"This is only a battle. The war will still be mine."
[src]
Kha-Beleth (also known as the Demon Sovereign) is the main antagonist of Heroes of Might and Magic V and the undisputed leader of the Demon race in Ashan, who has ruled the jailworld of Sheogh since the disappearance of the Six Demon Overlords in 564 YSD. Enigmatic in his ways yet ineffably evil, his ambition to secure victory in the name of Urgash and resultant schemes define the events of Heroes V and, later, Dark Messiah of Might and Magic.
Biography[]
Kha-Beleth is an Arch-Demon with no master, and no past. Nobody knows from whence he came.
Unlike other demons who constantly feed on scraps from their overlords, Kha-Beleth relies fully on his own resources, a trait which proves him a powerful figure in the complicated world of infernal politics.
He makes no secret of what he wants: nothing less than destruction of the walls of Sheogh, and freedom for the children of Urgash.
With his near-infinite patience, his fearlessness, his brilliant mind, and his charismatic manner, he may one day realise his lofty goals.OffBck
Rise to Power[]
Kha-Beleth rose to power shortly after the disappearance of the Six Demon Overlords; it is uncertain whether or not he played a part in their vanishing. In his early years at the helm of Sheogh, he began to preach "another possibility for demonic organisation, [speaking] of a world where all Demons are created equal and have a right to live freely within and without Sheogh." He fought for the freedom of his people, but power twisted him.[1] Gathering followers, he intended to use an impending Bloodmoon Eclipse to "gain a foothold on Ashan, and expose, if not impose, his people’s right to an equal place amongst the children of the Dragon Gods".
Now almost all of Sheogh is under his control, to the people of Ashan, they have to assume that Kha-Beleth is no ordinary Demon, and accept the fact that he has somehow managed to bring some form of Order to Chaos. Many Scholars and Mages have many theories, more or less far-fetched, about who or what the Demon Sovereign could be. Kha-Beleth is never seen without his armour, so they don’t even know what he truly looks like. What they do know for sure is that his power is fearsome, he has near-infinite patience, he’s incredibly cunning, a skillful mastermind, a feared manipulator, and it’s without a doubt not the last Ashan has seen of him.
The Second Eclipse and Shades of Darkness[]
During the Second Eclipse, as the other Demon Princes attacked the nations of Ashan and met their end, Kiril Griffin arrived to Sheogh, as he was tricked by the Angel, Sarah, he sent the succubus' Xana and Daeva to help him in his tasks. He soon taught Kiril the defining traits about the Demons, instructed him on gaining allies, and warned him to keep the soul of the Demon Prince within him in check as the Demon Sovereign himself couldn't remove it. After Kiril dealt with Sarah and brought the Faceless' Invisible Library to Sheogh and became its warden, Kiril began to serve Kha-Beleth in his plans.
Those plans came to fruition years later after Raelag, the Dark Elf Clan lord, defeated Kiril and took the Invisible Library, using a Tear of Asha, to the new Dark Elf realm of Ygg-Chall and made it their capitol, Konos. In truth, Kiril was the last entity in Sheogh who resisted his rule, doing a great service to Kha-Beleth. Now confident that the Demon Sovereign had gained a new servant for his future plans, all he had to do was to keep watch and bide his time for when Raelag would be useful.
Growing Power[]
By the Third Eclipse, the Demons were all fighting in the name of Kha-Beleth, one single ruler to whom they showed an almost zealous loyalty. Using his power, sheer will and charismatic abilities, the Demons were becoming more disciplined, a worrying thought for the denizens of Ashan, allowing his armies to conquer his foes more effectively. Even the most powerful warriors of the infernal armies, known as Arch-Demons, are under his control. Once the Overlords’ honor guard, they are now Kha-Beleth’s lieutenants, ready to commit any atrocity to gain his favor. Though the demons were constantly pushed back thanks to the alliances made between the kingdoms of Ashan against him, the devastation made was considered worse than previous Bloodmoon Eclipses.
The Fourth Eclipse actually became somewhat of a pyrrhic victory for Kha-Beleth and his demons. Although his infernal armies were routed on the battlefield, Kha-Beleth used the pride of Maeve Falcon, Empress of the Holy Falcon Empire, and had the traitor-turned-succubus, Jezebeth infiltrate the Imperial Capitol, Falcon's Reach, to achieve victory. Jezebeth indeed succeeded in her mission by murdering Meave and allegedly, her children. To ensure that her mission succeeds, Kha-Beleth ordered her to burn the capitol to the ground to make sure no heir of Falcon survived. However, Jezebeth failed to kill the last Falcon, Brendan, who was soon taken in by the Dragon Knights, sparking the Demon Sovereign's anger. He made sure Jezebeth was punished severely for her failure after Ivan, Duke of the Griffin Duchy, killed her, sending her back to Sheogh. This setback however, allowed the empire to fall into a terrible civil war over who would succeed the late empress. The Fourth Eclipse would then be known as the Demon Sovereign's defeat, but also his greatest victory against the Holy Falcon Empire.
Despite these accomplishments, Kha-Beleth hasn't yet achieved his desire to conquer the lands of Ashan, due to the sheer resilience, courage and determination of the Elder Races, namely the Knights of the Holy Empire. Yet despite these setbacks, the Demon Sovereign hasn't given up, and with all of his infernal abilities, leadership, and patience, he would one day achieve his goals.
Underground Fires[]
Kha-Beleth sought allies in Ashan to further aid his plans, and fortune came in the form of the broken Dark Elves fighting a civil war after the assassination of Clanlord Menan. While the Dark Elves had disappointed him before, their fractured state made them perfect candidates for allies. Sending his envoy, Lord Agrael, to meet with Sylsai, they planned to sow discord in Grimheim and bring an army of his Demons into Ashan.
Despite some resistance led by rebels Vilma and Kari (guided by mysterious visions), the Dark Elves and Agrael had succeeded in retrieving the runic key to a massive gate to Sheogh itself by killing the King Under the Mountains, Hathor. With the king dead, the dwarf clans were confused and leaderless, allowing the Dark Elves to prepare for Kha-Beleth and his armies' arrival.
Ultimately, the plan failed as the Dwarves rallied under Vilma, a fire giant, ascended Kari, and the warrior Tolghar. With the combined might of the Dwarves, they were able to defeat the Dark Elves after casting Sylsai into the inferno, killing him. Though Kha-Beleth's envoy had escaped the battle, the Demon Sovereign's plan to enter Ashan and launch a surprise attack on the surface kingdoms ended in failure. Angered and disappointed, Kha-Beleth now had no choice but to once again patiently bide his time for another opportunity to conquer the lands of Ashan.
Queen Isabel's War[]
Kha-Beleth's theme
Due to his position as the Demon Sovereign, he was the commander of the demon forces during Queen Isabel's War. His top goal in this war was to impregnate Isabel Greyhound with the Dark Messiah. During the first stage of the war, he launched a raid force consisting of Arch Devils to Talonguard, which interrupted the wedding of Nicolai Griffin and Isabel Greyhound. Nicolai, fearing the safety of Isabel, told his uncle Godric to escort Isabel to the Summer Palace, while he battled the demons. Afterwards, Kha-Beleth launched a full-scale attack on the Holy Griffin Empire, which forced Nicolai to defend his empire. This was the perfect diversion for the Demon Sovereign to capture Isabel.
The Demon Sovereign tasked his agent, Agrael, who had spied on her since her childhood, with capturing Isabel. Agrael then had his minion Biara kill Abess Beatrice and disguise herself as her. Biara, as Beatrice, persuaded Isabel to send Godric and herself to seek aid from the mages and the elves, while Isabel gathered the militia. Later, Biara as Beatrice returned to Isabel and told her that the elves would send reinforcements under the command of Findan. When Isabel arrived at the meeting place, the Demon Lord Agrael ambushed and captured her. Agrael however, was in fact in love with Isabel, and offered her aid in escaping, but Isabel didn't trust the him and refused. Biara, whose loyalties lied with Kha-Beleth, had overheard the conversation, and reported it to the Demon Sovereign. Agrael then moved Isabel to Dunmoor and prepared her to transport to Sheogh, but she was freed by Godric.
Following the report by Biara, Kha-Beleth sent the Demon Lord Erasial to kill Agrael and steal the Heart of the Griffin. After Erasial was defeated and interrogated by Agrael, Kha-Beleth appeared and killed Erasial for his failure, telling Agrael that he's next.
Kha-Beleth then sent Veyer to capture the Heart of the Griffin, but Agrael managed to steal the artifact before Veyer, and used it to banish Veyer back to Sheogh.
Kha-Beleth learned that Isabel was going to the Hall of Heroes to revive Nicolai, so he sent Veyer to take her. However, he did not plan that the Dark Elves, under Raelag's leadership, would foil his plans. He sent Biara to get the Heart of the Griffin from Tieru, in which she succeeded. Finally, Biara, disguised as Shadya, took Isabel so she could give birth to the Demon Messiah. However, Raelag, Godric, Findan and Zehir defeated Kha-Beleth, rescued Isabel and initiated the Rite of True Nature on her. Kha-Beleth however escaped, claiming that he would still win the war.
Prophecy of the Demon Messiah[]
When Sareth gets the Skull of Shadows, the Demon Sovereign Kha-Beleth reveals to him in a vision that Sareth is his son and his heir because he is actually Sar-Shazzar's prophesied Demon Messiah who the demon kind has been waiting for a thousand years and that Xana is Kha-Beleth's gift to his son and heir Sareth "to use her as he sees fit", triggering Xana to hiss at Kha-Beleth who then commands Sareth to bring "the skull of his ancient enemy to shatter the prison that has been holding him then once he will be free, Ashan and all of its souls will be theirs".
According to the sequel Heroes Kingdoms, Sareth did fulfill his Prophecy and freed the demon kind, however Urgash seized the opportunity to escape as well and started the Second War of the Primordial Twins which he won this time, killed 4 Elemental Dragons and banished Asha who shed tears all over Ashan, getting in the way of Kha-Beleth's plan to rule Ashan together with his son and heir Sareth, and both Kha-Beleth and Sareth's fates remain unknown after Urgash escaped...
Possible Identity[]
From these facts about Kha-Beleth:
- his origins are unknown
- he suddenly appeared in Sheogh out of nowhere to overthrow the Demons Overlords
- he is so different to other demons that he even brought order to Sheogh where there was only chaos
- he saved the mage Xana by turning her into a demon succubus when she died just as Xana herself later saved Sareth the same way by turning him into a demon incubus
- Kiril was surprised that his castle in Sheogh was more like a mage's castle full of libraries and civilized furniture than an usual chaotic and messy demon castle
- he expresses disdain for the mage Sar-Elam the Seventh Dragon who imprisoned the demon kind and he talks about him as "his ancient enemy" even though he was not yet in Sheogh when Sar-Elam sealed it away
- he is determined to free the demon kind and claim their equality with all other Ashan's races, even if he has to rule the world by himself to achieve this goal
- his obsession has been the mage Sar-Shazzar's Prophecy of the Demon Messiah
- Zehir claimed that "Sar-Elam was a greater mage than Kha-Beleth", implying that Kha-Beleth was a mage before he was a demon, and probably one of Sar-Elam's disciples
We can logically theorize that the Demon Sovereign Kha-Beleth was actually the Mage Sar-Shazzar who was Sar-Elam's most gifted disciple who betrayed his master to prevent him from completely banishing the demon kind from Ashan, then led his followers to found the Seven Cities to reject the imperial holy fanaticism and the enslavement of the human race by the angels race.
He then prophetized the birth of the Demon Messiah then died and revived as the demon Kha-Beleth in Sheogh to patiently prepare the fulfillment of his own Prophecy by overthrowing the Demons Overlords and rising as the Demon Sovereign, taking control of Sheogh to bring order into its chaos until he civilized the demon kind enough to allow them to cohabit with Ashan's other races, then he gave birth to his prophesied Demon Messiah to free the demon kind.
Gameplay[]
Heroes of Might and Magic V[]
Kha-Beleth is a Demon Lord.
Abilities[]
| Hero Trait | |
|---|---|
|
Aura of Swiftness |
| The Initiative of all creatures in hero's army is increased by 1% per hero level.OffBck | |
| Skills | Perks | ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Basic Gating | ||
|
Basic Attack | 
|
Battle Frenzy |
Scenarios[]
The Cultist[]
- The Betrayal: Kha-Beleth sent Erasial to Sheogh, marking Agrael as a tratior.
The Warlock[]
- The Cultists: Kha-Beleth orders Veyer to get Isabel. In response to this Raelag and Shadya go to rescue her.
The Mage[]
- The Alliance: Kha-Beleth appears during the ritual, telling the heroes did not work hard to rescue Isabel.
- Zehir's Hope: The heroes need to rescue Isabel and defeat Kha-Beleth.
Tribes of the East[]
Non-campaign[]
- Agrael's Trial: Kha-Beleth sends Agrael to see if he is up for the task he will give him to.
Might & Magic: Heroes VI[]
Kha-Beleth is a Hellcaller.
Scenarios[]
Inferno Campaign[]
- Angel, Angel, Burning Bright: Kiril meets Kha-Beleth, where Kha-Beleth instructs the nature of Demons.
- The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: Kha-Beleth tasks Kiril for an important mission in the end.
Notes[]
- Some early sources refer to him as "Mal-Beleth" instead. This was changed in the final version of the game.
- After his rise as the Demon Sovereign, Kha-Beleth is portrayed as the most powerful active character in Ashan.
- Although his size in Heroes V is much larger than that of a human, in Heroes VI editor he is seen mounted like most heroes.
Appearances[]
Kha-Beleth appears in Heroes V, Heroes VI and Dark Messiah.
Gallery[]
Sources[]
| Inferno heroes in Heroes V |
|---|
| Agrael · Alastor · Biara · Deleb · Erasial · Gamor · Grawl · Grok · Guarg · Jezebeth · Kraal · Marbas · Nebiros · Nymus · Orlando · Sovereign Veyer |
