Balna is Hile’s oldest cousin on his mother’s side and a long-serving member of the Eslading Council. He heads the Security Guild, where he oversees law enforcement, customs, and border patrols across a wide region. His authority is visible and respected.
Balna is wealthy, unmarried, and without children. He values order, procedure, and control. He enforces rules strictly and believes stability depends on discipline rather than trust. In council matters, he is thorough and unyielding. Few challenge him openly.
His conflict with Hile is longstanding. Balna believes Hile’s success rests on advantages granted long before either of them held power. Old family divisions, broken expectations, and unresolved comparisons hardened into resentment over time. To him, every gain Hile makes confirms a wrong that was never corrected.
Outwardly, Balna remains civil. He honors obligations and performs his duties with care. Inwardly, his bitterness persists. Each of Hile’s or his children’s advancements feels personal. Their expressions of respect does not soften this reaction. They sharpen it.
Balna does not act recklessly. He does not break the law to pursue his grievances. He uses it. Rules are applied precisely and without hesitation. Procedure becomes a means of correction rather than protection.
In a city that prides itself on order, Balna represents a quiet threat. He believes himself justified. He believes himself patient. And he believes that balance, once restored, will finally satisfy him.