Is it time to reveal who Kha-Beleth really was? His origins and history? How did Raelag defect to Kha-Beleth? And why did everyone forget about him (except Sorshan, by the way, why didn't Sorshan forget)?

We had two possible candidates for Kha-Beleth and we were unable to decide.

The first one was the “obvious” choice. It was Sar-Shazzar who sabotaged the ritual of his master Sar-Elam and later entered Sheogh through the “flaw” during a Lunar Eclipse to rule over the Demons and become the Demon Sovereign (remember that the night he “died”, his body turned to ashes so there was no real proof of his true death).


The second option was more “mystical”. Kha-Beleth was born because of Sar-Shazzar’s sabotage but its impact was to split Sar-Elam’s soul in two. One (the “largest and brightest” part) became the spiritual wall locking Sheogh, the other (the “small dark splinter”) took shape in the form of Kha-Beleth. In this version, Kha-Beleth is Sar-Elam’s twisted shadow, maddened and enraged by years of imprisonment in the prison he had himself built. This is a stronger motivation for the Tears of Asha because her “prophet” is broken and doomed to eternal torment (not just “dissolved”). This once again feels like a reference to the movie Dark Crystal where it all starts when the crystal is broken and when spiritual unity is restored when the missing splinter is returned.


The story of Agreal / Raelag is already quite detailed so I’m not sure which part you feel is missing.


When Raelag joined the Dragon Knights he gained access to one of their greatest powers which is to make people forget them or fail to notice them (something of a “mass” Jedi mind trick or Men In Black neuralyzer).


As for Sorshan, he was protected from the effect by his deep connection to the “whispers of Malassa” (his constant visions of buried secrets and lost memories), and maybe chosen by Raelag to remember him?

Essentially, I had a masterplan for Heroes VII. I was hoping we would do at least 1, but hopefully 2 more expansions for the game, finally catching up with the events of Heroes V and allowing us to move to the post-Dark Messiah era in Heroes VIII. Overall, it was a story in four acts I liked to call the “Rise and fall of the Griffin”. Heroes VII vanilla was “Rise of the Griffin”: it saw Ivan seize power and become Emperor. Trial by Fire was “Triumph of the Griffin”: it’s Ivan at the peak of his power, now fully legitimate as a ruler.

The next expansion would have been “Corruption of the Griffin”. It would have been a sequel of sorts to the events of Clash of Heroes, dealing with the madness of Emperor Oleg due to Sandro’s influence. At that time, Sandro is in Lorekeep, having essentially infiltrated and corrupted the Blind Brothers (or at least this particular chapter of the order). We would have followed Alexei IV as he assembles a team of allies to take down Sandro once and for all: characters such as Cyrus, Godric, Nadia as well as Zakera from H6 Shades of Darkness. It would have introduced the Shanriya Sanctuary (the “Ice Nagas” seen in Duel of Champions) as a new faction, as well as Sandro’s Nethermancers as an alternate Necropolis line-up. As you can imagine I was really looking forward to this, as a means to finally tell that story after so much build-up.

I would have been happy with just doing that one, but even happier if we could have done a third and final expansion, which would have been “The Fall of the Griffin”. It would have been about the War of the Eclipse, with Inferno returning, and would have ended with Alexei’s death and Nicolai’s crowning, bringing us full circle.

Ignatius’ tale was not supposed to be a whole campaign, but an Adventure Pack similar to the ones we did with Crag Hack and Sandro. The original plan was actually to have three adventures, seen through the eyes of three heroes: Crag Hack, Ignatius and Solmyr. Each would have introduced a couple of Academy units, until the full faction was available. The thread tying the stories together was the Flower of Dolor… This eventually became the basis of Heroes VII’s Academy campaign, although with other characters. And of course Solmyr would also appear in Heroes VII, at long last.

Ignatius’ story would have revolved around his effort to escape Sheogh and becoming human again, being one of the few “good” Inferno heroes. In the end, Kurt was able to find room in Duel of Champions for a version of that story.

Dark Messiah 2 was in development around 2015, but sadly was cancelled along with our plans for more Heroes VII expansions, as recalled above. DM2 was an ambitious and exciting project, and its cancellation breaks my heart even a decade later.

The idea was for it to take place in a “mystical reflection” of Stonehelm. You would have played Raelag (with the possibility as embracing stealth, magic or melee combat), now a Dragon Knight in training (still struggling to find his “inner dragon”). Raelag arrives in Stonehelm just as the whole city is engulfed in light (basically what we briefly see in the ending cutscene of DM1). Stonehelm now exists partially in the Spirit World in a sort of “primordial bubble”, the Rift, and it’s slowly corrupting the lands around it. Whatever is happening inside the city must be stopped before all of Ashan is consumed.

Within the Rift, Raelag would be guided by the spirit of Tieru (acting as a sort of sarcastic “mission control”), and would meet some old friends like Zehir, who has also come to investigate the phenomenon. Some parts of Stonehelm have been overwhelmed by elemental magic, so there would be an Earth district, a Fire district, etc. The idea was to have an “interconnected” structure, much like in Metroid or Dark Souls, and some areas would change elements over time. The place is overrun by demons, corrupted humans, remnants of Arantir’s undead armies and magical creatures driven mad.

Eventually, Raelag discovers that because Sareth’s fate is in flux and the whole of Ashan hangs on his decision, the world is basically freezing around him. It’s like multiple timelines conflicting with each other, with poor Leanna being simultaneously alive and dead for instance. Kha-Beleth is here too, and wants Sareth to embrace his role as the Dark Messiah to bring down the walls of Sheogh.

Raelag also discovers that he was always part of Sar-Shazzar’s prophecy: one of the stanzas mentions the “daughter of fire” as well as her “glory” and “everlasting torment”. He realizes that this refers to Tuidhana and as her first-born son, he is her “glory”. That’s why Kha-Beleth conspired to turn him into Agrael, as a means to control all aspects of the prophecy. But he could never have expected Agrael to fall in love with Isabel, which would lead him to reclaim his true nature and become a Dragon Knight.

Ultimately, Zehir — always the smartest man in the room — figures out that Order cannot exist without Chaos and vice-versa. The scenario where Sareth banishes the demons forever would break the world just as surely as the scenario where he joins forces with Kha-Beleth to wage war against Asha’s creation.

But there’s another way: Sareth can become the Dark Messiah and open the gates of Sheogh… but also lead the demons himself, seeking cohabitation rather than endless war. Of course, this can’t happen while Kha-Beleth is around to whisper in his ear. Which leads to a final battle pitting our heroes against old Kha, who reveals his true identity and form… whatever they may be :D (We were still debating ^^)

Oh, and there was also a final rematch between Raelag and his old nemesis Veyer, who would turn into a massive Avatar of Destruction.

As Sareth embraces his destiny on his own terms, a new balance between Order and Chaos is reached and Ashan is deeply changed as result… paving the way for new lands, new factions, new characters, etc. And an open horizon for stories.

I was hoping to explore the Shrouded South at some point. I had a name for the continent (Kerad) and alternate versions of the main factions (a human-centric Stronghold, Haven as a faction of Egyptian-themed Angels, Void-themed Necropolis with undead Shantiri nethermancers…). Oh well!