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bannertech.
bannertech. 
IC Voicemail
Dec. 31st, 2036 10:50 amI...ah... Hello? Hello? I... This is Balfour.
[A pause and a voice in the background informing him that he should say to leave a message.]
Ah, I think you're supposed to leave a message?
Information post
Apr. 12th, 2036 11:50 pmBalfour Vallet | |||
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HISTORY Balfour grew up an aristocrat, the middle child in a family of five, on a large country estate. His older brother, Amery, died in a raid on the Ke-Han (the country Volstov is warring against), and he was plucked from his home in the country to take his place. As an Airman, he was often tormented, being the newest of a tight-knit group of fighters. They quite enjoyed tormenting him, and such torment only ended when their ‘behavior counselor’ of sorts showed up. Balfour was never accepted as one of the Airmen, as he was a second-generation Airman brought in to replace his brother. He was hinted at being a very good flyer with excellent vision. His role, as he rode a ‘swift’—one of the faster dragons—was reconnaissance. His dragon was Anastasia, a speaking, magical, metal dragon. It is thought that they were close, as if she were his older sister. Family relations: Balfour always felt like he lived in Amery’s shadow, and his feelings toward his older brother are a mix of jealousy and reverence. He felt as if he was always overlooked in favor of his brother—and such tended to be the case—but he wanted to be just like him and spent the years after his death trying to live up to the role Amery left behind, trying desperately to fill his shoes, even though the footprints were too much to fill on his own. He took care of his sister, Carina—her whole name isn’t given, just an initial, so her name is headcanon—when she was young, before she was married off in an arranged marriage just after he joined the Dragon Corps. He looked at her as his responsibility to keep happy and healthy, even though her illness caused her severe pain and made her very restless. He looked after her, though, when there was no one else to do so, and feels guilty that she was married to a stranger. About Volstov's Dragon Corps: The Dragon Corps were formed during a rather violent war with the neighboring country of Xi’an (also referred to as the Ke-Han. People also referred to as Ke-Han). The war hadn’t been going very well until the dragons were made. Soldiers fought with magic and swords. The Dragon Corps was formed so that Volstov would have an advantage over the Ke-Han soldiers—who were well trained and well-disciplined—from the air. At that point, the Ke-Han had very little aerial defense consisting of mainly trebuchets from what the book tells us. Having an air force gave The Esar’s—the leader’s—troops an advantage; however, they needed to train people specially for the role of Airman, as the dragons could be finicky and high-maintenance. These men would have to be commanding, strong, the best of the best of the best (to quote Men In Black). This mindset was also beaten into the boys chosen from the moment they were chosen. Some mentions have been that they were chosen from practically the cradle, some say that it was a bit later in life, but there is no question that they had been trained from a young, tender age, possibly some time just before puberty or during puberty. PERSONALITY Balfour is a very friendly person, willing to reach out to anyone with a kind word and a broad smile. He tries his best to get along with everyone, and is very eager to help anyone he can. He is willing to offer advice, solicited or not, or attempt to help someone solve a problem. He is also willing to be a shoulder to cry on or someone to vent to. In his associations with others, he often puts their happiness at a higher priority to his, often willing to sacrifice to help others. It is hard to get on his bad side. Despite his friendly nature, he is actually quite shy. The gloves he wears—white, kidskin gloves that his brother, Amery, left him when he died—are a vent for the nervous energy generated by the shyness. When upset or otherwise agitated, he pulls at and twists the cloth of his gloves. Before Amery died (and he subsequently joined the Airman), Balfour was very confident in himself. He looked up to his brother, but did not try to emulate him the way he does until he joined the Airman. It is then that his tendency to look up to people he considers experienced became more pronounced. He chooses to see these people as role models and trying to emulate their behavior, which he may see as more proper than his own—whether or not they’re good role models at all. He does not trust his own experience and his own ‘self’ to choose the correct path, and part of this is because of his parents, while part of it is because the society he grew up in regards his softer, gentler nature as ‘improper’ for a young man and regards being gay as obscene and undesirable—though not exactly punishable. Everything he does (at current) is based at least somewhat upon what his perception of Amery says his brother would do—whether that perception is accurate or not. As a second son, he is considered by his parents to be a ‘replacement,’ and he has taken that to heart. He has very little self-definition due to his emulation of his older brother as an attempt to appease his parents. Balfour grew up loving to bake, and even as an adult, he associates baking with happier times. Amery taught him to bake when he was very young, and often, his sister would be in on it as well, and he has very fond memories of this time. Because of this, when he gets stressed out or upset, he has a tendency to bake like mad if he has the resources. His favorite thing to make is brownies, which suits because that’s his favorite food, too. He enjoys taking care of others, and occasionally gets so caught up in taking care of everyone else that he forgets to take care of himself. He is extremely loyal, so when he sees a problem facing a friend of his, he wants to help them, no matter the cost. He also loves children. He finds the innocence of children fun and refreshing, and is incredibly protective of them, not to mention that this goes right along with the part of him that absolutely loves taking care of others Balfour is afraid of falling—and for good reason! His brother died when the Ke-Han used their wind magic quite unexpectedly, causing his brother to fall to his death. Being ever aware of the danger of being in the air on a hunk of magic and metal, falling is a thing that terrifies him. He also does not swim; he never learned as a child, and the sinking sensation that he has experienced is unnervingly similar to falling. He is an early riser and a hard worker, something he was not born with, but had to learn when he joined the Dragon Corps. In the Corps, he often did not get what he wanted through smooth talking, and sometimes he didn’t even get what was allotted to him by right. He had to work hard to keep his books, his clothes, and his food from being stolen by the other Airmen, who enjoyed torturing the newest member of their group. Balfour is an intelligent and well read young man. He loves his books—one of the few things he had in common with one of his teammates—art, culture, and certain philosophical treatises. He has quite a collection of literature, though he probably did not bring too much of it with him to the Airman—or, what he did bring was quickly destroyed, as many of the other Airmen had no respect for written work or educated individuals. This was a point of contest between Balfour and many of his teammates at times. He doesn’t take well to bullying, having been a victim for several years at the hands of the other Airmen—they called it hazing—and he will stick up for anyone he feels may be a victim. This is pointed out a few times in the book where he warns Thom—their behavior counselor—about the pranks that the others like to pull and sometimes defends him from them. He is also shown as being quite sympathetic, perhaps even empathetic. In Havemercy, around pages 142-146 of the paperback, Balfour is shown as playing the Arlemagne Diplomat’s wife in a role-playing game (the Chief Sergeant playing the Diplomat himself) meant to make the Airmen aware of people’s feelings and the repercussions of their actions. More than once, he seems to take his role…too personally, to the point where he looked hurt when the Chief Sergeant, in the role of the Diplomat, mentioned that he was upset with his wife. (This is also subtext to a deeper relationship between them. Could be taken either way.) Though assigned the job at a later canon point, he is too honest to be a diplomat. If he deems it necessary, he will lie by omission to get what he needs rather than lying outright. He does not have the patience for the games diplomats must play, nor the pandering to people who have no interest in working with him. DESCRIPTION Appearance: Balfour has dark, straight hair that hangs somewhere between his ears and his jaw, bright blue eyes (thus blueyedflyboy), handsome, symmetrical features, and plump pink lips. He is about 5’10 with pale, creamy skin that probably hadn’t seen enough daylight in quite a bit of time. This is because of the nature of his work—the flights are done at night—though how it is not permanently stained with the soot is some kind of miracle. Perhaps they had some strong soap. His body would have some muscles, but he is more on the lean side of muscular rather than the bulky side, and he moves with a sort of elegant grace. Balfour has a long, jagged, slightly purpled scar in the middle of his back, running from mid-shoulder to his lower back. Abilities: Balfour has no supernatural abilities. He can, however, cook quite well. He loves to cook, actually, and will most likely spend a lot of time in the kitchen. He can also write very nicely, his writing sharp, but fancy, more points than loops. He sings “well enough” if you ask him, his voice deep and clear. It is rare that he is caught singing unless he’s singing someone to sleep Canon Point: The dragons are affected by the tainted well water, the same thing that is making the magicians sick. This affects the dragons in that it makes them behave oddly—or not at all — figuratively losing their minds, and makes them difficult to fly. Balfour is currently on a ‘suicide mission’ to destroy the Ke-Han’s Magician’s Dome and the magicians that have tainted the water in an attempt to save the lives of the many Volstovic magicians whose lives are on the line when his dragon falls—possibly blown out of the air by powerful magical whirlwinds or shot down by the trebuchets of the enemy—and is in the process of crashing into the ground. It is just moments before she is completely down and his wrists snap—thus his wrists are not yet broken. (Page 400 of the soft cover version of Havemercy) OTHER NOTES » Wikia Page » IC Inventory » IC Contact » OOC Contact | ||
VITAL STATISTICS NAME Balfour Vallet — NICKNAME(S) None — AGE 20 — BIRTHDATE 15 April — HEIGHT 5'10" — WEIGHT 170lbs — HAIR Brown — EYES Blue — SEXUAL ORIENTATION Gay — PB Chace Crawford — | |||
Court - Balfour and King's date
Sep. 26th, 2014 09:24 pm [It was about five 'til eight when Balfour knocked on King's door, a small batch of daisies and some cheap wine in hand.
When the door opened, Balfour blushed.]
Hi...
When the door opened, Balfour blushed.]
Hi...
