Quote Originally Posted by Lvl 2 Expert View Post
I don't think Belkar will become a vampire, because I (just following the public consensus here) suspect the vampirism thing is already the key to Durkon's post-mortem return prophecy. You can't use the same twist on two highly related events, it loses its punch. In fact, I choose to believe that Belkar will truly die, stop existing as a living being on stickplane prime and not be resurrected. I don't know if we will see where he ends up, if he gets some sort of semi-redemption (the comic implies he's way more evil than what we see of his behavior, which is often pretty typical adventurer stuff with a mean streak and a twisted sense of humor, he's not just going to become good by any simple means) or anything else, but with Durkon already cheating death, Belkar seems doomed. If Belkar does "live" in some fashion, I give it a pretty good chance Durkon will actually die and be brought to his homeland for burial, like some sort of anti-twist/twistception.

That is all assuming Belkar doesn't ascend to being an actual sexy shoeless god of war of course, I'm leaving that option open for now.
I entertain the thought that Belkar will be redeemed from evil, and will refuse to leave the afterlife to return to the world. Soon sets up the idea that redemption is rare (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0464.html), and while he's talking about it in Miko's context, I think it's foreshadowing both Belkar's and V's journeys. I don't think you can have two redemptions at the same time, though, so I think Belkar's happens, and then (maybe in reaction to Belkar) V continues his path.

Belkar is also the only character to understand why Shojo does not accept the resurrection: http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0410.html. "Shojo is kicking back in whatever afterlife the Chaotic Good people get -- probably sipping single-malt scotch and smoking cigars rolled from poorly worded legal documents." I (and this is perhaps hope) think Belkar shifts his alignment enough that he gets that. Maybe Mr. Scruffy gets killed, and Belkar refuses resurrection for that reason. Maybe Belkar worries that if he comes back, he'll engage in evil again. Whatever happens, my thought is that Belkar refuses to come back.