Lord Harke

Lord Harke was a very talented and mighty general and warrior of the elves of Aranor, who later drove his people to the brink of total destruction and nearly won if don't stop his enemy Elwin. He is one of the villains in the Heroes of Might and Magic IV.

Background
Harke was born into the noble family of Avlee as a renegade elf. The Renegades were one of the Enroth species of the elves. They were a pure-blooded part of the Vori elves. They traveled to the land of Antagarich, most of them settled in Avlee. Harke showed talent and interest in military matters and strategies at a young age. Many have said that his fate will clearly be that he is recognized and he become a great leader of the Elves. Harke rescued many elves during the Reckoning and was celebrated as a national hero. He then joined the Forest Guard and became more and more aware of the complexity of the battles. Harke became a famous, respected and very influential elf in Aranor, and was supported by many.

Elwin and Sharea
Lord Harke was in love with a young fairy girl, Shaera, who, however, had a true love for a young Druid, Elwin. He followed her several times, even when her hawk saw her. The popular elf also invited his lover for dinner, which she gladly accepted. She didn't really want to make contact with other noble elves. However, once he saw the young couple kissing. Harken was fed up and decided to remove the young clown from near her. However, he thought he could win a much bigger victory than physical combat by shaming the Druid in front of the other elves. Utilizing his influence and sharp mind, he acted immediately.

The alliance
The Elves had long wanted an alliance with the white tigers. 3 envoys have been sent so far but they failed the mission. Harke recommended Elwin to be the next ambassador because he expected to be a coward for his task and, even if accepted, he would fail. Elwin accepted the assignment and had no choice. There was great applause and agreement behind Harke's suggestions. Elwin knew the military genius had great power, but he didn't realize it was that great. Elwin, however, successfully accomplished his task. But Harke didn't give up. Even better, but this time he came up with a cruel plan.

Treason
Elwin wanted to marry Shaera but her father, Gramin, didn't let it go and even hit the young druid. Harke immediately took the opportunity. Even though Lord Harke and Elwin loved the same girl, the boy spoke friendly with the elf general because he hated the loneliness he had. Harke admitted that Shaera did not fully love her. However, Elwin did not realize that Harke wanted to manipulate him slowly. He said he loves Shaera so much that he can let go of him just to make him happy. It turns out Elwin repeatedly wanted the legendary warlord to die. He had repeatedly imagined him dying. Elwin apologized to him and seemed relatively reconciled. But it was a trap, Harke was now fully influenced and deceived by Elwin, everything went according to plan. It turns out Harke was the only person Gramin fully trusted and told him that his greatest desire was to find the Elven King's bow he should have kept. Then Elwin made a serious mistake. He accepted Harke's help in finding the weapon. Elwin rode to the area where, in theory, Gramin had left the King of Elves. Accompanied by Harke's archers, and a rigid commander called Mirilass. They rode to a mountainous, wild, rugged land. Elwin looked at the place in confusion, but then Mirilass drew his sword and the archers aimed at the boy. Elwin realized that Lord Harke, who was believed to be a friend, had deceived him. Mirilass said he was ordered to cut the Druid's throat, but he didn't want to kill him himself. Elwin also realized that Harke had manipulated Gramin in the same way to hate him. Mirilass controlled this area and offered Elwin an opportunity. Live here. But if he tries to escape, the other elves will mercilessly kill him. But Elwin didn't care and decided to fight for his love and take revenge on the liar general. But Mirilass didn't lie. As soon as Elwin left the gorge, elves followed him and fenced him. But the white tigers attacked them and tore them apart. The tigers stood by and helped Elwin. He occupied a small town but then he got a message from a raven. It was an anonymous letter, probably written by his advisor Menathat. It was a matter of Lord Harke marrying Shaera, but she did not appear to be truly happy. It may be under magic or magic potion. Elwin was crushed and extremely angry at the same time. All he thought was to free his love and kill the evil Harke. He gathered an army of nature and with the white tigers occupied the fortresses and territories of Mirilass. He freed a female black dragon whose husband made the Mirror of True Love. With this artifact, Elwin can find out the truth.

Harke Manor
The young Druid could not capture Mirilass, who had fled to Harke's territories. But Harke has already taken action. He continued to spread lies and Elwin was declared a criminal in Aranor. In addition, Harke's own areas were protected by well-trained large numbers of garrisons. Meanwhile, the Council of Elders contacted Elwin to speak. The charges against Harke were very serious: attempted murder, treachery, manipulation, seduction of a woman by magic. However, Elwin had no proof. The boy was in a bad situation when it turned out that the Elven Court was providing military and financial support to the general.

Mirilass raid Elwin's army but was defeated and captured. Mirilass confessed important things. It was revealed at the start of Elwin's revenge that Harke had pre-written a letter with Mirilas to ask for help from Aranor. Because of the letter, Elwin was considered a criminal and Harke was promoted as the defender of the elves. He also smoothed out his sins with the help of Mirilass. Elwin has forgiven to the broken Mirilass, who had helped him and wrote another letter admitting that Harke had lied. The crimes have been revealed. Harke did not answer, but with his followers he had fled into the woods. A messenger from Aranor bring a message to Elwin. The Elven Court expresses its regret and, together with the people of Aranor, supports the cause of Elwin. Elwin managed to conquer Harke's territories,but in every city and fortress, he encountered severe resistance. This it also showed that the gifted warlord was prepared. But after that came the siege of one of the biggest battles, Harke Manor. Harke Manor was a huge castle with enormous, strong garrison. One of Harke's talented warlord defended the castle, perhaps a member of the Forest Guard. The siege of the castle was a huge battle with many dead, but eventually Elwin took over the enemy's capital. Harke left his castle a week ago for allegedly on a military mission. The traitorous general believed that Elwin was unable to occupy Harke Manor, so he left Shaera behind. He was wrong, Elwin freed Shaera from the magic with the Mirror of True Love. The artifact showed that she really loved the boy.

The rise and fall of a military genius
"This is over, Harke! Over!"

- Elwin to Harke after he was finally defeated After the lovers' union, Elwin was crowned king, but the celebration didn't last long. A civil war broke out in Aranor and Lord Harke amassed victory after victory. The situation for Aranor was very bad. In just three months, Harke conquered much of the country and completely destroyed all the armies sent against him.

Elwin and Gramin, however, could not develop a strategy against him. Lord Harke was an excellent military strategy and warrior. He was immediately able to take advantage of the enemy's weak points. In two different battles he was on the verge of defeat with his army, and later won a destructive victory over the enemy. It was no accident that he was a legendary and notorious warlord. Gramin was driven by revenge, but not only because of his daughter. He also suffered a humiliating defeat against Harke and lost his entire army and many of the members of the Forest Guard were loyal to him and joined him. Beastmasters, warlocks, elementals, dragons and giant locusts followed Harke's army. He also had a priestess using life magic and it is probable that her magic corrupted Shaera.

Elwin and Gramin gathered together and set off for their final battle. Harke wanted to win the final victory in an open battle so he set off with his entire army to crush Aranor's last hopes. The final battle initially did not favor either side, but the number of Harke's troops decreased. But the General still persevered, and his followers fought to the end, neither of them willing to run. The priestess fell in the battle, and the traitorous forest guard members died and fought for as long as they could. However, the losses of both Elwin and Gramin were enormous. Harke and Elwin had a duel and Harke eventually lost. After losing everything Elwin's elves and the white tigers got him right away, so he had no chance to escape. Elwin was very close to killing him, but he didn't break his word. He sentenced Harke to everlasting prison. Elwin then reigned as King of Aranor and married Shaera. Gramin suppressed Harke's remaining followers, and while there were still some who liked him, the civil war ended.

Personality
"„His eyes were dark, narrow with hatred and rage. Shaera and I weren't the only ones who had changed. Harke looked nothing like the man I remembered, the one who led many of our people (including me) to safety during the Reckoning.”"

- Elwin after finally defeated Harke. Initially, Harke was a true role model for Aranor's elves. They looked up to him as an excellent military leader and as a hero who rescued the elves during the Reckoning. He was seen as a friendly, respectful, intelligent and very charismatic person. After seeing Elwin, her true love for Shaera changed Harke's personality. More and more he began to manipulate others, often lied and spread false news, and began to abuse his power. Harke was very knowledgeable in manipulation and was a very smart and cunning person outside the military. He deceived Elwin, Gramin, seduced Shaera with magic.

Harke doesn't seem to really like losing or being disappointed. After his sins were revealed he fled into the woods, Mirilass also remarked that he no longer dared to face his former commander because he had not fulfilled his command.

Harke, however, had some aristocratic, noble character.

After losing his castle and the girl he loved, Aranor declared him a traitor, Harke had completely abandoned his former personality. He became a hateful, cruel, devastating, ruthless renegade tyrant. Even after Harke's final defeat, he enjoyed talking to Elwin about how much she enjoyed being Shaera's.

Skills
Harke showed great talent for the complexity of military strategies even at a young age. In Aranorn, he became the most brilliant and talented elven general ever. After his betrayal, he drove Aranor almost to the brink of destruction, shattering every army sent against him. Elwin and Gramin could barely suppress the revolution of the great general. Harke was also a very good archer and warrior. He didn't use magic at all, relying only on his own combat skills. Used a sniper crossbow with poisoned arrows. Harke also had magic resistance. Almost no damaging spell had affected him, only the helping spells. Harke carried an armor and shield that provide resistance to the creatures of nature. Harke was a very cunning, intelligent elf, great at guiding, deceiving, and rebelling others.

Images
 Elwin defeat Harke.jpg|Elwin had finally defeated Lord Harke.

Trivia

 * The bad ending of the game's campaign is that Elwin gets on the wrong ship, so Shaera thinks he's dead and wants to end her own life. Elwin then escapes into the wild and he throw away his crown. However, it does not turn out that Harke will still be in prison or that his followers will be freed when the opportunity arises and will eventually win.