Avatar:Baljin
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Baljin was a renegade Air Nomad and a member of the Jasmine Island protectors during the 1st century BG. Having left his original community at the Northern Air Temple over his dissatisfaction with monastic life, he initially joined the Guiding Wind before migrating to the independent Jasmine Island. Seeking both a free life as well as opportunities to help others, Baljin eventually became part of the protectors and helped to oppose Magistrate Emerald's conspiracy to annex Jasmine Island into the Earth Kingdom.
History
Born among the Air Nomads, Baljin initially grew up and trained airbending at the Northern Air Temple. From an early point, he realized that he felt uncomfortable in a highly moralistic as well as monastic community, often sneaking out of the air temple to visit other locations across the world. Eventually Baljin concluded that he had no future at the Northern Air Temple, and resolved to permanently leave. An opportunity to do so arose when the young airbender met members of the Guiding Wind, a renegade order and revolutionary movement that espoused a strong commitment to freedom. He thus ran away and joined the group, spending quite some time with them and going on various missions.[2]
Ultimately, Baljin opted to settle down on the independent Jasmine Island, feeling a strong connection to the location and hoping to pursue "his own independent development" without the Guiding Wind,[2] though he remained loyal to the movement's cause.[1][2] On Jasmine Island, he generally strove to make his life interesting, "mess[ed] about and [did] what he want[ed]", though also helped the locals using his various skills including his airbending. He eventually joined the local security forces, the protectors, seeing it as a way to both assist others as well as live a free life.[2]
At the time of Baljin joining the protectors, the latter were in crisis due to the machinations of Magistrate Emerald, the civilian representative of the Earth Kingdom on Jasmine Island.[3] Emerald was organizing a creeping coup, undermining the island's old power structures to eventually annex it into the Earth Kingdom, though he did so slowly and covertly.[4] The protectors were among the organizations targeted by Emerald, and he managed to gradually dismantle them by replacing them with Earth Kingdom soldiers who could allegedly better defend the islanders. Ultimately, Baljin became one of the few loyalists who remained protectors even as their organization crumbled.[3]
The situation changed when Emerald imprisoned two Guiding Wind revolutionaries, namely Fengying and Sakuru. This drew the attention of the Guiding Wind's leaders, Khandro and Zeisan, who traveled to Jasmine Island to help their followers.[5][6] Baljin took a special interest in their arrival due to his existing connections to the Guiding Wind, as he had not yet met the movement's leaders and was thus eager to learn from them during their time on Jasmine Island.[1][2] Meanwhile, Zeisan quickly realized that Emerald had largely subverted or disempowered the island's leadership, and thus opted to covertly ally with the few remaining protectors. She informed them of her suspicions regarding the magistrate, and asked them to help rescue Fengying and Sakuru to disrupt Emerald's schemes. The protectors readily agreed, and Baljin alongside Ukiuk, Pushi, Sukaya, and Qi Wei subsequently broke into the local Earth Kingdom base.[1][5][6] This mission ultimately led to a series of events which revealed Emerald's conspiracy to the public. Together, the protectors and Guiding Wind members foiled the magistrate's plans and secured Jasmine Island's independence.[5][7]
Personality
Baljin was acerbic, sly, and loved to do whatever he wanted, traits which made him unsuited to life among other Air Nomads. Indeed, he was strongly devoted to the idea of freedom, leading him to sympathize with the Guiding Wind and adore the movement's leaders Khandro and Zeisan.[1][2] Conversely, Baljin's love for freedom also had a darker side, as he also often stole, cheated, and broke rules just because he enjoyed doing so.[2]
Abilities
Even though he had shunned the Air Nomads' ways, Baljin was a capable and versatile airbender who excelled at striking the weakpoints of others as well as escaping at just the right moments. His airbending style often appeared wild and random, yet was actually fairly focused. If he wanted to, he could also be charming and could talk his way out of trouble.[2]
Appearances
Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game
Trivia
- Baljin is a pregenerated character for players to use in the Ceremonies & Secrets campaign, using The Rogue playbook.[2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Uncle Iroh's Adventure Guide, Version 1.0, 2024, p. 116.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Uncle Iroh's Adventure Guide, Version 1.0, 2024, p. 121.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Uncle Iroh's Adventure Guide, Version 1.0, 2024, p. 108.
- ↑ Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Uncle Iroh's Adventure Guide, Version 1.0, 2024, p. 105.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Uncle Iroh's Adventure Guide, Version 1.0, 2024, p. 106.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Uncle Iroh's Adventure Guide, Version 1.0, 2024, p. 111.
- ↑ Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Uncle Iroh's Adventure Guide, Version 1.0, 2024, p. 166.