Balkash was a walled city-state in north-west Allansia before the War of the Wizards. It lay on the coast near Oyster Bay in south-western Old Allansia, on the southernmost fringes of the Southern Plains. Before he settled in his tower at the southern edge of Darkwood Forest, Yaztromo visited the ruins of Balkash. Why and when Balkash fell into ruin is not known.