Lord Barrius

Lord Barrius is an enigmatic figure with a mysterious connection to the Shadow Universe and its inhabitants. He also heads a widespread, secret order dedicated to preserving the balance between the Lorian and Shadow universes.

Personality
Lord Barrius is a serious and proud man. He will not allow anyone to refer to him as "Barrius," and it is implied that he will attack anyone who does. Lord Barrius also does not fight wholeheartedly against anyone he considers to be "weak," as he refused outright to fight Algern, and during the Final Countdown War only put in enough effort to keep the Shadows contained, though it is implied that he could've won the confrontation by himself. Barrius is also nearly single-minded in his quest to keep Lore and the Shadow Universe segregated (though given the power of the Shadows, this devotion may be necessary.)

Relationships
In contrast to many of the other good and/or neutral NPCs in the game, Lord Barrius does not seem to make an effort to befriend the Chosen. Their relationship is strictly one of business (Lord Barrius assigns the task, and the Chosen completes it.) However, Lord Barrius does seem to grudgingly acknowledge the Chosen's skill in combat, even going so far as to hint at allowing possible membership into his order.

At some point in the past, Lord Barrius was the teacher of Algern the Shadowknight (who was also a member of Barrius' mysterious order.) However, after Algern refused to allow a Shadow to possess him, causing Lord Barrius to consider him "weak" and throw him out of the order. Algern continues to try and fight his former master, though Lord Barrius ignores him.

Lord Barrius is the owner and companion of EIBhe, who is also his Shadow self. The two have a love/hate relationship, as EIBhe is the complete opposite of his master in terms of personality. That being said, Lord Barrius does care for EIHbe and does occasionally acquiesce to the Shadowkitten's requests.

Powers and Abilities
Though Lord Barrius is an enigma, none can deny his might. He was able to hold off armies of Shadows on his own, without any outside assistance. Furthermore, he was able to protect the Chosen from Ultimon's shadow corruption with only a spell, indicating great magical as well as martial prowess- mighty enough to even hold back Ultimon.

When Ultimon made his bid for freedom, Lord Barrius proved an able tactician as well, coming up with a plan to hold back Ultimon's ever-expanding armies.

Lord Barrius is also able to sense when powerful Shadows, like Ultimon, are lurking nearby.

History
When the Terrible Twelve kidnapped EIHbe, Lord Barrius arrived to collect his friend and pet. After intimidating the Twelve, he confronted SeekRat, threatening the BURP to get EIHbe back. When the Chosen arrived, Lord Barrius charged them with keeping an eye on SeekRat while he and his order tried to undo the damage caused by the Shadow War.

Lord Barrius discovered that the seals separating Lore and the Shadow Universe had been weakened by SeekRat, and that there was no time to prepare. When the SeekRat breached te seals and called forth armies of Shadows, Lord Barrius charged the Chosen with keeping them back while he and his order resealed the Shadow Universe.

It worked, in part: while Lore was saved, a large portion of the Middle Isles were permanently corrupted by the Shadows. Lord Barrius and his order christened this corrupted land the Veil and promptly walled it off to keep the taint from spreading.

During the brief interlude of peace following the Shadow War, Lord Barrius and the Chosen led an army to stop the Shifters from opening gates to the Sand, Plasma, and Mist universes. Following their victory, Lord Barrius is implied to have obtained the allegiance  of the Shifters through intimidation or outright force.

When Ultimon initially raised his fortress at the heart of the Veil, he and the Chosen investigated, and it was revealed that he and Ultimon know of each other.

While the Chosen confronted Ultimon within the dark fortress, Lord Barrius cast a spell on the Chosen to ensure that Ultimon could not corrupt them before remaining outside, holding off the Shadow monsters trying to follow the Chosen within.

When Ultimon unleashed his armies, Lord Barrius came up with the battle plans to hold them back. Additionally, he was able to sense Ultimon's presence, and the presence of the Shadows he brought, and revealed that he may be at least part Shadow ("You know full well that I am not a 'mere human.'"), as the Shadow Mother is his mother (though whether this is biological or not has yet to be revealed.) He also revealed that he keeps the balance not of his own accord, but at the request of the Shadow Mother.

When Ultimon drew the Shadow Mother's wrath, Lord Barrius was able to placate her wrath long enough for the Chosen to reassemble Ultimon and turn him over to her.

Though not seen, Lord Barrius and his order did seal up at least one hole in their defenses when the Shadows tried crossing Black Lake to attack the Nekos and their new home.

Currently, Lord Barrius oversees both the guardianship of the Veil and the ruined training grounds within.

As a Companion
In some quests, Lord Barrius can serve as a companion in battle. In battle, he is a powerful ally; though he only gets one hit, he does significant damage and always targets the opponent's weakest resistance. However, this power comes at a cost: he may not attack an enemy he considers "weak."