Balduran was a legendary seafarer and explorer who founded the city of Baldur's Gate, and he was named in his honor. At some point he disappeared on voyage, with only rumours and legends surrounding his ultimate fate.
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Statues in Wyrmway
There are multiple statues of Balduran with recorded messages from him (created through the Magic Mouth spell). They guide the player through the challenges on their way to find Ansur - his dragon friend that sleeps underneath Wyrmway.
Ultimate fate
At some point Balduran became The Emperor.
After securing enough money to fund the building of the Wall that led to Baldur's Gate founding, he felt the call of the sea once more. On the voyage, and following a shipwreck, Balduran made his way to Moonrise Towers, in search of fortune. There he was captured by a colony of mindflayers, becoming infected with the tadpole as a result. As a record of his interrogation by Enver Gortash during the planning phases of the Absolute Hoax states, he spent ten years under the thrall of the Moonrise Elder Brain. His friend, Ansur the Dragon, eventually managed to bring him back to independent thought and free will.
The Emperor, however, does not disclose this information initially. He very carefully divulges the information he deems necessary, sometimes arguing that the player is not ready for the answer yet or that he will reveal specific information in the future. The Emperor will only reveal his former identity after the player finds Ansur the Dragon. Furthermore, Ansur the Dragon further reveals more information - as while The Emperor initially did not want to become a Mind Flayer, He now fully embraced his new form, and his comfort with this caused a rift between him and Ansur.
Ansur attempted to kill his former friend as the latter slept, (Ansur believed this would be a merciful death) - This attempt was felt by Balduran. In his struggle to protect himself from being murdered, Balduran killed Ansur in self-defence.
After Ansur's death, Balduran came to be called the Emperor as he used his newfound psychic influence to rule Baldur's Gate from the shadows. For the next four centuries, he made his haven under the tavern of Elfsong, keeping various sentimental knick knacks such as his old dog Rascal's collar, his favourite recipe (fiddlehead soup), his first adventuring sword, or his mother's gifted cutlery set (the butter knife having been lost during his last shipwreck on the eponymous Isle of Balduran, inside the wreck of the Wandering Eye ship), but also more illithid-adequate items such as chains for his prefered prey - allegedly criminals and lawbreakers - and jars for brains. He established a partnership with Duke Stelmane.
During those four centuries, he also came to be associated with the Knights of the Shield, a lawful and neutral evil conglomerate of politicians and merchants manipulating events behind the scenes. Duke Stelmane was a major figure of this secret society.
Sometime before the events of the game, Enver Gortash and the Dark Urge once again captured the Emperor, and brought him back under the thrall of the Moonrise Elder Brain, now wearing the Crown of Karsus and having become the Nether Brain masquerading as the Absolute. He was only freed when he was ordered to retrieve the Mysterious Artefact, which led to his freedom once more, as well as its discovery of Orpheus, the Prince of the Comet, as named by the Githyanki.
The Nether Brain, as she admits to the player in the endgame section, sought to have all three Chosen of the Dead Three killed, and specifically picked the Emperor to lead a team of illithids on a nautiloid to search for and steal from the Githyanki the Astral Prism containing Orpheus.
An Adventurer, I came from Baldur's Gate, though i was never one to be constrained by circumstance. I longed for more.
That longing brought me to Moonrise Towers on a search for treasure. To a colony of mind flayers who caught me and changed me.
The Emperor feeding on criminals
I had the fortune of meeting Duke Stelmane. We formed a partnership
They called me The Emperor
Ansur and Balduran on a mural
Related items
External links
Balduran on the Forgotten Realms Wiki