Crunch is Varis's familiar and his most reliable companion. While still in school, Varis spent most of his time in the less frequented corners of the library, as he didn't get along with most of his fellow wizards in training. During these lonely study sessions, he found a rather large cockroach living in the damp remains of some forgotten books and decided to befriend it. When Varis was encouraged to find a magical familiar to help further his magical studies, he eschewed the more traditional choices and went with his cockroach friend. Meeting and befriend Crunch are some of the few good memories Varis has of his time in wizarding school (and Crescen in general).

While Crunch is large for a cockroach, he's still fairly small in the grand scheme of things. He spends most of his time riding on Varis's shoulder or in the folds of his clothes, keeping watch of his favorite person. Becoming a familiar gave him sentience and intelligence well above that of a normal cockroach, and Crunch shows his gratitude to Varis through loyalty and whatever magical assistance he can provide.