Harbos

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Harbos was originally a member of the Elemental School. After leaving it to establish the Forge School, he based the new school on his own high-order research in weapon forging, special materials, and elemental magic. This created an immediate educational problem: his available spells and techniques required knowledge far beyond the apprentice level, while the school lacked a practical low-level curriculum. 53

Before founding the school, Harbos was a prominent maker of magical equipment within the Elemental School. He discovered a mysterious forging technique in ancient ruins and developed his interpretation of it into the foundation of the Forge School. 531

While teaching Weapon Forging in the City of Apprentices, Harbos sought unusually gifted apprentices capable of understanding or helping develop foundational Forge School knowledge. He recognized Fran's concealed comprehension during his lecture and later discovered her exceptional mechanical aptitude when she used a steam-engine concept to cast Tool Enchantment. Her design inspired him to reconsider mechanical elemental conversion. 54 65

After Fran became a Formal Mage through her own mental power, Harbos explained the principal ways Alliance mages obtained advancement resources. He offered to recommend her to the Elemental School's Yobner Society, but she chose the cross-school Northern Lands Society instead. He subsequently entrusted her to his old friend Iris, whose society accommodated Fran's interest in spells from different schools. 126 187

Harbos's elemental-weapon research later earned him the Master of Elements Award. The award was granted for his paper The Forging of Elemental Weapons, rather than his more controversial work on Elemental Storm and the perpetual conversion of fire elements into wind elements. 263 281 532

His strained relationship with the Elemental School worsened because he chose not to publish his new research through its journals, despite having the standing to do so. Some Elemental School mages regarded this as a betrayal and became hostile toward him, making Fran's public association with him politically dangerous as well. 616

When Fran later disappeared from official records during an absence from the Territory Mage Working Group, Harbos organized an extensive search. The investigation ended when Iris contacted Fran through a special communication device, allowing Harbos to find her alive and accept her explanation that she had been researching temporal change residue. 650 696 697

Appearance

Harbos appears considerably younger than Elan expected, with a mature face but no visible signs of age. 52

• At his first lecture, wears violet mage robes with decorative patterns, intricate seams, and a red sword embroidered on the left sleeve. Three large red gemstone rings adorn his left hand. 52
• Often wears black clothing. 531
• Has worn red gemstone rings on his right hand. 531
• Carries himself with the composure and authority expected of a Fourth Order Mage. 63

Personality

Harbos values talent, creativity, and practical understanding more than institutional connections or large numbers of recruits. He rejected Elan's offer of priority access to Cuilan Academy students after identifying Fran as a more valuable prospect. 54

As a teacher, he is patient with Fran's questions and willing to repeatedly explain his own experiences, even when he cannot fully articulate the principles behind his Energy-Forging Method. 532 533 541 He is also protective of his disciple, bringing her along as his assistant during dangerous Alliance assignments rather than allowing her to remain exposed. 533 534

His usual teaching approach emphasizes independent practice after a student has learned the basics, following his own experience in the Elemental School. Before Fran's First Order advancement, he left her to develop her spell and textbook rather than interrupt her work with instruction she could not yet apply. 125

Harbos is politically cautious. He refuses to return to the Elemental School for a lecture because he believes doing so could invite an assassination attempt, and he conceals Fran's activities from Arthur and Aolain. 611 Later, he plans to approach Fran through a Law School working group rather than visit her openly, fearing that his presence would expose her identity. 650

Fran's independent achievements make Harbos proud but leave him regretting how little guidance he has contributed to some of her work. When he learns that she has left White Dragon Port supposedly at her mentor's request—a request he never made—he becomes concerned that someone may have lured her away and sets out to find her. 610 611 650

His concern for Fran can override his normal caution. During her disappearance, he sent stern demands to every Elemental School seat holder, sought twenty Third Order Investigators, and requested astrological divination. He refused to abandon the search, resolving that even if she had died, he would find whoever killed her. After locating her, he acknowledged that some of his actions had been irrational and prioritized her safety over resolving the inconsistencies in her explanation. 696 697

Abilities & Skills

Weapon Forging and Enchantment

Harbos is a master weaponsmith whose research focuses on improving weapon power through material processing, forging techniques, inscriptions, and spell support.

• Teaches advanced staff-forging methods that optimize a staff's performance beyond ordinary inscription and gem-setting practices. 301
• Created the Rite of Weapon Forging, which strengthens a newly forged weapon using the caster's mental power and supporting materials. 301
• The rite can give a weapon elemental-weapon-like properties, allowing a user with elemental affinity to channel elements through it in battle. 301
• His rite does not accommodate conventional rune-based reinforcement methods. 301
• Created First Order support spells for enhancing equipment, including Tool Overload. 147 150
• Can construct specialized staffs with concealed effects in addition to conventional spell amplification. 611 615
• Can inscribe powerful spells onto rings with safeguards for their users, as demonstrated by the Blood of the Furnace ring he gives Fran. 67 68
• Normally accepts custom commissions rather than releasing finished weapons onto the open market; the Alliance therefore conceals his authorship when placing a specially forged staff in its target's path. 611

Elemental Weapons and Energy-Forging Method

Harbos pioneered an unconventional forging method that shapes energy bodies—particularly elemental energy—into weapons.

• Can directly gather and manipulate fire elements with his physical hand before applying mental power and forging motions to shape them. 532
• Demonstrated the method by forging fire elements into a dagger-sized crimson elemental weapon. 532
• His own elemental weapons use extracted, purified, and modified elements, giving them far greater quality than Fran's early attempts. 542
• The technique is exceptionally difficult to reproduce; colleagues who attempted to advance through it all failed to master it. 532
• Harbos himself cannot fully explain how the method is learned or why it works for him. 533
• Experimented with forging the temporary liquid produced by Blood of the Furnace into a weapon that could melt an opponent's flesh and equipment and dissolve certain spells. Unlike his elemental weapons, it eventually dissolved; later versions lasted at most a month. 541
• Fran eventually forged an elemental saber described as more powerful than a weapon made through Harbos's own elemental forging could be. 616
• Initially believed the method was almost exclusively suited to elemental weapons because it failed on ordinary metals and magical-creature materials. Fran later explained that practitioners could forge only the energy they had personally mastered, rather than necessarily reproducing his elemental weapons. 532 541
• Has used an alchemical recording tool to study footage of his own forging, recognizing a similar absorbed state when Fran first successfully practices the technique. 541

Elemental Conversion Research

Fran's steam-engine design gave Harbos a new approach to elemental conversion: mechanically converting fire-element energy into usable power and then, with spell support, into other elements. 65

• Published research on the perpetual conversion of fire elements into wind elements. 263 267
• Developed insights toward modifying the legendary spell Elemental Storm. 281 532
• Created Hand of the Furnace, a Second Order production spell for assisting weapon forging. 267
• Created the Second Order spell Elemental Radiance, which is not classified as an Elemental School spell despite its close relationship to elemental magic. It converts nearby elements to strengthen the caster's elemental spells and weaken opposing spells; Harbos retains the right to teach it freely, and Elemental School mages have also exchanged for it. 267 442
• Learned Elemental Conversion at Second Order and applied it to spell creation. 267
• His modifications to Elemental Storm were recognized as a major research achievement, but altering one aspect of the legendary spell was insufficient to make the entire spell castable. 281

Promotion Methods and Instruction

Harbos develops advancement paths for the Forge School despite its lack of established lower-order knowledge.

• Explained the traditional Formal Mage promotion requirements: surpassing a mental-power threshold, creating or modifying a spell, and demonstrating spell proficiency. 70
• Adapted the Forge School's First Order method by substituting machinery knowledge for the mental-power requirement and requiring a spell based on the Steam Engine. 70
• Provided Fran with the Forge School's Third Order Promotion Method, founded on his lost forging method and elemental weapons. 531 532
• Demonstrated the Energy-Forging Method to Fran and continued recounting his practical experience until she was able to begin using it herself. 532 533 541
• The Third Order method corresponds to the lost Hammer Wielder profession: the candidate must possess a Forge School mage rank, master the lost forging method, combine it with their own knowledge to forge a personal category of weapon, and produce a weapon capable of harming a Third Order professional. 531
• Asked Fran to supplement the knowledge of apprentices approaching Formal Mage advancement because he could not confirm that her existing textbook contained everything needed to reproduce her success. 349

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Elemental weapon — An irregular, luminous blue spear-like weapon that emits endless arcs of electricity. 531
• Blood of the Furnace Spell Ring — One of Harbos's masterpieces, given to Fran upon her entry into the Forge School; it contains the powerful Blood of the Furnace spell. 65 66 68
• Specially commissioned staff — A staff forged for an Alliance operation to capture a suspected Spirit Realm Mage alive; it amplifies spells and possesses additional concealed effects. 611
• Council communication device — An Alliance-issued device through which Harbos can request intervention from the Battle Mage Corps. 650 Official Alliance communication devices cannot be used for teaching. After finding Fran, he promises to apply for an Alliance Communication Device for her and tells her to continue carrying Iris's separate device, which includes a daily verification function. 696 697
• Private workshop — A workshop in the City of Apprentices commissioned from the Construct School. It houses large experimental machines and substantial stocks of metal materials. 125

Relationships

• Fran — Disciple and recognized mechanical genius. Harbos recruited her into the Forge School, taught her Tool Enchantment and the Energy-Forging Method, and remains protective of her despite frustration that her greatest achievements often occur independently of his guidance. 65 66 533 611 After learning she has unexpectedly left White Dragon Port, he decides to search for her. 650 He mobilizes investigators and astrological contacts before locating her through Iris's communication device. He accepts her temporal-change-residue research explanation without pursuing every discrepancy, promises to obtain a communication device for her, and offers a recommendation for a Lohan Archipelago posting away from the front lines after her working group's assessment. 696 697 He later remains in White Dragon Port and offers further help. 710
• Elan — Negotiating partner and Cuilan Academy headmaster. Elan attempted to secure Harbos's support by offering priority access to academy students, but Harbos favored Fran's individual talent over the proposal. 54 69 Harbos later entrusted Fran with passing one of his First Order spells to Elan, which Elan interpreted as a sign of genuine trust. 129
• Iris — Old friend and president of the Northern Lands Society. Harbos entrusted Fran to Iris's care and worked alongside her amid the political fallout from his research. 187 281 During Fran's disappearance, he repeatedly tried to contact Iris; once reached, she used the Battle Mage Corps communication device she had given Fran to establish contact and end the search. 696
• Arthur Carter — Elemental School Fifth Seat who seeks to restore Harbos's ties to the Elemental School; Harbos remains wary of Arthur's political motives. 610 611 They collaborate on a covert operation to capture David, though the Command Council restricts Harbos to Crescent Bay until it concludes. 611 615 621
• Aolain — Arthur's disciple. Harbos discusses Aolain's potential Fourth Order advancement with him but refuses to expose Fran's identity or research activities. 611
• David — Third Order Battle Mage suspected by the Command Council of secretly being a Spirit Realm Mage. Harbos helps arrange a replacement-staff trap intended to facilitate David's capture. 615 621
• Elemental School seat holders — Harbos retains contacts within his former school despite political hostility. Suspecting its mages of involvement in Fran's disappearance, he sends stern letters demanding answers from every seat holder. After finding Fran, he recognizes the awkwardness of having accused people who had done nothing; some hostile seat holders have still not replied. 696 697

Story Role / Major Arcs

• Forge School recruitment — Arrives in the City of Apprentices to personally teach Weapon Forging and recruit talented apprentices for his newly founded school. 52 53
• Discovery of Fran — Identifies Fran as the only apprentice who truly grasped his lessons, then recruits her after witnessing her steam-engine-based Tool Enchantment. 54 65 66
• Forge School development — Uses Fran's mechanical knowledge and advancement work to build the school’s low-level curriculum and promotion path. 69 349
• Elemental recognition — Receives the Master of Elements Award for elemental weapon forging while continuing research and teaching rather than openly lobbying for the honor. 263 281
• Third Order instruction — Gives Fran his Third Order Promotion Method and personally teaches her the Energy-Forging Method. 531 533 His repeated accounts of his forging experiments eventually help her begin practicing it. 541
• Alliance operations — Takes Fran as his assistant for a Fourth Order assignment and later forges a covertly commissioned staff intended for the capture of a suspected Spirit Realm Mage. 533 535 611
• David capture operation — Works with Arthur to prepare replacement staff options after David's original staff is destroyed. David selects the anticipated staff, and Harbos remains restricted to Crescent Bay until the operation is completed. 615 621 627
• Search for Fran — After the operation, seeks credentials to contact Fran discreetly through a Law School working group in White Dragon Port. Learning that she has already departed under an unexplained claim of following her mentor's request, he decides to look for her. 650 He sends demands to the Elemental School's seat holders and applies for twenty Third Order Investigators, but the investigation finds no useful trail at Number Nine Floating City's airship port. A Fourth Order astrologer cannot complete a divination after losing his connection to the stars, while a Third Order astrologer obtains the contradictory result that Fran is both aboard an Alliance Floating City and outside Alliance territory. 696
• Reunion and future posting — Iris reaches Fran through her special communication device, and Harbos meets her at Forrest's abandoned rental house. Fran has staged a makeshift temporal-change-residue research setup to explain her absence. Although skeptical of the equipment, Harbos stops questioning her once satisfied that she is safe, promises to obtain a communication device, and agrees to recommend her for a non-frontline posting in the Lohan Archipelago after she completes the working group's assessment. He then leaves to deal with the resources mobilized for the search. 696 697
• Floating City emergency — Plans to bring Fran back to Crescent Bay, but an emergency alarm strands them on Number Nine Floating City. As an Alliance Council member, he is summoned to meetings and subsequently brings Fran definite news. 708
• Return to White Dragon Port — Explains that Number Three Floating City was sabotaged and that the Astrology School's prophecy of a Floating City's fall has come true, while other prophecies remain confidential. With the Alliance preparing to attack the Lohan Archipelago within a month, he accompanies Fran back to White Dragon Port and says he will remain there to help if needed as her working group approaches its final assessment. 710

Trivia

• Harbos's initial Forge School lessons were so advanced that even Elan, already a Formal Mage, could not understand them. 53
• He considers mechanics outside his original specialty and has used spells to forcibly keep his experimental machinery running when its mechanisms failed. 65 125
• Although he founded the Forge School, he was unable to explain the Energy-Forging Method in a way that allowed other mages to replicate his success. 532 533 Fran later became his first successful student of the technique. 541
• Fran's success after hearing his account repeatedly briefly led him to wonder whether the forging method had to be explained more than ten times before a student could master it, despite his own doubts about that explanation. 541
• He does not usually follow the Champion Mage competition. While searching for Fran, he reads about the disappearance of Number Three Floating City's champion and wonders whether an outside force is targeting young mages associated with the Elemental School, without realizing Fran's connection to the competition. 696