Varkin 'Tribe-Slayer'

Varkin 'Tribe-Slayer' was a Drathian who founded the Drathian Union, and kick started the expansion that would eventually lead to unification of the entire planet as a whole and lay the groundwork for the Drathian Fylkirate.

## Varkin 'Tribe-Slayer'

### Titles

Chieftain of the Skraeling Tribe, High Chief of the Drathian Union

## History

### Early Life

Varkin was born to Chieftain Kolk and Chieftess Virka of the Skraeling Tribe. He enjoyed plentiful food and luxury as a member of the noble class while the rest of his people starved. However, his additude changed once, while wandering out of the Rich Blood District against his father's orders, he was met by a pair of beggars who asked him for food. They enlightened him that the nobility kept most of the food harvested by the peasants for themselves, leaving the rest of the population with next to nothing.

Varkin confronted his father, who, outraged by this insubordination, forced Varkin to join the tribe's army. Varkin was sent to a watchtower in the forests at age fifteen under the guise of 'preparing him for rulership'. There, he and his comrades were attacked by a raiding party from the neighboring Fenriki tribe. He was taken captive, and under torture, gave the party the directions to the village of Skraela. Rather than killing Varkin, the Fenriki instead led him to the woods with a blindfold and let him loose.

### Rise to Power

It was three years later when Varkin found his way back to Skraela, only to find out that the Fenriki used the information he gave them to attack the village. They were fended off, but not before killing Varkin's father, Kolk. Infuriated by this, Varkin asked the new chieftain, his younger brother Varkin II, to declare war on the Fenriki. Varkin II refused, and was promptly met with a duel to determine whether or not he was fit to rule. During the battle, Varkin easily overpowered and slew his younger brother. He would later wear his brother's skull as a helmet during battle. In 3050 HSC, Varkin was crowned chieftain.

Once sitting on the throne of the Skraeling Tribe, Varkin gained the trust of his military commanders through gifts of money, women, and positions in his council. He used his influence in the military to purge the tribe of all other nobles, and kill both them and their families to compound his power and give their fortunes to the peasants. Now with the people on his side, and no internal enemies to oppose him, Varkin prepared for war.

### Forming the Drathian Union

In 3055, Varkin personally led his army to battle against the Fenriki in what would be known as the War of Four Tribes. He marched his entire force to destroy enemy watchtowers and make sure the village was unprepared for a large scale invasion. Once he reached the village, Varkin layed siege to the Fenriki village. Despite being badly outnumbered, a Fenriki messenger managed to escape the battle and deliver a message to the Ravnan and Jort Tribes, which were allied with the Fenriki. The two marched their armies to the battle, and began to surround Varkin's troops.

Facing defeat, Varkin made a desperate charge into the enemy ranks, where twin chieftains Rykir of the Ravnans and Sylka of the Jorts met him in combat where they were killed by Varkin. Demoralized by the deaths of their leaders, the Ravnans and Jorts began to retreat, but were mowed down by pursuing Skraeling forces. Without any allies and facing sure starvation, the Fenriki village surrendered. Their chieftain was executed, and all monuments dedicated to him or his bloodline were torn down and destroyed.

Now with two villages at his disposal, Varkin used his bolstered army to capture the undefended and leaderless Jort and Ravnan villages. In 3057 HSC he marched upon the Ravnans, who were still licking their wounds from the previous battle, and had a chieftain only three years old. The Ravnan regent, knowing there was no chance of victory, surrendered. Both him and the young chieftain were executed personally by Varkin.

The next year, Varkin launched a campaign to defeat the Jorts. However, the Jort Tribe, with more time to refill its armies, was better defended than the Ravnans. This was pointless, however, for Varkin now had three tribe's worth of armies flying his banner. After a three month siege, the Jort Tribe was defeated, and their chieftain also executed. At the execution, Varkin crowned himself the only worthy ruler of any village, and dubbed this new union of tribes the Drathian Union, earning himself the surname 'Tribe-Slayer'.

### Ruling as High Chief

As High Chief of the newly formed Drathian Union, Varkin boasted his victory to nearby tribes, and threatened them the same fate as the Fenriki, Ravnans and Jorts if they did not submit themselves to his rule and pledge their loyalty. Hundreds of tribes complied, their chieftains giving up their positions in order to keep their lives.

Without any enemies, Varkin was able to focus on his own personal life. He took the wife of former Ravnan chieftain Rykir, Kara 'Sweet-Tooth', as his own. They were wed in 3060, with Kara giving birth to Varkin's first child and future High Chief, Brundt.

Varkin stayed true to his vow to help the peasantry, often taking away all of a noble family's riches and distributing them to the poor or using the gold to pay workers to build roads, wells, and other forms of infrastructure around the Union. For thirty more years, Varkin continued to expand and solidify his union. Villages began to discard wooden houses and replace them with stone ones, as an advocate for change, Varkin began encouraging the use of metal in replacement of stone or wooden weapons.

By 3085 HSY, Varkin finished construction on his own personal castle, the later building site for the Citadel of the Drathian Fylkirate, where he lived happily with his son and wife for five years until Kara's death in 3090. Varkin was extremely distressed by the loss of his wife, and secluded himself in his room for weeks on end. During this time, local nobles, angry at their High Chief for his mistreatment of the upper class, began to sew the seeds for rebellion. Varkin later died in his sleep in 3095 after five whole years of anguish filled seclusion.

## Personality

Varkin was a rutheless leader, offering no mercy to his enemies and very often killing their entire families and destroying their legacies in order to prove himself the better man. His armies were designed to steamroll over enemy forces, often resulting in complete massacres of civilians and soldiers alike. Despite this, Varkin developed a soft spot for the poor, and used stolen fortunes to donate to those with less. He often gave away his own personal riches to better the lives of the common person, while reasonlessly stealing from the rich.

Varkin was also ambitious, and never let any obstacle get between him and his goals, going so far as to kill his own brother in order to gain power and treat the lower class with better respect.

## Abilities

Varkin did not have any special abilities, but was known for his fierce hearted passion for anything he set his mind to. He was an exceptional duelist, and was skilled with almost any weapon put into his hands.

## Trivia

* Varkin, while avid in personal combat, was not a good strategist, often putting all of his forces in one mass and using them to recklessly charge against the enemy. His victories were by luck alone, when he was able to kill enemy leaders.
* Varkin devoted his life to helping the peasantry, believing that it was the nobility's snobbishness that caused the death of his father.
* While skilled with many weapons, Varkin's favourite to use was the battle axe, seeing it as a 'poor man's weapon', and thus, perfect for him to use.