[hider=The Black Tyrant][center][h3][color=d8cfbe]ℂardinal ℝift[/color][/h3][hr][img]https://i.ibb.co/XJJ4ksD/image.png[/img][hr][/center][indent][i][h3][color=d8cfbe]ℙersonal 𝕀nformation[/color][/h3][/i][/indent][color=d8cfbe]Name: [/color] Darius Iosif Balaur
[color=d8cfbe]House: [/color] Lord of House Balaur
[color=d8cfbe]Age: [/color] Supposed to be in his 80s?
[color=d8cfbe]Race: [/color] Human (Mageborn)
[color=d8cfbe]Gender: [/color] Male
[color=d8cfbe]Appearance: [/color] 6'6, Herculean physique. Has always been seen at least partially adorned in magically-enhanced [i]darksteel[/i] plate armor. Hasn't physically been seen in 50 years by all but his most closest confidants. Those who have seen him agree that he may look quite young for his age.

[hr][indent][i][h3][color=d8cfbe]𝕊o 𝕆n & 𝕊o 𝔽orth[/color][/h3][/i][/indent][color=d8cfbe]Reputation: [/color] Because he has been secluded for so long, most of what people know of Darius is mere rumors and speculations. To his fellow lords, he was described as a stereotypical Balauric lord, an honor-bound knight dutiful to further improve upon his family's work and a fervent follower of Anaism. To the citizens of Balaur, and more specifically to the serfs who work the mines and the mills, Darius is nothing but a cold and distant despot, cruelly ruling from an unreachable throne. Of course, more sinister rumors exist about the mysterious lord of House Balaur and what he may be doing within his Stygian Spire, but none have really held any ground.
[color=d8cfbe]Alignment: [/color] Mages. Like his forefathers, Darius has always worked towards progressing the goals and interest of the Southern powers.
[color=d8cfbe]Skills: [/color] What Darius lacked in interpersonal skills, he had in both might and intellect. Physically, he was said to be among the greatest knights that Balaur has produced, having both the natural talent and raw physical prowess of an ideal warrior. While one would assume Darius's combat skills have deteriorated during the years of his isolation, word has gone out that various rebellions were thwarted by the mysterious lord's hands alone. Darius is also quite intelligent, having spent much of his time in seclusion researching everything that is known about magic, among other things. While he isn't the most charismatic of lords, Darius still had the leadership skills necessary to bring Balaur to an age of prosperity, no matter how bleak it may seem. While his strength and tactical acumen are both nothing to scoff it, it could be said that Darius's greatest strength is his conviction.

[color=d8cfbe]Backstory: [/color] 
[hider=Commitment: The Past]
As the sole heir of House Balaur, many things were expected of the young Darius Iosif. Because of his apparent lack of magical talent, Darius worked hard to earn the approval his father, Lord Dragomir Balaur. Throughout much of his early life, Darius served his family to his upmost ability, ever being the dutiful son. However, fate took a turn for the worst when Dragomir succumbed to his sickness. On his deathbed, Dragomir entrusted his son with one duty: to bring Balaur into a new golden age, one that Dragomir believed only Darius could achieve.

When Darius took control of House Balaur, he quickly put into place a number of controversial policies in order to increase the house's production rate. Such policies included allowing unwanted second-class citizens- such as beastmen and criminals from other houses- to be placed in work camps with the rest of the peasants within the Balaur domain and creating a divide between the upper and lower class citizens of the region. While they indeed lead to an increase in production, Darius's citizens were left unhappy with these new policies. To the downtrodden of Balaur, it was clear that their line had to end, with their already squalid way of life on the line... so they had started a rebellion. They had killed their Lord.

Sadly, in this world, nothing can be ensured.
[/hider]
[hider=Tyranny: The Present]
By some miracle, Darius Iosif Balaur survived the attempt at his life. Despite the countless spears that pierced through the lord's flesh, he endured to live another day. Stories were told of how quickly the rebellion was thwarted, with legions of rebels being decimated all at once with an unending torrent of steel spikes sprouting from the ground. It was as if Darius himself had commanded the land that belonged to him, to the Balaur, to slay all threats to his rule. Once that was done, Darius had sequestered himself within the Stygian Spire, a tower located within the highest peak of the mountains of Balaur, where he could watch the entirety of his land, and lead from the high heavens.

For fifty years, House Balaur had begun to prosper once more. A permanent rift was formed between the knights who made up Balaur's vassals and branch families, and the peasants who worked the mines and steel mills. Under the doctrines of Anais and the word of the [i]Contemporary[/i], those who made up the lower class would pay for their dissent through their own blood, sweat, and tears. Bodies of would-be revolutionaries would be pierced by spires of blackened iron, left to bleed out as a reminder that their blood, and everyone else's, belonged to the Balaur. The Serpent's Fangs were formed, a secret police force made to discourage any future defiance. [i]Darksteel[/i] was produced at its highest. For fifty years, House Balaur finally reached its golden age, built off the backs of its people.
[/hider]
[color=d8cfbe]Miscellaneous: [/color] Darius's longsword, [i]Vasilisc[/i], is forged with the highest grade of [i]darksteel[/i] his House could produce and is worn at his hip. Darius also carries a [i]darksteel[/i] scepter, a family heirloom that serves as a symbol of Balauric rule.

[hr][indent][i][h3][color=d8cfbe]𝕄agic[/color][/h3][/i][/indent]
[color=d8cfbe]Gate: [/color] Metal. Capable of creating a high-grade steel alloy nearly matching the strength of [i]darksteel[/i].
[color=d8cfbe]Flow: [/color] Below average, compensated via the creation of spears and spikes.
[color=d8cfbe]Favour: [/color] High.
[color=d8cfbe]Field: [/color] Abnormally high, reaching a few kilometers.

[hr][indent][i][h3][color=d8cfbe]ℍouse 𝕀nfo[/color][/h3][/i][/indent]
[color=d8cfbe]Name: [/color] Balaur
[color=d8cfbe]Domain: [/color] Magic-Imbued Metal, Black Knights.
[color=d8cfbe]Location: [/color] Place 3.
[color=d8cfbe]Members: 
[/color] [list][*][i][url=https://i.ibb.co/6rx80sv/image.png]Rohmani Strigoi[/url], Balaur Councillor, Public Face, Darius's Personal Physician...?[/i]
[*][i][url=https://i.ibb.co/zxcGH8Q/image.png]Zmei Frumos[/url], Commandant of the Black Knights. [/i]
[*][i][url=https://i.ibb.co/n6p52B8/image.png]"Baubau"[/url], Head of the Serpent's Fangs[/i][/list]
[color=d8cfbe]History: [/color] House Balaur was originally a more militant branch family of House Croan. Made up of zealous crusaders and knights, they sought off to conquer the territories southwest of Croan in the name of Anais and Ishtar. The land was full of petty warlords, who were all easily brought low by Balaur's powerful metal-based magic. Those who bent the knee were absorbed into Balaur as its own branch families, while those who didn't were forced into indentured servitude. While the territories were initially a part of Croan's borders, House Balaur earned ownership of the lands after they discovered a method of imbuing refined metals with magic.
[color=d8cfbe]Other Information: [/color] Blackened steel, House Balaur's main export, is a valuable form of steel forged and refined through Balaur's secret smithing techniques. The magic imbued within the steel causes it to take a darker hue. The darker the steel, the stronger and heavier the metal. The strongest blackened steel produced is aptly referred to as [i]darksteel[/i], and it is seen only adorned by Balaur's upper class. Notably, the Black Knights of Balaur are its most infamous users. Bred and trained to have enough strength to wear a full suit of [i]darksteel[/i] plate, Black Knights served Croania historically as its elite shock troops, formed with the intention of rivaling the power-suited soldiers of Kothlin. Most Black Knight families are made up of House Balaur's branch families.[/hider]