Balthazar Black
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Title: Sheriff of Newcastle.
Clan: Gangrel
Covenant: Ordo Dracul
City: Newcastle

Balthazar Black was often one of the first resident kindred that newcomers met in Newcastle, he had a habit of tracking down all visitors and making sure they knew the laws of the domain and the penalties of breaking them.
Although his rough appearance and independant nature made him resemble a nomad more than a resident Balthazar was in fact one of the most loyal defenders of the domain and the Ordo Dracul's resident guard dog.

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History:

According to Balthazar he was born into an old English family around 1913. His father was a minor lord although little remained of the family lands beyond the great crumbling house they lived in. Balthazar never knew his mother who died at his birth and was seldom spoken of but she had been a servant of the house that his father tumbled and no one of any consequence.
Balthazar seldom saw his father who spent a great deal of his time locked away in his study or working in the cellars under the house that Balthazar was forbidden to enter.
At age twelve Balthazar discovered the cellar door unlocked and his natural curiosity got the better of him, he discovered the true master of the house that day an elder kindred who held the house in thrall and his own father as a ghoul.
Having come to the attention of the monster under the house that the servants all called simply the ‘Elderly Gentleman’ Balthazar’s childhood quickly came to a close.
Study and training became his life and each month he had to stand before his new master in the cellar and recount his deeds before taking a draft of blood.
At sixteen he was sent to a military academy to ‘put the final polish’ on his education and from there to university to study chemistry.

Entering Service

Balthazar entered military service at the start of what was to become the second world war and served with distinction until a stray bullet almost took his life in 1940 and gave him a limp that he still bears tonight.
He returned to the family home to recuperate and the blood of his undying master helped return him to full health as he took his place as his master’s ghoul.
For the next twenty years Balthazar served as his masters bodyguard assistant and occasional test subject, the elderly Vampire was a Ventrue and a member of the Ordo Dracul and his experiments often required unusual ingredients that he sent Balthazar to procure.
A member of the Gangrel clan who owed his master a boon embraced Balthazar, he never knew what the boon was or the identity of his sire for his master felt such questions were impertinent and beyond the evening when he was embraced he never saw him again.
Balthazar served another twenty years as his masters devoted servant
Supplementing the meagre blood supply he was allowed to take from his masters herd with the blood of animals and tending to his masters every whim.
The Elderly Gentleman was a tyrant who treated Balthazar like a slave and often sent him off to collect supplies for him, it was on one such duty collecting reagents from another Ordo in a nearby town that Balthazar felt the bond snap like a physical blow.
Returning to the family estate he found it a burned out shell with no sign of survivors and with nowhere else to go he turned to the Ordo for help.
The Dragons found him a place to stay and they held things together for him as his world fell apart.
According to Balthazar as the last vestiges of the bond fell away he saw through the false love to the truth of his life as a helpless slave and vowed never again to be bonded to another.
Balthazar forged himself anew in the next few months taking up the appearance and mannerisms of the time in an attempt to distance himself from his past and attempting to find his Gangrel heritage.
He became a mercenary and gained a reputation as a skilled collector of rare alchemy ingredients making a living hunting down the supernatural and selling it on to the highest bidder.

Newcastle

Balthazar came to Newcastle following the rumour of a dragon sighted in the city, originally he hoped to find and kill the beast and sell its parts off to the highest bidders but after arriving in the city he found the beast too elusive to catch.
Instead Balthazar took service under the Prince of the city and was soon declared sheriff of the domain.
Over the next two years Balthazar made himself at home in Newcastle burrowing into the cities seedy criminal underbelly and weaving a web of influence through the Newcastle building trade.
Tonight he owns a string of properties throughout Newcastle along with his own small construction company that specialises in turning old properties into modern rental housing.

Death

Balthazar met final death under strange circumstances in April of 2008, he was visiting the Middlesbrough court when for no apparent reason he excused himself and left the court. Some hours later members of the Middlesbrough domain arrived at court and announced that Balthazar had attacked them and they were forced to destroy him.

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Ties of Belief: Information known to the Ordo Dracul

Title Dedicated Scribe of the Curse Axe Sworn.
Balthazar was raised to be the bodyguard of an elderly Kogaion who was lost to us some twenty years ago.
With the demise of his regnant Balthazar become a loyal member in his own right and a fearless defender of our ideals.
Balthazar became a member of the Axe over ten years ago during some troubles in the south and after arriving in Newcastle he became the head of the axe sworn of the domain and remained so until his eventual demise.

Ties of Blood: Information known to the Gangrel Clan

Balthazar claimed that he was embraced by a nameless Gangrel in payment of some unmentioned debt due to his Ventrue slavemaster. He spent another twenty years as a bloodbound bitch subject to the tender mercies of the sadistic old litch before he finally went up in flames.
Balthazar used to say that if he ever met his sire he would shake his hand like the gentleman he was taught to be then rip his throat out like the Gangrel he was…

Obituaries

Friends Allies & Enemies

  • Wilamina Lawson These two Kindred were seldom seen apart and rumour has it they even shared a hidden haven.
  • Alex Knight QC Perhaps it was just their mutual Covenant that brought these two Kindred together but Alex Knight was one of the few Ventrue Balthazar could stand to be around for long.
  • Colonel John Killian These two Ordo warriors appeared to be complete opposites with Killians neat suits and Balthazars tattered Leathers but they worked well together.
  • Lucy Anne joined the Ordo to become Balthazars apprentice, she was seldom seen far from him and rumour has it he sponsered her joining the Ordo in the first place.
  • Alexander Gideon developed a mutual respect for Balthazar in the time they knew each other.
  • Ian Druss Although on the surface quite different the Hound of Durham and the Sheriff of Newcastle seemed to work well together when their paths crossed perhaps because they were both of the same clan.
  • Prince Wodenson Balthazar’s employer and the man holding his leash much of the time these two kindred shared an alliance of convenience and a mutual respect but little more than that.
  • Cassa Dar These two very different sheriffs always seemed to rub each other up the wrong way at every meeting.
  • Karl Braun The only thing these two kindred shared seemed to be a mutual loathing of the other that almost erupted into open violence on several occasions.

Rumours Myths & Outright Lies

A collection of rumour's and tall stories about this character feel free to add your own.

  • I heard Balthazar once ripped the legs of a nomad who wouldnt present himself at court and left him to crawl as the sun rose.
  • He may act the dumb thug but hes a whole lot smarter than he lets on underestimate him at your peril.
  • When the Ordo had their chapter house broken into they all ran to the University their haven must be underneath somewhere.
  • If you need alterations made to your haven Balthazar can provide no questions asked building work… but would you trust him with its location?
  • Balthazar’s nothing but a thug for hire if you can afford his fee you can own his loyalty… till the money runs out or someone pays him more.
  • If your short on cash and don’t mind a little pain and suffering Balthazar pays big bucks for willing test subjects.
  • I hear Wodenson was the only Ventrue safe from Balthazar’s vicious sense of humour he hates the entire clan and just loves setting them up for a fall.
  • I hear Balthazar is jealous of Alex Knight's and Lucy-Ann's realtionship because he wants Lucy-Ann all to himself.
  • Balthazar and Karl are going to come to blows sooner or later they just seem to be trying to goad the other into making the first move.
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Quotes

Have a quote you just have to share then add it here.

'Perhaps you should just tell him he called him a dirty crone.' - Balthazar to Alex Knight

'I just thought id let you know if I ever hear of anyone using mental abilities against the Ordo I will remove their head and use it as a drinking utensil!' - Balthazar to Karl Braun

'Did he have to die so messily? anyone got a dustbuster this could take all night.' Balthazar on the demise of Wodenson's Brother

'Hi my name is Balthazar and Ill have a large deep pan with extra pepperoni… oh sorry was I supposed to take this shit seriously?' - Balthazar when asked to introduce himself to the court of Middlesbrough.

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