Balakar Khan
- This article is about Balakar's character biography. For the boss encounter, see Balakar Khan (tactics).
 Balakar Khan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Gender | Male |
| Race | Centaur (Humanoid) |
| Level | 70 Elite |
| Reaction | Alliance Horde |
| Affiliation(s) | Clan Nokhud, Primalists (allied) |
| Occupation | Khan of the Nokhud |
| Location | Maruukai[59.55, 42.65] and Horn of Drusahl, Ohn'ahran Plains |
| Status | Killable (WoW), Deceased[1] (lore) |
| Relative(s) | Jhakan (father), Nazuun (mother), Balara (daughter), Batak (son) |
“My storm will bring forth a mightier Maruuk. Greatness awaits us!”
- — Balakar Khan[2]
Balakar Khan is the khan of the Nokhud centaur and one of the two main antagonists in the Ohn'ahran Plains storyline (the other being Koroleth). After allying with the Primalists, he declared war on the other Maruuk clans and tried to claim Ohn'ahra's power for himself in order to restore what he saw as the centaur's past glory.
Biography
Balakar is the son of Jhakan Khan, who led Clan Nokhud to become one of the most powerful Maruuk clans. Jhakan was well-respected, but Balakar did not inherit his father's patience or wisdom.[3] Jhakan and his partner Nazuun raised their son as best they could, but Balakar "was never one to listen long enough to understand". Jhakan mistook Balakar's undermining nature for ambition to lead and kept him close in the hopes of teaching him respect and dignity.[4] The khan wore a unique medallion, which he planned to gift to Balakar on his coming of age day. The night before the big day, he took his son on a ritual hunt.[5] However, during the hunt, Balakar killed Jhakan in order to take control of the clan.[6] When he returned to his people in the morning, alone and bloody, Balakar lied that his father had tried to kill him out of fear of being succeeded. Most of the Nokhud believed him. Years later, he told his mother Nazuun the truth in private, and she left Clan Nokhud in despair. Under Balakar's leadership, the Nokhud's old traditions were overruled[5] and they grew more insular from the other clans.[6] Balakar's Ohn'ir advisor, Windsage Garuman, warned the other Ohn'ir of Balakar's hunger and of his disrespect for centaur culture.[7]
Shortly after the awakening of the Dragon Isles, a Primalist army led by Koroleth attacked the green dragonflight's Emerald Gardens in an attempt to reach the dragons' portal to the Emerald Dream. The dragons repelled them, and the Primalists knew they needed the aid of the centaur to defeat the dragons.[8] Koroleth easily recruited Balakar[9] and convinced him and the Nokhud to start using forbidden storm magic. Balakar believed that his clan deserved the storm's power, with which they would "show the Maruuk how far they have fallen". He brought Koroleth with him as he and the clan traveled to the Nokhud encampment in Maruukai to attend the Khural. Windsage Garuman protested against this; in response, Koroleth egged Balakar on into killing Garuman with his new storm powers.[10]
The green dragons sent an emissary, Gemisath, to the Khural to ask Khanam Matra Sarest to aid the dragons against the Primalists. Sarest agreed to do so, but Balakar interrupted the meeting by marching into the krutal with his warriors and Koroleth. He accused Sarest of dishonoring Maruuk's memory by surrendering the centaur's lands to outsiders and sending centaur to die for the dragons' sake. Sarest ordered him to stand down, but Balakar responded by killing Gemisath with a strike of storm magic and having his Nokhud attack the other clans in an attempt to take control of Maruukai.[11] Balakar himself retreated from the city and left Guard Bahir in charge to cover his escape.[9] Khansguard Akato opined that Balakar was blinded by lust for power and disgraced his clan by "leading them into the storm".[12]
Balakar began marshalling his army to conquer the Ohn'ahran Plains. Meanwhile, Sarest and her allies prepared their own forces and asked Clan Ohn'ir to find Ohn'ahra so that Sarest could blow the Horn of Drusahl and ally with the green dragons,[13][14] since she knew that she could not win the war against the Nokhud without the dragons' aid.[15] However, using a false summons from Tigari Khan, Balakar and the Nokhud lured the Ohn'ir into an ambush at Ridgewater Retreat[16] and enacted a plot with the Primalists that resulted in Koroleth capturing Ohn'ahra.[17] Shortly after, Balakar personally led a warband of Nokhud in an attack on the Horn of Drusahl and massacred the Teerai who guarded it. Sarest assumed that Balakar intended to destroy the Horn to prevent her from summoning the dragons, and went to confront him in person. Upon seeing the sack of the Teerai village, she decided that Balakar had betrayed everything the Maruuk stood for and that he was irredeemable.[15][18] However, his plan was not to destroy the Horn, but to use it: Koroleth forced the captive Ohn'ahra to bless the khan, allowing him to blow the Horn and summon the green dragons Merithra, Gerithus, and Solethus into a trap. The Nokhud tried to kill Merithra with one of their dragonkiller ballistae, but Solethus sacrificed himself to save her. Koroleth then forced Ohn'ahra to teleport her and Balakar away.[19][20]
Koroleth subsequently led a new Primalist attack on the Emerald Gardens, but was defeated by an alliance between the dragons and the remaining centaur clans.[21] Meanwhile, Balakar withdrew to Nokhudon Hold with Ohn'ahra,[22] intending to use her power to "bring forth a mightier Maruuk",[2] while his raiders began an offensive across the plains.[22] Adventurers helped rally the Teerai, Ohn'ir, and Shikaar against the Nokhud and their allies, then attacked Nokhudon Hold and engaged Balakar. The khan completed a ritual to infuse himself with Ohn'ahra's power, but the adventurers killed him and freed the Windmother. With his last words, Balakar asked the ancestors to forgive him. Sarest announced that Balakar's weapon would be broken, denying him a place of honor with the ancestors, and expressed hope that Clan Nokhud would be able to heal now that they were free of his influence.[2]
Quotes
Dialogue
- Quests
- Main article: Unwelcome Outsider#Notes
- Main article: The Khanam Matra#Notes
- Main article: Trucebreakers#Notes
- Nokhud Offensive
- Main article: Balakar Khan (tactics)#Quotes
On-click
- Greetings
- Fight or leave.
- The Maruuk have not had a strong khan since Thousandbones himself!
- What do you want of us, outsider?
- Irritated
- How dare you touch me?!
- Farewell
- Get out.
- Hmph.
- Out of my sight.
Patch changes
Patch 10.0.2 (2022-11-15): Added.
References
- ^
[70] Scars from the Past
- ^ a b c Balakar Khan boss encounter
- ^ [62-65] Toward the City
- ^ Jhakan Khan
- ^ a b Elder Nazuun
- ^ a b [62-65] Clan Nokhud
- ^ Tigari Khan
- ^ [62-65] With the Wind at Our Backs
- ^ a b [62-65] Covering Their Tails
- ^ [62-65] Unwelcome Outsider
- ^ [62-65] The Khanam Matra
- ^ [62-65] Trucebreakers
- ^ [62-65] Hooves of War
- ^
[The Khanam Matra's Message]
- ^ a b [62-65] Chasing the Wind
- ^ [62-65] Toting Totems
- ^ [62-65] Oh No, Ohn'ahra!
- ^ [62-65] Nokhud Can Come of This
- ^ [62-65] Blowing of the Horn
- ^ [62-65] Green Dragon Down
- ^ [62-65] Stormbreaker
- ^ a b [62-70G5] The Nokhud Offensive: The Wind Belongs to the Sky