Borias was a recurring character on Xena: Warrior Princess. He was the lover and partner in crime of Xena, attempting to conquer Chin, Siberia and Greece with her. He attempted to make numerous alliances with Lao Ma, Cyane I, Tildus and Kaleipus, but all of which were thwarted by Xena. He was also the father of her son, Solan.
Before meeting Xena, Borias lived in Hungary with his then-wife Natassa and their son Belach. He began an affair with Xena, of which was discovered and the two were banished by Natassa. The two travelled Europe and Asia, attempting to fund their destructive and evil ways. Xena sabotaged Borias' attempts at making an alliance with Lao Ma and Ming Tzu, rulers of the Lao and Ming Dyansties respectively, as well as with Alti. She prevented an alliance with Cyane I of the Northern Amazons by killing her.
As ruthless and as careless as Borias seemed, he eagerly awaited the arrival of his son. However, Xena's lust for power and authority resulted in triggering events that led to the Battle of Corinth and ultimately his death. She gave birth to their son, Solan, moments before Borias was killed by Dagnine, Xena's lieutenant.
After his death, Borias was not remembered for his criminal activites with Xena, but for his short friendship with the Centaurs and preventing their genocide. His memory lived on in Kaleipus and the other Centaurs, as well as Solan's and Xena's. His other son, Belach, would later hunt the Centaurs to near-extinction, before becoming the grandfather to a baby Centaur himself (named after Borias).
Story
Meeting Xena
Xena and Borias in Hungary, during their affair in "Last of the Centaurs"
After being crucified by Julius Caesar, a crippled Xena travelled around Europe, before finding Borias and his army in his home country of Hungary. Although he was married at the time to his wife Natassa, as well as had a son, Belach, he embarked on an affair with Xena. One day, whilst having sex with Xena, Belach discovered them. He told his mother and she told Borias that he had to decide between Xena and her. Without hesitating, Borias chose Xena and hurried along, leaving behind only a necklace for his son. Borias’ army split up after he left and Natassa and Belach were put into slavery, as well as hearing about his exploits with Xena.
Adventures in Chin
Borias decided that he would need allies and money to conquer the world and so he and Xena went east to Asia and the “land of the rising sun” – Chin. He and Xena looted villages and took out armies along the way.
Attempt at allying with Ming and Lao
Borias decided to make an alliance with both the houses of Ming and Lao that make up Chin. Ming Tzu, the head of the Ming Dynasty, met with Borias, bringing along his son Ming T’ien. He agreed to allow Borias to safely raid and loot the Lao Dynasty – as long he could have half the profit that he steals. However, Xena insults Ming Tzu by getting angry over his seemingly harsh deal and so he leaves, stating that the alliance would never happen. Xena manages to calm an angry Borias down, by telling him that he can still ally with Lao and make a deal with them. However, Borias tells Xena that he fears that Lao and Ming could ally against him, meaning both his chances would be blown and it could result in his own defeat. Borias met with Lao Ma shortly after.
Borias and Xena meet with Lao Ma in Chin, in "The Debt I"
She apologizes for her husband’s absence, as she claims that he was too ill to attend. He wishes that she accompany him to his camp and hopes that they can find common ground on which to stand on. She also says that she knows of Xena’s violent and dangerous ways. However, Xena swiftly becomes jealous towards Lao Ma, as she begins to see Borias softening up when he is around her and presumes that if he were to ally with her and her husband, he would become more civilised – and she liked him the way he was. She purposely sabotages the alliance by attacking Lao Ma, which forces her to walk away from any possible agreement they would have had, claiming it would now be impossible. Subsequently, Borias ostracizes Xena from his camp.
Borias later learns that Xena had kidnapped Ming T’ien in order to force wealth from House of Ming. He confronts her, trying to persuade her to give the child back, but she tells him that she will only return Ming T’ien if Ming Tzu is willing to give her fifty bags of gold and fifty of his best horses. She tells him to meet her near the Great Wall with Ming Tzu and the goods. Borias agrees, but uses the situation to his advantage, as he plans to double cross her. Later that day when they meet, Borias had arranged for Ming Tzu to knock her out and take her prisoner, which he did and decided to execute her by letting her lose in the forest and hunting down for sport.
Making up with Xena
Xena and Borias make up and kill Ming Tzu, in "The Debt II"
Borias later meets again with Xena in Lao Ma’s kingdom, as she had been saved by Lao Ma when Ming Tzu tried to hunt her down. Even though Xena had been trained by Lao Ma to channel her anger into strong telekinetic powers and had been taught how not to hate, she couldn’t help but to attack Borias, as she felt anger towards him for double-crossing her. Lao Ma had purposely sent for him, as she wanted the two of them to make peace and so Lao Ma left them to sort out their problems. By this point, Borias had managed to secure a three-way alliance with Lao Ma and Ming Tzu. Lao Ma also wished to have Xena by her side to help her rule Chin. After realising they had no choice but to work together, they make up. The next day when Ming Tzu visits, Xena tries to apologize to him for kidnapping Ming T’ien, but he refuses to accept and continues to refuse to rule Chin in partnership with her. They play a game of dice and if Xena were to lose, then she was to die and Ming Tzu, Lao Ma and Borias could rule Chin together. However, Xena won, killed Ming Tzu and attempted to kill Ming T’ien, but Lao Ma saved him and pushed back both her and Borias. The two of them decided to get out of Chin and not ally with either house.
Ransoming Akemi
Either before or after leaving Chin (most probably whilst leaving), Borias later heard of a young girl, Akemi that had been kidnapped from an island even further east than Chin known as Jappa. She was being held in Chin and ransomed for a high price. The prospect of a new land was to much handle for Xena, but she rescued the girl anyway. Whilst Xena travelled to Jappa to return Akemi and collect her money (which didn’t happen, as Akemi’s father was killed by her when they re-unite), Borias waited on the ship for her return.
Cyane I and Alti
"People like you and me don’t fall in love... not with each other, anyway."
- ―Xena to Borias, “Adventures in the Sin Trade”
From Jappa, Xena and Borias travelled to Siberia, where they met a powerful ex-Amazon shamaness: Alti. She claimed that she was expelled from her tribe because she was too powerful. She proves this power to the two of them by telling them that Xena is pregnant, much to the shock of Borias. Meanwhile, Borias was planning to ally with Cyane I of the Northern Amazons: he was planning on offering to help them defeat their sworn enemies, the Centaurs. Before this, Borias saved a little girl from being killed by a distraught Xena, who was upset over the death of Alti’s side-kick, Anokin.
Alti tells Borias that Xena is carrying his child, in "Adventures in the Sin Trade"
When Xena began to divulge herself in Alti’s powers and mystics, Borias warned her to stop, as he was worried that she may be harming their unborn child. Alti was beginning to get on Borias’ nerves: making strange predictions about their child and getting Xena into strange things. When she predicts that Otere, the young orphan the Borias had rescued, would one day take away her power, Xena attempted to kill her, but Borias stepped in and stopped her. Later, Borias sent the child to live with Cyane, as well as word that he wanted to talk peace. However, Xena was caught spying on her and Cyane retaliated by trying to kill her. Borias stepped in and stopped her, claiming that Xena was with him and she meant no harm. Cyane states that her instincts tell her to trust him and so she forgives Xena and moves on. Considering this, Xena was in awe with Cyane and she wanted her to teach her some Amazonian moves. Whilst they were talking, Cyane warned Xena that she will be the death of Borias if she were to stay with him, as well as that she should leave him to change. It was during this time that Alti cursed Solan, stating that he would never know the love of either parent. Borias became immensely angry with Xena, when she sabotages his chances at allying once again, by disobeying him and killing each of the Amazons, including Cyane, for Alti and her quest for power. He and Xena left Siberia, as well as travelled back through Asia to eastern Europe in search of the Ixion Stone in Corinth, Greece.
The Battle of Corinth and death
- See main article: Battle of Corinth.
Xena and Borias at the Battle of Corinth, in "Past Imperfect"
When Alti told Xena to find the Ixion Stone for her, she and Borias returned to Xena’s homeland of Greece. By this time, he and Xena had split their armies, as well as Xena’s was much more powerful than his. Despite their split, Borias still cared deeply for Xena, considering that she was carrying his child. He warned her to try and hold off the attack on Corinth and search for the Stone, as well as wait for the baby to be born first. But she claimed that the moment she began hiding away in her tent, she would begin to lose morale and discipline. They had to search in the Ixion Caverns for the Stone, which was Centaur territory. They’d captured some of the Centaurs and Borias took the opportunity to try and make a treaty with their leader, Kaleipus. After killing countless Corinthians, they returned to their camp and Borias tried to talk Xena into giving the child to him once it’s born. She seemed negative towards his proposal and before she could respond, her right-hand man and second-in-command, Dagnine, informed them that his visit to the Centaurs was successful. However, Borias was unhappy with what he saw – the Centaurs had been captured by Dagnine and Xena’s army, as well as chained up in front of their camp. He turned against Xena and tried to save the Centaurs, fighting Xena bravely. He escaped with Kaleipus and the Centaurs and began working with them to defeat Xena with what was left of his half of their army. It was during this time that Borias found the Ixion Stone and hid it in the hilt of his sword.
Dagnine kills Borias, in "Past Imperfect"
However, whilst he was gone, Xena had gone into labour with Solan. Borias sneaked into the camp and tried to get Xena out of the camp whilst his army and the Centaurs attacked. He explained to Satrina, Xena’s servant, about his plan to escape with Xena and their son, but she had other intentions: she was a traitor to Xena and Borias, as well as stabbed him in the leg to try and stop him from seeing her. She wanted to learn from Xena and she felt that with Borias around, she would not be able to focus anymore. She retreated back to Xena, where she informed Dagnine that Borias was there to kill her and then helped her give birth to Solan. Meanwhile, Borias and Dagnine fight outside the camp. Borias was disadvantaged due to his stab wound and so Dagnine easily got the upper hand and stabbed him in the back. He ran and left him to die, meaning no one knew who had killed Borias, except for Satrina. He caught a glimpse of Xena fleeing the camp with Solan, seconds before he died. Xena eventually decided to give Solan to the Centaurs to raise as their own, as she took note of what Borias said to her when he saw her for the last time, about the child growing up to be a murderer like her.
Legacy
Moments after his death, Kaleipus told Xena that his legend will live on forever in his people. He was always spoken highly of by the Centaurs, as he effectively prevented their genocide. Whilst raising Solan, Kaleipus told him of the great things his father was responsible for. He chose not to tell him much about his past with Xena, as well as even failed to tell him that Xena was his mother. As Kaleipus believed that Xena was the one who killed Borias, he told Solan this, which led to a rocky relationship when they met ten years later.
Solan and Xena at the grave of Borias, in "Orphan of War"
Xena admitted to Solan that when he grew away from her, he became a better person and if it wasn’t for him, the Centaur nation would be non-existent. However, Borias’ other son, Belach, remembered his father as nothing more than an evil, callous man, as it was him that discovered his affair with Xena. However, his daughter Nica and her husband, Xenan (a Centaur) named their son Borias, after his great-grandfather. Xena explained to Belach about his father’s heroics and he accepted that he was a good man after all. Xena also chose to remember the good nature of Borias and how much different he was to her back then. Once reformed, she saw that he had morals as opposed to her, as well as takes the blame for splitting up his original family with Natassa and Belach, as well as sees herself as the catalyst for his darker ways.
Gallery
Background Information
Behind the Scenes
- Marton Csokas also played Krafstar in "The Deliverer," three episodes before his first appearance as Borias. He also briefly played Krafstar in "The Bitter Suite." He also played Tarlus in the Hercules: The Legendary Journeys episode "Promises."
- He also played the adult version of his son, Belach, in "Last of the Centaurs."
- Although it was never confirmed on-screen, Rob Tapert has confirmed in numerous interviews that Borias is of Hunish decent, heavily implying that "Last of the Centaurs" was set in Hungary.
Trivia
- Borias' death could have been caused by Alti, due to her curse on Solan, stating that he would never know the love of either of his parents.
Appearances
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