Editing Belynne Stelmane

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| description = Duke Belynne Stelmane is a character mentioned in Baldur's Gate 3.
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{{SpoilerWarning|act=3}}
{{Infobox character
| titles = Duke
| name = Belynne Stelmane
| image = Belynne Stelmane Screenshot.webp
| race = [[Human]]
| hometown = [[Baldur's Gate]]
| occupation = Member of The Council of Four
| faction = [[Knights of the Shield]]
| status = Deceased
| death-reason = Killed by [[the Emperor]]
}}'''Belynne Stelmane''', also known as '''Duke Stelmane''', is a character mentioned in Baldur's Gate 3. She can not be interacted with directly by the player, but appears in cutscenes and plays an important role in several areas of the game's story. 

==Overview==
=== Background ===
Stelmane served as a member of [[The Council of Four]] until 1491, one year before the events of the game.{{cite text|The Dukes of Baldur's Gate}}

She was affiliated with the secret organisation known as the Knights of the Shield, and had had business dealings with [[The Emperor]].

Later in her life, she suffered a stroke. The resulting health issues plagued her for over a decade, sometimes leaving her unaware of her surroundings,{{cite text|Patient Log: Duke Belynne Stelmane}} until she was murdered in her suite at the [[Elfsong Tavern]] by [[Cult of Bhaal|Bhaalists]].

===Related quests=== 
*[[Investigate the Murders]]
*[[Visit the Emperor's Old Hideout]]

== Character recounts ==
Several characters in Baldur's Gate 3 describe their past experiences with Belynne Stelmane.

===Wyll===
During [[Act Three]], it is possible to ask [[Wyll]] about his own experiences meeting Belynne Stelmane.

Selecting the option ''"Did you know Stelmane very well, back in the day?"'' will yield the following information initially:
{{Q|The first time, I was a boy of seven or eight, at a banquet in the Flaming Fists's honor. One look and I was smitten.
Chestnut hair that flowed behind her like willow fronds. She floated from one room to the next as if carried by clouds.
The second time, Stelmane was - different.
Even with the aid of a cane, each step she took was a struggle. Every word she spoke took great physical effort.
'A stroke victim?' I asked father later. 'No', he said. 'A stroke ''survivor.'''}}
If the player passes a passive {{Ability Check|Perception|10}} after Wyll finishes speaking, they can learn that Wyll questions whether Stelmane suffered a stroke. Another dialogue option appears that is locked behind a {{Ability Check|Persuasion|15}}. If this check is passed, he says the following:
{{Q|Something's always gnawed at me. At the banquet, Stelmane didn't seem to look ''at'' us, but ''through'' us. But that second time, her gaze never left me. It was steel, sharp and unyielding. It could just be my imagination. But I always felt that it was more than a stroke that had changed her. What, though... I couldn't say.}}

===The Emperor===
{{SpoilerBox|
The Emperor describes Belynne as its former ''partner'', but if pressed will claim that it used its illithid powers on her to make her its thrall.<ref>Dialogue with the Emperor in the Astral Realm, after it is rejected and distrusted</ref> This eventually caused her to suffer her stroke, and left her partially paralysed.<ref>Investigations from The Knights of Shield.</ref><ref>Descent into Avernus pg. 162.</ref>

Wyll, if spoken to afterwards, shows his anger at the revelations:

{{Q|Not a mere stroke, as it turns out – but the scars of her possession. Gods, what I wouldn't give to drive a dagger through the Emperor's buldging head. We can never let it do to us what it did to Stelmane.}}}}

==Related literature==
*{{MdRarityItem|Baldur's Mouth 1492 DR Issue 86}}
*{{MdRarityItem|The Stelmane Connection}}
*{{MdRarityItem|Patient Log: Duke Belynne Stelmane}}
*{{MdRarityItem|Shield Steward Interrogation Log}}

==Gallery==
<gallery heights="240px">
Stelmane.png|Stelmane listening
Balduran4.png|Stelmane and her Advisor
</gallery>

==Notes==
{{notebegin}}
*In {{FRWiki|Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus}}, the segment describing Stelmane describes her as having a secret, mental battle against a Mind Flayer. This Mind Flayer is very likely to be the Emperor himself, and as a result, puts his entire "alliance" with Belynne Stelmane into question.
**If the Emperor truly is the Mind Flayer described in the 5e module, it's very possible they did not have a proper alliance at all, and rather, The Emperor enthralled her for his needs. Whether this was always the case, or if they had a genuine alliance beforehand, isn't fully clear as The Emperor is an unreliable narrator.
{{noteend}}

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist|text}}

==External links== 
*{{FRWiki|Belynne Stelmane|long}}

[[Category: Humans]]
[[Category: Mentioned characters]]