List of His Dark Materials Characters - Other Characters - Balthamos

Balthamos and his same-sex partner, Baruch, are both angels in rebellion from the Kingdom of Heaven. They seek to become part of Lord Asriel's army of angels and overthrow Metatron, the acting Regent of The Authority.

Both angels find Will Parry at the end of The Subtle Knife; because Will is the bearer of the subtle knife, they hope to bring him to Lord Asriel. However, Will's companion Lyra Belacqua has been kidnapped and Will refuses to go to Asriel until Lyra is found. The angels agree to accompany Will without question until she is found.

This decision proves to be dangerous; both Baruch and Balthamos are aware the Regent is after them, especially now that they are being accompanied by Will. An unfortunate encounter leads to Baruch being fatally wounded. Balthamos and Will are separated from Baruch, who has gone to Lord Asriel in his wounded state. Before dying, Baruch provides Asriel with all the information he and Balthamos have discovered about Will, Lyra, and the Regent.

Baruch's death is immediately felt by Balthamos as a result of the strong bond of love they shared. Stricken with grief, Balthamos promises to aid Will in every way possible to honour Baruch's sacrifice. When Balthamos is unable to do so, he runs away, grieving over Baruch's death and feeling guilty about abandoning Will. The angel does not appear again until the end of the book, when Balthamos confronts Father Gomez, an assassin hoping to kill Lyra by tracking Dr Mary Malone. However, by the end of his confrontation with Father Gomez, Balthamos neither has the strength or the will to continue existing, and the particles that make up his being separate.

Of the two angels, Balthamos is the more cautious of the pair. He admits that Baruch is the courageous one and whenever Balthamos fails at something important, Baruch is the one to help him fix things. Balthamos has a sarcastic personality, and his relations with Will are conducted with an air of ironic contempt.

As angels of low rank, Balthamos and Baruch's abilities are limited. They appear as luminous humanlike forms, which are barely visible to human eyes even at night. The angels also possess the power to transform, which Balthamos uses to masquerade as Will's dæmon when traveling in Lyra's world. They are capable of flight though their wings do not have a corporeal form.