Balian Brokenshield
Lord Treasurer of Whiteport and Thegn of Clan Balian Bittercloak
The Treasurer of Whiteport, Balian Brokenshield is a mountain dwarf of more than three hundred years old, and has served the Dukes of Whiteport since his youth in the traditional role of Clan Brokenshield as masters of the treasury. The Brokenshields make up an influential part of the Whiteport elite, acting as the de-facto leaders of the Dwarf families that call Whiteport home and use it as a base of trade and operations. Balian has a long, brown beard which he keeps braided and short hair, and can frequently be found buried in old trade ledgers and tax accounts, and has an excellent memory. Unlike other dwarves, Balian is a quiet man, but one who takes great pride in his work, and is a firm patron of Dwarves in the city, always happy to help one find their place in the surface world as his family did so long ago.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Balian is a dwarf of average build, but has an impressively broad chest and shoulder areas, and his biceps are extremely large. Although he has slowed slightly in his old age, Balian remains surprisingly fast and strong, though he finds little need to maintain these skills.
Body Features
Balian is bald and of normal build for a dwarf. He stands around four and a half feet tall and a thin layer of fat has begun to cover his powerful muscles. His upper chest is broad and bulky, and his biceps are nearly the size of his head. Balian is bald and his head often seems to be polished. Balian often uses his warhammer as a cane, and walks with a slight hunch and a slight limp.
Facial Features
Balian has a bulbous nose that looks to have been broken multiple times. He has huge, bushy brown eyebrows and a long, thick brown beard which hangs down to his chest, and is kept braided and woven around numerous small rings and ringlets all forged of different metals. He is bald, and his head is often polished so that people can sometimes faintly see their reflection in his head, a somewhat comical sight.
Identifying Characteristics
Balian can most easily be identified by his long beard. Balian takes great pride in maintaining his beard and frequently braids and strokes it absentmindedly. A number of different forged metal rings are woven into his beard, symbols of his rank, status, and personal history. Balian also wears a finally engraved silver signet ring on his left hand.
Physical quirks
Balian walks with slight limp, and is often hunched over while working.
Apparel & Accessories
Balian usually wears expensive robes and cloth, and his clothing always looks distinctly dwarvish. Dwarven runes and patterns are stitched into the fabric in complex geometric patterns. He occasionally wears a tattered
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Balian Brokenshield was born in the south, in the dwarven freehold of Caer Thrum. Two-hundred and seventy years ago, Caer Thrum was overrun by an Orcish horde and Balian's clan was scattered. Balian survived the sack and escaped with a small group of refugees, and after a long journey the refugees adopted their own clan surname, Clan Brokenshield. Balian's leadership during the clan's exile made him a popular choice for leader, and he was named Thegn of Clan Bittercloak and has served in that post for almost two centuries.
Gender Identity
Male
Sexuality
Straight
Education
Balian was educated in Caer Thrum.
Employment
Balian is currently employed as Treasurer of Whiteport as a result of the agreement he made nearly two centuries before with Duke Gawain 'the Galant' of Whiteport, which stipulated that Clan Brokenshield would find refuge indefinitely in Whiteport and would always be allowed a representative on Whiteport's small council, and in exchange Clan Brokenshield would swear fealty to the Dukes of Whiteport and use their metalworking skills for the benefit of the city. Prior to this, Balian was a simple Miner in Caer Thrum who was caught outside the stronghold when it fell. Balian has served as Treasurer since then, and is nearing the end of his life, and while he still hopes to one day reclaim Caer Thrum, he is satisfied that his Clan will survive without him and believes he has secured their future.
Accomplishments & Achievements
Balian's greatest accomplishment was negotiating the treaty between Clan Brokenshield and Whiteport, finally securing a home for the exiled clan. Since then, Balian has been proud of the work he has done to improve the standing of dwarves in the city and to truly turn the city into their home.
Failures & Embarrassments
Balian escaped the massacre of his clan in Caer Thrum, and has felt a degree of survivor's guilt since then. He has tried to lead Clan Brokenshield as best he can, but he is still unsatisfied that he was never able to reclaim his homeland.
Mental Trauma
Balian struggles with survivor's guilt as a result of survive the massacre at Caer Thrum.
Intellectual Characteristics
Unlike some of the younger dwarves of Clan Brokenshield, Balian remembers the ancestral stronghold and longs to return to it, and he has been more effected by a life in exile than those younger dwarves who have grown up in Whiteport with nothing else. He still struggles to recreate something similar to Clan Brokenshield's stronghold, and while he is satisfied with his life, he still feels strong nostalgia.
Morality & Philosophy
Balian is a pragmatist at heart, and has made it his mission to make the best of his exile and hopes to one day return his clan to their stronghold. He believes that the clan is more important than the self, and has largely contented himself with the end of his life knowing that his clan will live on in safety, security, and prosperity.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
More than anything else, Balian wants to ensure his Clan has a safe and prosperous home. Balian's primary goal each day is to serve his clan as best he can from his position as Treasurer and to help exiled dwarves find their way in Whiteport. As Treasurer, his goal is to ensure the steadily flow of money and manage the Duke's taxes. He hopes to one day build Clan Brokenshield into a great enough strength to reclaim Caer Thrum, but for now is content to build Whiteport into a new home for his people.
Savvies & Ineptitudes
Balian is an average treasurer, but a talented speaker and negotiator. He is a respected leader and generally tries to make well considered, reasonable decisions.
Likes & Dislikes
Balian strongly dislikes Orcs. He has a deep love of beer and architecture.
Virtues & Personality perks
Balian is a selfless leader, and for most of his life he has put the welfare of his people above his own happiness. He works extremely hard to help every exiled member of Clan Brokenshield find their way in the open world. He is proud but friendly and welcoming, and is seen as a benevolent paternal figure throughout the community.
Vices & Personality flaws
Balian is extremely accustomed to the status quo, and has become comfortable in his position. Due to his well-respected nature, very few have challenged his policy decisions, but as younger members of the clan, including those who do not remember the days before the exile mature, Balian has been caught as an experienced moderate between two factions who see him as either a puppet of the Dukes of Whiteport or a complacent quitter who has abandoned the homeland. Balian has worked hard to tread a middle ground, but has silenced many of his critics, and some suggest the old dwarf may be getting too comfortable with power.
Personality Quirks
Balian strokes his beard when thinking.
Hygiene
Balian is usually clean and well kept. He spends time grooming his facial hair every morning and his clothing is usually trim and clean.
Social
Social Aptitude
Balian is fairly extroverted and friendly. Although not raised at court, years of work alongside the nobles of Whiteport has developed Balian into a polite and well-mannered dwarf, though he still may curse and exclaim more than other nobles.
Hobbies & Pets
Balian studies Clank Brokenshield's history in his spare time.
Speech
Balian is animated, shouting, laughing, and cursing. He may exclaim "by the stones" and talks in metaphors and alludes to past experience in Whiteport's history.
Wealth & Financial state
Balian comes from modest origins and lost what little wealth he expected to inherit during the exile of Clan Brokenshield. Over time he turned his wits and the clan's collective resources into an investment to help the clan recover, and since then, he has set roots in Whiteport and has guided Clan Brokenshield to new prosperity. Balian's position at the top of the Clan's leadership has further enriched him, and Balian, while not the richest dwarf in Clan Brokenshield, certainly can afford to live a comfortable and affluent lifestyle, and wants for very little.
Alignment
Neutral Good
Current Location
Species
Honorary & Occupational Titles
Treasurer of Whiteport, Thegn of Clan Brokenshield, Clanspeaker of Clan Brokenshield
Year of Birth
1213 AC
332 Years old
Birthplace
Caer Thrum
Children
Current Residence
Whiteport
Gender
Male
Eyes
Brown
Hair
Bald, Brown Facial Hair
Height
4'5"
Weight
170
Quotes & Catchphrases
"By the stones!"
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
Ruled Locations
Comments