Balkinitros
Protector of the Realm
| Occupation | Protector of the Realm |
| Current Whereabouts | Loch Lythia, Greenway |
| Birthplace | Akh il Fangh, Realm of Annokwi |
| Favorite Drink | Fresh snowmelt |
| Favorite Food | Bison |
| Favorite Entertainment | Aerial dragon ballet |
| Hobbies | Philosophy and religion |
Balkinitros was recruited just over five decades ago by Queen Jillian to reside in Sennzia and serve as Protector of the Realm. The Queen’s decision to bring dragons into Sennzia was a controversial one, opposed by King Ehrenfell of Yarsaria and by Jillian’s closest advisors. The Queen had her reasons, however, and refused to explain herself any further.
The terms of Balkinitros’ contract with Jillian remain a secret even to the Queen’s closest advisors and Balkinitros’ top dragon lietenants. Only the Queen and the Dragon know the precise details of the arrangement, but the results were immediately obvious to everyone. The pristine alpine forests of the Greenway, long coveted by Yarsarian elves, were granted to Balkinitros as his own independent lands. The massive dragon was publicly declared “Protector of the Realm” by Queen Jillian and granted additional rights to bring in other dragons of his choosing to serve as he saw fit.
Balkinitros himself is an old, wise and enormous forest dragon who lacks wings or the ability to fly. On his back, in the fertile soil trapped in the cracks between his massive scales, grows a small forest of pines, oaks, maple and other large trees. Great strands of ferns hang from his chin like a beard as well as from his neck, arms and belly.
The epic size of this dragon makes him an absolute terror in any kind of a fight. In his youth, Balkinitros committed terrible, genocidal atrocities to numerous humanoid empires. He was renowned in the ManyRealms for a ruthless, destructive rage which brought his own realm to its knees. As Balkinitros grew older, however, he sired children and built a small society of dragons. He came to appreciate the stability of family, community and civilization and began to understand the magnitude of his crimes and the toll they took on his realm.
Balkinitros genuinely regrets his past decisions and seeks to redeem himself in his old age, but the sheer scale of the horrors he unleashed on his realm seems impossible to wash away. He is grateful to have been given a second chance by Queen Jillian at redemption. He intends to keep his word to her, but his past continues to haunt him.
King Ulmond Ehrenfell of Yarsaria understood the many evils that Balkinitros had committed and declared war on the Greenway dragons almost immediately after they entered Sennzia. In an early attempt at peace talks in Yarsar, an unexpected incident led to a fierce skirmish. The battle ended with the death of Queen Atlarina Ehrenfell, which King Ulmond blamed on Balkinitros. In retailiation, King Ulmond traveled to Annokwi. The elven king sought out Balkinitros’ firstborn son, Erandimastimus, and murdered him. King Ulmond now wears Balkinitros’ son’s scales as a grim, vengeful trophy.
Balkinitros despises King Ulmond and wishes him dead, yet he restrains his dragons from unleashing their full force on Yarsaria. Balkinitros describes it as “toying with their prey” to extend the fun, but the truth is that Balkinitros has lost his taste for destruction. He does not really seek to lay waste to Yarsaria, as he had done to so many other empires. Balkinitros feels true sorrow for the death of Queen Ehrenfell and accepts responsibility for her death. He did retaliate in rage when ambushed at the peace talks by Yarsarian forces, and wishes that he had been able to contain his temper. If he had, perhaps his son, Erandimastimus would still be alive. Even so, Balkinitros will not forgive King Ulmond Ehrenfell.
The war between the Greenway dragons and Yarsaria has entered its sixth decade.
