in: Characters, Named cast, Microglia, Recruitable companions
Fen
Approved Character · facts checked 2 November 2026
Fen is a microglial resident who arrives when Hearth Grove grows a new connection. Fen prefers field work and dislikes strict assignments. Fen shows that more residents are not identical extra slots.
Appearance#
Fen has a long, hooked, crescent-like body with a pale nucleus near the head. The dossier asks for a process rhythm that differs from the Ranger's, with visible travel effort and no legs or jogging. Fen must read as distinct from Pip and Mote by silhouette and movement.
Personality#
Fen is good at some kinds of mobile work and rightly critical of making everyone stand beside a work slot. Fen is not an impulsive newcomer for Pip to discipline. In some scenes Pip is right; in others Fen is.
“Does that road go anywhere?” … “Both can be true.”
Role in the story#
Fen never appears for a player who does not grow the home. After III6 and the first growth, Fen's story asks which tasks fit which body and route. Fen can stay home in a useful loop or join the field. Neither ending makes Fen sad.
Recruitment#
Fen's story completes at F5. The separate invitation fen:F5a can then add Fen to the field roster. If the player never recruited Mote, Fen can be the first recruit and unlock the Coordinator. See Recruitment.
Abilities#
As a companion, Fen is a roamer: route exploration and repositioning within real geometry. Fen cannot teleport, open closed passages or give free protection. "Roamer" is a fictional preference, not a microglial subtype.
Development#
- Story: plan v0.5 §8 and §23; dossier Part V. The user approved Fen's placement on 31 October.
- Art: the dossier and the v0.5 handoff list Fen's sprite as an open user decision. On 2 November the user accepted Fen identity A. Production sheets animate five tags in six facings. A blind review found Fen's back view weak; the eye-shear on Fen's lean frames was fixed on 2 November.
- In the alpha The Placeholder alpha installs Fen's named sheet. Fen is added to Hearth only when the home has grown, and the alpha keeps growth gated, so a player will not normally meet Fen there.
Gallery#
See also#
Sources#
- .GAME_PLAN/ARBORWAKE_THE_LONG_WAKE_COMPLETE_GAME_PLAN_v0.5.md (working copy, not in Git)
- .GAME_PLAN/ARBORWAKE_COMPANIONS_NARRATIVE_AND_SYSTEMS_DOSSIER_v0.5.md (working copy, not in Git)
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