Servers have character creation locks in order to distribute the population across all worlds more evenly, as well as reduce overpopulation on a single world that comes with the nasty side effect of server stress (more lag for everyone). In a nutshell, Balmung (and a few other servers) are cups that are filled to the brim. It's only when enough people transfer off the world when those small windows of creation open up. At this point in order to play on Balmung, you can to start convincing people to stop playing on Balmumg.

I know a few people who are waiting for friends. My advice to them is to have their friends make characters on a different world and then transfer to join them (there are still a ton of servers with room for players).