"His eyes peering from behind that mask give me the shivers every time. Is he even Human?"
- —Gold Order Adept Kadmus Kaldtwell, speaking quietly about his Supreme Patriarch.[4a]
Balthasar Gelt of the Gold Order, the Supreme Patriarch of the Imperial Colleges of Magic.
Balthasar Gelt, called the "Arch-alchemist," [16a] is the current Supreme Patriarch of the Imperial Colleges of Magic and one of the Empire's greatest wizards of the age. The position of supreme patriarch is the highest attainable position by a wizard within the Empire. The supreme patriarch is responsible for advising Emperor Karl Franz in all decisions dealing with the arcane.[3c]
Every few years each of the eight Colleges of Magic elect one of their number to duel with an equal counterpart. The victor of this arcane duel receives the office of supreme patriarch and the right to wield the ancient Staff of Volans.[3c]
Balthasar Gelt is the most recent winner of this exalted position. Such is his skill in the art of magic that he managed to defeat the former supreme patriarch, Thyrus Gormann of the Bright Order, in the ritual duel at the Obsidian Hall, taking over as Supreme Patriarch of the Colleges of Magic and replacing the long-standing prominence of the Lore of Fire and Bright Wizards within the Colleges with that of the Lore of Metal and his own Gold Order.[3c]
Since that day, the new supreme patriarch, riding a Pegasus named Quicksilver surrounded by a golden halo, has appeared on many battlefields where the emperor's soldiers are fighting. Now the Winds of Magic blow strongly for the Gold College as their fortunes are once again on the rise.[3c]
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History
"When asked: "What is the name of the stone that burns?" Thou shalt respond: "Sulpher to be mixed with mercury."
"When asked "What is the name of the universal solvent?" Thou shalt respond: "Al-kahest."
"When asked: "What is the name of the remedy for all maladies?" Thou shalt respond: "Panacea Universalis."
"When asked: "What is the name of the acme of the Art?" Thou shalt respond: "The Elixir of Life."
"When asked: "What is the name of the noblest of metals?" Thou shalt respond: "Gold."
- —Balthasar Gelt, The Training of the Alchemist[1b]
Supreme Patriarch of the Imperial Orders of Magic Balthasar Gelt, Gold Wizard and master of the Lore of Metal.
Early Life
According to his official biography, Magister Patriarch Balthasar Gelt was born the son of a master apothecary and doctor in the court of a Border Kingdoms prince. As a youth he showed an exceptional talent for compounding medicines and an understanding of the properties of minerals and herbs that surpassed the skill of other men with many decades of experience.[4a]
Fascinated with alchemy, as a young man, Gelt left home and travelled the southern Old World, studying with master alchemists in Araby, Tilea, and Estalia. In each, the student inevitably became the teacher as he absorbed and expanded on their wisdom, with his tutors inevitably acknowledging him as their master. Eventually, he came to the Empire by way of Marienburg where, in Altdorf, the senior magisters of the Gold Order admitted him without first serving an apprenticeship.[4a]
But this story is a fiction -- or, at best, speculation.[4a]
Time in the Colleges
The icon of the Golden Order army of the Empire commanded by Supreme Patriarch Balthasar Gelt in Total War: Warhammer III.
What is known is that Gelt arrived in Marienburg fifteen years ago (ca. 2497 IC) [Note 1] aboard a Tilean merchant ship, making a hasty exit from the city when the gold he used to pay for his passage turned to lead a few days later. Though he speaks Reikspiel with the diction and vocabulary of the nobility, his accent betrays hints of something more exotic, though none have been able to place it.[3c][4a]
As for his prior life, discreet investigations in southern lands have learned little. Those known to have dealt with Balthasar Gelt -- almost assuredly not his real name, though no earlier is known -- refuse to speak of him.[3c][4a] There are rumours that the sea captain Gelt swindled with the transmuted gold has placed a rich bounty on Balthasar's head, though few would dare to attempt to collect it.[3c]
It is true that the senior magisters and then-matriarch of the Gold Order, Magdalena Althaus, granted him status as a licenced magister without passing the usual tests -- no one before or since has shown such skill with a single one of the Winds of Magic without formal training, yet Gelt demonstrated an undisputable mastery of Chamon. His zeal made him effective both in the workshop and the lecture hall, where he was quite popular with the apprentices.[4a] His research included notable studies of Alkahest and True Transmutation.[9a] Within a mere decade, his skill carried him past several more senior magisters to become the youngest Magister Patriarch of the Gold Order since its founder, Cas Meijer.[4a][3c]
Supreme Patriarch Balthasar Gelt of the Gold Order as rendered for Total War: Warhammer.
Gelt reached his position by deposing his immediate predecessor, the corrupt Christa Feldmann, who had turned to worship the Chaos God Tzeentch and who sacrificed beggars from Altdorf to the malignant deity for her own advancement. [9a][8b]
Gelt's inquisitive intelligence and open-minded approach made him popular with both the Gold College and the lesser alchemist guilds scattered around Altdorf and the Reikland.[8a] Balthasar's research into new formulations of blackpowder even made him popular with the Imperial Engineers School, an organisation that often dismisses magic as superstitious nonsense. However, during his studies, a freak explosion almost ended Balthasar Gelt's quest for knowledge forever.[3c]
Gelt did his experiment alone, refusing entry even to his apprentices. It was thought at the time that he was working on creating the long-sought spiritual Alkahest. Regardless, something went horribly wrong. One night, an explosion rocked the college buildings. Golden light, brighter than the sun, and yellow smoke billowed from the laboratory. Then came the scream, a cry of agony and horror that tore through the night.[4a] Some believe that the captain that he deceived had a hand in the event.[2b]
Somehow, Gelt survived and from that day on he has only ever been seen swathed in shimmering, metallic robes and wearing a golden face mask. Some say that beneath his mask his skin has turned to pure gold, while others whisper that he is horribly disfigured, though the truth of the matter is known only to Gelt.[3c] His personality also changed, becoming coldly logical and devoid of emotion.[4a]
One thing is certain; the accident only furthered his will to succeed, and his determination increased his powers to new heights. The transmutation of common artefacts into precious metal has always fascinated Gelt. Driven by his obsession, he spent many years combining his knowledge of alchemy, learnt in far-off lands, with the magical Lore of Metal. [3c]
Duel for the Staff of Volans
"Thyrus Gormann, you forgot that the essence of metal is in equal parts stone and fire. This has caused your defeat. I could take your life now, but the Empire needs your power against its many enemies, your order requires your leadership and I would rather have you as a friend. Do you recognise my authority?"
- —Balthasar Gelt[1c]
Balthasar Gelt drawing on the might of Chamon.
In the traditional duel among the Magister Patriarchs of the Orders of Magic in the Hall of Duels, Gelt managed to be selected for the position of Challenger for his College, facing Thyrus Gormann of the Bright Order, the three-time winner of the office of the Supreme Patriarch of the Colleges. The goal of the duel was to seize the Staff of Volans, suspended in the middle of the hall by magic.[1c][10b]
Gelt began the duel by transforming into liquid metal to reach the Staff quickly. When Gormann countered it and restrained him with the Crimson Bands, calling upon his own magic to grant him fiery wings with which to fly towards the Staff, Gelt in his turn countered Gormann's plan by transmuting the robe of the Battle Wizard into lead, causing him to crash, after dispelling the restraints laid upon him. Gormanns' conjured Scarlet Scimitar clashed against the Burnished Gauntlet that the Gold Wizard had summoned upon, cancelling the two spells out.[1c][10b]
Imprisoning his rival in a Golden Cage, Gelt played upon the aggressiveness of Gormann, who used a concentrated beam of heat to pierce through the cage to burn Gelt to a cinder. Blocking the ray with a shield of his own, Gelt used the spell of his fellow patriarch as a contact point to channel his own spell into him. While Gormann maintained the beam that could have killed Gelt had it touched him, the pyromancer found that his body turned to gold. Forced to interrupt his assault in order to counter this transmutation, Gormann then casted a great wall of fire around the Staff, to prevent Gelt from taking it.[1c][10b]
Yet the Gold Wizard proved canny, transforming his own arm into gold to grasp the Staff through the flames. Using the power invested into the artefact, Gelt turned Thyrus Gormann into a golden statue, with only his mouth and eyes spared. Gormann submitted, and Balthasar Gelt became the new Supreme Patriarch of the Imperial Colleges of Magic.[1c][10b]
Supreme Patriarch
Balthasar Gelt unleashing his magic in service to the Empire.
Since his ascension to lead the Imperial Orders of Magic, Balthasar Gelt has become one of the more recognisable wizards, being lauded as a hero of the Empire.[7a]
In 2516 IC, the Empire stood on the brink of civil war as Theoderic Gausser, the Elector Count of Nordland, sought to enact his territorial ambitions against neighbouring Hochland. Emperor Karl Franz asked Balthasar Gelt to intervene on his behalf, and the Supreme Patriarch travelled to Salzenmund, the capital of Nordland.[3b]
Though ostensibly there as an ambassador, Gelt secretly transmuted the gold earmarked for Theoderic's armies and mercenaries into worthless bars of lead before returning to Altdorf on the back of a Pegasus. The hired swords refused to fight without payment and the looming threat of civil war was narrowly averted. In revenge, Theoderic gausser swore that he would have Gelt's head.[3b]
Slaughter at Six Spikes
Balthasar Gelt was instrumental in the Imperial victory at the Slaughter at the Six Spikes against a brayherd of the Beastmen in 2519 IC. [3a] During the battle, wizards of the Empire sought to turn the tide against the magical bombardment they were receiving, and the Reiksmarshal did all he could to stave off disaster.
A counter-charge by the knights of the Reiksguard bought time for the regiments of handgunners to reload and pour more fire into the bestial horde. All too quickly, however, a pair of Ghorgons, using their great bladed appendages like scythes, swept through a regiment of halberdiers and threatened to roll up the Imperial right flank. Indeed, they would have done so if they hadn't stopped to gorge, stuffing mangled corpses by twos and threes into their maws; the cracking of bones and the cries of horror from those too wounded to escape was audible over the din of battle. Using the time to bring up reserves, Kurt Helborg shored up the ever-tightening battlelines, but even fresh troops could only just hold back the attack. Reaching the bray-shamans atop the black stones was impossible.[6a]
Gelt then arrived with the unleashed beasts of the Imperial Zoo. Many Griffons, Manticores, and even the mighty Imperial Dragon were sent from above to attack the bray-shamans on the rocks. Balthasar rode atop his Pegasus and launched devastating spells at the enemy. Several of the flying beasts were sniped with potent spells from the Beastmen. Those that survived swooped upon the remaining bray-shamans, clawing them off the spikes. Balthasar himself turned a shaman to gold before tipping him off the pylon in order to land his Pegasus atop the jagged black rock.[6a]
Immediately, the Supreme Patriarch felt magical energy coursing through him. Wasting no time, the greatest of the Gold Wizards cast a mighty spell at the surrounding Beastmen. A vast golden orb burst from Balthasar's gleaming staff, the Staff of Volans, growing in size and brilliant lustre while it rolled towards the enemy. In its wake, it left behind a field of gilded statues, creatures of Chaos frozen forever in looks of agony on their bestial faces. The beleaguered men of the Empire cheered.[6a]
Suddenly freed from their mental duels with the bray-shamans, several wizards transported themselves atop the now unoccupied waystones. Soon fireballs crashed into the ranks of the Beastmen and lava bubbled from the ground beneath their hooves, consuming the mutated creatures in geysers of molten rock. Elsewhere, Ghorgons were buried alive under titanic hills levitated on high and then dropped in an avalanche from the sky. Panicked at last by the unrelenting magical onslaught, the surviving Beastmen fled towards the safety of the treeline, but none escaped the wrath of the wizards.[6a]
Observing the growing crack in the skies and hearing the dark lures of forbidden secrets whispered on the gusts of the Winds of Magic, Balthasar Gelt ordered the Six Spikes destroyed as soon as it was apparent that no single foe remained alive. Impervious to magic and repeated strikes from cannonballs, the black towers were finally toppled thanks to the guidance of Imperial Engineers and the muscle-power of hundreds of soldiers pulling together.[6a]
The black rocks were buried in deep pits in the ground and sealed with powerful enchantments before the Imperial troops marched away from the foreboding area. As they trudged wearily back to the roadways leading out of the forest, the heaped funeral pyres of the dead sent up plumes of oily smoke. Naturally, the spying eyes of the Skaven observed all of this. Soon, the ratmen reasoned, it would be time to get to work breaking the magical seals. Soon the much coveted black rocks, and power untold, would be theirs for the taking.[6a]
Defeat of Luthor von Krüger
"No, brothers, no, it is the only way. We must fight fire with fire."
- —Balthasar Gelt.[12a]
Supreme Patriarch Balthasar Gelt as rendered for Total War: Warhammer.
During his time as Supreme Patriarch of the Orders of Magic, Gelt, along with the wizards Valst Lishen of the Light Order and Braygan Fievelgrim of the Bright Order, came to the aid of Graf Ziegfried at the borders of Sylvania and the Empire. A Vampire Lord by the name of Luthor von Krüger had raised a large army of Undead, made a pact with a Dark Emissary from Albion and chained powerful monsters to his will, empowered by a Storm of Magic, and was now following the course of the storm to the Empire.[12a]
Against the warnings of his brother wizards, Gelt decided to use the Storm of Magic to enter a Daemonic Pact, using the Daemons of Chaos to fight the Undead.[12b] During the battle, Gelt managed to overtake the Arcane Fulcrums and turned the battle to his favour.[12c] After the victory, the Light Wizard Lishen warned the Supreme Patriarch that there would be consequences for his breach of conduct and that his order would be informed.[12d]
Volkmar's Crusade
In 2522 IC, Grand Theogonist Volkmar the Grim of the Cult of Sigmar led a crusade against Sylvania in order to retake the foul necromantic artefact known as the Crown of Sorcery that had been stolen by the Vampire Lord Mannfred von Carstein from the vaults of the Cathedral of Sigmar in Altdorf.[15a]
After the Battle at the Barrows at Castle Sternieste, Balthasar Gelt enacted a ritual to contain Sylvania, warned by a coded call for aid from the Luminark of Hysh stationed at Templehof by Magister Jovi Sunscryer. Using the buried holy symbols at the border of Sylvania as a focus, he freed them and bound them in a fence or cage of holy light that prevented any Undead from leaving Sylvania.[15b]
In secret, the idea for this "wall of faith" had not come from Gelt. Instead, it had been suggested to him by the Daemon known as the Changeling, wearing the face of his apprentice Dieter. The Changelings' master, the Chaos God Tzeentch, had wished the Vampires of Sylvania removed from the events that were soon to take place. [16w]
End Times
Creation of the Auric Bastion
Balthasar Gelt, the Cager of Sylvania
As the End Times commenced, the armies of Chaos pressed once more into the Empire after Kislev fell all too easily. Faced with these threats, Gelt was contacted by an agent of the Vampiric Lahmian Sisterhood. He was informed that he should expand his rampart and create a wall of faith and magic at the borders of the Empire that would keep the armies of the Daemonic at bay. When Gelt protested that such a thing had never been done, the agent told him that it had, far away, and provided him with a scroll that detailed the ritual necessary.[16b]
Declaring Kislev already lost, Gelt enacted his plan to build the wall of Arcane Magic and Divine Magic called the Auric Bastion, designed to keep the Chaos Northmen barbarians and their Daemonic masters out of the lands of the Empire. The wizards of the Light Order raised the border hills high and reshaped them into a wall whose ramparts were lost within the clouds. Priests from all across the Empire directed their prayers to strengthen the wall, a union made possible thanks to the labour of the Gold Order who had changed the nature of mortar and stone just enough to seal these prayers in.[16c]
The Auric Bastion could not be climbed or destroyed, for the faith invested in it caused it to self-repair. Yet in order for it to continue to function as an effective barrier, a constant stream of magical energy was necessary. To this end, Gelt installed a great chain of ritual circles, stretching from the former Kislevite port city of Erengrad to Rackspire in the Worlds Edge Mountains, where priests and wizards worked together to maintain the spells that held the bastion in place.[16c]
During Geheimnisnacht in 2524 IC, the Liche Lord Nagash was resurrected and the dead rose to serve the Great Necromancer once more. Gelt was questioned by the Imperial High Command whether his cage of faith around Sylvania still stood. Though the Supreme Patriarch tried to convince Emperor Karl Franz that he was still in control of the barrier that kept the Vampires from leaving Sylvania, the truth was that he did not know. Further questions were postponed, for the ritual circle at Alderfen maintaining the Auric Bastion had failed and Gelt was sent to rectify the situation.[16d] It was then that Gelt began to suspect that Karl Franz sought to replace him as the leader of the Orders of Magic with Gregor Martak.[16e]
Alderfen
Balthasar Gelt as depicted in concept art for Total War: Warhammer.
Coming to the aid of Wolfram Hertwig, Elector Count of Ostermark, Gelt saw that the wizards and priests responsible for the ritual circle at Alderfen had been slain by an unseen hand.[16f] As the Supreme Patriarch tried to mend the breach in the Auric Bastion, Hertwig and his troops engaged the armies under the command of Festak Krann, a Champion of Nurgle.[16g] Gelt did not participate in the great Battle of Alderfen that ensued, but instead worked to repair the Auric Bastion, which he achieved while also managing the feat of imprisoning a Great Unclean One, Gurug'ath, within it.[16h]
Yet Gelt lacked the knowledge of the Light Order to make his repair of the Auric Bastion permanent. His command over Chamon was without equal, but the Wind of Light, Hysh, eluded him. Yet in having deepened his understanding of the Auric Bastion in order to maintain the ritual, Gelt had become touched by Hysh as well as the bizarre eddies of magic that melded with and sustained the miracles unleashed by those of the Sigmarite faith. He could hear voices where others heard only silence, and could see secrets hidden even from other members of the Colleges of Magic.[16i]
The new discovery was terrifying and exhilarating, both because of the long-standing warnings of what happened to wizards who overreached themselves and paid a tithe in their sanity, and because of the new possibilities for prestige and understanding it brought.[16i]
With his new understanding, Gelt analysed what could have brought death to the original ritualists in Alderfen and found traces of Daemonic energy. Taking his suspicions to Ar-Ulric Emil Valgeir, the high priest of the Cult of Ulric confirmed his suspicions and warned him that a shapeshifter must be loose among them.[16j]
Before Gelt could start an investigation, he was recalled to Castle von Rauken, where Emperor Karl Franz demanded a report of the battle, as well as of the heroic deeds of a young man named Valten.[16j]
While Gelt's repair of the Auric Bastion was lauded, Reiksmarshall Kurt Helborg launched a rancorous onslaught against the Supreme Patriarch for having neglected Sylvania. Undead were attacking Averland, Stirland and Ostermark and the reiksmarshall blamed gelt for the failure of his magical cage around Sylvania. Gelt, tired and exhausted from his ordeals, tried to apologise, but his apology proved grudging and cost him much goodwill from the assembled dignitaries.[16k]
As Balthasar Gelt prepared to return to Alderfen once more, Karl Franz summoned him to his suite. The emperor apologised for the reception the wizard had received from the reiksmarshall and assigned Gelt the portion of the Auric Bastion that had been maintained by the late Wolfram Hertwig. Gelt, overwhelmed by the emperor's generosity, offered him a full apology. [16l]
When Gelt finally set out for Alderfen, he was accompanied by the Warrior Priest Luthor Huss and Aldebrand Ludenhof, Elector Count of Hochland.[16m] Gelt continued to search for the Daemonic shapeshifter who had infiltrated the Imperial forces, without much success. The inability to find the creature became a mania, as Gelt came to rely more and more on the Ar-Ulric.[16n]
When a larger breach in the Auric Bastion was detected at Helreach, Gelt travelled there, only to find it under the dominion of an Undead creature called the Nameless. Before Gelt could strike, he was invited to a parlay by the Vampire Lord and Mortarch Vlad von Carstein. Both he and the Nameless had been commanded north by their master Nagash to guard the border.[16o]
The mortarch revealed to Gelt that he had been used as a puppet by the forces of Chaos and Undeath, each seeking to manipulate him for their own gain. He, instead, wished an alliance with the Empire as equals. As a sign of goodwill, von Carstein gave Gelt a copy of the Revelations Necris, a necromantic grimoire, sure that the wizard would see reason and join him.[16p]
As the attacks against the Auric Bastion grew ever worse, Gelt began to ponder the idea of an alliance with the Vampire Lord more seriously. At Kragvost, the Supreme Patriarch transformed the steel of the attackers into lead and created a curse of rust that ate away their armour. At Snaldren Keep, he forged Golems from the weapons of the slain in the defenders' likeness, defending the bridge over the Upper Talabec for half a day. Seeing that there were not enough troops to hold the Auric Bastion, the practice of necromancy to bolster the defenders' numbers became an ever more tempting opportunity.[16q]
In addition, the Supreme Patriarch had hardly slept for weeks, with often only an hour of rest a day, and thus his resolve began to falter. The walls of Moorholt were torn apart by Daemon-fire and the fortress would have fallen had it been not for the bravery of Captain Pieter Hanseld. The village of Eska was destroyed by Warriors of Chaos and then again by Beastmen that were lured by the carnage. Following that second battle at Eska, Gelt could stand the losses no more and opened the Revelations Necris to study its forbidden contents.[16r]
Fall to Necromancy
"What brought you down? Pride? Weakness of will? Or just, like so many before you, despair?"
- — Emperor Karl Franz ruminating on Gelt’s disgrace[17a]
Balthasar Gelt, now a necromancer, in service to the Vampire Lord and Mortarch Vlad von Carstein.
During the Battle of Akkerheim, Gelt utilised necromancy openly for the first time. A group of Chaos Giants had broken their way into the town and hordes of fur-clad Chaos Marauders had followed them. Gelt raised the fallen as Undead warriors, turning what would have been a slaughter into an Imperial victory. Many of the common soldiers failed to connect the Supreme Patriarch to the event, but others feared that Gelt had fallen to the enemies of the Empire and brought the news to Aldebrand Ludenhof, the Elector Count of Hochland, at Castle Skarlan.[16s]
Ludenhof rode to Alderfen and found that Gelt had transformed it through the use of necromancy. The Auric Bastion had been reinforced with great bone buttresses and skeletal Gargoyles perched upon its parapets. What appalled Ludenhof the most was that many of the common folk toiling in the shadow of the wall seemed completely unconcerned. When Ludenhof was brought face-to-face with the Supreme Patriarch, Gelt tried to convince the Elector Count of the benefit of his new strategy. Why should the living perish, when the dead would serve just as well?[16t]
Gelt's justifications fell on deaf ears and so he tried to talk with Ludenhof one last time while the Elector Count was journeying back to Castle Skarlan through the Fang Wood.[16u] The Supreme Patriarch urged the Elector Count to reconsider, that an alliance with the Vampire bloodline of the von Carsteins would be beneficial to both and that ultimate salvation would come from the hands of the Liche Lord Nagash.
One of Ludenhof's guards shot at Gelt, causing the Undead guardians of the fallen wizard to attack the Elector Count and his retinue. Gelt found that he didn't have the ability to control his creations, who wreaked havoc upon the living. Seeing that he would now be seen as an enemy of the Empire if others learned of this deed, Gelt killed Ludenhof to hide his shame.[16v]
Upon returning, Gelt read a letter from the Ar-Ulric where he claimed that the Daemonic shapeshifter must be Valten, who was to be presented with the emperor's own magical warhammer, Ghal Maraz. Seeing a chance to redeem himself, Gelt flew to Castle von Rauken tp convince the emperor that Valten was a traitor and must not be given the artefact.[16w] Yet Karl Franz believed Luthor Huss' counsel that Valten was a true servant of Sigmar and losing his patience with Gelt's pleading, commanded that the obviously deranged wizard was to be escorted away by his Reiksguard. Feeling threatened, Gelt instinctively reached out with a necromantic spell for all to see, revealing himself as a necromancer.[16x]
As Ludwig Schwarzhelm and the Reiksguard sought to take his head as a traitor, Gelt attempted to slay Valten and keep Karl Franz alive, though he now teetered on the brink of madness brought on by his guilt over the murder of Ludenhof, his shame over Karl Franz's rejection of his aid, his sleeplessness and the corrupting influence of the Dark Magic he now wielded. [16y]
As Kurt Helborg engaged him, it was revealed that the Daemonic impostor had actually been the Ar-Ulric all along. The Changeling attempted to kill Karl Franz, yet was prevented by Valten and Ludwig Schwarzhelm. Gelt realised he had been used as a pawn by Chaos and that his desperation to save the emperor had nearly caused Karl Franz's demise. Giving voice to a gut-wrenching cry of despair, Gelt fled.[16z]
Following the news of the fall of the former Supreme Patriarch to darkness, Gregor Martak was installed as the new head of the Colleges of Magic. The Gold College was put to the torch by the Templar Witch Hunters of the Cult of Sigmar and the support of the Sigmarite priests for the Auric Bastion was withdrawn, causing it to collapse over several months.[16aa]
With little choice remaining, Gelt himself pledged himself fully to the service of Vlad von Carstein, becoming an eager apprentice in the dark art of necromancy and willingly aiding his new master in the search for the resting place of Isabella von Carstein. His successor as Magister Patriarch of the Gold College became Gerhard Mulleringen.[16aa] [17b]
Incarnate of Metal
Balthasar Gelt, Incarnate of Metal
As a servant of Vlad von Carstein, Gelt joined the mortarch when he defied the Liche Lord Nagash's command to provide no aid to the remnants of the Empire and the forces of the Dwarfs' Karaz Ankor in Averheim.[18a] On the journey from Sylvania to Averland, Gelt tried to tear from himself the corruption caused by the dark knowledge that had infected him. Aware that he would never be welcomed back in the realms of Men for his crimes, he nonetheless hoped to redeem himself.[18b]
As Gelt reached Averheim, he found the city under siege by the army of the thirteenth Everchosen Archaon. Gelt joined the Dwarf host, who had not yet learned of his fall and tried to convince them to come to the aid of the remaining Imperial troops at the Magnusspitze. As the Skaramor attacked again, Gelt found that it had become easier to distance himself from the pull of necromancy and embrace the purer arts of the Alchemist again. Chamon coiled around him once more, whispering to him to let it in, yet Gelt was reluctant. Having been freed of one glamour, he did not wish to lose himself to the next.[18c]
With the Wind of Chamon at his command, Gelt cast a spell called The Crucible, a mighty work of arcane arts that no living magister had yet mastered, which allowed for the transmutation of living flesh into metal and back again without harm.[18c] As he worked his spell, Chamon, without a mortal vessel to embody it since the Great Vortex of Ulthuan had been unmade, infused him, sealing the tower of Magnusspitze in molten gold.[18d]
Using the power of Chamon, Gelt teleported the Dwarf host instantly to the frontline where they engaged the forces of Archaon.[18e] Gelt then formed a great wall out of the weapons of the fallen while he brought as many survivors as he could to himself in order to save them.[18f]
Balthasar Gelt unleashing the power of Chamon while mounted upon his Pegasus Quicksilver.
As the Incarnate of a Wind of Magic, Gelt found that many of the doubts of his former life had vanished, as had the emptiness of spirit that had formed his earliest memories.[18j] Gelt, the emperor and the other remaining leaders of the Empire, Bretonnia and the Dwarfs brought the survivors to the magical forest of Athel Loren, the realm of the Eternity King Malekith and his consort the Everqueen Alarielle.[18g]
The new Incarnate led the survivors through the Grey Mountains, guided by Dwarfs on hidden roads.[19a] While the Dwarfs at first resented Gelt's magic, in Gelt's presence the the Dwarfs' runes flared into vigorous life, gromril became harder and weapons gained a killing edge that couldn't be matched with whetstones. Soon, the Dwarfs whispered that the Man must have been invested with the spirit of the Dawi Ancestor God Grungni.[18h]
At Wydrioth, the survivors met the Army of Skulls under Skarr Bloodwrath at the Esdari Corrin -- the Chasm of Echoes. Gelt decided to buy the survivors time, allowing the Bretonnians and Imperials to flee into the forest realm while he and the Dwarfs would hold the line.[18i]
As the Chaos horde marched into the chasm, Gelt transmuted most of their numbers into gold, starting with Skarr Bloodwrath. He was then assaulted by something he believed to be the will of Khorne, who made his distaste for magic known. Struck from the shadows, Gelt collapsed, though his Chamon-enhanced senses perceived the Daemon and his work.[18k]
Though wounded, the Incarnate of Metal fought alongside his Dwarf allies.[18l] They were saved by the arrival of the High Elf warrior Caradryan, captain of the Phoenix Guard, whose host of fire destroyed the Skaramor and who was fused to the Wind of Aqshy during the battle, becoming the Incarnate of Fire.[18m]
When Be'lakor was captured, Gelt suggested that he be imprisoned and questioned, which was accepted by the other Incarnates. The tortured Daemon Prince, powerless before the might of the Incarnates, betrayed all of Archaon's secrets.[18n] Gelt, alone, was willing to trust almost all of his fellow Incarnates, having dealt with Elves many times in the past. The only Incarnate he truly distrusted was Nagash, the Incarnate of Shyish.[18o] As the debate began on how to proceed, Gelt favoured contacting the remaining Dwarf holds, marshalling their forces for a final assault upon the forces of Chaos.[19b]
When the Blood Hunt of the Bloodthirster Ka'Bandha descended on the King's Glade, Gelt unleashed a storm of searing shards that kept the packs of Flesh Hounds that had followed the Bloodthirster at bay. Riding to the aid of Caradryan against the Bloodthirster Khorax, Gelt transformed the Greater Daemon's own servants into chains that dragged him from the sky.[18p]
When the High Elf Archmage Teclis brought the Incarnates to Middenheim to stop Archaon's plan to unleash the power of the Chaos Gate that lay below the city, Gelt and his Dwarf allies were transported to the eastern quarters of the city.[18q]
Using Chamon, Gelt bound the shields of the Dwarfs into an unbreakable wall that wore down the hordes of Chaos that dwelled in the ruins.[18r] As Alarielle drove the Daemons from them, Gelt rode forth to bring them both to the excavation in the heart of the Fauschlag.[18s]
After Karl Franz defeated Archaon and threw him into the chasm, the Incarnates began a ritual to prevent a third great Chaos rift from opening. The rite failed when the spiteful Vampire Lord Mannfred von Carstein stabbed Gelt in the back, killing him. The Wind of Metal tore free of the slain wizard's body, disrupting the rite, which had to be contained by Teclis, who perished under the strain of containing the unleashed magical energies. For the world of Mallus, there would be no salvation from its ultimate destruction by the will of the Chaos Gods.[18t]
Storm of Chaos
"We of the Colleges would propose the use of a great ritual to drain the hordes of their magical power, to ensure they do not bolster their numbers further with Daemonic creatures. We can weave divinatory magic to ascertain where they intend to strike."
- —Balthasar Gelt at the Conclave of Light.[14b]
Balthasar Gelt and his Pegasus Quicksilver
In the alternate timeline of the Storm of Chaos campaign where the thirteenth Everchosen Archaon's invasion of the Old World and attempt to bring on the End Times was narrowly defeated, Balthasar Gelt participated in the Conclave of Light at the beginning of the campaign.[14a]
The Magister Patriarchs of the Imperial Colleges of Magic had discovered a growing strength in the Winds of Magic across the mortal world, making spells harder to cast and finding it more difficult to syphon the power needed for their enchantments. Gelt proposed to construct a wall of hexes and wards against the Daemonic incursions.[11a]
Afterwards, Gelt called the patriarchs of the Colleges of Magic together in the Hall of Convocation. The High Elf Archmage Teclis addressed the assembled lords of the Colleges, warning them again that all of their resources must be invested in the war. After a few moments of stunned silence, Balthasar Gelt stepped forward once more. He called upon the binding oaths made by the assembled patriarchs swearing loyalty to the Empire and obedience to their Supreme Patriarch, ordering them to return to their brethren and mobilise them for war. They were not to rally only some, or only many of their fellow wizards, but all Magisters as could be spared -- including the great patriarchs themselves.[14c]
Age of Reckoning
"The plague and the invasion are the work of one mind, one intelligence. This is not ordinary incursion of marauders, but a coordinated attack reaching across the whole of our northern border."
- —Balthasar Gelt[20a]
During the alternate timeline of the Age of Reckoning created for Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, Balthasar Gelt was among the first to discover that the Chaos Plague had been the work of coordinated forces. As Emperor Karl Franz called for a council, Gelt pleaded for some of the strictures on the Colleges of Magic to be lessened.[20a]
This request was challenged by Hans Behrer, an Imperial general from Ostland, who blamed magic in general for the woes the Empire had to face. Gelt, backed by Grand Theogonist Volkmar the Grim of the Cult of Sigmar, revealed the general to be a shapeshifter in service to the Dark Gods.[20a]
As Karl Franz pleaded for the leaders of the Empire to work together, Gelt pledged his battle wizards to the Order of the Griffon, though the majority were not of his own College, but of the Bright Order.[20a]
Total War: Warhammer
"Welcome to Estalia, gentlemen. I will not lie: the chances of your survival are small. Some may even turn against your friends as living corpses. But you have my word, that I will use my arcane gifts to ensure your bodies are given unto Morr's garden. This is the greatest reward, more than even gold, for the fate of your soul is an eternal concern. Now come, follow me: Strike down the Undead that rise against us, allow me to find this eldritch amulet! I ask not for my own selfish studies, but for the good of the Empire!"
- —Balthasar Gelt[13]
Balthasar Gelt and Zhao Ming in the Immortal Empires trailer.
In the Immortal Empires campaign of Total War: Warhammer III, Balthasar Gelt voyaged to the Far East to discover new arcane secrets. Taking up residence in the Temple of Elemental Winds in Grand Cathay, the Supreme Patriarch of the Imperial Colleges of Magic gained the opportunity to strike an alliance with Zhao Ming, the Iron Dragon, the Cathayan Dragon who is the ruler of the Cathayan Western Provinces, or take the lands for himself. [13]
After successfully defeating the Burning Wind Nomads, Balthasar Gelt could choose to remain in Grand Cathay or return to the lands of the Empire, where the Gold Order will be honoured with a Key to the Empire for his deeds.[13]
Wargear
Balthasar Gelt leading the armies of the Empire against the Undead while mounted upon his Pegasus Quicksilver.
- Al-kahest - Balthasar can throw a vial of this highly-acidic Arabyan alchemical substance he has brewed that can burn the foe alive.[2a]
- Staff of Volans - This staff belonged to Volans, the first Supreme Patriarch of the Colleges of Magic, who was taught the secrets of the Colour Magic usable by Men by the High Elf Archmage Teclis of Ulthuan during the Great War Against Chaos.[3c]
- Cloak of Molten Metal - This mystic robe creates a shimmering series of images of the wizard and their mount, forever rotating in a dazzling whirlwind of iridescent colours, confusing the aim of anybody attacking them with a ranged weapon.[3c]
- Amulet of Sea Gold - An ancient Elven heirloom unearthed by Balthasar Gelt in the ruins of one of the abandoned colonies of the High Elves on the coast of Estalia. The amulet grants Balthasar a modest resistance to magic.[3c]
- Quicksilver - Gelt is known to descend upon the battlefield mounted upon his Pegasus Quicksilver. When at rest this magnificent beast is housed at the Imperial Zoo of Altdorf.[4b][16f]
Miniatures
Canon Conflicts
In Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Winds of Magic the Amulet of Sea Gold is described as having been found by Gelt in the ruins of an Elven colony on the coast of Ulthuan and not in Elven colonial ruins in Estalia. This is an error, as Ulthuan is the homeland of the High Elves, and thus no High Elven colonies were ever built there.[4b]
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 1st Edition: Realms of Sorcery (RPG) claims that Balthasar Gelt arrived in the Empire by travelling through Middenheim, while all other sources agree that he first passed through Marienburg.
Notes
- Note 1: The date of "Winds of Magic" is implied to be 2512 IC, the date of the event known as the Turmoil of 2512 IC.
Sources
- 1: Warhammer Armies: The Empire (6th Edition)
- 2: Warhammer Armies: The Empire (7th Edition)
- 3: Warhammer Armies: The Empire (8th Edition)
- 4: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Winds of Magic (RPG)
- 6: Storm of Magic (8th Edition)
- 6a: pp. 16-19
- 7: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 3rd: Tome of Mysteries – A Guide to Wizards and Magic (RPG)
- 7a: pg. 39
- 8: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd: Realms of Sorcery (RPG)
- 9: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 1st Edition: Realms of Sorcery (RPG)
- 9a: pg. 45
- 10: White Dwarf #252 (UK Edition)
- 11: White Dwarf #280 (UK Edition)
- 11a: pg. 49
- 12: White Dwarf #380 (UK Edition)
- 13: Total War: Warhammer III (PC Game)
- 14: Darkness Rising: A Complete History of the Storm of Chaos (Background Book)
- 15: Sigmar's Blood (8th Edition)
- 16: The End Times: Nagash (8th Edition)
- 16a: pg. 28
- 16b: pg. 31
- 16c: pg. 241
- 16d: pg. 246
- 16e: pg. 248
- 16f: pg. 256
- 16g: pg. 257
- 16h: pg. 267
- 16i: pg. 271
- 16j: pg. 272
- 16j: pg. 272
- 16k: pg. 273
- 16l: pg. 274
- 16m: pg. 275
- 16n: pg. 278
- 16o: pg. 280
- 16p: pg. 281
- 16q: pg. 282
- 16r: pg. 283
- 16s: pg. 284
- 16t: pg. 285
- 16u: pg. 286
- 16v: pg. 287
- 16w: pg. 288
- 16x: pg. 290
- 16y: pg. 292
- 16z: pg. 294
- 16aa: pg. 295
- 17: The Fall of Altdorf (Novel) by Chirs Wraight
- 18: The End Times: Archaon (8th Edition)
- 19: The Lord of the End Times (Novel) by Josh Reynolds
- 20: Dark Storm Gathering (Novel) by Chris Wraight
- 20a: Ch. 1