Benjamin Harker

Arthur Harker (Brother)

Cordelia Harker (Sister)

Evan Draculae Harker (Uncle)

**Benjamin Harker** is a monster hunter from the city of Stonehollow. He is the second son of James Harker, the younger brother of the current Lord Arthur Harker, and the older brother of Cordelia Harker. He was briefly inflicted with the Sanguine Ichor curse during the vampire Draven's attack on Stonehollow, but has since been cured and restored to his old self.

## Biography

Benjamin is one of three siblings born to Lord James Harker and his wife Evelynn Harker. The Harkers are renowned monster hunters and defenders of Stonehollow, where they have ruled over and protected for the last few centuries. Benjamin inherited the name, titles, and wealth of his ancestors and was raised to fight creatures that threaten the Material Plane.

When Benjamin was a young adult, he and his siblings — along with Herron Belmont, a cleric of the Raven Queen — hunted down a vampire known as Draven. They tracked him to an abandoned mansion in Old Birchwood and intended to slay him, but instead found themselves captured and experimented on. Their memories were wiped of the encounter and the siblings were released, while Herron was kept prisoner.

In the aftermath, Cordelia developed strange vampiric abilities and fled home in shame. When a corpse appeared at the gates of Stonehollow, the city held a funeral for Cordelia and believed she had died. Benjamin, Arthur, and their parents each grieved in various ways: James Harker grew paranoid and mistrustful, while Arthur was seduced by a werewolf and infected with lycanthropy. Benjamin, meanwhile, believed that Heron was somehow responsible for Cordelia's death and attempted to hunt him down.

One day, after returning from one of his searches, Benjamin arrived at Stonehollow to learn that his sister was miraculously alive. She had partially transformed into a vampire and claimed to have been in hiding, fearing her father's repercussions for her condition, but that she and her companions — the Victims of Circumstance — had information about the vampire lord Draven that needed to be investigated.

Over the next few days, Benjamin and the others discovered that Draven had not been slain but was still in Old Birchwood. He had created a chemical called Sanguine Ichor that inflicted vampirism onto a host without killing them first. His test subject, Herron Belmont, had been experimented on and transformed into a vampire after their original encounter, but Benjamin and the Victims of Circumstance were able to rescue him during Draven's attack on Stonehollow itself. During this rescue, Benjamin's own curse was activated and he was inflicted with a similar condition to Cordelia's.

Draven — who they discovered to have once been Evan Draculae Harker, James Harker's forgotten twin brother — released an airborne plague of Sanguine Ichor upon Stonehollow and retreated to his castle. Benjamin, Cordelia, the Victims of Circumstance, and the Golden Guard paladin Sankari Balasar traveled to Old Birchwood, survived Draven's castle, and fought the vampire lord in his laboratory. They were victorious and managed to purge Draven of a shadow demon that had possessed him, giving him a brief moment of clarity and allowing him to make a cure for the Sanguine Ichor.

After the cure was made and Draven defeated, Benjamin and the others returned to Stonehollow and cured the city. Arthur was eventually made lord of the city and Cordelia was tasked by the Raven Queen to hunt any escaped vampire spawn who had avoided the cure. Benjamin continues to live within Stonehollow as a guard captain and protector of the city, defending it from monsters and protecting its people from danger.