Walk the Verse - Harvi

Harvi was born in 2482 and grew up in a small ranching community on Shadow as the eldest of three children; her father was the local Shepherd and traveled around the nearby communities to offer spiritual aid to the local farmers. As the eldest, Harvi often accompanied him on these journeys to tend the horses whist her father worked, and she soon became entranced by the concept of religion, feeling a strong moral connection with God. At the age of 17 she joined a local church and began her training as a Shepherd.

When war broke out, Harvi was assigned to a missionary outpost on a nearby moon under Alliance control; she ministered to refugees from Independent colonies whose garrisons had fled, retreated or were wiped out. Although she heard countless tales of brutality and loss, Harvi's faith held strong as she prayed to God to help stop their suffering. In 2508, she learnt that her father had been shot ministering last rites to a soldier on the battlefield.

In 2509 (aged 27), Harvi boarded a transport ship relocating the elderly and very young refugees from the moon; intelligence warned that Independent ships passing nearby were to be intercepted by Alliance forces and as a result the moon could be under threat. During its journey, the transport was approached by a crippled Independent vessel, leaking fuel and in desperate need of assistance. The Alliance opened fire, obliterating both ships and killing over 90% of the passengers; later, the Alliance would claim that they had assumed there had been a mutiny aboard the ship and that the refugees were attempting to flee and rendezvous with the Independent forces.

Harvi was amongst the survivors saved from the wreckage days later by an Independent ship. It was here she met Nelias who helped tend to her injuries. Devastated by the pointless slaughter of so many innocent people and furious at God’s callous inability to stop the tragedy, she enlisted in the Independent army and set off to wreak revenge on those she deemed responsible for the massacre. She notably survived the Siege of Du-Khang in 2510.

After the war, Harvi settled on Ezra, bought a small herd of cattle and tried to regain a normal life. Although she attempts to remain as inconspicuous as possible, Harvi remains loyal to the Independent cause and occasionally holds smuggled goods beneath her cattle shed to hide them from passing Alliance forces. She enjoys gambling in town and has a few friends, but generally keeps herself to herself. Harvi is approx. 5’7 tall and fairly muscular from wrangling cattle. She has thick auburn hair than she habitually covers with a headscarf, and wears comfortable, functional clothes: an oversized man’s shirt, waistcoat, leather trousers and boots. She has burn marks on her neck and arms, and often wears fingerless gloves in order to hide some of the scars on her hands. She usually carries a knife strapped to her thigh. She has no accent (as I can’t do any) but people hearing her speak will guess that she has probably had a formal education.