#I once started writing an essay on the queer themes of Harlow but we won't get into that rn

[the-halfling-prince]

Abe please gimme Harlow lore (I’ve seen snippets and am Intrigued)

The Harlow fans are getting FED tonight. (Idk how many of those there are, but there's at least you)

So just so y'all know I've got the basics of the series all planned out, but ive only got the first book written (draft 2 is almost finished). A lot of things I say here may contradict with things ive said in the past or will contradict with things I say in the future. Anyway let's go.

The main setting of the books is The Alavenik Archipelago, a small group of islands who's culture is inspired by (but not super directly) Norse (and a little Celtic) aesthetics. Of course most of the stories take place in the main character, Harlow's, home island of Drakenvel (the southernmost island in the archipelago.) The other islands are called Njotidan, Yfgusti, Krowethia, Nihdrikah, and The UnNamed Island. The islands are home to mostly humans, deer, birds, fox, rabbits, wolves, and oh yeah dragons. There's dragons in my Nordic inspired fantasy books don't look into that too much. (I'm a huge fan of httyd and skyrim what can I say?) The culture around how the Alavenikians treat dragons is basically just they avoid them like the plague. The dragons have human intelligence but they don't speak the same language. Our main character, luckily, is autism and thinks it's weird to not try and befriend the creature of equal intelligence that live in their home. This obviously gets her into trouble.

Drakenvel Island is very small. It's got cliffs all along the western shore, and forests covering most of the island (minus where the village is). The archipelago's islands trade with eachother regularly, and the Drakenvellians have mostly livestock and crops to offer. Their land is good for farming, with the main farm being owned by the Freyrson family (Wintergrow Freyrson is the head farmer. She's not super important to the story but her oldest kid is, just wait).

Another important thing to note about Drakenvel is that epithets are important to them. Almost all of the Drakenvellians go by an epithet/nickname of some sort. It can change later in life but typically it doesn't. The exception to this is the chief and his heir, who go by their real names (aka Harlow and her dad. I didn't bother giving him a name tho ngl). Like Harlow's best friend Tiger, who's real name is Björn. Or his dad, Inkwell, who's real name is also Björn. (Also until very recently in Drakenvel history, all the families had patriarchal last names. But slowly they've been transitioning to just having last names. Some of them have previous family members' epithets as last names, such as the Stormrages and Crowthornes, and some of them kept the patriarchal last name they had when making the change, for example the Freyrsons. Inkwell and Tiger's family hadn't made that change yet, but they basically decided they were going to stick with Björnson, since the past three generations have had that name. Hence Tiger's unfortunate full name being Björn Björnson the Second)

The chief is in charge of the village, but there is a council. This council consists of: Chief Stormrage, Wintergrow Freyrson, Inkwell Björnson (who owns the library), Halvor (the children's training leader, more on that later), Spiderweb and Bloodfell Crowthorne (more on them later. Hate them, tho.), and of course, Harlow. (Cause why wouldnt you have a 12 year old on your council.)

Real quick wanna mention Harlow and Tiger's mothers, Harlow's mother (who doesn't have a name yet I'm working on it) and Bullseye Björnson where adventurers who went missing when Harlow was four and Tiger was two. Harlow was basically raised by her mother's mother, and Tiger was raised by Inkwell (who is the best dad ever btw take notes y'all I love him)

Now I mentioned earlier that the kids have training. So on that: Drakenvel is a mostly peaceful village. But after Halvor first showed up from Yfgusti (a not very peaceful village), he suggested that they start a training program for the youth to learn to fight in the odd chance that they do go to war, just like they had on Yfgusti. The chief wasn't sure, but his wife thought it was a good idea so he agreed to it. From ages 10-18 the kids train in swordfighting, archery, wilderness survival, hunting, etc. They do that a few times a week. Harlow is great at it. Tiger is not. It makes for fun dynamics idk

Okay okay enough of Harlow and Tiger (never) what of the other kids? So glad you asked! There's four other kids in training. Catface Freyrson, Darkwind and Burnchaser Fjordson, and of course, my boy, my main man, the motherfucker himself: Careless Crowthorne. Careless is constantly described as an expert archer. I really like archery so I talk about him and his archery a LOT in the books ngl. Careless and Cateface have a history similar to Harlow and Tiger, extremely loyal childhood best friends, but as circumstances changed Careless and he became a jerk, that rubbed off on Catface (and Darkwind and Burnchaser) and in the words of Catface himself, they "became less friends and more 'the bully and kids who followed because they didn't want to be a victim'". Unfortunately, even after Careless had his half-assed redemption (it gets better in later books but his initial redemption was so bad even Harlow talks about it, he really just wanted to clear his own conscious) the rest of the boys we're still assholes.

Holy shit this is getting long

oh btw Harlow's dad doesn't like Tiger. This bitch has beef with a 10 year old fuck OFF i hate him.

Wait, hold on, aren't there some more important main characters in this... Hmmm... I talk about this all the time who am I forgetting... ah yes.

Daliah. (And another I'll get to next just wait, Cloudstorm fans)

Daliah of Krowethia. A mysterious girl who just showed up on Drakenvel one day. She's secretive, but doesn't really try to be. She just never talks about herself, and everyone else assumes she doesn't want to talk about her past. Anyway, they find out later she mysteriously showed up on the docks of Krowethia as a child, not remembering anything, and being taken in by the owner of a boarding house, a woman named Meilani. More of her another day. But Daliah had an urge to see the rest of the archipelago, and taught herself how to sail, and survival skills, and she went island to island, enjoying the landscapes (and avoiding dragons, which she was deathly afraid of)

Oh yeah there's one more member of their little gang. Another outsider from another land. A little dragon, an Amber-Winged Wyvern by the name of Cloudstorm. Harlow is obsessed with Amber-Winged Wyverns. In the same way someone who will never see their favorite animal IRL would be. Seeing an artic dwelling dragon is an unattainable dream for poor Harlow (me too girlie when do I get to see a caribou just out in the wild. Except her seeing an animal native to the artic is more likely than me seeing a Caribou so damn I guess.) She's only seen illustrations. But yeah then she finds on on her island???? The fuck??? (When will a Caribou show up in the Southern USA come on man. Sorry I got distracted. Anyway.) She talks to the dragon (because of fuckin course she does) and desperately wants to befriend him. Cloudstorm wants nothing to do with this weird kid. The rest of the gang wants nothing to do with this dragon.

More dragons come into the story later, but the first book is very much about the main group becoming, well, a group.

Also the dynamics between Harlow and the other main characters are so fun to me. Harlow and Careless and both headstrong leader types, but Harlow more boisterous, and Careless is more idk menacing is the only word I can think of. Harlow and Daliah are both adventure seekers, but Daliah is a play it safe survivalist, and Harlow is way more spontaneous. Then Harlow and Tiger are almost complete opposites. With Harlow being the boisterous, headstrong, adventurous, spontaneous leader, Tiger is a shy, weak, careful pushover and follower. Yet they're somehow best friends. Harlow and Cloudstorm are basically the same which makes their dynamic so funny. He treats her like she treats her own authority figures. (Not that Harlow is Cloudstorm's authority figure that was just the comparison I had)

idk if I have anything else to add RN but I'm willing to answer any about specific things