Goliath Blood Sorcereress - Harmara

One of the few Colossals on Tharador not to be born in the bitter Frozen Wastes of Oldavor. Harmara is also one of the few hemomancers to exist out the bounds of Oldavor, the practice of blood magic being forbidden alongside necromancy in almost all kingdoms of Tharador. Still, it has served the University of Ardris well over the years, who keeps the source of her magics a secret from Belfrie’s crown.

As many Colossals in Tharador are attacked on sight in the northern kingdoms that border Oldavor, those that exist beyond their homeland’s icy bounds do so in the southern and central kingdoms. It was here, in the kingdom of Belfrie that the young Harmara was raised, in the city of Edgar, nestled upon lake Ere and at the bosom of the Reinol Mountains. Her father was a mercenary in the WEHL who had settled after meeting another Colossal who had escaped Oldavor. A young wisewoman who had escaped the icy plains of their homeland, and used her magic and alchemical knowledge to treat the maladies of the people in Edgar. She had brewed him a potion of Mammoth Giant Strength before he went into battle, unsure if the potion was too strong and may even kill the warrior.

But he returned, and when his battle with a great foe was done, he fell for the wisewoman and settled, starting a family with her. Harmara was the firstborn, with two younger brothers after her. Harmara was largely ignored by her father during childhood, who focused on bringing up his twin sons and leaving his daughter for his wife. It was from this that Harmara learnt the truth of her mother. Her age was not the thirty winters as she was told, but closer to two hundred. For wisewomen in Oldavor were hemomancers, and prolonged their lives to hundreds of years using blood magic.

So Harmara was raised as a blood mage like her mother, mastering the craft by the age of fifteen. Though the townsfolk of Edgar were unaware of her power’s nature, they thought her to be incredibly gifted. Often the folk would donate blood to Harmara’s family in tonics and cures, told it was a requirement for the brew. While not exactly a lie, they took more than their fair share to do so, using it instead to bolster their magics. The secret was tightly kept within the family, until Harmara received a summons from the University of Ardris on her sixteenth birthday. Though her attendance was not compulsory, her mother thought it would arouse suspicion if she were to refuse, and could perhaps give her a chance to hone her craft.

On her arrival and interview with Headmaster Barandir the Lucid, he admitted he knew the origin of her and her mother’s powers, for he was often in Edgar as his private wizard’s tower was atop a mountain nearby. When he travelled into town he would feel the surge of their powers, but he did not wish to hand them in to Belfrie’s Crown and see good people put to the sword for age old superstitions. Instead, Barandir wished for Harmara to learn about the Breath in a controlled setting, and become a subject for his own research as well, wishing to witness how blood truly interacted with the Breath in a way that it can be used as a source of magic. So Harmara, feeling little choice, complied.

Despite her initial anxieties, her fears were allayed. Barandir and the staff of Ardris proved to be powerful mentors, and she in turn realised the true power that lay within her and her ability to harness blood magic. Her and Barandir’s hopes are both that one day they might present themselves to King Trendium and his court, arguing that blood magic is more destructive or harmful than other magics commonly used across the realm.