Amelyssan the Blackhearted was a priestess and deathstalker of Bhaal whom he entrusted with the task of resurrecting him.
Personality
Amelyssan was capable of convincingly pretending that her greatest desire was to help other people (besides of masking her alignment as lawful good), but her true personality irredeemably evil. She was a megalomaniac and completely remorseless, regarding others as nothing but tools. She had little tolerance for others trying to limit her in any way against her will; she believed she was a goddess already, and wanted to be treated accordingly.[1]
Powers
The assertion that Amelyssan was a god was nothing but wishful thinking on her part, but it was true that she was immensely powerful. She had apparently been a deathstalker, a member of a special order of assassins in Bhaal's church. She was proficient in both clerical and wizardly magics, which only increased in power with the Bhaalspawn essences she consumed. Nearly equivalent to a demigod, she casts a number of spells in the ending battle with the ward, complementing them with close combat and other special abilities such as summoning. She was immune to most types of energy, as well as to the Time Stop spell.[1]
History
Early history
Having foreseen his own death during the Time of Troubles, Bhaal came to Toril years before the event and mated with mortal females of different races, producing offspring called Bhaalspawn, who were to slaughter each other and fuel his rebirth. Amelyssan's task was to perform rituals that would complete Bhaal's return. However, her own goal was to gather all the power of Bhaal's essence released from his children into herself and become a goddess. She came up with the guise of Melissan, a benefactor who took pity on the Bhaalspawn, but was secretly gathering them to acquire their essence. To fulfil her goal, she gathered together the most powerful Bhaalspawn, known as The Five and promised them the power of demigods when Bhaal was resurrected.[1]
As Melissan
Amelyssan, under the guise of Melissan, had been trying to lead some of the citizens to gain audience with Gromnir Il-Khan, a Bhaalspawn who controlled the city. The guards at the gate refused to allow her entry, and were about to attack the townspeople when Gorion's Ward appeared and fought off the guards. "Melissan" guessed the identity of the ward and talked to them after the fight, telling them that the city was under siege by the forces of Yaga-Shura. He was another Bhaalspawn and one of The Five, who wanted to destroy all the Bhaalspawn she had gathered there supposedly to keep them safe. Melissan told the player character that to end the siege, they must first deal with Gromnir, who was only making its problems worse, and then find a way to kill Yaga-Shura, who was a seemingly invulnerable fire giant. When the ward found a way into the palace, they suddenly saw a seemingly paranoid Gromnir accusing Melissan of wanting to destroy all the Bhaalspawn. Despite his apparent paranoia, it later turned out to be true. After having killed both Gromnir and Yaga-Shura, the ward found the city in ruins and all the Bhaalspawn within killed, apparently in spite of the best efforts of Melissan, who remained unscathed. She told them that they would next need to kill Sendai and Abazigal, two of The Five and among the most powerful Bhaalspawn, and that she would later meet the party in Amkethran.[1]
Once the ward made it to Amkethran, they not only found Melissan there, but the monk Balthazar, who welcomed them coolly, saying that she passed by and left. After the ward went on to destroy Sendai and Abazigal as well, they found out that Melissan had a hostile confrontation with Balthazar. When they confronted him, he revealed that he was another Bhaalspawn and last member of The Five, though drawn into the group, not by Melissan's promises of power, but the desire to destroy all of his kind. After he attacked the ward's party and was killed, all of The Five were destroyed, and the ward saw a final revelation in the Pocket Plane. These revelations included the Solar who summoned the shades of both Melissan and Bhaal, and revealed that she was really Amelyssan, the most trusted deathstalker of Bhaal, who was to resurrect him but really only wanted the power for herself. After this revelation and a final test, the ward was ready to dissolve the Pocket Plane and move onto the Mana Forge, where Amelyssan waited, in a previously unseen form.[1]
Fall
The ward's battle against Amelyssan consisted of several long battles with hordes of different creatures. First, Amelyssan fought but was forced to retreat into the column of energy in the middle of the forge. After this, the ward will fought off many powerful guardians who protected each of the energy sources on the plane. Each time, the ward cut off an energy source, it forced Amelyssan to fight again. During the different battles, she used different tactics such as summoning Slayer Shadows (resembling the monstrous version of the avatar of Bhaal) and abyssal creatures. When she was finally defeated, she remained alive but unable to fight. Here, the Solar appeared, declaring the battle over by divine decree. The ward now had all the essence of Bhaal. After this, the ward left the Mana Forge, they left it to explode, which took Amelyssan with it.[1]
Appendix
Appearances
- Novels
- Video games
- Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal
External links
Amelyssan article at the Baldur's Gate Wiki, a wiki for the Baldur's Gate games.