Hyath is a powerful and cunning devil and a god to some, utterly relentless and apparently evil, but for such being, it's not entirely unreasonable. He shows some obscure interest in the Princess and has an unclear relation with another powerful being called the Nameless One. His motives regarding the Princess remain vague and are subject to many guesses and speculations.
Plot Significance[]
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Part One[]
The Princess can meet Hyath for the first time during the exploration of the Temple of Hyath during The Golden Chalice quest in Part One. Surrounding himself with darkness and in the form of a shadow, he contacts her as she approaches his altar. He offers her words of warning, and a Black Pearl Ring as a gift to gain her trust and friendship. The ring allows its wearer to cast a Haste spell once a day, but it also serves as means of communication between the shadow and the wearer, and also allows the shadow to "see" the actions of the wearer through the ring, like a scrying spell.
As the Princess and her party reach the tombs underneath the temple, and after Christano's advances, the shadow speaks to her once more. He warns her that Christano's intentions might be to kill her, once she has outlived her usefulness. It urges her to summon it to her side, so that it can watch over her and protect her, by drawing a summoning symbol on the ground with a drop of her blood.
Should the Princess agree to do so, Hyath will appear in his true form and reveal that his plan all along was to use the Princess to get through the barriers put up by his treacherous former high-priest, and punish his lingering spirit. Christano will confront Hyath, and it will be up to the Princess to determine the outcome of this confrontation. Hyath is grateful for the Princess's assistance, and will be respectful of her wishes.
Part Two[]
Near the end of Part Two, the Princess will meet Hyath again. This time he helps her to reach Delberg County through his magic, by order from the old man in the volcano so that she may perform a task for him there. In the process of the transportation, Hyath removes all magic and enchantments from the gear of the Princess, leaving her with a pile of virtually useless junk and standard equipment. He innocently claims that it was a mistake on his part, before disappearing.
After the Princess has acquired Delberg's Statue she will return to the Tomb of Noris the Gray, only to be killed by Hyath and her memory erased. It is further revealed that the old man, and subsequently the demon, were in league with the Dhorn, more specifically Arto Benthur. It is also revealed that the Princess was infected by old man with a lethal and highly infectious disease called demon pox which she was supposed to bring to Delberg, but that this disease was dispelled by Hyath, during here transportation there, as mentioned before. Whether it was done by him by chance or purposefully, due to a hidden agenda on his part (which would be consistent with his fiendish nature), remains a mystery.
Hyath in v1.15 and earlier
Depending on her actions in the Greenfork Castle, the Princess has the option to escape and return to Castle Delberg in order to help the Earl defend the settlement against the orcs . After this path's ending sequence, another short one follows in which a fiend, and Arto Benthur are shown having an argument about the fact that said demon helped the Princess make an accurate decision by not completely erasing her memory. The fiend subsequently kills Artho Benthur. Some consider the fiend appearing in this scene to be Hyath, stating the fact of him being Old's Man servant who lead the Princess on her last mission, while others disagree stating the fact that said demon had flaming wings and a different portrait.
Notes
- In Part One v1.15 and earlier, Hyath was a powerful mindflayer posing as a dragon and was only briefly mentioned during the initial stages of Part Two. The Princess could agree to become his high priestess, but only by allowing Hyath to mount her. If she agreed, Hyath would gift the Princess with a ring and some armor. Should the Princess want to escape Hyath's clutches, she had to acquire and wear a stone amulet to block out his thoughts. The character underwent major changes in Part One v1.20, giving his present form, and began to play a more prominent role in Part Two v1.20.
- Both Hyath's appearance and alignment are consistent with a Pit Fiend, making him a devil instead of a demon like the Balors that can be observed roaming the Planes near the rift at the bottom of the Isle of Prisoners. This is a distinction that few people throughout the Princess' journey seem to notice, or even appreciate. Being a Pit Fiend could explain his willing presence on a plane infested with demons as well as his apparent subservience to the Old Man, as devils are bound to serve the wishes of anyone they have formed a pact with. Despite this contractual loyalty however, devils are frequently known to undermine those who demand obedience from them, which may explain his motivations in completely dispelling the princess, as detailed above.