| Harold Hargrave, Viscount of Whitereach, Thane of the Pale Mountain | |
|---|---|
 The Last Human Thane | |
|
Position |
Viscount of Whitereach |
|
Age |
37 |
|
Affiliations |
The Alliance of Lordaeron |
|
Personal Motto |
"Unto the Tomb" |
|
Status |
Unknown |
Harold Hargrave was the austere ruler of Whitereach until his trial, conviction, and subsequent limited pardon by Queen Madelynne I. Unbeknownst to all in the kingdom save Mother Annette Volles and Duchess Suzanne Vibben-Garibald, Harold is actually the ancient founder of Whitereach, Robert the Trustworthy. Infused with the magics of the Spirit of the Pale Mountain, an entity known as Pella, the warrior was granted incredible longevity and strength until the spirit's departure.
Once known as a man of personal honor, immense kindness, and accepting rule, the scion of the betwixt blood of House Hargrave was a legend among his people until the tragic events surrounding the "butchery" of Berlouise. Despite the damning events surrounding Berlouise, Harold and his House have remained largely popular at home, even if disgraced in Blackmarsh proper.
Appearance[]
Thane Harold Hargrave is as much a brute and hulkish man in appearance as ever there was. Towering above virtually all of his peers at a height of 6'11, Harold cuts an ominious shade, and combined with his hulkish physique, casts an imposing, if not immediately monstrous figure. Harold's form, oddly enough, has been attributed to his mixed dwarf and human ancestry; giving him the stoutly broad and thick body of a dwarf whilst retaining the height and flexibity of his human ancestors. The House of Hargrave, since it's inception, has been ruled by mixed dwarven and human scions, with some speculating that the blood of the Vyrkul still runs strong in the bloodline.
Resting atop Harold's muscular features, his countenance appears equally as monstrous as the rest of his body. Criss crossed with scars and the marks of war, the Thane's face may have once been handsome but has long since lost most of it's traditional charm. Large framed and bulky, his facial features remain sharp and angular, broken only by the occasional scars and a badly broken nose that appears to have never been reset: a face which is eerily similar to his paternal line.
Dominating his visage is a great scar beginning just under his eye and dragging downward across his nose to end just below the edge of his lip; a wound received long ago which twists his mouth into a near permanent scowl. His eyes are set deep within his face, and are a deep and rich shade of brown which could be held as both warm and welcoming, as well as dark and untelling, depending upon the viewer.
Personality & Beliefs[]
In most ways Harold is a simple man, in others, he is entirely complex. Around friends and other trustworthy souls, Harold is boisterous, friendly, quick to laugh, easy-going, and jovial. Among those who he finds himself less at-ease with, that being most everyone outside of Whitereach and select few within the Queen's Court, he is quiet, reserved, and serious in his demeanor.
An avid gamesman and hunter, the Thane is well known for taking to the wilderness and disappearing for weeks at a time; appearing almost randomly from the forests and hills within the various townships of Whitereach to give away his winnings or purchase supplies.
In matters of personal belief, Harold has never been an especially pious man. Raised within the melting pot of human Light worship, the dwarven rites, and the shamanistic tenants of the Wildhammer Clan, Harold's views are a unique mixture of Light worship and shamanism. Although he is respectful of traditional church hierarchy, his personal beliefs favor the decentralized and individualized worship of the shamans of nature.
Philosophy[]
Whitereach has always been a place were the lines between ruler and ruled have been blurred; an inheritance of the land's dwarven ancestry and the circumstances in which the Lorei humans fled Everbright. Harold has taken this tradition to heart and carries the belief that the division between nobility and commoner is not one by blood, but by duty and responsibility. To Harold the nobility are the protectors of the people and the greatest servants of all. In exchange for luxury, wealth, and respect, the nobility fight, lead, and lay their very lives on the line for the protection of the weak and defenseless. To this end, Harold imagines himself as the greatest servant in all his land. In short, nobility is something that one earns and whilst one might be born into such service, one is not necessarily born worthy to shoulder such an honor.
Longevity & the Mountain Spirit Pella[]
Unknown to all but a few, Harold's true history is one shrouded in a great deal of mystery. When Robert the Trustworthy liberated Whitereach from the tyranny of the Dark Iron dwarves, he was forced to make a decision that would forever change his life. In the last hours of the war the Dark Iron King threatened to destroy an artifact known as the Heart of the Mountain, the vessel in which the spirit of the mountain resided. The destruction of the Heart would have resulted in the mountain's destruction, and thus the death of virtually all inside the mountain city. Robert was unable to stop the King's attempt, but was able to prevent the mountain's destruction by allowing a portion of the shattered spirit to reside within him. This granted him an immense range of magical powers, gave him incredible vitality, strength, and shackled his soul to the land.
Over the centuries of his rule, Robert developed a deep and close love with Pella, and together they existed as a single entity that ruled Whitereach. Over a hundred years into his reign he engineered the false birth and ascension of a "son" by the name of Harold, who was in reality a physically altered Robert. As time went on, the burden of constant duty and leadership to his country began to weigh on the otherwise reclusive Robert and his melancholy drove a divide between him and Pella, causing them to grow farther and farther apart with time.
The Butcher of Berlouise[]
Shortly after his promotion to General in the Royal Army, Robert led a force of soldiers to the small province of Riftvale in the county of Ravenwood in order to suppress a small rebellion. Working alongside Viscount Aldaim Ward, Robert was able to put down the rebellion but during the course of the campaign ordered the use of a controversial new weapon in destroying the fortified town of Berlouise. Personally distraught over the number of civilian casualties, severely depressed at the loss of Pella, and frustrated with a marriage he never desired, Robert wrote to Queen Madelynne I, informing her of the events at Berlouise, submitting himsef to her judgement, and offering his resignation as a general in the army.
The Queen responded with an order to have him tried for war crimes, a case which was prosecuted by Lady Edevyn Bayne. Robert plead guilty to the charge of war crimes and submitted himself to the justice of the court. In a heated disbate, the House of Nobles became divided over the subject of his punishment by death and the decision to have him executed barely passed the House with a vote of 9 to 7. There were great concerns, however, that Robert's execution would lead to the dissolution of Lordaeron's alliance with Ironforge, and the lack of an heir for Whitereach was pressing. Ultimately, Queen Madelynne I commuted Robert's sentence to a life in exile within a home of Belemora Hargrave's choosing, thus making her the acting ruler of Whitereach.
In accordance with his sentence, Robert has been confined to his home in Highhold and has been cut off from virtually all outside communication.
Relationships[]
Marriages[]
During the course of his long life Robert (Harold) has been married to three separate women. The second was Lady Sunhilda Buzan of Crownwood, although the marriage was little more than a shotgun wedding after the Count of Crownwood discovered his daughter in bed with the Thane. Shortly after the marriage the Forsaken plague came to Lordaeron and Sunhilda was killed whilst in reclusion at a monastery in northern Lordaeron, leaving Robert alone once again. The heartache that came in the wake of Sunhilda's death led to numerous somewhat public affairs between Robert and several women from across Lordaeron, each contributing to a growing reputation of licentiousness.
Robert's downward spiral was eventually halted when he entered a secret relationship with Lady Suzanne Vibben-Garibald, an affair that would last up until his trial and subsequent semi-banishment. As a result of his deep affection for the duchess of the Wailing Marsh, the mountain spirit Pella grew deeply jealous and severed her spirit from Robert, thus depriving him of his powers, longevity, and innate connection to the land. The cut between the two occured shortly after the political marriage between Robert and Belemora Dagranissian, a union structured by Mother Annette Volles with the intent to prevent civil war between Whitereach and the newly released Dark Iron dwarves from below the Pale Mountain. The marriage also sealed an alliance between Ironforge and Lordaeron Restored, an act which ultimately saved River's Eye and Stranglehold from destruction at the hands of the Argent Crusade during the War of Argent Aggression.
Belemora Dagranissian is the current wife of Robert, and the only reason that he was spared the headsman's axe during his trial after the events of Berlouise.
Past Doings[]
- The Royal Society of Archaeology - Lord-Commissioner and founder of the R.S.A. and its sister organization, the Museum of Natural Studies & Antiquities.
- Lord-Partner in the Confederation of the Ebontide, a tradining conglomerate composed of several Lordaeronian lords.
- Lord-Protector of Crownwood, a position bestowed upon him by Mother Ermentrud Weimar which shouldered upon him the responsibility for orchestrating the county's judicial administration and enforcing law and order.
- The Queen's Men - General of the Royal Army
Campaigns[]
Robert/Harold has participated in several campaigns since joining Queen Madelynne I's court. Shortly after first swearing fealty he played a role in helping deal with the various marsh monsters that had begun to plague Blackmarsh, most noteably the monster known as the Eisenvogel.
Shortly after the botched attempt to slay the Eisenvogel, Harold and a small team of Stormcaller Clan Gryphon riders assisted Lord Viktor Romel in taking the Riverspire in the province of River's Eye.
It would not be until the Scourge Invasion of Myrwood, however, that Harold would truly earn his name. Thane Hargrave and a small squad of elite Highlanders participated in the Battle of Shattered Stone and Harold showed his bravery multiple times throughout the campaign. Unfortunately, Harold was unable to participated in the final Siege of Starkholme that ended the campaign as a result of injuries he suffered during the Siege of Tulloch Hold. His legs were utterly crushed by the falling stones of a section of wall as a result of Anub'Azzar's attack on the castle, Harold was forced to leave the battlefield and return home. For over five months the Thane was relegated to a wheelchair but ultimately managed to heal and recover from his injuries.
- Schatten Freunde
- River's Eye Campaign
- Myrwood
- Forksaken Containment
- Ascension
Departure[]
Exiled by the Queen following his trial at Berlouise, Harold was imprisoned by his wife deep within the mountain of Highhold. Eventually escaping, Harold lives a quiet and unassuming life hidden away in the mountains.
Photo Gallery[]
