Harold

Harold Hammer is a young dwarf who survives enslavement under vampires and embraces the revived faith of Steam as a route to freedom. He later becomes one of the Church of Steam's central priests in Rentato, carrying the community's belief from rebellion into settled urban life. (Chapters 378–461 and 689–790)

Biography

From captive labor to a community priest

Harold begins as an underage mine laborer too weak to carry ore easily but grateful not to have been selected as vampire food. When the dwarf elders revive the name of Steam, he prays for release from suffering and receives visions of machinery whose structures are laid open before the believers. Faith gives the captives a common language for resistance, but rebellion remains costly: even explosive bullets cannot reliably defeat middle-rank vampires, and rebuilding an ancient warship exceeds their knowledge. Harold's commitment therefore grows under material limits rather than instant deliverance. (Chapters 378–382 and 461)

After liberation and relocation, Harold serves the dwarf district in Rentato. He reports a supposed emissary from the Kingdom of Dwarfs, drawing the attention that exposes an infiltrator, and later receives divine-power reinforcement during a confrontation. By the winter observance in Chapter 790, he stands with Augustus, Myrna, and the central priests before the nuclear device they venerate as Steam's power. The former child laborer has become part of the leadership preserving identity and cohesion among displaced dwarves. (Chapters 689–693 and 790)

Appearance and personality

Harold is introduced as an underage dwarf with less strength than a full-grown laborer. He is enduring, devout, and responsive to communal authority, first accepting hard work to survive and later interrupting worship only when an outsider's arrival matters. His excitement under divine reinforcement shows courage, though the source does not distinguish belief-driven confidence from tactical judgment. (Chapters 378–381 and 689–693)

Faith and abilities

Harold participates in Steam rites and receives increases in strength through the community's divine power. The early visions reveal machines and their internal components, supporting the dwarves' technical religion and rebellion. The corpus does not specify Harold's exact divine circle, independent spell list, or whether later power persists without communal worship. (Chapters 379–382 and 693)