Great Harbingers Content . Great Harbingers of the Companions This history is recorded by Swyk the Long - Sighted , of the Circle of Jorrvaskr in the 3rd era . While I am not gifted with a sharp gift of words , I have learned the stories of the Companions before me , and set to record them that they might not be lost when I am . Hereafter is the list of notable Harbinger s of the Companions , those who lead us through the darkness to glories in Sovngarde . Notes on the Harbinger : the Companions have never had a true leader since Ysgramor - - none have been mighty enough to corral the great hearts that beat within Jorrvaskr . While others like mages and thieves need the blessings of their hierarchy to know how to dress , we Companions are capable of leading our own destinies to glory . The Harbinger advises , resolves disputes , and helps to clarify when questions arise of the nature of honor . In the thousands of years the Companions have held at Jorrvaskr , there have been Harbingers both terrible and brilliant , those known for their arm , those for their hearts , and those for their minds . Here are listed some of the most gloried Harbingers , who inspire song and deed . Ysgramor : the first Harbinger , the first Man , the bringer of Words , and the one who first bound the Companions to honor in that far off land of long ago . Better people have written of him , so I will not attempt to meet their words . Jeek of the River : Captain of the Jorrvaskr during the Return , discoverer of the Skyforge , founder of Whiterun , and keeper of the original oath of the Companions , now lost to time . While other crews sought glory in conquest , his was the first to settle and serve as protector for the less war - gifted in the land as they came behind . Mryfwiil the Withdrawn : Several hundred years after the death of Ysgramor , the Companions as we now know them were soldiers for hire , little better than mercenaries . Our services could be purchased for the fighting of wars , but the commitment to individual honor meant that often Shield - Brothers would be forced to face each other on the field of battle . The bonds of honor which bind the Companions threaten to break , until Mryfwiil , in his wisdom , decreed that we would no longer be party to any war or political conflict of any kind . Because of his steady hand , the Companions today are known as impartial arbiters of honor , in addition to their glories on the field of battle . Cirroc the Lofty : The first Harbinger to not be of ancestral Atmoran blood . This was around the time that the Nords began to think of themselves as such , and there were great disputes about purity and the legacy of Ysgramor . Cirroc first came to Jorrvaskr as a servant , but the Redguard quickly proved his mettle when treated disrespectfully by one of the less honor - bound warriors of the time . Granted the stature of an honorary Companion after saving the life of Harbinger Tulvar the Unmentioned , he became known as the most capable of Shield - Brothers in the hall , with speed and cunning surpassing any of the old Atmoran stock . His time as Harbinger was short - lived , but it is said that his field knowledge of bladework continues to pass to every new Companion through their training . Henantier the Outsider : The first elven Harbinger . Like Cirroc before him , he was initially subject to ridicule when arriving at Jorrvaskr , for this was the time ( near the closing of the first era ) when elves were not permitted to be full Companions , and few were even allowed to see the inside of the hall . Henantier was humble in the daylight hours , performing any task asked of him . At night , he trained fiercely in the outside yard , allowing himself only minutes of sleep before resuming his servant duties the next day . So he toiled through several Harbingers , never resting , never complaining , and always keeping his mind and body sharp . Given his long life , he came to be trusted by the new Companions as the one who them learn the ways of honor . When one such pupil had aged into an old man and become Harbinger himself , Henantier was the one at his deathbed . With all Companions assembled , he named Henantier as his successor , saying " even an elf can be born with the heart of a Nord sometimes . " There were some number of Companions who laid down their weapons that day , but those who remained knew the truth of honor , and it is their legacy we continue to bear . Macke of the Piercing Eyes : A Harbinger known for her great beauty , but any who underestimated her on account of it would never make the mistake again . Was said to have once stared down half an opposing army , then slaughtered the remainder single - handedly . Her disappearance in her 8th year as Harbinger has never been explained , though many slanderous lies claim to make accountings for it . Kyrnil Long - Nose : After the dark periods in the late second era , when a string of false and dishonorable Harbingers laid claim to Jorrvaskr , it was Kyrnil Long - Nose who gathered the true hearts of the Companions in the wilds and stormed Jorrvaskr itself , killing the usurpers and returning honor through blood , in the old ways . He began the tradition of trusted advisors called the Circle ( after our great lord Ysgramor ' s council of captains ) who would serve as examples to the younger , newer Companions . By ensuring that the notions of honor can have an unbroken string of tradition , he steadied the course of the Companions and restored our destinies to that of Ysgramor ' s , pressing ever onwards to Sovngarde .