Harith Gardener was the last King of the Grasslands from 295 to 300 SM and the first Lord Protector of the Grasslands from 300 until 339, when he fell and broke his hip.
History
Harith Gardener was born in Griffon's Den during the two hundred and seventy-ninth year after the Secession of Man. He was King Tamman Gardener and Queen Milena Charm's youngest son of thirteen children. He was closest to his siblings: Aquila, Ayah, Remak, Philae, Thato, and Coltilda.
The Destined Knight’s Childhood
After Harith was born, the Representatives decided it was his destiny to become a knight. However, Harith hated violence. In 285, King Tamman had a vision, believing that the gods wanted him to continue King Alawi’s economic growth. He sent his five eldest children throughout the Grasslands to create connections and build the economy, focusing on trade and agriculture. Only Princess Aquila and his five youngest were forced to stay in Griffon’s Den. This angered Harith, who was extremely close to his older sister, Ayah, who had been responsible for caring for Harith since he was an infant. The two continued to write letters to one another.
In 287 SM, Harith became Princess Aquila's squire and traveled up Lion’s Peak to assist her in completing the Trial of Man. Aquila quickly climbed the mountain and finished the Trial, impressing and inspiring Harith. An avalanche tumbled during their descent, wiping out the small party. When a search crew arrived a few days later, Harith was the only person they could find. Harith suffered terrible frostbite on his fingers and ears while his entire body had stiffened from the freeze. As he recovered, he grew close with his sisters, Philae and Coltilda.
When Harith recovered in 289 SM, he refused to become a knight. Instead, he learned how to trade, hoping his father would send him to Dryton, where his sister Ayah stayed. During this time, Harith experienced happiness, but it all ended after the Great Floods of 294 SM. The floods devastated Mystos’ eastern landscape, leveling entire cities and killing millions. Ayah, Cyobie, and Jazan perished from the floods. Harith fell into a deep depression after learning of Ayah's death.
Becoming King
After the floods came the Grasslandi Famine. The famine devastated the Grasslands and wiped out House Gardener, leaving Queen Milena and her two youngest children, Clotilda and Harith, by 297 SM. The Representatives determined that the crown would go to Harith and that all food would be given to him to keep him alive. Harith secretly gave food to his mother and sister. When the authorities found out, they locked Milena and Clotilda away, and they died a few days later, leaving only Harith. A week after, Harith Gardener was crowned King of the Grasslands. Only a moon later, Harith was forced to marry recently widowed Lady Helvis Brute of Dryton, a woman twice Harith’s age. A Savant watched the consummation to ensure House Gardener’s name would live on. Throughout the rest of the year, Helvis commanded Harith to bed her, and each time, a Savant watched, hoping they would conceive. Helvis could only conceive, never bringing a child to term. This humiliated Harith, and he began to resent his wife and the Representatives.
In 298 SM, Harith contacted the Snowlands and requested their assistance with the famine. The Snowlands accepted, and Harith agreed to an additional alliance with the Forestlands. In 300 SM, the Five Great Lands of Mystos changed their ruling title from King of the Grasslands to Lord Protector of the Grasslands.
At the gathering, Kabralin Wayward realized that the Grasslandi agriculture that the Great Flood destroyed could survive in the Mountain Realm. The two houses agreed that the Grasslands would send farmers to the Mountain Realm to start an agricultural economy along with the other mountain people. In return, the Mountain Realm would send thirty percent of the harvest for free for fifteen years. After that, the Grasslands would have to pay. Harith agreed, ending the Grasslandi Famine. The five kingdoms solidified their alliance, creating the Five Great Lands.
Harith, the Lord of Debtors
After the five Lord Protectors left Lismure, a deadly fire ravaged the city, and the Establishments blamed the Lord Protectors for the destruction. Harith was the only Lord Protector to answer Lismure's calls for help.
As the years passed, more people grew closer to Harith, taking advantage of him. One such person was Lucae - a conniving, rude woman of unknown origin. No one knows where the two met, but by 305 SM, she was constantly seen with the Lord Protector. With Lucae in his life, Harith’s demeanor changed into hers. Lucae was a luxurious woman, demanding clothing and jewels of the highest quality, and Harith never denied her. In 307, Harith divorced Helvis and married Lucae, all on the same day.
From 309 to 315 SM, Harith and Lucae traveled throughout the Grasslands to learn more about the people. Returning to Griffon’s Den, they presented their three-year-old son, Joshmir. In 330, House Gardener’s vaults were empty from Lucae’s extravagant spending. By the time the news spread to the Representatives, Lucae was gone. Abandoned by his wife brought Harith clarity and anger. He realized his mind had been altered to obey Lucae, and now, because of her, House Gardener was in debt, and he wanted revenge. He had Quiver's Pit look for the woman he renamed the White Witch after her hair color but suspended the mission in 335 when she still wasn’t found. In 336, Harith turned his attention to his son, Joshmir, and began to mold him into the next Lord Protector. Harith stopped being the Lord Protector in 339 SM after a fall broke his hip.
A Ruling Grandfather to His Death
In 346 SM, a disgruntled farmer traveled to Griffon’s Den to complain about losing his land to immigrants after the Gifting Immigration Law was passed in 342. The castle, however, wasn’t accepting visitors. Upset, the farmer roamed the city until he accidentally ran into Joshmir, who was examining a new shopping center. The farmer rushed to Joshmir and fatally stabbed him. His wife, Elphabe Osmont, and their young children were vulnerable, but the Quivers, who felt responsible for Joshmir’s death, protected them at all times. Harith Gardener assisted Elphabe in raising his grandchildren until he died in 351.
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