Sarevok Anchev

Sarevok Anchev was a powerful Bhaalspawn, a mortal offspring of Bhaal, who planned to ascend to divinity, following in the dead god's footsteps as the Lord of Murder. "If you have the arrogance of a god and can kill like a god, who's to say you are not a god?"

- Winski Perorate to Sarevok

Description
In appearance, Sarevok was enormous for a human male. This only added to his fearsome appearance when he was wearing armor, especially when his eyes glowed with a solid yellow - as they could do, presumably because of his Bhaalspawn nature.

Sarevok's life goal was to undergo apotheosis. To this end, he concocted a plan to use the Iron Throne as his pawn to drive Baldur's Gate and Amn into war, believing that the initial slaughter would cause his ascension. He also sought to eliminate competition from other Bhaalspawn, which proved to be his downfall; his attempt to destroy one of his half-siblings living in Candlekeep failed but left that Bhaalspawn to seek revenge. Ultimately they exposed his plans and defeated him in combat, killing him and dispersing his essence into oblivion for the time being.

Abilities
Sarevok was a fearsome warrior as well as an accomplished schemer. He was extremely strong and physically capable, as well as highly intelligent, though the latter was compromised somewhat by his short temper and lack of prudence. He was also charismatic, and popular in the city of Baldur's Gate. In combat, he originally wielded an enchanted sword powered by his Bhaalspawn essence. He used it in one hand, but later it was revealed that it was meant to be used as a two-handed sword. He also wore plate armor adorned with blades, including a helmet in the shape of a monster's head. He was highly resistant to magic damage, a power he lost along with his Bhaalspawn essence. He studied the art of intimidation and the cruelest and most brutal styles of combat in order to become a Deathbringer, a powerful warrior possessing the ability to paralyze an opponent in melee battle through fear alone, as well as to kill the most powerful of opponents in a single, massive blow. He also had the ability to cast some spells.

Early life
As a young child, Sarevok was barely saved from a cult that was trying to sacrifice Bhaalspawn children. Their temple was attacked by Gorion and a number of other Harpers, but while they saved the one who would become known as Gorion's Ward, Sarevok was left behind and wandered out on his own. He grew up as an urchin in the streets until he was adopted as Sarevok Anchev by Rieltar Anchev, the Baldur's Gate regional leader of the merchant house called the Iron Throne. When he was just a child, Rieltar had Sarevok’s foster mother strangled in front of him as punishment for unfaithfulness, an event that had a significant impact on him.

Realization of Bhaalspawn Heritage
Eventually Sarevok found out about his heritage and, with the aid of Winski Perorate, learned more about it. Instrumental in his ascertaining the details of the prophecy and his own connection to it was his visit or several visits to Candlekeep, during which he also found out about the Bhaalspawn living there, Gorion's Ward. Around the same time, he also expressed interest in taking part in his foster father’s plan that was to bring great wealth and influence to the Iron Throne, and as it was finalized became a vital part of it. The plan involved sabotaging the Nashkel mines while hiring bandits to harass merchants and travellers in the Baldur's Gate area, especially those carrying iron. Blame of this would be directed towards the Zhentarim, and Amn that had supposedly hired them. At the same time, rival merchant houses in Baldur's Gate (such as the Seven Suns and the Merchant's League) would be infiltrated by doppelgangers and driven to financial ruin. The Iron Throne would appear as saviours of the day, providing iron from their secret mine in Cloakwood. Important figures in Baldur’s Gate, including eventually all the Grand Dukes, would be assassinated or incapacitated, and blame would again go to Amn, with Shadow Thief insignia left behind at the murder sites. Sarevok would be elected Grand Duke himself and lead the city into a war from which the profit would go to the Iron Throne. Of course, Sarevok himself cared nothing for the Iron Throne, only about the slaughter he could cause for what he believed to be his own advancement. Rieltar himself was for financial reasons actually disinclined to go so far as to cause an actual war, becoming an obstacle to Sarevok.

Sarevok was involved with a woman called Tamoko, and apparently they truly loved each other, but as he became more involved in his scheming to become a god, he begun to care little about anything else. She, in turn, did not want him to try to ascend, which she did not believe would happen in any case. And even if it did, she would lose him. Her disinclination to follow his plans led him to take another lover, Cythandria, who was only interested in the power and wealth she could gain through him. Sarevok also had a number of other followers who were in on his true plans, including at least Zhalimar Cloudwulfe, Gardush, Naaman, Diyab, Aasim and Alai, Winski Perorate, Tazok, Angelo Dosan and the wizard Semaj, who stood by him until the end.

The Iron Throne's plans went into motion smoothly, until, around the first of Mirtul in 1368 DR, Sarevok went to kill his half-sibling in Candlekeep. He ambushed them and Gorion on the road some way east from Candlekeep, but Gorion sacrificed his life to allow them to escape, and Sarevok could not find them again before having to return to his other plans. The protagonist began to unravel Iron Throne’s plans, from the Nashkel mines to the bandits' camp to Cloakwood, and finally Baldur’s Gate. When Rieltar and Brunos Costak went to Candlekeep to negotiate a treaty with the Knights of the Shield, which didn't fit Sarevok's plans as it only served to smoothen relationships between Baldur's Gate and Amn, both Gorion's Ward and Sarevok followed them there, Sarevok in disguise and calling himself "Koveras". Sarevok approached the ward and tried to goad them into attacking Rieltar and the others, and if that did not succeed just framed them for it. However, they escaped custody and came back to Baldur's Gate, where they exposed his plans just as he had been crowned Grand Duke and was about to have the rest killed by doppelgangers and human assassins. Sarevok flew into a rage and attacked everyone present by himself, but was teleported away by Winski Perorate. Angered at having been prevented from fighting, he struck him down, and left for the Undercity with his remaining close followers, including Tazok and Angelo Dosan. There he set down to wait for the ward in an abandoned temple of Bhaal, and was finally defeated by them in combat. His body dissolved into golden dust as his essence dispersed and joined that of Bhaal.

Life After Life
Sarevok's story did not end with this death, however. Though there was nothing left of him to even resurrect, he was, improbably, brought back nevertheless. Gorion's Ward had had their soul stolen by Jon Irenicus, and in fighting to retrieve it, they killed Irenicus without having gained their soul back. This resulted in both the ward and Irenicus ending up in Bhaal's realm, where they each explored the soul they now shared. One of the tests the ward had to face was to face their anger towards Sarevok, and to this end, their divine power summoned Sarevok forth once again. He was given the task of goading them into turning into the Slayer, an avatar of Bhaal. Regardless of whether that happened, Sarevok was once again killed by the ward Something was left behind, though&mdash;enough of Sarevok's personality that he could try to reform himself, swearing to return to life once again.



Later Life
When the time of the fulfilment of Alaundo's prophecy about the Bhaalspawn was near, the ward was summoned to the Pocket Plane in Bhaal's realm once again. Once there, they encountered Sarevok’s wraith again, this time approaching them of his own volition. He bargained to live again, offering information vital to the ward - the knowledge of how to open the magical portal to the first of the challenges they had to face to get to know themselves better in preparation for their role in the prophecy. In return, he wanted an insignificantly small piece of either the ward's or Imoen's divine soul. The ward complied, and Sarevok was restored to life, though no longer a Bhaalspawn, technically alive but still in a strange in-between state, neither one thing nor the other. He also proposed to join the ward, offering his considerable martial skills and knowledge to help them achieve the destiny he could not.

After these events, Sarevok found it difficult to find peace, caught between life and death and not achieving either. He would later rout an orc invasion of Berdusk, and briefly conquer Westgate. Finally, he travelled to Kara-Tur to bury Tamoko's body, never returning.

Background

 * In both games, Sarevok was voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson.

Appearances

 * Video games:
 * Baldur's Gate
 * Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
 * Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal


 * Novels:
 * Baldur's Gate
 * Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal