General Balkas

General Hector Balkas is the captain of The Makepeace, a man-o-war ship in the Royal Navy fleet. He is a decorated war hero. At the beginning of  'The Golden Bird- Part II', the King throws a carnival in his honour to celebrate his victory at Angarrick, which succeeded in pushing Kenever's forces back to the border between Guye and Solas.

At dinner during the carnival, he is mocked by the King and his cousins Rafe and Edmund Carlyle for his sexual preferences. When asked of his feelings about Luca, he claims to prefer women. However, they then mock him about his overall aversion to sex and embarrassment when discussing it. This culminates in King Ademar sending Luca to Balkas on The Makepeace, offending him. Annoyed at having to keep him on the ship, he passes the responasibility of looking after him to Doran and Connell.

General Balkas' father was a footsoldier who served under the Duke of Chesten. More than once, he is said to have saved the Duke's life. In return, the Duke sponsored Balkas' education at the Officer's Academy. There, he was the only student who was not well-born. It was at the Officer's Academy where he met Hodge, who later went on to become his aide-de-camp.