Harod "Hal" dan Brock is an honest and hard-working Colonel on Lord Governor Meed’s staff. He's also the son of disgraced Lord Brock, who was stripped of all his lands and titles for his treason during Last Argument of Kings.
Appearance and Personality[]
Hal is young, handsome, brave, and loyal to a fault, but innocent and even his wife thinks he’s ever so slightly stupid. He is dominated somewhat by his cunning and venomously ambitious wife, Finree dan Brock. He is well-liked, in spite of his father's disgrace, and works hard, knowing that he has to work twice as hard as anyone else because of his father.
History[]
He married Finree dan Brock, the daughter of Lord Marshal Kroy. The two are very much in love, despite the fact that they are very different; he is a naive optimist and she a devious cynic.
The Heroes[]
Hal is on Lord Governor Meed’s staff, charged with capturing the town of Osrung. He is often frustrated at his wife’s baiting of Meed; though Meed is somewhat incompetent, Hal just wants to make the best of it. Behind his back Finree plots to advance his position with her father, and later with Bayaz.
After Finree is taken captive by the Northmen, and eventually released with a peace proposal, the two have an emotional reunion.
On the third day of the battle, Hal is put in charge of the assault on Osrung. It ends in slaughter when the Gurkish agent Ishri uses gunpowder on the Union forces. Finree rushes to Osrung, fearing for Hal, and eventually finds him in the rubble; hurt but alive.
In the end, Finree tells him that he has been named the new Lord Governor of Angland, through her meddling.
The Age of Madness[]
Harod died three years before the novel begins, with Finree becoming acting Lord Governess. Their son, Leo Dan Brock, remembers that in his final days, Harod was incoherent from his medicines, mumbling and drooling. Despite this, he is remembered fondly by his son, as an example of a good warrior.