J.R.R. Tolkien>
The Lord of the Rings
Balin was a dwarf in the company of Thorin Oakenshield when he went to recover the kingdom that his family lost to the worm Smaug. Thorin lost his life in the Battle of the Five Armies that ensued after the dragon was slain, but Balin and many others from the company survived and settled in their kingdom and elsewhere after the Battle. Balin was one of the dwarves that chose to remain in the Mountain to live with many of his cohorts. In the year 2989 of the Third Age, he made an ill-fated attempt to recover the lost dwarf-kingdom of Khazad-dûm. In the year 2994 he was slain by an orc in Azanulbizar.