Varkrass is the third brother to the Angmarian chieftains
Uruk and Thorek. Among them he is known as the least warlike. As an Angmarian chieftain he was imbued with near immortal life by
Angmar.
Founding Orsinium
In the year 1353 he and his brother Uruk left the
Kingdom of Angmar with a sizeable horde and crossed the
Red Waste. Uruk settled at Orcia, while Varkrass led his horde south towards the Southern Wilds. Here he came across bands of wild orcs. Using his natural charisma and the strength of his Nordmarian orcs Varkrass united many orc tribes. He educated many of them in technologies unknown to them. He quickly raised the wild orc tribes to a new level of culture and he founded them a permanent capital at Orsinium. Here he was crowned their king.
Alliance with the Night's Watch
Varkrass is very different from his two brothers in the sense that he takes much more after the ways of men. He therefore turned the orcs of Orsinium into a trading people. He also abandoned the pursuits of conquest and magical power his brothers undertook, instead focusing on governing his new realm. At Orsinium he built a trading fleet to sail across the Middle Seas towards Varant and he traded lavishly with the
Yokuda Empire and
Mournhold. The revenue from these enterprises allowed his people to construct several more settlements and fortresses and raise their wealth.
As his brother Uruk finally fell to
The Night's Watch in
The First Great Wilderness Expedition in 1389, Varkrass sought no revenge. Instead he recognised the potential that was rising to his north and in 1394
Marcus Vardenfell came to his borders bearing gifts and peace offerings. Varkrass accepted and an alliance was forged between the two realms. The alliance is sealed with the construction of the Great Eastern Highway, connecting the Orsinian markets to those of the Westfork and vice versa.
War
Even though Varkrass did not favour war, it came upon him nonetheless. His politics of alliance with men and focus on commerce had estranged several of the chieftains in Orsinium. This came to a head and led to a civil war. Varkrass was facing the better part of the Orsinian warriors, but he could count on the support of Vardenfell both through shipments of weapons from the forges of Karak-Azul and the Night's Watch army. This eventually allowed Varkrass to crush the rebellion and hold power.
War kept barking at his doors however, as through the Tearing of the Veil by
Hokan Ashir, portals to other planes started opening. More importantly, portals to
Hircine's realm opened all throughout the Southern Wilds and Varkrass and the Night's Watch were forced in a lengthy war with the Beastmen. Eventually this war cost the life of Varkrass trusty ally Marcus Vardenfell.
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