Baltatrax The Ravager¶
General Info¶
- Race : Demogorgon
Description¶
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Description¶
Baltatrax the Ravager, Scourge of the Gate, Prince of the Apocalypse and Master of the Hordes, the demon lord singlehandedly responsible for the destruction of First Age civilization.
Baltatrax, as this incarnation of Demogorgon came to be called, is one of the Lords of the Abyss and the embodiment of chaos, madness, and destruction. The demon's body is a monstrous amalgamation of various dissonant parts; a pair of bestial heads rest atop a humanoid torso, held aloft by draconic legs. The creature has a pair of suckered tentacles where each arm should be.
Aside from his rampage through the material plane, very little is known about Baltatrax and his domain. It is futher unclear how or why the demon prince came to the material plane. What is known is that Baltatrax appeared deep within the Eastern ridge of the Ophidian Mountains, approximately on -18 BGS. The demon began subjugating the small, disjoint monstrous hordes in the area, slowly building up an army of orcs, giants, gnolls, goblins, and gith.
As each tribe fell and Baltatrax's army grew, it began attracting followers. Presented with the option to join or be subjugated, many chieftains and warlords joined Baltatrax, creating a snowball effect that ballooned the demon's army to nearly a million strong.
With his army formed, Baltatrax struck Terraworth in -13 AGS, the first major city to fall to the demon prince. Although Baltatrax had attacked many settlements in the years since his appearance, the demon knew that an attack on a major city would unite the frayed Empire against him. Up until the sack of Terraworth, the largest settlement to be destroyed by Baltatrax had barely 2,000 souls, compared to Terraworth's 72,000.
With the Empire alerted to the direness of its situation, Baltatrax quickly moved to prevent the member kingdoms from uniting against him. Dispersing nearly half his force to attack the farming towns that fed the kingdoms, the demon prince effectively tied up their armies, leaving the rest of his horde free to sack city after city. By the time the member kingdoms united, the Empire lay on the brink of total ruin.
Despite this early success, Baltatrax's horde simply couldn't match the combined might of the united Imperial Army. Had the two clashed, the demon prince's rampage would have come to an end, and the First Age might not have ended. This was not to be. As the Imperial Army assembled outside Emberedge, the demon prince performed a perverse ritual calling upon the demonic powers of the abyss, and unleashed a terrible wave of destructive power upon the world. In an instant, the Imperial Army, Emberedge, and all the surrounding villages and farmland were set ablaze, and just as quickly, turned to ash.
It is not known how Baltatrax was able to create the Nonewallow. Whatever foul ritual the demon utilized, the conflagration sealed the First Age's fate. Without a viable army, the Empire collapsed. Baltatrax marched from city to city, laying waste to everything in his path. The World's Gate, the Imperial Capital, fell to Baltatrax on the Ides of the Third Moon.
Yet in this moment of triumph, the seeds of Baltatrax's demise were laid. The Abyssal Mongrels, the largest Gnoll War Band under the demon lord's command, delirious with glee at the carnage being wrought and overwhelmed by their baser instincts turned on the rest of Baltatrax's hordes. For the next week, the hordes fought amongst themselves. The gnolls were eventually driven away, but not before decimating over half of the demon's forces.
Baltatrax would meet his demise within the walled enclaves of Blackpoint, the last remaining major city. Trapped between the city guard, led by Haarahld I, and the remnant of the Dohlaran army that was not at the Emberedge encampment, the demon prince was dealt a fatal wound by the Dohlaran King, but not before inflicting a mortal wound of his own.