“Where’s Balan?” Balin’s mother, Catalina, asked her son as he entered the simple, unornamented house. She was scrubbing away at some dishes with a rag. “He’s with Lady Viviane,” Balin responded as he kissed her on the cheek. His mother did not reply. She seethed as she continued scrubbing. “They’re playing with her dirty pets again,” Catalina muttered to herself with a scowl.