Balerodah

You pull your mind away, the visions ebb, you are standing in Sejanoz's sanctum, and Balerodah stands ahead, framed beneath a pointed arch. Not a memory — an ageless, bewitching woman wrapped in silk robes, her milk-white face smiling hypnotically, her black eyes blazing.
— Grand Master encounters Balerodah

Balerodah (born unknown, possibly died MS 5103), officially titled Imperial Autarchess Balerodah or simply Autarchess Balerodah, is an Agarashi shape-changer and member of the Naarvakim, whose last guise was that of the widow of Autarch Sejanoz, and governess of the city of Otavai in her own right. As one of the Naarvakim, her goal was to manipulate Sejanoz into returning Agarash the Damned to Magnamund, with Sejanoz taking his place in the Pit of Eternal Pain.

Balerodah took on the guise of every single one of Sejanoz's ninety wives throughout his life, with her first guise as the rebel warrior leader Asharah, fighting alongside Sejanoz during his rise to power.

In MS 5103, during the events of The Dusk of Eternal Night, should Grand Master choose to investigate Otavai in order to find more information about the Naarvakim's plans, Balerodah will be slain by Grand Master.

Appearance

As an Agarashi shape-changer, her appearance is variable. Balerodah has taken on many guises throughout millennia, as the ninety wives of Autarch Sejanoz.

As the ninetieth wife, Imperial Autarchess Balerodah, she is a tall figure, ageless, with dark eyes and speaks in soft, hypnotic tones. During the ceremony where she pledges allegiance to King Kardisa, she is dressed extravagantly in silk and pearls.

In her true form, during combat, she is a hairless bipedal Agarashi, with a bloated abdomen and a huge maw of oversized fangs.

History

Sejanoz's rise to power

Balerodah's birth is undocumented. As an Agarashi shape-changer, however, it may have been spawned in Naaros by the forces of Agarash. After Agarash's banishment to the Pit of Eternal Pain, it became one of the Naarvakim, a secret society devoted to bringing Agarash back to Magnamund.

Sejanoz came to power during the Golden Age of the Shianti, as a warrior and captain of the Vadhuzan Empire. His prowess in combat was matched by his immense ambition and desire to be admired. He encouraged, in secret, bandit raids in places that would later be called Bhanar, his future domain, and fought off these raids, basking in the glory. He later blamed the Vaduzhan Empire (the suzerain of Bhanar), and even the Shianti for neglecting Bhanar, becoming a hero of the Bhanarians. He then joined a party of secessionist rebels headed by Asharah, the warrior who would become Sejanoz's first wife. Sejanoz, however, was unaware that Asharah was an Agarashi shapeshifter.

Sejanoz eventually caused the Great Civil War and became the ruler of his own empire, Bhanar, with Asharah by his side. Sejanoz indeed tried to protect his subjects as a ruler, but his rise to power had created many enemies, and a martial coup was inevitable. However, Asharah revealed to him a way to become immortal, to become what he pretended to be.

Asharah told Sejanoz to construct a temple to Agarash the Damned. The forests in the north of Bhanar were torn down to create the city of Bakhasa, filled with countless temples. Many sacrifices were made here, enough to build a spirit bridge between Aon and the Pit of Eternal Pain where Agarash was trapped. Sejanoz spirit-walked to the Pit of Eternal Pain to make a bargain with Agarash: In exchange for immortality, once Sejanoz became powerful enough to rival the Children of Agarash, they would trade places — Sejanoz as the master of the Pit of Eternal Pain, and Agarash no longer the damned, master of Magnamund.

Sejanoz's fall

Now immortal, Sejanoz's power continued to grow, but his fate was sealed by the pact. Asharah continued to guide Sejanoz throughout his life, taking on at least ninety different forms, each as his newest wife, with Balerodah as her latest form. Grand Master later speculated that Sejanoz might have prolonged this process on purpose, delaying trading places with Agarash for centuries, to delay this fate.

At some point after this, Balerodah "gave birth" to a daughter, Princess Larikis; however as an Agarashi, this was not possible. Larikis is, in fact, a Vampire.

In MS 5085, prior to the events of Vampirium, Sejanoz sent a squad of his personal guards to the Doomlands of Naaros, the former domain of Agarash, where they excavated the Claw of Naar. Grand Master thwarted his plans, captured the Claw of Naar, and sought refuge in the city of Pensei in the friendly realm of Chai. However, this only served to provoke Sejanoz, who began a full-scale invasion of Chai in order to recover the Claw. During the events of The Hunger of Sejanoz, Grand Master thwarted these plans too, and killed Sejanoz using the Arrow of Atonement.

Intrigue with Kardisa

After the fall of Sejanoz, Chai forces sought revenge on Bhanar. They struck deep into Bhanar, looting the city of Yua Tzhan, in an event remembered as the Massacre of Yua Tzhan. A treaty signed between Chai and Mhytan (the Chai Sea Treaty) blockaded Bhanar, and in MS 5087, Bhanar's resistance collapsed. Chai Khea-khan Zha-zhing installed a political puppet, Overseer Klutan, on the throne of Bhanar.

In MS 5088, King Kardisa of Vaduzhan, the realm in which Sejanoz originally held allegiance to, invaded south-western Bhanar in an attempt to reclaim the lands that seceded from the Vaduzhan Empire: Bhanar, Mhytan and Chai. Chai opted not to oppose his claims to Bhanar, and Bhanar's capital, Otavai fell with no resistance, with Imperial Autarchess Balerodah surrendering immediately. This allowed her to retain her title, forces and governorship of the city. Reportedly, Balerodah hosted feasts while Kardisa invaded. She may have retained power due to her ability to ensnare audiences with a powerful mind-charm. Gradually, Overseer Klutan eventually lost control of most of Bhanar.

In MS 5101, Bakhasa, the city in which Sejanoz made the pact with Agarash, was seized by a Nadziranim sorceror named Zashnor. Bhanarian forces, wanting to avenge the Massacre of Yua Tzhan, allied themselves with Zashnor, and marched on Chai, who had recently lost their leader, and whose new ruler, sixteen year-old Lao Tin, lacked Zha-zhing's outstanding generalship. Zashnor too had other motives — he wished to capture the Eye of Agarash, an immensely-powerful artifact of Evil, and one that could be combined with the Claw of Naar to multiply their combined powers several hundred times over. During the events of The Storms of Chai, Grand Master foiled these plans as well, slew Zashnor, and delivered the Eye of Agarash to the safekeeping of the Kloon Sages.

In MS 5103, during the events of The Dusk of Eternal Night, King Kardisa travelled to Otavai, where Autarchess Balerodah planned to acknowledge Kardisa as her suzerain, and crown him as Emperor of the new, unified Vaduzhan Empire. Balerodah promised she would obtain, for the occasion, the surrender of the Agarashi occupying Bakhasa; Kardisa, blinded by ambition, did not see that this was only possible if Balerodah herself was an agent of Darkness. During the ceremony, she also encouraged Kardisa to break the Alliance of the New Kingdoms and invade Mhytan, despite Mythenian diplomats in the room; no protest was drawn, possibly due to her mind charms.

If the player chooses to investigate Otavai during The Dusk of Eternal Night for clues about the Naarvakim's plans, they will infiltrate Sejanoz's palace and the crowning ceremony. Here, Grand Master will find Sejanoz's Blood Soulsieve, which stores the memories of Sejanoz's enemies, but be interrupted by Balerodah, who engages Grand Master in combat. After a brutal combat, she will be slain by Grand Master.

In the gamebooks

Autarchess Balerodah is fought in The Dusk of Eternal Night at the end of the arc if Grand Master chooses to investigate Otavai to gather clues about the Naarvakim's next move. She is an extremely dangerous opponent that embodies the power of Chaos.

Autarchess Balerodah (Agarashi Shape-changer)
Combat Skill 51, Endurance 35
Immune to: Mindblast
↪The Dusk of Eternal Night: §220

If Grand Master does not have Kai-screen or a Grey Crystal Ring, Grand Master loses 2 Endurance per round of combat as Autarchess Baledorah will attack with her Mindforce. She is, however, vulnerable to Valiance, so this Kai Weapon's bonuses will apply.

Additionally, without Zhaaxa, she is capable of mutating Grand Master's limbs for the duration of the fight, if the player rolls a 1, 2 or 3 during the first round of combat (this can be reduced to just a 1, if the player meets Gildas in the dungeons beforehand), or 1 each round after this. The first time this occurs, Grand Master will lose the use of their weapon hand, meaning they can no longer use a two-handed weapon (unless Grand Master has Grand Weaponmastery and is Sun Knight or higher); the second time, Grand Master loses the ability to use any weapon whatsoever. Each mutation will inflict an extra 4 Endurance points of damage, and reduce Grand Master's Combat Skill by 4, and this is cumulative. If three mutations are suffered (four if Gildas' spirit was delivered), this causes Grand Master's body to be mutated beyond repair, causing death. After the combat, if any mutations were suffered, the Combat Skill losses will be returned, but 4 further Endurance points will be lost as Grand Master's body returns to normal.

It is notable that this also means that Balerodah can even reasonably kill a character that has been brought through multiple New Order books, and has a high-enough Combat Skill such that the Combat Ratio is at the maximum (unless Zhaaxa is worn).