Belthasar

Overview

Belthasar is one of the three Gurus of Zeal (the other two being Gaspar and Melchior). Belthasar is the Guru of Reason. The Gurus' names are based off of the names of the three Magi (Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar) who brought gifts to the baby Jesus. Belthasar appears in both Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross.

Chrono Trigger

In Chrono Trigger, the player never directly meets Belthasar, although his influence is seen several times in the Antiquity (12,000 B.C.) and other periods of time. He was an inventor who created such devices as the Blackbird, the Ocean Palace, and (arguably the most important) the Epoch. He was originally an adviser to Queen Zeal, but when the Mammon Machine absorbed too much power, he (as well as the other two Gurus and Janus) was sent into a different time period: 2300 A.D (the Future).

Belthasar had consistently warned the Queen about the possibility of such a thing happening. He said that a dimensional vortex is something that humans cannot control, and that they would all be sent through a rift in time. Despite the three Gurus' warning, Queen Zeal turned it on anyway. All those present (Queen Zeal, Schala, Janus, and the three Gurus) were transported to Lavos, who sent Belthasar, Gaspar, Melchior, and Janus to different time periods.

When Belthasar reached 2300 A.D., he finished construction on the Epoch (he had begun construction during 12,000 B.C). During the time he spent there, he contemplated about many things. Records that are later discovered by Crono and his party suggest that he discovered that Lavos came far prior to the Antiquity (Belthasar theorized that Lavos fell from the sky very early in time, dug deep into the planet's core, and then fed on the planet's very energy). Belthasar also discovered that Lavos resurfaced later in 600 A.D. (the Middle Ages) when Magus summoned him, and then even later in 1999 A.D.; the Day of Lavos.

Belthasar was trapped in the future, so he continued his fervent study of Lavos. Soon, however, Belthasar felt his mind begin to slip into insanity. To combat this, he left records of all of knowledge for later venturers to discover. He also copied his memory into a robot, so that he could explain the Epoch to other visitors.

Belthasar also aids the party later when Crono is killed. After they are given the Chrono Trigger (the Time Egg), Belthasar tells them that Death Peak has the ability to restore life. However, there are several requirements; the need for this person must be great and they will need an identical double of the person (a doll can be obtained from a magician named Norstein Bekkler). After he gives the party these instructions, he says that his program has reached its end, and requests to be shut off.

Chrono Cross

Belthasar also appears in Chrono Cross. At first, he appears to only be a character coincidentally named Belthasar, but it is later revealed that he is the very same Belthasar. Belthasar helps Serge to escape from the Porre army. Belthasar is the person in charge of Project Kid, and the guardian of the Frozen Flame.