Balen Flowers

Overseer of the Northern AAC (a.k.a. Captain of Arcane Advancement)

"There's nothing, more important to me, than the safety and wellbeing of my men. Or my name isn't Archmage Balen Flowers." ~Balen Flowers, Archmage and Overseer of Northern AAC Affairs.

Archmage Balen Flowers has the responsibility of Overseeing all AAC activity in the North of the Republic on behalf of the Director. Balen works hard to ensure that his duties are fulfilled, and even harder to ensure his underlings are happy and healthy.
Balen Flowers is considered a Captain in the advancement of all arcane subjects, leading many to refer to him simply as "Captain Flowers". While Flowers is sometimes labelled as strange, there is not a single mage that does not respect this all-powerful optimist.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Balen Flowers was born in Zestós in 1281, into a middle class family of winemakers. From a young age, he enjoyed reading books, which led to him discovering the art of magic. He quickly learnt the basics of illusion magic and used it to entertain himself, his family and the patrons of his family's winery. His talents were eventually discovered by the AAC, and he was offered a scholarship at the Elpida Academy.
Balen excelled at all schools of magic, but was particularly gifted in the fields of Illusion and Transmutation. Balen graduated in record time, and was quickly offered a job in the AAC as a field researcher.
One day, Balen Flowers was invited to the Father of Innovation. After that, he had not been seen or heard from for years. When Balen Flowers resurfaced, he was promoted to the prestigious rank of Archmage and Overseer of the Northern AAC. He was to use the Authenian Archives as his base of operations, as the Grand Archivist was currently away on an expedition studying the Invading Cloud. That is, until one month into his stay when the Grand Archivist was confirmed to be dead and Church Paratir was given his position.
Despite being a higher rank than Paratir, Flowers offered to leave and allow the new Grand Archivist to attend to his duties without any interference. Church Paratir begrudgingly replied that Balen Flowers would be welcome to stay in the Archives. Balen graciously accepted and has been overseeing the affairs of the AAC from the Authenian Archives ever since, and has been happy to help his colleagues in any work they do.

Education

Balen Flowers was top of his class in Elpida Academy, and graduated in record time, and with extremely impressive results. Many of his theories of illusionary and transmutative magic have been proven correct, giving him a flawless reputation among fellow spellcasters and scholars in matters considered arcane.

Morality & Philosophy

Captain Flowers believe that the best traits found within mortals are empathy and optimism, and that the worst traits are selfishness and nihilism. Flowers believes that in order for mortals to be at their best and accomplish the most out of their lives, they need to work together instead of shutting each other out.

Personality Characteristics

Motivation

Balen seems to be motivated by a desire to keep the entirety of the Authenian Republic safe from any magical anomalies, ensuring that safety protocols are being followed by all members of the AAC. Every week, Balen Flowers sends a letter to the Director, with what is officially a report on the activities of the Northern AAC.
Some within the Authenian Archives believe that Flowers has a secret objective that he is not telling anyone about, for various reasons. Flowers sends a report to the Director weekly, whereas the Southern Overseer sends one every month. Another reason is that while Flowers seeks the safety of everyone in the AAC, he pays particular attention to the safety of Church Paratir, who became the Grand Archivist one month after Balen Flowers began running his operation from the Authenian Archives.

Savvies & Ineptitudes

Balen Flowers is an incredibly skilled mage. He is unmatched in the fields of illusionary and transmutative magic. He is capable of creating incredible illusions in a split second. Many wizards question their surroundings when Balen is near, as there would be no way to be certain if anything around them is real.
Flowers has demonstrated incredible skill with a musket during some of his demonstrations about the protective capabilities of abjuration magic. Most believe that this skill is genuine, though some of the more paranoid scholars think that this may just be an illusion of his design. Balen Flowers gives no explanation on where he obtained his skills with a musket.

Virtues & Personality perks

Flowers is a capable leader with a tactical mind. He forges strong bonds with those subordinate to him. His nurturing nature and his open and friendly demeanour quickly earns him the respect and trust of others.
Flowers is a team player, and always thinks of the big picture instead of choosing actions that would only benefit himself.

Social

Contacts & Relations

Balen Flowers seems to be very loyal to the Director of the AAC, sending him weekly reports and treating any task he is assigned as his highest priority.
Captain Flowers treats both Church Paratir and Levoith Silverscribe as his closest confidants, trusting them with classified information and occasionally accompanying them on their expeditions for items and specimens that Flowers believes would be too dangerous for them to achieve on their own. While the two scholars seem confused and at times uncomfortable with Flower's affectionate nature, they do hold respect and trust for him.

Family Ties

Flowers still keeps in contact with his family, sending letters to their winery in Zestós every two weeks.

Social Aptitude

"Don't get me wrong, Flowers is great. But if I have to hear him singing in the morning as he walks down the hallway one more time, I think I'm going to lose it." ~Church Paratir, Grand Archivist of the Authenian Archives.

Captain Flowers is known for his cheerful and sunny disposition. His friendly manner and kind personality has a way of spreading to all but the most bitter souls. He has a strong personality which makes him an excellent leader. Flowers isn't formal in his leading style and treats each of his underlings as if they were a friend.

Alignment

Lawful Good

Current Location

The Authenian Archives

Age

45

Sex

Male

Eyes

Teal

Hair

Short, blonde hair with strands of white hair

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Lightly tanned

Height

6'1

Quotes & Catchphrases

"I don't want silly things like rank interfering with our team dynamic."

Aligned Organization

Authenian Arcane Commitee