Irian Balewood

Irian Balewood (formerly Irianix, often called Enty) is an Elvenkind (Ruul'yun) figure from Ruulran whose life and condition are central to the modern history of Mundus. Once a young engineer-soldier in the Ruulran Royal Corps of Engineers, Balewood vanished after an incident at a Dark Energy detection tower; in recent cycles he re-emerged, altered by Darkblight, and became widely known as “Enty.” His recurring connection to world loops has made him a pivotal figure in the ongoing Dark Energy crisis.

Irian Balewood
Irian Balewood, as depicted by the Lorekeeper.
Race	Elvenkind
Age	26 Cycles
Nationality	Ruulran
Origin	Ruulran City
Aliases	Enty
Occupation	Royal Engineer
Status	Alive
In-game appearance

Names and aliases

Balewood's birth name appears in sources as Irianix of House Balewood. As a teenager, he formally renounced the aristocratic suffix of -ix at a public ledger-stone ceremony, choosing to keep only the name his mother had given him: Irian. After leaving Ruulran's aristocratic system and becoming Na'vortha, he adopted the simpler name Irian Balewood.

In Directionland he is most commonly called Enty, a nickname that arose when early witnesses, unsettled by his condition and white eyes, described him as a “dark entity,” a phrase later shortened in common speech.

Appearance and personality

Balewood is Elvenkind, typically described with light brown hair, elven ears, and a soft-spoken, reserved demeanor. After his affliction worsened, his speech and memory have periodically become fragmented.

Despite progressive symptoms of Darkblight, accounts consistently describe a gentle temperament, strong loyalty to those who show him care, and an instinct to place himself in danger if it spares others.

Family

Known family includes:

• Lord Ederix of House Balewood (father)
• Lady Marianix (mother)
• Helanix (brother)
• Saelix (sister)

Early life and Ruulran background

Irian grew up in the Orren district of Ruulran City, raised within House Balewood's aristocratic expectations. His father, Lord Ederix, emphasized governance, quotas, and ledger work, while Irian showed a stronger pull toward practical craft, the bow, and the quiet of the canal paths.

His decision to renounce rank was not sudden, but it was final. In a witnessed declaration at the ledger-stone, he rejected the suffix of -ix and the privileges attached to it, accepting estrangement from his father's succession plans and leaving Helanix as heir.

The forge years

After renouncing his title, Irian lived by manual work and became a blacksmith's assistant under Hadria, a forge-master known for practical discipline and blunt instruction. During this period he learned metalwork, tool maintenance, and the patience required for precision craft. He also forged an early personal blade that he later refined and carried, eventually naming his sword Prickle.

Ruulran Royal Corps of Engineers

While working at the forge, Irian was approached and recruited into the Ruulran Royal Corps of Engineers by Tarrix Varxhill, a Landling officer assembling a cohort for expansion of Ruulran's energy detection line. Irian proved unusually suited to the work: steady hands, quick learning, and the ability to keep calm in systems-driven environments.

By age 24 he had become a lieutenant engineer. He retained his bowcraft training and carried Prickle as a personal weapon, in part from habit and in part due to the hazards surrounding tower maintenance work.

The Tower Nine incident, disappearance, and presumed death

Ruulran military reports later unearthed by Valmin state that at 25 cycles Balewood inspected an Energy Detection Tower on the western line, often referred to in later accounts as Tower Nine. During an internal inspection, a black mineral was discovered embedded near the tower's coupling.

Upon contact with the mineral, Irian was thrown back and left severely impaired: eyes whitening, breath failing, and cognition collapsing into a catatonic state. Under Tarrix's supervision he was evacuated to a clinic, where his condition fluctuated briefly before rapidly deteriorating. Quiet discussion among staff suggests that the feared diagnosis of Darkblight was considered.

During a storm night, Irian escaped the clinic and vanished into the surrounding woods. He was later declared dead, and the incident was buried under limited official language.

A Mundus Reborn

Although official records place the tower incident long before modern events, Irian later resurfaced in Directionland with no consistent explanation for the mismatch in time. He appeared physically unchanged in age but deeply altered in health, memory, and aura.

A Ruulden diary titled N'druvath nai (“The Darkness Inside”) linked to Balewood describes a creeping corruption after contact with the mineral, consistent with Darkblight and now widely understood as the replacement of Light Energy with Dark Energy.

In events that remain partially unclear, Irian was discovered in the wilds by Tobbin and Valmin during their flight from Ruulran. The pair brought him across the border using forged documentation, traveling through heightened security as Directionland grew increasingly tense in the lead up to crisis.

Loopbreaker

Scholarship by Tobbin and Valmin holds that Mundus has fallen to the Dark One many times; at the end of prior cycles Irian sacrifices himself, releasing Light Energy that resets the world.

In the current cycle, Irian spent over a full cycle under the care of Grand Seer Carric and Brother Julian at the Grand Sanctum of St. Stylinson, where his condition continued to worsen. Recently, fear and longing overtook him. He attempted to leave the Sanctum grounds, but was intercepted outside by Tarrix, who had been watching from the shadows. Tarrix tried to convince Irian to stay, but Irian refused and departed.

Irian's current whereabouts are unknown.