Belthir

*"The Day of the Dragon draws near, you pathetic mortals! Nothing can stop us now!."*

Dragon hybrids like Belthir are rare, particularly as the Dragon Wars fade from history into myth. During the Third Darkness, Belthir fought for both sides of the war. Belthir has since made a name for himself as a mercenary and rather ruthless adventurer over the past several decades. He calls himself the Scion of Gryvorn and he has been known to fight for those who side with the cause of the dragonlords where he can (particularly Baron Zachareth and The Dread Cult). Ultimately, however, Belthir is an opportunist and will jump camp the moment prospects begin to appear less profitable.

## The Shadow Rune

Belthir was an ally of Baron Zachareth in a plot to resurrect Belthir's ancient master, Dragonlord Gryvorn, with the Shadow Rune. When silver shipments from the Carthmount mines stopped, threatening to prevent Greigory from paying the soldiers of his barony, a party of heroes were sent to Greystone Watchtower to find out what was wrong. Upon reaching the tower, they found Belthir and a force of Zachareth's minions. As Belthir flew towards the tower with the goal of slaughtering its inhabitants, the heroes were waylaid by minions using boulders to block off their path and delay their chase.

The heroes eventually caught up to Belthir on the watchtower's bridge where they battled him in defense of the tower's guards. It is discovered that the guards had come into possession of the Shield of Zorek's Favor, which had been found in the mines. It was this shield that drew Belthir to the tower, as he sought to reclaim his sire's lost scale.

On Mount Surtur, Belthir became master of a supernatural Arena, a pocket dimension crafted with magic where various monsters and heroes battled each other for the champion's medal and the right to leave the Arena. Belthir's "brothers", a pair of Shadow Dragons, were the final challenge of the Arena.

Zachareth shook Belthir's loyalty when he attempted to take the skull from Belthir's brother's grave in the valley of Mount Surtur in order to gain its power. The Hybrid mercenary fought against Zachareth's minions in the valley. He considered an alliance with the heroes against Zachareth. Belthir ultimately sided, as he had always done, with the side he deemed stronger.

## Embers of Dread

Belthir found himself in the employ of the Dread Cult, a secret society plotting to free Margath. When a party of heroes tried to set up wards to interrupt the Dread Cult's activated leylines, Belthir led an attack of the Dread against the party. Knight-Lieutenant Eveline was skeptical of Belthir being present for anything other than coin, as he had a reputation as a ruthless mercenary. The wards eventually worked and sent Belthir and the Dread cult fleeing into the hills.

Later, Belthir led a unit of Dragon Hybrids in a Dread Cult assault on Fort Rodrick. The attack was repelled by the defenders.

When the Dread Cult found the location of the Cave of Wonders, it was Belthir who was sent to explore it. He reached the main chamber, only to be betrayed an left behind by the Dread. Belthir cursed the cultists' treachery in leaving him behind and vowed to kill them after defeating the party of heroes, accidentally wasting one of three wishes of the Cave in granting himself magical invincibility to defeat the heroes. As he battled the party, the heroes rushed for the three ancient wish-granting relics in the cavern. Wishing upon each relic before Belthir's wish for victory was complete cancelled his wish and made him vulnerable again.

After Belthir was defeated, he decided to explain to the heroes the plot of his backstabbing employers. He then flew away to disappear once more.

## References

1. Descent: Journeys in the Dark (Second Edition)
2. Descent: Journeys in the Dark (Second Edition): Embers of Dread