My Take on Balif…

Shortly after their creation by the Graystone in 3051 PC, the kender race looking for a place to call their own, followed (or were lead by, the distinction is unclear) Balif an elven general of Silvanesti and close friend of Silvanos the leader of the Silvanesti elves.

During their journey across the Plains of Dust Balif is befriended by the kender and he offers them a place in the lands east of Silvanesti that were given to him by Silvanos hundreds of years earlier. Bailfor was slated to be the next great elven nation, elven households had been making plans to settle to region and establish a second great elven city. Balif granted the kender the rights to settle on the outskirts of this new city in the forests of Bailfor.

For his generosity the kender declare Balif to be a savior of the kender race and he his commemorated in story and song. In 3060 PC the kender race form small villages throughout Bailfor. They live simple lives, setting out on wanderlust and returning with tales of the outside world establishing a small amount of trade with the Silvanesti elves, Kagonesti elves, and desert nomads to the wastelands of the north.

The work of building an elven city takes time to do properly as elven magic is needed to sculpt the trees and foliage into the proper shapes. So many years went by in the creation of the new elven city. By the year 2990 PC work had been almost ground to a halt as the progress of the “shapers?” was impeded by the constant interruption of kender visitors. At first Balif asks the kender to remain outside the city, but continued interruption disrupts further attempts. In hopes of saving the project Balif allows the kender to take part in the construction, but this only complicates matters further.

By 2960 PC elves leave the city disgusted with Balif’s reluctance to physically remove the kender. They return to Silvanesti pleading with Silvanos to take the lands back from Balif and the kender and return it to the elves. Silvanos, however, will not take back the lands he had freely given to his close friend. Upset and disappointed, but unable to change the Speakers mind, the elves give up.

The situation is not forgotten however, by 2900 PC Rumors of Balif’s relationship with the kender make him something of an outcast among his people. But none would dare speak ill of him in front of Silvanos. Rumors declare he is in love with a kendermaid and that he has declared himself Speaker of the kender. Some call him more kender than elf.

Problems between the kender and the elves of Silvanesti continue to increase. The animosity of some elves towards Balif, and those jealous of the protection Silvanos affords him come to an end. In 2750 PC Balif, a hero to the kender, dies. Balif is killed by those jealous of relationship with Silvanos. The kender are greatly saddened by the loss of their beloved protector and build a monument to him in the city of Bailfor, which has become their capital and the largest kender city of all time. Many kender children are given the name Bailf in his honor. They decide it’s best to stay away from Silvanesti failing to understand the actions of the elves.

In 2642 PC a small group of elves invade Bailfor looking to drive the kender from the forests. The Kagonesti elves, that have befriended the kender, intercede and slow the attack. Silvanos is notified of the intrusion and Silvanesti troops are dispatched to stop the renegade elves. Silvanos declares the lands were given to Balif freely and they he left them to the kender. The lands to the east (of that little river) now belong to the kender people. A small tribe of Kagonesti rename themselves as Balinesti in honor of Balif.

Shortly thereafter, a village of kender discover a flying citadel and take it for a ride. The citadel crosses the continent and crash-lands in the hills of Northern Ergoth. From there they establish a number of small villages around a bay they name the Bay of Monsters. This second kender region is known as Hi-Lo or Hylo.

In 2515 PC Silvanos dies. Following his death border relations became strained among humans, half-elves, kender, and elves. Elves begin to tighten their borders and patrols more regularly. All contacts with kender are cut off. The kender consider this somewhat of a blessing as most elves have visibly become more arrogant towards the kender.

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