Balthazar

Member since 1796

Born into an ancient noble family, Balthazar was a dreamer, a romantic, an adventurer. He joined the Adventure Club of Europe at a young age, travelling all over the world. Though he had garnered a reputation as an eccentric, a free spirit, a libertine, he still moved among the highest circles, as he knew how to win people over with his charm, his eloquence and his knowledge of philosophy, science, and the arts.

Balthazar lived life to the fullest and was seen at all social events. His passion was for beauty, and he had exquisite taste, drank the most expensive wines, ate the most excellent dishes, and owned fine works of art. He loved the theatre and would roam the streets of Paris late into the night alongside actors, artists and poets. Balthazar fell in love passionately and often, breaking countless hearts and even more often suffering from a broken heart himself.
But this glamorous life ended abruptly: on his 30th birthday, during a lavish party in his honour, Balthazar disappeared without a trace from his elegant palace in the city Paris.

Nobody knew where he had gone as the wildest rumours began to circulate in high society. Only his closest companions from the ACE knew the truth: Balthazar had retreated to his family’s country estate, situated in a remote area between the slopes of the Black Forest and the banks of the Rhine. He explained his reasons in a letter that is now in the ACE archives:

“I’m so tired of all this. The luxury, the parties, all these superficial diversions – it feels so empty! I had hoped that in the rush, in the ecstasy, I would gain access to a higher level of being. To another reality. What a mistake! I am, however, convinced that there is something greater, beyond our world. A deep longing draws me to this. From now on, I will search in peace and solitude for what I have been unable to find for years in debauchery.”

In a later letter, Balthazar is confident:

“My books have come! Rare volumes containing ancient secret knowledge. And this place, the land of my ancestors! You can hike through the valleys of the Black Forest for days without meeting a soul. I feel it, deep within these forests there are still elves and fairies who will show me the way to another world. And if not them, then the river spirits and mermaids of the Rhine, the branching arms of which I explore by boat almost every day.”

But the years passed, and Balthazar’s search was unsuccessful. Until one day he received a message from an old friend who had returned from an ACE expedition to Africa:

“Wherever you go, people tell stories about a powerful ruler of incomparable beauty, reigning in the heart of the jungle. Some say she is a demon. Others worship her as a goddess, a higher being from another world: she who must be obeyed.”

Could this be the ‘other world’ he was looking for? And was this mysterious ruler the key to it all? When the very same friend visited him personally soon afterwards and brought him a mysterious artefact, he recognised it immediately: it was an artistic brooch shaped like an ouroboros, a snake that consumes its own tail. The same symbol had also been depicted on a precious ancient manuscript in his possession, which too told of a legendary queen found in the heart of Africa. The text contained a description of how to get into their realm! The two immediately set off for Africa and, after much hardship, reached their destination. Balthazar notes this in his diary:

“She now stood before us in the flesh: she who must be obeyed. She performed a ritual in the light of the full moon. What an effect it has on people! For some she commands an irresistible spell, the saviour who will bring light in these dark times. Others condemn her as a temptress who will bring us to ruin. In reality, she is neither good nor evil. She stands above such things, elevated beyond these profane human judgments.”

Balthazar did not write about how he was able to gain her trust. But he was inspired:

“She revealed herself to me! Me! Over the centuries she has been referred to as Lilith, Venus, Queen of Sheba. However, she told me her true name: Myra.
She gave me access to that higher world that I had sought for so long, as she is both the guardian of the portal and the key to it. It is a place outside of space and time, where the laws of our mortal world are suspended. There is neither past nor future, only eternal present. Neither good nor evil, no right and no wrong, just a state of pure being. A sphere of beauty and rapture where all constraints fall away. The ancients called this place: EDEN.”

However, Eden was in danger. It has a delicate connection to the human world and could only exist as long as magic and belief in the miracles remained strong. Yet both were disappearing with each passing day. With the advent of modernity, life became ever more disenchanted. Reason, predictability, and efficiency were now what mattered, with neither time nor space for anything magical. People increasingly lost their connection to these sources, to the natural spirits and mythical creatures with which they had previously lived in harmony. At the same time, new forces were coming to power, determined to exploit all the wonders of the world to the point of destruction.

Yet if all things supernatural and magic died out in our world, it would have meant the end of Eden. That’s why Balthazar and Myra, along with a handful of close confidants from the ACE, founded a secret society dedicated to protecting these wonders. They created a sanctuary for magical beings on Balthazar’s country estate, where they also found refuge and could continue to develop freely once more. They called this place the Eden Manor.

Over time, they gathered numerous mystical beings around them, as the number of human associates also steadily grew. They held regular gatherings, lively evenings celebrating the beauty, sensuality and the miraculous in Myra’s honour, and kept the spirit of Eden alive.

It is said that thanks to his time spent in Eden, time passes differently for Balthazar. To this day he watches over Eden Manor, but never reveals his true identity. Strangers who find their way there, report meeting a polite, unusually elegant and perhaps somewhat old-fashioned gentleman who poses as a gardener and leads them into the estate’s greenhouse with a mischievous smile. There they witness an illustrious and eccentric evening party and its extravagant celebrations. Anyone who passes the secret society’s tests and proves themselves worthy may be granted the privilege of gaining access to Myra’s world – to Eden.