Harrold Ref - Child & Adult

Name: Harrold

Species: Arid Spearhead/ Spearbug

Gender: Male (He/Him)

Sexuality: Bisexual

Occupation/ Role: Bodyguard for hire, Soul Research Apprentice, Adventurer.

Origins: Sundria, the Sun Drowned Kingdom

All Harrold Refs
Simplified Ref -🔸- Harrold Child & Adult -🔸- Harrold Large Adult
Harrold Outfits -🔸- NSFW Ref

Bio: Harrold is a chubby bug with a sense of adventure and deep rooted in knighthood. He comes from the scorching sands of Sundrea, The Sun Drowned kingdom. It is located in a desert far, far away from Hallownest.

Being a Spearhead bug, or Spearbug for short, he has a naturally bulky build and a thick exoskeleton.
His horns grown downwards, with a few small spikes following along the inner side.
As with all Sundrean Spearbugs, his face shell/ head has a diamond carving around the forehead area, with a few extra lines connecting to his eyes, and all the way down the back of his head.

Once an adult, he is always wearing bracelets of some sorts. His main cloak is a Sundrean custom, woven from tough cloth and embroidered with a lighter pattern on the front.

He lived in Sundria up until his late teens, where he was cast out from failing a very important mission, resulting in the Princess Valleda’s death, as well as other casualties.
After that, he’s spent his life mostly by himself, adventuring to seek his own personal redemption and a reason to keep going.

Personality: Harrold is considered to be a much softer person than most Spearbugs, all thanks to his upbringing in both good and bad. A lot of his positivity and kindness comes from his adoptive mother, while the more negative aspects come through his trauma and abandonment.

He has always been friendly, willing to help and aid others, with his knightly ways ingrained in his mind. When it comes to caring for a friend or someone else though, he does lack some social skills. His knightly nature means he is quick to give harsh advice before doubling back and softening his words. He is extremely loyal though and believes in justice and hard work.

Harrold is easily persuaded, trusting others too much, even if he’s only just met them. This is due to his upbringing clashing with his desire for friendship. He is not good at making decisions, instead longing to have a ‘master’ or ‘captain’ of some sorts to guide him and tell him what to do- whom he would eventually find that through the Soul Successor.

He has very little confidence in himself, instead relying on hope and his regrets to guide him.
Anger and frustration get to him easily, whether it’s simply losing a spar, or struggling to understand things, yet his arrogance won’t let him stop and give up so easily.

And to top this all off, he can be pretty sad and lonely at times, even if he’s on a path to better himself and move on, he feels like he’s still so lost in this world. Forming a depression after being cast out from his home, he began to overeat as a coping mechanism.

If you show him kindness, he will blindly show it back, in hopes of acceptance. He’ll always appreciate one’s company.

Story Events:
🔶Sundria:
His home Kingdom rests in a desert. A hot and rock giant cave, with beacons of light raining down through the jagged ceiling of the cave. He lost his parents before he even knew them, dying in battle, which is a very common thing for the Sundrean Spearbugs.

He was raised by the royal caretaker, who took Harrold in, wanting a child of her own after so many years of looking after other children. This sweet lady would shape Harrold into who he is today.

Harrold got into knighthood early, as all Sundrean Spearbugs do. He wasn’t that well liked, but he strived to make his mother proud. Through this he would befriend the Princess, Valleda, who snuck into the battle grounds often to practice by herself. They grew close quickly and were almost inseparable.

One day, Valleda was given a bodyguard known as the Arid Vessel and trained alongside Harrold and his group of knights. Arid was bullied, but unphased by the knights. Harrold and Valleda would befriend him too- Valleda wanting to fight for herself, so she treated the Vessel as an equal.

In their late teen years, Valleda was to be sent to marry a Prince in a far-off Kingdom known as Highreign. Normally the Sundrean’s would fight for protection, but the Sundrean Queen sought a possible alliance.
On this trip, Harrold, Valleda, the Arid Vessel and a small platoon would journey to this Highreign- but be cut off mid-way by an ambush. Valleda was slain along with the platoon. Harrold barely managing to escape home with Valleda’s body, thanks to the Arid Vessel staying behind and unleashing its full potential. With Valleda’s last breath, she gave Harrold her pendant.

After returning to Sundrea, Harrold was to be executed, for failing his mission, his platoon, and the loss of Arid Vessel and of course, their dear Valleda.

However, the Queen, along with Harrold’s adoptive mother snuck him out. They never told him why, so he assumed it was out of some deep-rooted sympathy. He could never return, however, lest he faces death willingly.

Later in Harrold’s life, he would learn that Sundria had fallen. Now all that remains is a crumbling castle, with the sun faded, and a never-ending rain slowly drowning its ruins into obscurity.
As far as he knows it. His home is gone, as well as ever other Arid Spearbug, leaving him to be the only one left.
It’s how it goes for his kind. They will always fight till the very end.

🔶Hallownest:
After fleeing Sundrea, Harrold would find refuge in a small town, taking up a job as a librarian assistant. Spending a few years there, he would soon learn through reading of the essence that is ‘S O U L’. He learned of the Soul Master and his work, and he learned of the ‘Soul Successor’, who currently resided in Hallownest.

Harrold would take his leave after having saved up enough geo, heading for Hallownest in hopes that this ‘soul’ could be the answer to all his problems and return to Sundrea as a hero.

His head had been plastered all over the region as a wanted man. On his journey, he would get caught and thrown in a cage by some obscure circus folk- soon breaking out thanks to meeting Kummi, a Grimm troupe bug searching for the real circus act. They’d make a pact and set the whole thing ablaze, escaping to Hallownest together.

They would split up soon upon arriving, Harrold taking up an empty home in Dirthmouth before going deeper to the City of Tears.

He would then get a place to stay within Lemm’s workshop, working for Lemm while he tried to appease the Soul Successor and become her apprentice.

Eventually, after completing some tasks for the Successor, she would hire him and send him off to do menial chores, or full-on adventures to find relics and other things.

Aside from that, Harrold has befriended quite a lot of the bugs in Hallownest. Hornet helping him in Greenpath, eventually leading to a friendship.

🔶Nirandel & Highreign:
Harrold would be sent to Nirandel to retrieve a relic weapon known as the ‘Soul Stealer’ for the Soul Successor’s research. Upon arriving, he would lose focus on the mission and become enamored by the Princess, Eralind.
Harrold would end up befriending her, and soon enough he was welcomed into the Kingdom and stayed with them for many months. To earn the sword, he would have to prove himself worthy.

After settling in to Nirandel, a familiar affair played out. The King and Queen being forced to send one of their daughters to marry their Prince- all the way in Highreign. With prior knowledge to this, Harrold insisted he join the journey, both worrying for Eralind’s safety, as well as wanting this to prove his worthiness for the sword.

His worries were answered, as he scouted ahead every step of the way- and there they were, the exact same bandits from all those years ago. This time managing to ambush the ambushers, they successfully made it to Highreign- while the actual captain who murdered Valleda escaped in the last moment.

Highreign is its own story though. Meeting their killer face to face, Emery, as well as the four kings, and other secrets to uncover.

🔶After Story:
Once Harrold became 30, he left for his own personal journey. He would explore many kingdoms and cities, meet many new bugs and friends, and possibly more of his own kind. As well, learn the truths of Sundrea and what lay below the sands.

Relationships:

🔸Valleda: Princess of Sundrea. She was his best friend, all the way up until her death. However, fate has been pulling some strings…

🔸Arid Vessel: A good friend to Harrold, despite the lack of speech. For a vessel, he had a lot of personality.

🔸Other Sundrean’s: Harrold’s Caretaker was the sweetest Spearbug you’ll ever meet. Her fate is unknown, but he wishes she somehow managed to escape. Harrold is actually quite close with the King and Queen also, though the Queen was more accepting of him.

🔸Kummi: This Grimm troupe bug’s entire goal is to ruin the whole ritual and free their species of this never-ending loop. She trusts Harrold, and he trusts her… to an extent. He cannot deny her alluring features though.

🔸Hornet: At first, she hated him, another outsider trending into her fallen Kingdom- But after a fateful encounter that left Harrold wounded, she took him to a safe spot and aided his recovery, chatting and bonding in the process. While she still stands resilient and stern, she finds some comfort by this warrior’s side.

🔸Grimm & the Troupe: Grimm dislikes Harrold immensely, since he’s working with Kummi to bring their tradition down. Though Harrold has no ill-will towards Grimm himself, and if anything becomes more fascinated in the circus acts themselves. Brumm and Divine are nicer to Harrold.

🔸Lemm: Harrold almost sees him as a father figure- or perhaps a grandfather. While Lemm is strict beyond all hell, Harrold has nothing but respect for him.

🔸Soul Successor: Intimidating, tall, opposing, Harrold is afraid of her a little, but as he grew and got to know her more, his mind eased, and he cherishes her deeply. She treated him like a tool but would eventually show a more caring side towards him, especially after they find a vessel and take them under her wing.

🔸Sylvana: No matter what world, we will always cross paths. Sylvana was once a waitress for a rather fancy establishment in the City of Tears but went wild after becoming addicted to Lifeblood. Harrold found her consuming a cocoon of it, taking her for another monster before they got to talking. She sticks to him like glue whenever he’s around. Harrold can’t help but enjoy it and tries to help her get out of her habits.

🔸Eralind: Oh, dear sweet Eralind, how she caught his attention with but a glance. He cherishes her more than anyone else, as she does with him. He feels like Eralind fills in a gap in his life.

🔸Nirandel Pallid Moths: One moth in particular tries to teach Harrold magic, but her teachings are overshadowed by her beauty and… assets. While Harrold’s first impressions were as such, he’s shown a lot more respect for her and the other moths.

🔸Other Nirandels: Eralind’s sister constantly teases Harrold for liking Eralind, which Harrold thinks its all-in good fun- there may be some hidden jealousy underlying her teasing though. Harrold also gets along well with the King and Queen, who are vastly different from the ones he knew. There’s a tighter sense of family.

🔸Emery: The assassin, the murderer, the troubles, and psychotic. She ruined his life and was close to ruining it again- yet after learning more about Harrold through Highreign, she opened up a little to him. They clashed, she lost to him again, and then in one last grand battle they teamed up to take on a larger threat. While Emery has done so much awful things in her life, Harrold sees the change and hope, and accepts her with warmth… even if she is still a little on the crazy side. Like Eralind, she would eventually enamor him and vice versa.

🔸Highreign Maiden/ Assassin: Once specific maiden who helped him more than anyone in Highreign, she is flirtatious, using her looks and status to get what she wants- though usually the intention is for good, such as overthrowing a tyrannical set of kings. Harrold respects her, even if she’s a little too into him sometimes.

🔸??? Spearbug: A mysterious Spearbug of a different sub-species. She lives in a forest of moss and rain with two adopted kids. A potential mate for Harrold, though the two definitely treat each other more as close friends.

🔸Tuuli: A dragonfly living in the same forest, she’s the female Spearbugs best friend. She uses her looks to her advantage. She is skilled in battle, and always fashionable. Constantly trying to get Harrold and her friend to get together.

Little facts:
🔸 Harrold is obsessed with honey, it’s his favourite food. After having his first taste in the City of Tears, he sought out the Hive to have more.
🔸 The Void arm event is much later in his story. The idea may be removed at some point, I’m not sure yet.
🔸 Harrold is technically in a polyamorous relationship with Emery and Eralind. They’re all very open about it and do engage with others outside the relationship too. Especially Harrold, as he is possible seeking to repopulate his Arid species. This may change though as well. But I think the idea is cute.
🔸 He can cook pretty well! Being a food lover, he’s learned to cook mostly by himself.

About the Spearbugs: Harrold here is specifically an Arid Spearbug, and in his kingdom, all Arid Spearbugs are tied to Sundrea’s royalty and traditions.
The strong, giant warriors. The diamond motif that carries through generations is a mark of nobility and stature. Royals may have multiple head gems instead of just one.
They are sworn to duty and to battle till their last breath, leading in many deaths, but also many victories.

Spearbugs get the name from the shape of their heads, with the horns pointing down and creating a spear or arrow like shape. A headbutt from a Spearbug can be fatal.

Arid Spearbugs are known for their physical strength and ‘brothers in arms’ mentality. They can often be compared to Vikings.
That being said, there are many other species of Spearbug out there in the world, with differing traditions and ways of life.

One thing to note, female Spearbugs are known as the stronger warriors, as well as naturally growing taller than the males.

The gender differences are as follows:

🔸 Females have horns that point almost straight down, while males are wider apart. However, the horns are slightly movable, and can be reshaped to better fit their identity.
🔸 Females can be born with an abdomen, a tail, or even wings. Many female Spearbugs cut these features off, but not everyone will. It may be more beneficial to keep or remove these features depending on the sub-species of spearbug.

Mating is difficult for Spearbugs however, as sometimes a pair is just completely incompatible. This can lead to Spearbugs finding multiple mates or trying a lot more often than normal. They seem to have more success with other Sub-species, rather than their own.

After 3 full years, Harrold's ref is here \ o /
Took a long time to do, mostly sorting out details, story bits and some design changes.