The Brat

I’ll get to making this look nice eventually. Probably. Maybe.

Personality

Thieving • Immoral • Dismissive • Fiercely Independent  • Lionhearted • Decisive • Brutally Loyal • Risky • Selfish • Frightened •  Hyperactive • Deceptive • Intense

Many people’s first impression of Harlan is that of a sweet, if rambunctious, young man. If they stay around him for more than ten minutes, however, they come to realize that they were horribly horribly wrong and that he is in fact a deceptive and fiery little hellspawn in sheep’s clothing. A combination of a wild upbringing and far too much time spent alone, Harlan has never quite grasped the niceties of polite society and tends to act as any out of control semi-feral fourteen year old would if they had a giant grass guardian to protect them from any repercussions. Behind his overly uproarious veneer, Harlan is very very afraid. He has been forced to care for himself since he could walk and he believes that this outlandish behavior protects him for those that might seek to hurt him. By projecting an aloof and carefree persona, he coaxes others into underestimating him while he remains calculating and wary beneath the surface. His entire personality, wild as it may be, is the unfortunate result of a kid who had to grow up too fast. [174]

History

Harlan talks about his past only rarely, if at all. His parents were wild mages too, but they were not truly ready for children when they had him. They were seldom around, they came and they went and their little home in the village was rarely full. Harlan left the cottage frequently as well, often making trips to the forest to practice his hard won magic. It had taken a fortuitous miracle for him to figure out what he could actually do, but he managed it all the same. Not that figuring things out on his own was new to him. 
If you were to ask him, Harlan wouldn’t be able to tell you why he decided to leave it all behind. Maybe he just felt that it was time; it didn’t really matter. He simply wrote a note, packed up his meager belongings and was gone. The road was his home now and with the giant construct by his side, nothing would bother him. Or so he thought. The countryside outside his home was filthy with witchfinders of a rather hostile temperament. They chased him and tore his rudimentary construct to pieces, pursuing him to the very outskirts of the marshland they called home. Even when the witchfinders gave up the ghost, Harlan didn’t. He continued running. Eventually the exhaustion caught up with him and he collapsed by a tree, taking the next three days to rest and recover and piece together a new construct. A stronger one this time. Thusly, Harlan settled into his new life. He became a vagabond, roaming through towns in search of his place. He sold the trinkets he picked up (or stole) along the way and took whatever else he needed to get by. He would survive, even at the expense of others. Despite his disregard for personal possessions, he did manage to make some friends and allies, many of which simply took pity on him when he began to fake cry.  [311]

Trivia

• He renames each of the golems he creates whenever they get destroyed. So far, the most long lived ones have been Caviler, Requiem, and Legacy. The current one (pictured) is named Atlas.