Every great story needs a villain—or at least someone who believes they’re the hero of their own tale. In The Last Patriot, that role belongs to General Harland, a man whose obsession with power takes him far beyond the battlefield.
Harland begins as a British officer, commanding with authority, discipline, and an iron will. But unlike the other generals of the Revolution, Harland isn’t just fighting for crown and country—he’s chasing something deeper. Whispers of immortality. Secrets hidden in blood and shadow. The Eye and the Veil are more than rumors to him—they are his weapons.
What makes Harland dangerous isn’t just his army, or his rank, or even his cunning. It’s his belief that war is the truest language of men—and that through it, he can unlock something greater than kings or empires. To him, the Hollowing isn’t a curse… it’s an opportunity.
Harland represents what happens when ambition turns into hunger—when a man would sacrifice not just his enemies, but his own humanity, for the sake of control.
He’s the mirror opposite of Elias Mercer: where Elias is reluctant, Harland is relentless. Where Elias questions his choices, Harland never doubts. And where Elias is haunted by the dead, Harland seeks to command them.
But there’s something we can all learn from General Harland. His hunger for power, his willingness to compromise, his blindness to consequence—these aren’t just traits of a villain. They’re human. We all carry ambition, pride, and the temptation to take shortcuts to get what we want. Harland is what happens when those desires are left unchecked. The difference is in the choices we make. We can either let that hunger consume us, or we can recognize it—and rise above it.
One thing is certain: when Harland steps onto the page, the air shifts. Because when a man believes destiny is his to control, what won’t he do to claim it?
✨ Stay tuned for the next character spotlight in this series, where we’ll dive into another figure from The Last Patriot and uncover the choices that shaped their path.