Leopold Balarine
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Name: Leopold Alexandre Balarine
Occupation: Internationally famous composer
Age: 26
Birthday: 14th of Emblanest
Height: 5'7
Weight: 147lb
Physical Description:
A man of moderate height with brown hair, brown eyes and a somewhat elegant way of moving

Born in Clenceria in the year 1287, the youngest of 4 children to Andre and Marie Balarine, Leopold's early life was not at all an early one. Born into post-wartime Clenceria, his mother died shortly after childbirth, leaving her grieving widower to care for four children in a country barely recovering from the ravages of the world's first modern wars.

When Leopold was six, Andre managed to successfully apply and receive a Refugee Passport to Agnesia. It was difficult going, as one might expect. Andre's Agnesian was halting and the best work he could find was as a factory worker.

Andre persevered, however, and found amongst his fellow workers friends who could see past his Clencerian accent and speech. One of them, an elf named Echedihil, introduced Andre to his sister, Gwilwileth. Andre was smitten, and Gwil was only too quick to reciprocate; they were married by the time Leopold was nine.

Life, however, remained difficult for young Leopold. It was hard, at first, for him and his siblings to bond with their Agnesian-Elven stepmother; they came from different cultures and different races, after all, and for the young, confused Balarine children, it seemed to be a large ask.

Gwilwileth, however, had a sweet and sympathetic disposition, and worked her hardest to bond with her new children. Over time, she and Leopold managed to eventually grow close. After all, Leopold had never had a mother, and as the youngest child in a poor family of four with a father who spent a great amount of time working, this gave him something he both never had and desperately needed.

The time came, of course, when Leopold was no longer the youngest, as their family was joined by a pair of Half-Elven twins: Peter and Fimbrennil Balarine. Over time, this would allow Leopold to experience, against both his siblings and his mother, the disenfranchisement of the Elves of Paxia. Many Elves found it difficult to find good work in Paxia; many of them were forced into the factories, where they worked unhealthy jobs for poor pay.

It was these experiences; the racism, the injustice, the scourge of war; that would shape Leopold's attitude as he grew into an adult.

Leopold was lucky in some areas, however. As a youngster in Paxia, he managed to benefit from the public education in place that Clenceria had lacked. As he grew, his prodigious talent for mathematics and music started to manifest. From here, Leopold expressed his desire to create music, especially having seen how music, in its own way, could heal hurts and calm sad hearts.

His father was dubious of this decision, having little faith that his son could support himself off such an occupation- he was very hesitant to finance the university fees necessary for Leopold to continue his art.

However, even as an amateur, Leopold had brought attention onto himself. His music teacher at the school he attended took a risk, sending his work to a large organisation known for patronising the arts. In a stroke of brilliant luck, Leopold managed to win a scholarship to the Agnesian National University.

The rest, as they say, is history. Within years of leaving university, Leopold was a rising star in the Paxian social scene, aided by his brilliant and moving music. Forever a sensitive individual, he was able to incorporate the emotions and experiences of those he talked to- the common people, especially- into his music, creating songs and themes that managed the near-impossible feat of exemplifying an era.

With his most famous piece, 'Ode to the Age of Steel and Conquest', not only was he catapulted to international status, but Leopold started winning fame for his political views as well. His outspoken criticism of the war with Arcolia stirred a fair deal of controversy in Agnesia, and a few interviews have solidly cemented Leopold as a strongly liberal young man, advocating social justice and a world of equality, both in racial terms and economic.

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