Harland Ashworth

This material does not merely adhere — it integrates. The original arm is almost entirely gone. I cannot determine whether what remains is still the same construct. I'm not sure that's even the right question. — from Harland's field notes

Overview

Harland Ashworth is Vivienne's grandfather — a scholar, magic user, and obsessive investigator of Caligo's deepest secret: that its great walls were built before the Ruined ever appeared. He has been missing for roughly 20 years, presumed dead. He never appears in person, but his hidden library beneath the Voss Estate — journals, sketches, star charts, and increasingly frantic field notes — drives the party's entire investigation.

What His Research Revealed

The walls predate the Ruined. Careful linguistic study of the high-elvish sigils carved into Kalanthar (the outermost wall) confirmed the wall stood before the first attack. The covenant is not a response — it is a preparation.
The king is a "Deceiver." Harland grew angry and distrustful in his final years, applying a telescope to everything — even household stonework — to verify it was real. He called the god-king Rimalath a Deceiver.
Calthar. Following a single constellation beyond the walls, he located a ruined advanced civilization he called Calthar (also heard as Kaelothar), holding preserved warforged frames fused with biological material.
The sealed level and the key. Calthar hides a sealed lower level requiring a specific artifact. Harland traced that key to the Crail estate in the Fold — collectors who had no idea what they were sitting on and refused to sell.
His last entry, ~20 years ago, records him leaving on a second journey to Calthar, meaning to retrieve the artifact later. He never returned.

The Sketches

Among his papers, EMBR found drawings of a warforged frame with a black-purplish chitin left arm threading through the skeleton and replacing it from within — unmistakably like EMBR's own "Lefty." What EMBR is, and who made him, may be answered by Harland's work.

Relationships

Vivienne Ashworth — Granddaughter. Following his trail.
Seraphine Voss — Old friend and benefactor; gave him the land and secrecy for his research.
House Ashworth — His family line.

Status

Missing ~20 years, presumed dead. May be found — or his remains found — in the wastelands or at Calthar itself.