Arianna Balthasar

"Learning never stops, Lynn. A true master is an eternal student."

- Arianna Balthasar, Volume 1 Captain Arianna Balthasar is a tactical mage from Palladia and a proud member of the Sisterhood of Anya. A dragon attack that occurred before the comic's start left her severely scarred and crippled, but she continues to train dragoons for Palladia despite this.

Personality
"A leader? Like anything else, you try, you fail, you learn. What's important is that you take lessons from the consequences of your decisions."

- Arianna Balthasar, Volume 1 Loyal and responsible to the point of willingly sacrificing her own well-being time and again. Noted by others to be kind and caring, but Arianna also asked for permission to beat Lynn up a little for lying to her for years, so.

History
Arianna joined the Palladia Dragoons at the age of seventeen. She was noticed early on for her excellent tactical prowess and skills at command. These combined with an innate understanding of magic made her a valuable asset to the Palladias ranks. Arianna quickly climbed the ranks to Captain, but unfortunately her career as an active fighter mage was ended in an accident during dragoon training.

A rookie dragoon who was mishandling his dragon was about to learn the price of doing so, but at the last moment was saved by his superior officer, Arianna. She paid for her subordinate's stupidity by losing her right leg and being caught in a blast of dragonfire. Six healers each gave a year of their lives in order to keep Arianna alive, and they did it gladly in order to honor her bravery. Ever since the accident, Arianna has been known to wear heavy armor in summer as well as in winter, claiming it to be eternal vigilance.

While incapacitated for battle, Arianna continued to train young dragoons and made her peace with the fact that a one legged warrior was of no great service to the kingdom. It is noted that she more or less helped to raise Lynn de Luctes, and Lynn considers Arianna to be the sister she never had.

Following Lynn's successful dragonriding final exam, the girl immediately sought out Arianna to inform her of the good news. The two spoke about Lynn's upcoming Sealing, and Arianna assured Lynn that she wouldn't allow the younger woman to be sent to another squad or back to Dregya, insisting she would talk to the king personally if it came to that. At the time, Arianna was stationed at one of the borders of Casta Palladia. The king had become worried about the Alliance's borders and doubled the guards at sites of strategic importance.

Arianna gave Lynn a book that all initiates were expected to read, which contained the history and significance of the old world's gifts. They briefly discussed the grimlas weapons in the Palladia Faetree before Lynn spotted Sairan and a Trueform Valerius. Thrilled, Arianna proceeded to dress in a gown and welcomed Valerius back. When she asked Valerius if he'd prefer to be reassigned or to stay under her command now that his training was finished, he requested he be allowed to stay.

Days later, Arianna attended Lynn's Sealing alongside Valerius and Sairan. She questioned Lynn about her familiarity with Frederick de Ruddan, but accepted the other woman's line about him being a friend of the family. On the way to her Sealing, Lynn repeated the oath in the company of her friends. She made four mistakes, and was asked a follow-up question in order to be permitted to pass through the gates. On their way to the Faetree sanctum proper, Lynn questioned Arianna on how to become a leader.

Inside the sanctum of the Faetree they met the Keeper of Weapons. He explained the tree to the initiates, and upon Lynn's asking confirmed that the two weapons at the top of the tree - a sword and a spear - were the strongest weapons, the grimlas. They were destined for great deeds...and were therefore of no concern to any of the initiates of the day. He gave a speech about the worth of the wanderers, and claimed he saw no one worthy of such a destiny standing before him.

Arianna immediately guessed that Lynn wanted to try for a grimlas weapon, and reminded her that she could try once a year. Lynn ignored her for her own reasons, and Arianna waited below with Valerius and Sairan. Valerius asked if Lynn was still up there in disbelief, as everyone else was long done with their sealing - and then Lynn tripped and fell from the tree.

When Lynn began to seal the grimlas spear, the light overtook everything. Valerius asked Arianna what it was, but she didn't know; she thought it was Lynn sealing a grimlas, but very few had ever managed to witness the sealing of a grimlas, because there were so few wanderers. As the light faded, Valerius offered Arianna a hand up, which she refused. The situation was bad: the Faetree was destroyed. And Sairan immediately warned the other two that the lords would treat it as an act of treason.

The three determined that they had to see to Lynn's safety, as she was in need of care, and they had to get her out of there before the royal guard arrived if they wished to have her leave at all. Arianna ordered Valerius to use his trueform to fly Lynn to Hurricos, and to send Lynn north to Wade with her dragon. She figured that with Lynn's skill as a soldier, she could make a living there until things blew over. Valerius agreed and left immediately, though he expressed concern for Arianna and Sairan being at the scene of the crime as well

Once Valerius was gone, Sairan asked if Arianna was aware she could be blamed as Lynn's officer in charge. Arianna stated that her decision to send Lynn away and potentially take the fall was for the best. To her knowledge, Lynn was a fledgling dragoon and an orphan, with no status to protect her. Arianna wasn't willing to risk Lynn's safety on betting the old law would be preserved and give Lynn the status of a wanderer. If it was followed, fine, Lynn was above the law and no one could get mad about her fleeing; if not, she'd be gone and safe. Either way, the outcome was better to Arianna's mind than risking Lynn being tried for treason.

Appearance
Blonde and tall, Arianna tends to wear full armor even in the summer months. This is mainly because of the scars from her accident, which cover much of her body. She also generally carries her cane with her at all times.

Arianna follows the Southern tradition of splitting the ear tips.

Abilities
A tactical mage, Arianna charges her mechanical leg with her own lifeforce. The leg is a product of Sardaheim craftsmanship.

She claims that she can feel changes of the weather coming on thanks to her leg.