat again and again. He knew that if the Dark Gods had not cursed him, he would have destroyed Sigmar himself millennia earlier, and the multiple Everchosens would not have been required.
Meeting Archaon[]
Be'lakor was subject to another End Times champion when Archaon started to subjugate the northern tribes while claiming the necessary relics to be named the Everchosen. Be'lakor held the Crown of Domination, and was the only one who could conduct the coronation, and only the Everchosen could receive the crown.
Furthermore, this soon-to-be Everchosen was unlike any who had come before him, for he was his "protégé": Be'lakor sought to create a perfect champion to bring about the next age of Chaos, one whose body Be'lakor would itself assume when the time was right. To assure this champion's safety, Be'lakor had to make sure to watch the child's behalf several times, without which he never would have been born or else died several times over. In fact, the Daemon Prince had to reset several time itself several times for the champion to survive. Despite this, however, he would not go easy on the one who sought to become the Lord of the End Times.
Be'lakor, in his guise as the Dark Master, had planned to take the Crown of Domination for himself, gather enough power to gain physical form by holding the island of Albion in his grip, then descend on Archaon and feast on his soul in the view of the Dark Gods. However, his plans fell apart and, his immortal spirit filled with fury, Be'lakor was once again forced to perform the dark coronation. Descending like a dark angel, Be'lakor knelt before Archaon, hatred and rage filling his soul. He would once again be on the sidelines in the next great Chaos War.
Warhammer Age of Sigmar[]
Warhammer 40,000[]
Other Media[]
Total War: Warhammer 3[]
Be'lakor serves as the true antagonist of The Lost God prologue, and the main antagonist of The Realm of Chaos campaign.
The Lost God[]
During The Lost God, A Kislev Prince, Yuri Barkov, departs into the chaos wastes in order to find the Kislev God Ursun. Eventually, after weeks of searching, and most of his expedition dead, Yuri breaks down begging for Ursun to answer him. He screams for an answer, and manages to get a response. However, this was not Ursun speaking to Yuri, but rather, Be'lakor. Throughout the prologue, Be'lakor leads Yuri through the Chaos Wastes under the guise of Ursun. Through out his journey, Yuri is tricked into taking up chaos artifacts that slowly corrupt him into the service of the dark gods. Arriving at a portal, Yuri is met face to face with Ursun. However, Yuri, influenced by Be'lakor, shoots Ursun in the heart, fatally wounding him. Yuri leaves believing he has killed Ursun. With Ursun now dying, the main campaign, The Realm of Chaos begins.
The Realm of Chaos[]
Be'lakor returns as the main antagonist of The Realm of Chaos campaign. After Ursun's "death" the world was left in disarray. Kislev believed their god was dead, and went into mourning, and various other factions took advantage of the situation. Be'lakor's fate remains unknown until later. In order to progress the campaign and understand the fate of Be'lakor and Ursun, the player must take up arms as one of the playable factions. Through out the campaign, Ursun will roar, allowing them to enter the Realm of Chaos, where they must defeat a daemon prince and take their soul to progress the game. After claiming the first Daemon Prince soul, A cutscene depicts Be'lakor's origin. It tells of his ascension to daemonhood. However, he began to demand more of the chaos gods. He was struck down, his fortress destroyed, and his form taken from him, turning him into a shadow. It then fasts forward to him standing over Ursun, planning his revenge.
After gaining the second Daemon soul, Be'lakor's plan continues. He leeches power from the dying god Ursun, allowing him to regain his physical form. Be'lakor gloats over Ursun while Ursun threatens to tear his flesh off. Once the third Daemon Prince soul is gained, Be'lakor and Ursun speak to each-other once more. Be'lakor anticipates the arrival of the various factions coming to the Forge of Souls for Ursun, intending to use them to forge himself an army of their remains. Be'lakor activates the forge of souls, and then leads forth an army into the mortal realm while he awaits Ursun's death. After claiming the last Daemon soul, Be'lakor gloats as Ursun finally dies. With his death, Be'lakor begins to have his throme absorb his power. With his plan now in full motion, Be'lakor plans to ascend to godhood, allowing him to finally enact his revenge on the chaos gods, and dominate the world. However, the faction that claimed the four daemon prince souls goes to the Forge of Souls to stop Be'lakor's plan.
The faction the player chooses must venture into The Forge of Souls to defeat Be'lakor before he ascends. Upon arrival, Be'lakor invites them to try, but claims they will fail regardless. The player's army must fight through the forge of souls to defeat Be'lakor for good. Once they arrived at his throne, Be'lakor gets up and engages the player's army in battle. Despite his efforts, Be'lakor is defeated. With his defeat, the winning faction does whatever they intended with what remains of Ursun. Be it use it for their own gain, dominance, or bringing him back to life. Be'lakor's fate however is the players choice. They player can choose one of two options. Banish Be'lakor, destroying his physical form, and returning him to the shadows, and gaining a major buff. The player can also enthrall Be'lakor, forcing him to fight as a lord for their faction. Regardless of choice, Be'lakor's plan to become a god fails, and the winning faction uses Ursun for their own designs.
Warhammer: Vermintide 2[]
Be'lakor serves as a minor antagonist (remains important lorewise) in the video game Warhammer: Vermintide 2, first appearing as the "Nameless Voice" whispering taunting remarks and snickering insults to the main characters until his name was revealed during the Chaos Wastes free update. Whenever players descend to the Chaos Wastes, there is a chance Be'lakor will taunt the players' chosen character about their past mistakes or trying to persuade them to join the forces of Chaos. There is also a chance for Be'lakor speaking to the characters if the mission is Castle Drachenfels, which the Daemon Prince whispers again taunting remarks in the players' ears only for them to ignore or doubt the insults.
| “ | Insolent flesh-sack! | „ |
| ~ Be'lakor angered by Markus Kruber's insult. |
As ever, Be'lakor plans to grow powerful enough to become the "Fifth Ruinous Power" and attempts to ascend into godhood, challenging the other Chaos Gods. In-game, Be'lakor challenges the player(s) in the Chaos Wastes and levels marked with his presence are actually part of his "soon-to-be domain". Upon entering the level, Be'lakor will create totems capable of endlessly summoning hordes of enemies, either be regular, elite or special. The totems can be destroyed and upon destruction, the hordes ceases to be summoned.
Quotes[]
| “ | How many men have you trained? How many actually marched back from war? | „ |
| ~ Be'lakor taunting Markus Kruber's training regimens in Warhammer: Vermintide 2 |
| “ | You're not a hero. You're not a champion. They're not your friends. You're a mercenary. Coin is your bread, and blood is your wine. | „ |
| ~ Be'lakor taunting Kruber's life in Warhammer: Vermintide 2 |
| “ | You're a poor soldier, Markus. Soldiers takes orders. They win their battles. | „ |
| ~ Be'lakor taunting Kruber inside Castle Drachenfels (Warhammer: Vermintide 2). |
{{Quote|Everything for which you've striven is coming to naught, Markus. I thought you should know.|Be'lakor taunting Markus inside the Chaos Wastes (Warhammer: Vermintide 2}.}
| “ | Markus, Markus, Markus... Surely a mercenary knows a lost cause when he sees one? | „ |
| ~ Be'lakor speaking to Markus (Warhammer: Vermintide 2). |
| “ | *sounds of a weeping girl* Missing your family, Bardin? Well, it's your own fault. | „ |
| ~ Be'lakor taunting Bardin Goreksson in Warhammer: Vermintide 2. |
Gallery[]
References[]
- Be'lakor on the Warhammer Fantasy Lexicanum.
- Be'lakor on the Warhammer Age of Sigmat Lexicanum.
- Be'lakor on the Warhammer 40,000 Lexicanum.
Trivia[]
- The Australian death metal band Be'lakor was inspired by the character's name.
