Race:
Lepikari (Mothfolk)
Age:
18
Gender:
Male
Appearance:
Balzani is a small, humanoid who possesses many similarities to moths, hence the nickname of his kin, the Mothfolk. He comes in at a short 5'4" with a slender frame, which is coated in his thick hairs and furs. His fur is a dirty white color with multiple spots along his sides. His eyes are a rounded pitch black which round off two sides of his face. The neck and chest of Balzani are coated with a thick pelt of his soft, white hairs, and the rest of his body is covered in shorter hairs. The most dominant features are his moth-like similarities, that being his long antennae, extra set of arms, and silky wingspan. His face is often emotionless to humans, but he will usually try to communicate with his antennae.
Balzani can usually be caught carrying a
heavy bag full of colorful bottles, herbs, and other gear for potion crafting. In class, combat, and other situations when clothing must be present, he wears a pair of silver goggles and brown leather gloves on each of his four hands. His wings will always be outside of his uniform. When not in uniform, he will not wear any clothing as none of his body is visible past fur.
Class:
Alchemist/Poisons Master
Personality:
While not entirely shy, per say, Balzani struggles to communicate with his more advanced classmates and teachers. Back home, Balzani was frequently described as a happy-go-lucky kid who always "smiled" (or the moth equivalent of smiling), even in times of hardship. He is always kind, even to those who certainly could push him around, and is always soft spoken. Since he had left home for Hoseforn however, he had found himself feeling lonelier without his townsfolk and friends to keep him company. Moving to a new area was something the boy had never been through, so this often troubled Balzani.
Balzani is also an extremely curious soul as well, always accepting new information with an open heart in order to further gain an overall understanding of the world around him.
In the face of danger, Balzani is a bit of a coward. Possessing little to no knowledge in combat or defense, he will frequently flee or take to the sidelines to support his team. He is learning to use daggers and has become somewhat skilled at the craft of poisons, so there may later come a time he breaks out of his fearful shell in situations as such.
Possessing many characteristics and appearances to his insect counterparts, Balzani has many mannerisms and traits similar to a biological moth. Whenever something new is in his vicinity, he will often lightly try to brush the objects with his antennae to make sure it isn't going to eat or attack him. Despite living in a town where making trips to the lake for bathing is common, Balzani will frequently rub on his fur and antennae to get rid of any dirt or blemishes. Many of these are instinctual for him, so he will catch himself most times if not too excited.
Balzani does not know how to deal with anger, frustration, or other associated emotions, and rather than getting mad will silence himself and sort of pout. He is very reactive however to sorrow, guilt, and similar.
- Incredible intellect: Aside from his current knowledge in alchemy, Balzani possesses a high knowledge of the world and it's common entities.
- Intuitive: Whenever Balzani gets a gut feeling about something, his intuition is usually pretty right.
- Flight: Possessing a pair of large silken wings, Balzani is able to carry his weight off of the ground and fly for nearly hours at a time, although he does prefer walking on his two feet.
- Knowledge in poisons: Balzani specializes in the creation of his poisonous chemicals. Moth folk are naturally skilled in the creation of poisons, which Balzani has carried over to his study in alchemy.
- Knowledge in chemicals: Being the first of his kind to study magical items, accessories, and potions, Balzani is aiming to become one of the greatest alchemists.
- Swift: Having a small frame, wings, and thin legs, Balzani is an incredibly fast companion to have on a team.
- Weak: Balzani and his clan are both incredibly inept at fighting, and therefore are physically weak.
- Gross: He eats anything that's edible and don't watch him as he does it.
- Magically Lacking: While he is successful at brewery and magical concoctions, Balzani is unable to produce spells, incantations, or anything of the sort. He is able to learn as time goes on, but fails at it now.
- Hyper-energetic: Can be extremely hyper, especially at night time.
- Gullible: Is extremely susceptible to lying and can struggle with jokes without tone or context.
- Overly Curious: Often times can break personal bubbles because of his thirst for knowledge, a common example of this is he will gently rub his antennae on anything with an unknown origin to him, including people and objects. His tribe has tried to break this habit as it is consistent with most Moth-Folk.
- Socially Inadvertent: While he is an extremely social fellow, Balzani can often times miss social cues and can unconsciously annoy people.
Mad Scientist: Balzani will frequently perform "experiments" and try new potion concoctions that are doomed to
explodefail due to his novice amount of information of alchemy and overzealous goal of becoming a great alchemist.
North of the all tree lived a settlement of a particularly rare race: The Lepikari. The Lepikari were a very domestic race, which only lived in their small, secluded village which was separated from the rest of humanity by a thick layer of fog and the threat of monsters living in the forest. They had lived nearly centuries underneath the noses of men, and just above the heads of the elves. That was until, one brave traveler decided they wished to pursue mankind, to live in the cities, and to become a diplomatic envoy for the Lepikari, nearly half a century ago.
That envoy was a woman by the name of Grensia Wind-Wood and is the chief Elder of their small settlement and more notably, the grandmother of the Young Alchemist: Balzani Wind-and-Song, son of Balzia Wind-Root, the son of Gensia, and brother to 7 siblings. The Lepikari are an incredibly pacifistic race, hoping to help other races meet tranquility with one another to make peace. They are incredibly devoid of how the world works, being raised in an isolated village for so many years, and Grensia is aware of this fact, however she still teaches it as an important lesson to value.
As their main deity of worship was the goddess of the moon, many of the Lepikari are skilled in magical properties relating to the moon, namely light, water, and plant magic, however, Balzani was raised to learn whichever branch of magic he wished, even if it was outside of their expertise. Balzani had heard many tales of potion-slinging mages and those who brew potions enhancing the strength of many great warriors. That's what he wanted to be. He wanted to become the best Alchemist in the world!
His tribe was quick to make the adjustments to get him early training. He began learning how to craft the many special varieties of poisons Lepikari excelled in as a stepping stone, as poison craft was the closest type of "alchemy" the village had. He learned all the recipes with many years of practice and began dedicating himself to the art, and was hailed as one of the earliest learners of poison-craft.
The Lepikari had grown outside of their comfort bubble and once every year, sent out a diplomatic envoy to gather new information about the world around them due to the grand efforts of Grensia those many years ago. A group of travelling mages, hermits, and monks were guided by other travelers to key locations in Ealinata. At the first sign of fall, the Lepikari travelled once again across the lands, taking the young alchemist with them on their grand quest for knowledge...
In one of the carriages midway through the travels sat a silent Balzani across from an old and near-sighted Granny Grensia. His curious eyes wavered to hers as he posed a question.
"Gan-Gan, I need to ask of you... Why let me become a potions-master?... No one else in the village is allowed to leave with such special privileges, not even Brother-Balssi, and he wants to be a knight!" Her attention raised gently to his, her eyes dull with emotion, afraid to reveal the intent of her choice. Balzani's antennae bent peacefully at it's hinge, as he waited quietly for her to muster up courage to speak.
Grensia took her grandchild's face into her hands as she searched herself. Sighing, she spoke to the boy in a calm, yet sorrowful tone. "Your mother... She has been sick for many years..." Surprised by this revealing of information, Balzani was unable to speak as he now sat in shock. There was no appropriate reaction to this information in how it came, all the young Moth could do was sit in utter shock. "She has kept it from you and your brothers and sisters to protect your emotions... So she could be the mother you deserved." Balzani wouldn't cry, for one of the two in the carriage had to be strong, and his Grandmother was clearly disheveled, avoiding eye contact with her grandson and breaking at words now. Her daughter in law was as much of a child to her as son was.
"We have no clue what she is sick with and if there is even a cure out there in the world... But she asked me to do something the same day she told me she was ill." Her eyes now were slightly brighter as the carriage turned a corner, making head for the town they were soon to arrive in. A moment of silence passed.
"What did she ask you Gan-Gan?" His eyes still had their youthful, curious stare in them.
"She asked me to guide you kiddos to your dreams and nothing more." Grensia would have smiled if she had a human mouth to do so, but rather she gently took her grandson into her arms as she pressed her forehead against his in a symbol of their loving familial bond, brushing her antennae against his head to assure him that everything would end up okay in the long run. Balzani believed her as he returned her embrace, speaking softly to his Grandmother.
"Then I'll do my best to get my dreams, Gan-Gan", which brought joy to the aged lady.
...
After collecting many books and materials from dwarf, elf, and other common settlements, the caravan found themselves in a more secret location that none of the guide had known about. This was Kako village, a small settlement of Kitsune who favored magical item creation. They brought very few enchanters and magical accessory masters, so they collected very few resources, but came home with a new assortment of knowledge. Balzani, however, met an alchemist close to his age named Trixie, who he exchanged formalities with.
Balzani met the Kitsune girl and her father, who was the head of her clan. The father had three other sons and many apprentices who worked under him. He allowed Balzani to study and work with Trixie. They'd have an exchange in names, knowledge, and quickly began their studies with each other. The moth was still relatively new to the subject, but demonstrated his skill in poison creation. Balzani prepared to leave many days after the meeting, finishing up his research. Many people were not accustomed to bug people, so he figured if they were to cross paths with one another in later years, he would be an easy to spot friend from the past.
A few hours after researchers, mages, and other Lepikari alike gained the last of the knowledge they sought, they collected their bearings once again to prepare for the long roads once again. Brandishing whatever information the town could give the townsfolk could give to the small moth boy, Balzai boarded the carriage his Grandma was being kept company in by one of the bodyguards they had hired, taking the burly, armored person's place across from his dear Granny.
...
It had been nearly a month and a half on the soil of foreign grounds when the Lepikari had finally returned home from their long expedition.
Just in time too, their rations were beginning to run low. Balzari knew once he returned, he would have to tell his younger brothers and sisters what amazing things he had found to peak their youthful curiosity. His mind drifted to his mother, however, who he had recently learned was sick, and was somehow bearing the pain to resume her motherly role for them. Surely he was not supposed to be told what information his grandmother had given him, so he'd keep his emotions quiet for his mother's sake as he resumed his days as a learning youth.
After going into painstaking detail about his long journey to his beloved siblings, Balzani was more than ready to feed his thirst for alchemic knowledge. Walking from the cragged rock pathway which lead from the mouth of the town to the variety of tents, cottages, log cabins, and other abodes of the town, Balzani now entered the cottage his family were preparing supper in. Surprised to see his arrival, Balzani's father hugged his son despite the towering pile of books, seeds, and minerals. Embarrassed, the young moth closed his eyes tightly as his father ruffled his mane. "So? How was seeing the world? Was it like I told you?"
The young moth shook his head.
"Things are changing father! There's so much out there you didn't tell me about! So many books!" He said lavishly as he presented the assortment of alchemy and magic books to his father. It sure was more books than existed in the household. It was official, Balzani was the nerd of the family. Happy for his son, Balzia rubbed the head of his son in a fatherly love as he dismissed to boy to geek out over his books, which were clearly more literate than any member of the family could read. As soon as he entered the room he shared with his sister and brother, he hopped into his bed and cracked open the text about Dwarven alchemy.
...
A few more months had passed and after reading his entire collection and testing some of his newly learned material, Balzani had discussed with the elders to allow him to go another trip, and with very little resistance, was given permission, however, this time Granny Grensia had promised to take him to a school of magic for those of mature age. Balzani was promised to be taken to Hoseforn Academy for a sort of tour to boost potential students interest in wanting to go. Without hesitation, Balzani agreed to go on the long trip once again, this time, for the promise of a proper education.
After exploring what was allowed of the academy tour, Balzani had decided to apply to the academy to gain a further education in alchemy. He was destined to arrive two years after his clans adventure for knowledge ended. This was it. He was finally on the path to making his dream and more importantly to him, making his sick mother proud!
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