Balius

Information

Player: Cerb57

Character Full Name: Balius Duskstrider

Character In-Game Name: Balius

Association(s): Scryers, Sunreavers, Silvermoon, and the Argent Crusade.

Race: Blood Elf

Class: Mage

Age: 305

Sex: Male

Hair: Black and tied into a fox-tail

Eyes: Fel Green

Weight: 170 lb

Height/Scale: 6’/1.0

Skills and Abilities

• Ice Shaping: With Balius's focus on frost magic has allowed him to make improvised weapons. Some weapons could include a lance, sword, and sometimes a temporary kite shield to block incoming ranged attacks. The shield will fade after the initial forming, it is mainly just a one use shield.

• Swordsmanship: As a Battle-Mage, Balius is quite skilled in martial combat with bladed weapons.

Appearance

Usual Garments/Armor: Balius mostly wears clothing of light material so he isn’t weighed down or restricted in any way.

Personality

Before the Second war, Balius was a loudmouth wise cracking elf. Always making jokes and hardly took anything seriously. After the Second War he became guilt ridden for his failure and cowardice. Balius now strides to always do what is right, no matter the cost as a way of trying to forgive himself. He does not often talk about his problems, rather listening to someone else and try to help them and tries to make it so he never appears distraught or helpless.

History

Balius Duskstrider was youngest son born, his brother Tylanis being the first born. His family raised Hawkstriders. Balius and Tylanis fought constantly, always trying to prove who is the strongest, they would be scolded by their parents every time they fought, Balius had a knack for ripping his clothing during their fights and his mother taught him how to sew as punishment, now every time he ripped clothes, his or Tylanis’ he would have to repair it. He grew to like tailoring and started making a hobby of it.

While Balius was in Silvermoon helping his brother move in, he spotted a group of magi training. Normally seeing magi train wouldn’t be anything too out of the ordinary for him, but these people were using spells and using martial skills, such as using swords and staves in conjunction with one another. This interested him and asked one of them to train him. After a small spar to see if he was worth training he started his studies into the arcane. His mentor Sylassa showed him everything she knew. The two worked together, helping deal with threats to Silvermoon. Balius showed a great interest in evocation and abjuration. He mostly used frost magic in combat, using the magic to burden his enemies and protect his allies from harm.

Balius and Sylassa would spend most of their days training and studying the arcane. While Balius enjoyed his time learning more about the Arcane, he wanted to do something useful with his talents. One day Balius waited around Silvermoon, hoping he could accompany any Farstriders into combat. Luck would find Balius aiding in stopping a small raid led by the forest trolls. The battle was a success and Balius felt great using his talents to help in some way. He would continue to accompany soldiers to battle, when allowed.

Balius would continue to study and practice the Arcane, visiting Dalaran occasionally. When he wasn’t studying, he would try and tag along with Farstriders going out to fight. His life fell into a routine, study and help protect Silvermoon when he could and he couldn’t be any happier.

Soon the Second War would start and Balius and his brother would be called in to service. Their battles would be nothing special, a few battles here and there until one fateful day. The group Balius and his brother were in, became surrounded by Orcs. The two would find themselves cut off from each other during the battle. Balius found himself with a three other Farstriders. The three were under attack by a large group of Orcs. Balius’ first instinct was to rush over there and help. Sadly, as he was making his way there, two were cut down. His fight or flight response kicked in and this time, for an unknown reason he ran.

He fled from battle, leaving his brother and the rest of the squad to die.

Little did he know his brother and a few others would survive that battle. Balius would return to his home after laying low for a couple of years. Before he returned home he traveled a bit, having never got a chance to see anything past Lordaeron's territory, but eventually he realized he should return home. When he returned to his home, he was welcomed back with open arms. His family along with Silvermoon officials assumed he died in the field and just couldn’t find his body. The celebration wouldn't last, as Arthas led his undead army through Quel’thalas. In the chaos, a portion of the undead found his home. Balius and Tylanis worked to protect their ranch from the marauding corpses and made it out alive, but their livelihood was ruined. The ranch was nothing but a smoldering pile of ash.

After the battle, he confessed to his brother what really happened during that battle in the Second War. Tylanis was disgusted with Balius, telling him to leave. In return, Tylanis promised to make sure Balius wouldn’t face any legal repercussions from fleeing battle if Balius never comes back home. He would do this by making sure the higher ups understood that after the battle, everyone assumed that Balius was killed in action and just couldn't find the body.

After the fall-out with his family he went and wandered Quel’thalas, trying to help rebuild and help deal with the left over Scourge that polluted his homeland. Eventually his teacher, Sylassa would find and ask him to join her along with other Sin'dorei to follow Kael'thas search for other ways to satiate their hunger for magic. The young elf accepted, feeling he didn't really belong here in his homeland due to the shaky ground he is on with his family.

Balius and Sylassa crossed through a portal inside Silvermoon that lead into the broken world of Draenor, going to aid Kael'thas's forces. The elf had mixed feelings about the place, it was interesting, but it reminded him of what happened to Quel'thalas. As the days passed, a change was seen in his teacher, no longer did she use Arcane magic. No, now she used Fel magics and the use took a toll on her in seen and unseen ways. This was cause for concern to Balius.

His concern for his teacher soon turned into contempt, no longer was she the kind woman he's known for so long. Now she was vicious and cruel since partaking in Fel, a shell of her former self. In the back of the magi's mind, he wondered what caused her to take up using more and more Fel.

When word was getting around that a magister, Voren'thal the Seer defected from Kael'thas's forces, he joined them as well. Deciding that he made a horrible mistake in coming to Outlands. He left his mentor behind, feeling she wasn't the person he knew all those years ago.

Now part of the Scryers, Balius helped rebuild the city of Shattrath. His time with the Scryers was pleasant. He grew to love the city, eventually making friends with some of the Draenei and other defectors of Kael'thas. If he wasn't helping rebuild or completeing a task for the Scryers, he would study like old times.

Soon the Dark Portal would re-open and the war against the Betrayer's forces would start and the Aldor and Scryers rallied to fight. Balius, was hesitant to rejoin an open war. He was afraid that history might repeat itself again and abandon his allies again during a hopeless battle. It wasn't until he confided in a Draenei priest about his fears did he get the confidence to take up arms again.

The mage took part in the battles against the Illidari. He loved the familiar thrill of battle, testing what he knew in a do or die situation. His fears stayed as simple fears, never allowing himself to faulter in combat. Once the Betrayer was killed and the Shattered Sun Offensive was formed to stop the mad Prince Kael'thas's goal of using the Sunwell to open a portal for the Burning legion, Balius happily took up arms with the Shattered Sun.

With Kael'thas stopped and the Sunwell restored, Balius returned home to Quel'thas. He used what coin he had and bought himself an apartment. After a few months of rest he found himself joining the war in Northrend. His actions with the scryers and eventually the Shattered Sun allowed him join the Sunreavers, however he wasn't given any authority over anyone, but he didn't want that eitherway. In Northrend he fought against the crazed Blue Dragon, Malygos' forces, but what he focused more on was fighting the Scourge.

He had a chance to destroy the things that laid waste to his homeland and he couldn't be happier. When it was time to siege Icecrown Citadel he was there. He stayed in the front-lines, slaughtering every undead abomination that he could while the appointed champions entered the heart of the Lich King's icy fortress.

With the war over he returned home and started taking missions handed down to him through the Sunreavers. Things seemed to slow down for the elf, he took time to rest and indulge his hobby for drawing and tailoring. When the Cataclysm happened, he knew he'd find himself in more and more conflicts. He didn't mind, he was ready to fight again.

After a brief, yet horrible encounter inside a cave with Gnolls he realized he isn't as strong as he thought. He dove harder into his studies, wanting to become stronger and stronger so he wouldn't fail to protect those he vowed to protect. Eventually the battle-mage would seek out ways to test his skills. By chance Balius would run into a Blood Knight that fought on Quel'danas and became friends. He would learn that his friend had some tasks involving the clean up of the Ghostlands. Balius would offer to help her out, as he has some personal stake in returning the ruined lands to normal.

It was through these tasks be would encounter an elusive necromancer that would push him to join the Argent Crusade in an attempt to capture him and be part of the restoration of lands ravaged by the Scourge.