Balian Son of None






Personality

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Balian's main personality trait is that of a kind and pleasant person, always ready to help people when the need arises. However he also possesses an unparalleled level of anger, this anger turns to rage during combat. However he has learned to keep his mind during his rage, it took him a great deal of training and he must remain focused while he is fighting or else he falls victim to the rage. This falls in line with his ultimate belief, there is balance in all things. The balance to his ability to kill, is his ability to create great works of art through carving, usually with wood. Balian possesses nearly limitless patience, but very little tolerance when someone is refusing to accept what is right before them. He is a man that simply does whatever he needs to do at that time without looking back, he always gives everything he has to the task at hand.


History

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Balian was born in a small village to the East, the village never had a proper name and was simply called Home by everyone that lived there. He never knew who his parents were, as he was chosen to become the next leader of the village. This was a tradition as old as the village, a child was chosen and raised by the current village leader. In this case a man named, Samuel, who cared for, taught, and trained the child from the day he was born, until the day the older man died. All the leaders were known as the Son of None, because they were thought of as the son of the village, they took care of the village as the village took care of them. Considering the weight placed on the child from the day he was born, his first few years of life Balian was allowed to be nothing more than a child.

Balian's training truly began the day he turned eight years old. Samuel gave him a wooden sword that he carried with him wherever he went, he never knew when one of Samuel's lessons would begin and he would be attacked. The lessons were quick and brutal, Samuel never went easy on Balian. There would be no learning if the older man had taken pity on the child, that didn't lesson the pain of his bruises any however. Still, by the time he was ten years old he was the best fighter out of any child, and most adults, in the village. He wasn't the strongest by any means, but as far as the children were concerned he was by far the fastest. Even many of the adults had trouble catching him, except for Samuel.

It was after Balian turned thirteen than Samuel considered him ready to learn the full extent of the style of sword fighting he was learning. Every able bodied male adult in the village was given a wooden sword, and Samuel stood in the center of the thirty men with a wooden sword of his own. The adults all attacked, and were all soundly defeated by Samuel. The man didn't get so much as a scratch on him. Balian learned that the style was called the Dance with Death, because the footwork of the form was reminiscent of a dance and resulted in the reaping of life. Balian was put through even more training now, he was learning the footwork, the balance and counter balance for each strike. How to keep his momentum flowing from one move straight into the next one, he slowly came to understand the intricacies of this style. When it finally dawned on him, he applied the same thing to his entire life. It was then that he was given the full speech.

Samuel gave Balian an amulet, it was covered in markings and held a tear shaped red ruby in it's center. Then he explained;

"The ruby is meant to represent a drop of blood. It is the symbolic representation of the way of the primary edict.

"It means only one thing, and everything: cut. Once committed to fight, cut. Everything else is secondary. Cut. That is your duty, your purpose, your hunger. There is no rule more important, no commitment that overrides that one. Cut.

"The lines are a portrayal of the dance. Cut from the void, not from bewilderment. Cut the enemy as quickly and directly as possible. Cut with certainty. Cut decisively, resolutely. Cut into his strength. Flow through the gaps in his guard. Cut him. Cut him down utterly. Don't allow him a breath. Crush Him. Cut him without mercy to the depths of his spirit.

"It is the balance to life: death. It is the dance with death. It is the law we live by, or we die.”

Balian only needed to be told this once, it would stick with him forever. It was ingrained in his mind in a way that his own name couldn't even compare too. When he turned fourteen he was given his first sword, a short sword, and taught about the rage that the dance relied upon. The rage allowed him to ignore all wounds, focus on everything at once, and protected his mind from what he had to do. Taking life was not without it's toll, and the rage protected him from knowing that he had taken a life. So long as he was able to put the rage away after it wasn't needed any longer anyway. The rage was both a weapon and a shield, it was a tool just as much as the knife he always carried at his hip.

Balian continued his training, learning everything he could, he was taught to throw knives with accuracy by one of the men of the village, and from that day forward carried five throwing knives on his sword belt. And when Balian was sixteen, he was given his first taste of battle, his first true act of violence. A group of bandits wanted the village to pay a tax to them for protection, when the village instead had their leader and his apprentice to protect them. It was a small group of bandits, only forty men, but it was still enough to warrant Balian helping Samuel. The two tried to reason with the group, and when that didn't work they quickly dealt with the threat. The two fought their way through the bandits, killing them all, and afterward, Balian struggled with his rage. It took him almost an hour before he was able to put his rage aside and come to terms with killing another being. But he was able to do it.

Balian continued his studies, learning more about the sword, but also a little about all the jobs in the village. He learned about farming from the farmers, he learned how to build a house from the builders, he learned which herbs were good to cure what ailments from the local healer. Though he didn't learn much of the more technical jobs, such as blacksmithing, he learned enough to have a working knowledge of the process. He didn't have time to devote himself to another apprenticeship, and he already had his own form of creating in his carvings. When he asked why he was learning all these things, he was told that a leader should know about the jobs that his people possess. This way if help is needed, it can be provided. In honor of all that he had and was learning, and because of his ability to put his rage behind him, he was given a long sword to replace his previous sword.

When Balian was twenty and nearing the end of his apprenticeship, the village was attacked again. This time by a larger force, one that caused them to need to need the help of the hunters. Balian and Samuel used every step of the Dance with Death during the fighting, they used every ounce of their combined rage during the fight. The two of them combined with the hunters managed to kill most of their attackers, raiders from somewhere in the North. Balian to this day has yet to learn where these raiders were based. Near the end of the battle it was left to the leader of the raiders, their best fighter, five other men, Balian, Samuel, and three hunters. Balian managed to kill the five raiders around him and the hunters, while Samuel was dueling the best fighter, a man nicknamed Bladebreaker. He fought with a mace, and with one lucky strike, he brought Samuel down.

Balian's rage was ignited anew with this turn of events and he rushed at Bladebreaker, the fight didn't last long, they were both too tired. Bladebreaker managed to break Balian's sword, but Balian managed to scar the raider across his face. A long cut that would be nearly impossible to hide. Bladebreaker and the raider leader fled after that, Balian and the three hunters were more than a match for the two men. They didn't want to die, and Balian and his men didn't have enough energy left to give chase. Balian dug a grave for Samuel himself, and helped dig graves for the dead hunters as well. Balian kept Samuel's sword and bracers however, wearing them from that day forward.

The village cleaned itself up as best it good over the following few days, Balian recovering as best he could. He kept a small simmer of rage in him, keeping it flowing to give him the energy he needed during the day. At night he let it go, let himself pass out from everything that had been happening. The villagers were both in awe of his skills, and slightly terrified. Both of him and that the raiders would return. He couldn't blame him, many of them had watched a group of fifteen men kill almost fifty well trained raiders. A few started calling him the Terror of Death. A title that they didn't realize the living raiders were spreading as well. Bladebreaker believed that had Balian's sword not broken, he would never have left the village. And neither would the leader of the group.

Two weeks after the attack, the raiders returned in the dead of night, this time they lit every house they saw on fire, killed every villager they could. When they knew that Balian was among the villagers and fighting again, they fled. This attack had been nothing more than a message. No matter how good he was, he couldn't protect everyone all the time. He convinced the village to move to a nearby city, with walls and proper guards. They took the time to bury their dead and divvy up supplies between everyone. No one got more than anyone else, they then divvied up the gold so that they could live. Balian took less gold than anyone else. Letting the others have more than he himself did, he wanted them to have more than enough. He escorted them to the city, and then took his leave of them, he started traveling anywhere he could. Always on the lookout for Bladebreaker, waiting for the rematch with the man.



Roleplay Sample

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Balian stood straight, his sword in his right hand. His left hand reached up and undid the clasp for his black cape, a movement from his shoulders and the garment fell to the ground. He adjusted the baldric on his shoulder, making it easier for him to move. Then took the ready stance for the Dance with Death. The tip of his blade aimed straight for his opponent's head. He came rushing forward trying for an overhead slash, fast and powerful, but not enough. Balian easily sidestepped it, turning with his momentum and brought his sword up, tapping the man on the side of the neck. He then announced for all to hear, ”Dead.” The man groaned and dropped his practice sword in Balian's hand. And dropped a handful of coins in Balian's other hand.

Balian added the coins to the pouch, then dropped it back where it had been by his cape. ”Who wants to try next? Beat me and get the entire pouch of coins!” He had three more challengers, three more handfuls of coins added to the pouch. No one stepped up after that, he didn't go easy on anyone, he didn't extend the fights for very long. But he had been nearly out of money and it was difficult to buy food when he was out of money. So he stood in the center of town and took challengers, this netted him a fair amount of coin. Enough for food and shelter for the night, a place to stable his horse. He'd look for work in the morning, and keep his ear to the ground for any word of Bladebreaker.

Balian found work the next day, not what he was intending, but he needed the coin for food. He was clearing out a pack of wolves that had gone rabid which was a shame, Balian rather liked animals. Especially wolves, they were proud animals that never took more than they needed and cared for their young. They were every bit as noble as horses, and about ten times smarter to boot. The fact that these ones had gone rabid and needed to be put down was a shame among shames. Maybe he'd be able to keep the skins and make get a new cloak made from them. Winter was coming after all, and he needed some way to stay warm.