Early life
Marcus Vardenfell was born in an impoverished household in Windhelm. Because of the efforts of his father, he was allowed in apprenticeship by a Dwarf smith named Fjoldnir Strongarm. Here he learned to forge weapons and the beginnings of how to wield them. At his fifteenth year he joined
The Night's Watch, quickly rising to the rank of Harrower (an adviser to the Lord Commander) due to him being a Dragonborn. In this capacity he served Lord Commander Jorund Wolfheart, when the Assassin's War broke out. He fought at the Battle of Longfields and after the resounding defeat scrambled the remnants of the Night's Watch and led them back to the North. Here it was revealed that he was named the new Lord Commander in Wolfheart's will. Under his leadership the Night's Watch became an enormous power within the Westfork and beyond.
Lord Commander - early expansion
After the defeat at Longfields he vowed that the Night's Watch would not return to the battlefields of the South. He reformed the remnants of the Night's Watch and formed an alliance with the Jarls of Windhelm and Ironheim to battle the orc king Uruk in
The First Great Wilderness Expedition. This led to a vast increase in land for the Night's Watch. With these newfound riches, Vardenfell looked north to the Nordic kingdoms. He opened up trade with them, increasing the importance of the harbour of Windhelm. This led to rivalry with his former allies, the Jarls of Windhelm and Ironheim. By scheming with the guilds of Windhelm he succeeds in neutralizing Jarl Thornshield of Windhelm and adds the region to the dominion of the Night's Watch. He also joins all trading houses of Windhelm together in the
Windhelm Trading Company, granting it a monopoly on all trade from the port of Windhelm. He also made sure the board of the Company was chosen by the Lord Commander. In a following war, he defeated Ironheim and installed a local man to be the new chaptermaster of the region. In the following years all feudal lords in the region find their lands annexed by the Night's Watch.
After adding the provinces of Windhelm and Ironheim to the Watchlands, Vardenfell looked east and discovered the free mages' city of Everglade. He also discoverd the orc realm of Orsinium in the Southern Wilds. As he did not wish to drain his forces further, he sought peace with the orc King Varkrass. This succeeded and a large highway was constructed between their lands. Furthermore, Varkrass warned Marcus of his brother Thorek, king of Angmar, who was plotting an invasion as a revenge of the death of his brother Uruk. Realising the danger, Marcus decided to take to the offensive before Thorek could amass his forces. Vardenfell joined
Thorin Oakenshield in his quest to reclaim the lost dwarven Kingdom of Mazaar. They succeeded and using the underground passageways, Marcus and his army reached the land of
Geldrin. Here they allied with the local Bands of Brothers against Thorek and in a lightning swift assault were capable of defeating him at his fortress. In an epic duel Marcus was capable of decapitating the orc King, reinforcing his title of Angmarian slayer.
Back to politics - a kingdom restored
In the following years Vardenfell conquered the Falklands in an effort to drive the Briarfolk from his borders during the Oblivion crisis. He also aided in the reconquest of Gotha and Umbria from Myrtana, as it was distracted by the Zemerian invasion. During this time that the youngest son of Ulthar III Strongborn, Eric, had survived the
Assassin's War. Marcus convened a moot of the Night's Watch and the Jarls of Whiterun and Odessa in Castle Black. During this meeting they all swore fealty to Eric Strongborn and reinstated the Gothic Kingdom. Soon after these ceremonies Marcus aided the dukes of Lutetia against a large oblivion portal that opened near its gates. In return they bestowed the castle of Okara to the Night's Watch.
In the year 1400 Marcus Vardenfell is contacted by a Zemerian mage named Shalidor. He and his colleagues seek political shelter from the Zemerian empire. Marcus decided to invite them even though his realm is notoriously afraid of mages. To house them he had the Wayspire build near Everglade. During these years several other important infrastructural projects are also undertaken, like the construction the
Watcher's Mound and the College of Windhelm.
The great invasions
When
Valthor returned in the
The Great Dragon War, he used the Watchlands as the staging ground for his assault on the Dragontail mountains. Marcus Vardenfell saw no other option than swearing fealty to the powerful dragon lord, but he schemed in secret to strengthen Eric Strongborn against him. When Valthor ascended to godhood, Vardenfell immediately undertook the effort to drive the remaining dragons from his lands. The next decade he spent dealing with the consequences of the rifts Valthor had made. He for example organized the defense of the Westfork against the orc hordes which were driven forward by
Hokan, effectively allying all powers in the Westfork against their onslaught. He also led an assault on the necromancer's stronghold of Gorgorath, before they would grow too powerful. During this massive invasion the forces of the Night's Watch are nearly decimated and a wartime economy is organized in which every aspect of life is controlled by the Night's Watch and every able bodied man is forced to serve in the armed forces.
Diplomacy as a tool
During and after the Orcish invasion he focused on the religion of his realm. He allowed the
Chantry of Fire to spread their religion and build churches in the Watchlands. In return however, a different chantry was founded for the Watchlands, as Marcus was afraid the Myrtanians would use their influence on the Chantry against him. Marcus also ordered the Windhelm Trading Company to organize expeditions towards the western oceans to discover new economic opportunities. In this effort they found a sea route to Xu, but Vardenfell deemed it not economically viable at that moment to invest in it.
In the years following the defeat of the great Orc Invasion Marcus did not militarily intervene too much, because of his depleted military and economy. He did however use his diplomatic contacts to influence the important events of those times. He for example offered the
Bands of Brothers a home after their homeland was overrun by the Orc Invasion. Furthermore, he aided Varkrass during the Orsinian civil war by sending weaponry, supported the Angeloi family in the Myrtanian civil war and he organized the invasion of Corinth by the combined Gothic forces during the Corinthian civil war. This led to the Windhelm Trading Company gaining great influence in the harbours of Thessalonikos and Augusteion.
The last war
During the times of Hokan's rise, the Daedric prince
Hircine set his target on the Southern wilds, causing a massive amount of oblivion gates in an event known as the Wild Hunt. Posing as a threat to the Night's Watch and Orsinium, Marcus Vardenfell led their combined forces in the dense fighting against the spawn of Hircine. During the final push to defeat these beastmen, Marcus found himself face to face with Eredin, King of the Wild Hunt. In an epic duel Marcus Vardenfell was able to defeat Eredin and close the gates of Oblivion, but at a cost: the wounds of the battle caused Marcus to pass away not long after the encounter. He was succeeded by
Eduard Stark and left behind three children who all held positions within the Night's Watch hierarchy. Nowadays he is looked upon as the Great Hero of the Night's Watch and statues of him grace several sites within the Watchlands.
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