Xander Balshaw

Description
1st son and second child of Balshaw. Lives in Balshaw with his parents and sisters

Appearance
A fairly tall and bulky boy. Large for his age and looks older than he is. Large gray eyes, messy and coarse black hair. A fat nose, thick lips, bushy eyebrows, large ears, pale skin, and a chubby face. Has a large body, arms and legs, mostly fat but he is very strong.

Personality
A quieter boy, not very smart and very impulsive. Has a slight hatred for his family because he was not named heir. Spends most of his time alone, but when he is with others he tries to stay out of their business. When he gets angry or agitated he will often take it out on others, physically and emotionally, although never too serious. Always feels he has something to prove and will often try to impress others. Always loved animals both wild and domestic.

Family
Son of Fenik and Balshaw. Older sister Telina, and younger sister Julieen.

Early Years
Xander was born in the year 560 in the city of Balshaw. Spent most of his time alone and did not try to make friends. He was a slow learner and did not attempt to try. Always liked to explore and had often asked his mother to bring him to other cities when she went which she agreed to, so he saw many different cities and villages in the Wolf Kingdom. At age 6 he found a stray puppy and brought it home, a husky that he named Russell. He loved the dog and took care of him well so Russell became very loyal to Xander and followed him everywhere. His sister Telina had been named the heir as soon as she was born and as he got older and he realized what that had meant he grew to resent his mother and sister.

Mother's Return
After Telina's hunt and first kill they awaited Balshaw's return to the city. When Balshaw arrived, Telina was the first to give the news, and tell her everything that happened. They were delighted to see each other as they have a very close relationship. She greeted her younger children, Xander and Julieen with almost the same enthusiasm. Yelnaz urged Balshaw not to encourage that behavior at such a young age, but Balshaw ignored him and praised her daughter’s first kill, both of Creature and human. At supper that night, Balshaw raised a toast to Telina for the hunt and was proud to have her as heir to Secondale of Balshaw. Xander was not happy to hear that as he believed he should be the heir given that he is male. He left the table early and talked to the scholar of Balshaw, Porter Mandalive about why he isn’t the heir. Porter explained that every Primale, Secondale, and Tertiale have the right to choose their heir of their children regardless of sex or birth order. He mentions a few around Yenallum that were chosen over the oldest male for a variety of reasons and lastly mentions how Balshaw herself was chosen because although Westhurst wanted only his sons to be heads of his child houses, he was old and couldn’t have any more children so he picked who he believed to be the most fit to run the final house, and that was Balshaw. Porter also said Telina is likely to pick her oldest daughter as heir and the tradition of house Balshaw will continue as such. Xander had always resented his mother for slighting him and naming Telina the heir but he didn’t know what to do about it. He also hated Telina for it as well. He went back to the dining room and watched them from a distance for a while, seeing how happy they were, and then he went to his bedroom. Xander greeted Russell with a scratch behind the ear and he went through his things to find a pendant his mother made for him with the sigil of house Balshaw on it, one he never wore. He broke off the small horizontal holt of the axe and put the pendant around his neck.

Battalion X
Telina and Xander spend a lot of their time battling each other as their mother and younger sister look on. Telina wins most of the fights which angers Xander especially when his mother shows Telina much praise. He had not hit a growth spurt yet so his sister was taller and stronger than he was, even at that she was very large for her age and didn’t seem to stop growing. Julieen makes fun of Xander for continuously losing to a girl so he pushes her over. Yelnaz scolds him and when Xander complained he got serious. Yelnaz told him about Telina would have died if not for he and his men, and he believes Balshaw is foolish for allowing such behaviors for a young girl but he knows she believes in “women power” which is good to an extent. He tells Xander that in a year or so when he grows he will be strong and could join a hunt, provided he wasn’t as foolish as his sister. Xander goes off and meets his friends Ben Parks and Jon Catter. They agree with him about his right to be the heir. That night they steal a small cask of ale and build a fire outside the city, something they do on occasion. After a few drinks, they hatch an idea to gain a following for Xander and come up with the name “Battalion X”. Bens older brother Grian is a soldier in the Balshaw army and Ben thinks he could convince him on the plan. Although Xander doesn’t have much confidence he is happy by the thought of it. When he returns home he asks one of his guards, named Kenin, if he should be the heir. Kenin says that it’s not his decision and that he shouldn’t defy his mother’s decision. Xander asks him that if it were his decision who he chose Xander to be heir to which Kenin responds that he thinks Xander would make a fine leader.