Beldam

"Mmmmmmwee hee hee hee! I have no quarrel with you...but I simply can't allow you to hunt for the Crystal Stars."

- Beldam

Beldam is the leader of the three Shadow Sirens which consist of herself and her sisters Marilyn and Vivian (who was later replaced with Doopliss). Beldam is a demon who is more than 1000 years old. Beldam and the Shadow Sirens worked with the Secret Society of X-Nauts to find the Crystal Stars and open the Thousand-Year Door. Beldam and the Shadow Sirens are reoccuring enemies that appeared throughout Mario's adventure trying to slow him down, and are fought a total of two times.

History
Sometime prior to the events that took place in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Beldam, Marilyn, and possibly Vivian were servants of the Shadow Queen. After she had gotten defeated and sealed by the four heroes, Beldam and the Shadow Sirens devised a plan to reawaken the Shadow Queen, so they could serve her once more. They soon began to spread rumors of an ancient treasure that's been sealed behind the door in hopes that someone would find the Crystal Stars in order to open the seal.

Eventually, they came across the extraterrestrial organization known as the Secret Society of X-Nauts, and got accquainted with their leader, Sir Grodus, and joined them, pretending to be nothing more than hired help. Taking advantage of Grodus's desire to rule the world, Beldam and the Shadow Sirens told him a lie, saying that the Shadow Queen will obey whoever wakes her, and aid him in his quest for world domination. Beldam also told Grodus that all seven Crystal Stars were needed to break the seal on the Thousand-Year Door, and that a pure maiden was needed in order for the Shadow Queen to be fully revived. Beldam also informed Grodus about the magical map that was contained inside of a treasure chest, which had radar-like functions that allow them to track down the location of the Crystal Stars. However, neither Grodus or Beldam were able to open it, due to their evil and tainted ambitions, so they decided to get someone else to open it for them.

Putting their plan into action, Beldam decides to go to the city of Rougeport to look for a pure maiden, which just-so-happened to be Princess Peach. Disgused as an old merchant, Beldam sold Peach the treasure chest containing the map, in hopes of stealing it back (as well as kidnapping Peach in the process). However, a "strange old man" (as well as many other witnesses) were around at the time, causing Beldam to withdraw from the mission. As a result of Beldam's failure to steal the map, Princess Peach ended up mailing it to Mario, inviting him to go on a treasure hunt with her. However, by the time Mario arrived in Rogueport, Peach had already gotten herself kidnapped by the X-Nauts. Grodus interrogated Peach for a little while, asking about the whereabouts of the map. Peach refuses to tell him, but accidently does so anyway after a(n) X-Naut told Grodus that a "dude in a red shirt and blue overalls" defeated Hooktail and obtained the Diamond Star. From there, it was confirmed that Mario had the map, so Grodus made it his sole mission to steal that map from him at all costs, so he sends sends Beldam, Marilyn, and Vivian to Boggly Woods in order to do so, but not before giving them a sketch so they'll know what Mario looks like when they come across him.

Due to the fact that the sketch had gotten "misplaced", none of the Shadow Sirens (except for Marilyn, apparently), recognized Mario when they saw him. Beldam then blamed it on Vivian, claiming that she was the one who lost it (when in actuality, it was Beldam, herself). Vivian tried to tell Beldam that she never had it, but Beldam didn't listen and continued yelling at her, and decided to punish her by taking the necklace that she found. However, Beldam eventually found the sketch, and recognized Mario as soon as he came back (since he and his partners were trying to find the necklace they had, which belonged to Flurrie). Shortly after that, the Shadow Sirens engaged Mario and company in battle, and got defeated. Beldam, humiliated by her defeat, blames it all on Marilyn and Vivian, telling them to prepare for a "world-class punishment session" when they get home (although, Vivian was most likely the only one who got punished, despite Beldam's threat to punish them both). After that, they retreat and return to the base, leaving the necklace behind.

Later on, Beldam informs Grodus of the Superbombbomb, a new weapon that she prepared that would bring Mario to a "quick and certain end". While disgusted by her previous failures, Grodus still trusted her words, and sent Beldam, Marilyn, and Vivian on yet another mission. This time, they were sent to Twilight Town, which was Mario and company's next destination. Somehow, Beldam managed to lose the Superbombbomb, and once again blaimed another one of her own mistakes on Vivian. Beldam yelled at Vivian once more, talking about how much of a "useless fool" she is. Then, Beldam decided to leave Vivian outside to search for the Superbombbomb while she and Marilyn go to take a "well-earned siesta", once again threatening to punish her if she doesn't.

After Beldam and Marilyn were finished with their nap, they find that Vivian's no longer there (as she had recently joined Mario's party). Shortly after, Doopliss, who was just defeated by Mario and Vivian, came rushing by. From there, Beldam recruited him as a new member of the Shadow Sirens (while at the same time, a new member of the Secret Society of X-Nauts). Beldam was seen again during Chapter 6, where she eavesdropped on a conversation that Mario and his partners were having concerning the whereabouts of the next Crystal Star. She then emerges from the shadows, startling them in the process. She tells them that she would like to dispose of them, but feels that trying that alone wouldn't be wise, so she instead tells them that she will beat them to Poshley Heights to look for it. During Mario and company's ride on the Excess Express, Beldam made it her sole mission to stop them from reaching Poshley Heights at any cost. She originally intended to use the Superbombbomb to destroy the train, but that plan was foiled when Grodus sent Lord Crump to Twilight Town to retrieve it, and ended up getting into a quarrel with Bowser, which decided to detonate the bomb by blowing fire on it.

Personality
As Goombella has stated in her Tattle information, Beldam's personality "stinks". She's extremely bossy and domineering, and often plays favoritism, treating all group members except for Marilyn with as little respect as possible. For example, Beldam happens to be very forgetful, and would often blame her own mistakes on Vivian. She would constantly disrespect her, talking about how "ugly" and "useless" she is. Beldam shows almost the same amount of disrespect towards Doopliss, always calling him "Freak-Sheet", rather than referring to him by his name (despite the fact that he corrected her). An example of the favoritism she showed, was when she told Vivian to search for the Superbombomb (which she, herself lost), while she and Marilyn go to take a "well-earned siesta", threatening to punish Vivian if she doesn't find it. Also, during the second battle with the Shadow Sirens, Beldam would often show concern for Marilyn, asking if she was okay, and wouldn't show any towards Doopliss at all.

As leader of the Shadow Sirens, Beldam happens to be the "brains" of the group (while Marilyn, on the other hand, is the "brawn"), and she's the one who usually comes up with their plans. Despite her constant forgetfulness, Beldam has still proven herself to be highly intelligent, even to the point where she's capable of using and manipulating other people. This is shown when she spread the rumor of a false "treasure" behind the Thousand-Year Door, as well as when she pawned Grodus (and the entire X-Naut Legion). She was able to take advantage of Grodus' desire and hunger for power and control, by tricking him into releasing the Shadow Queen, telling him that she would obey his every command if he were to do so. This, of course, resulted in Grodus trying to command the Shadow Queen, getting blasted to pieces, and nearly getting himself killed in the process.

Powers and Abilities
Although Beldam is physically weaker than the other members of her team, she makes up for it by using powerful magic abilities. She possesses power over the ice element, which she uses to freeze Mario and his partners, causing them to be immobilized for at least two turns. Beldam has various other abilities as well, such as increasing the size and attack power of her teammates, as well as giving them more attack turns. She also has the ability to do the exact opposite to Mario and his teammates. As with her sisters, Beldam also has the ability to use the Veil technique, where she could sink through the shadows, and eavesdrop on other peoples' conversations (like in Chapter 6, where she heard from Mario and his partners that the next Crystal Star was at Poshley Heights).

On-Field Tattle Data

 * "This shady woman is certainly selfish and mean! You see how cruel she is to her own sister? What a total meanie! I wonder what went on between them..."


 * "That's Beldam of the Shadow Sirens. Remember?  Vivian's sister? I'm totally surprised she followed us all the way out here, though. And what was that plan she was yapping about, huh?  This sounds bad..."

Quotes

 * Please see here for a full list of quotes.

Trivia

 * Beldam's name comes from the word "beldame", which is used to describe a witch or an ugly woman.
 * The color of her hat represents the power she has over the ice element.
 * Beldam is the first character in the Paper Mario series (with Dimentio being the second) to use another villain as a pawn, making plans to secretly betray him in the end.
 * Beldam's line, "my lovelies" is a possible reference to The Wizard of Oz, where The Wicked Witch of the West would always refer to Dorothy as "my pretty".
 * Out of all the antagonist groups in the Mario series (such as the Axem Rangers, Koopa Brothers, etc.), Beldam is the only group leader who wears blue, rather than red.
 * Beldam's laugh is similar to Cloaker's.