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Balthasar

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Targetdrone.gif This article is about the the Dark Angels Company Master. For other uses of Balthasar, see Balthasar (disambiguation).
Company Master Balthasar[2]

Balthasar was the Company Master of the Dark Angels Fifth Company.[1]

Balthasar was promoted from his post as a Deathwing Sergeant to succeed Company Master Zadakiel, who died at the hands of the Crimson Slaughter Warband. His lifetime of servitude to the Deathwing honed Balthasar into a crafty and cunning tactician. He held a great personal anger against the Crimson Slaughter for murdering his mentor.[1][5]

Balthasar was known amongst the Inner Circle of the Chapter for his low tolerance of psykers, although his negative opinions of the Dark Angels' own Librarians were more due to his conviction that their psychic powers were the reason why they were chosen to become Space Marines, rather than skill in battle.[3a][3b]

History

Balthasar grew up on one of the thousands of worlds that the Dark Angels swore an oath to protect and, in turn, draw aspirants from. That world had labored under the oppression of a psychic cult until it was brought down by a resistance movement, of which Balthasar was a member. This is what led to Balthasar's distrust towards psykers.[3c]

When Balthasar was a Sergeant of the Fifth Company, he took part in the Battle for Honoria.[3b] During the mission, Ezekiel was tasked by Grand Master Danatheum to assess whether Balthasar should ascend to the Deathwing (a replacement was needed following the death of Joadar).[3a] During the defence of Honoria's capital city, Aurelianum, Company Master Zadakiel was wounded by the Ork Warboss Groblonik. Although he survived, he had to enter a sus-anic healing coma; Balthasar assumed acting control of the Fifth Company for the remainder of the Dark Angels' time on Honoria.[3d][3e] Although Ezekiel decided that Balthasar was worthy of a position in the Deathwing, impressed by his actions on Honoria, the Librarian thought Balthasar was not yet ready for the position.[3f] Eventually, however, Balthasar did earn a place in the Deathwing.[4c]

While a member of the Deathwing, Balthasar was seconded to the Deathwatch for a period of 12 years.[4c] He was part of a Kill-Team sent by an Inquisitor to investigate the remains of the destroyed Eldar Craftworld known as Kher-Ys. Within the Craftworld's Infinity Circuit, they found the Ruin of Kher-Ys - the Spirit Stone of the Eldar whose actions allowed the Daemon Heartslayer to manifest on the Craftworld.[4a] Balthasar and his Watch Captain were the only two members of the Kill-Team alive by this point, the Watch Captain intending to turn the spirit stone over to the Ordo Xenos. However, Balthasar and the Inquisitor killed the Captain, revealing that the mission was to secure the stone for the Dark Angels. The Inquisitor died shortly afterwards, succumbing to the wounds she sustained when she was stabbed by a Keeper of Secrets. With her last words, she asked Balthasar to tell Azrael that her debt to them was paid.[4b] Upon returning to The Rock, Balthasar was questioned about the mission by Interrogator-Chaplain Asmodai. His superiors were satisfied by his work in the Deathwatch and Balthasar returned to the ranks of the Deathwing with none of his battle-brothers learning of his mission.[4c]

After returning to the Chapter, Balthasar was part of a Deathwing squadron attached to the Fifth Company, at the time still under the command of Master Zadakiel, that travelled to the planet Stern's Rememberance to hunt the Fallen Angel Attias the Untamed. However, Attias was merely bait for an ambush; the Dark Angels were attacked by the Crimson Slaughter. In the ensuing conflict, Zadakiel was killed and Balthasar became Company Master of the Fifth in his place.[5][7a]

He would eventually defeat Kranon the Relentless and his Chaos Space Marine Warband in the Battle for Bane's Landing, with help from Librarian Turmiel and other forces of the Dark Angels Fifth Company[1][6][7b]. Balthasar would later be killed in the chaotic battles that followed the Great Rift's creation and was succeeded by Master Lazarus.[8]

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