JoeSargent

Harald, known to his few true friends as Harry, was born to a Northern family of farmers, woodcutters and general frontiersmen. He worked on his father’s farm in the rural portion of the far north for the first half of his life, never receiving any formal education. He learned to read and write from his older sister, Helga, who learned from a hungry, injured wanderer, the only kind of company that they were used to, having settled just east of the northern part of the Czena River. On his 18th birthday, he left home for a short while to visit the nearest tavern to celebrate. This was a rare trip, as it took him almost half a day’s walk from home to just outside of Haense, and he did a large portion of the farmwork for his aging, and subsequently ailing parents. When he returned home after hours of drinking and merriment, it was nearly dark out. He could make out the shape of the farmhouse easily, however, due to the light and smoke emanating from the fire encapsulating it. He rushed inside only to find his family trapped upstairs, surrounded by flame and debris, impossible to save. He barely had time to see his father, ash-choked, mouth the word “yourself” before the floor collapsed beneath him, leaving Harald physically unscathed. He then ran down the stairs, used his handaxe to sift and chop through the rubble to reach his family only to find out that they were no longer with him. He barely managed to make it out, axe in tow, before the building collapsed around him. He let the fire die out before burying his loved ones and leaving his home and his family farm behind, unable to bear the thought of another harvest.