Lore:Verandis Ravenwatch

Count Verandis Ravenwatch
Count Verandis Ravenwatch
Race	Altmer	Gender	Male
Born		1st Era
Resided in		Rivenspire Coldharbour Blackreach
Appears in		ESO

Verandis Ravenwatch was a pureblood vampire who had been turned directly by Molag Bal. He was the founder of House Ravenwatch and once a member of the Gray Host. For a vampire, Verandis has a pure heart and was unwilling to give into his predatory instincts. He attempted to sway vampires away from their bloodthirsty natures, for his desired goal was peace with mortals. Verandis was known for his restraint. He only fed on the willing, notable for seeing mortals as equals. He expected other members of his House to follow suit with his code of conduct.

History

First Era

"I have lived a very long time. Even by High Elf standards, I am ancient. I confess, I often embraced the routine as a distraction from the gnawing dread of my curse. Many times I sought a home, a family, and a cause.
Yet I never remain for long." — Verandis Ravenwatch

Sometime in the First Era, Verandis joined the Gray Host. During his time in the Gray Host, he attempted to sway others from harming the innocent. He preached that they should only feed on the willing, and should make peace with mortals. His words fell upon deaf ears. During that time, he pioneered a way to pull vampire souls out of Coldharbour and mortals from their respective afterlife. His goal was to end death altogether, creating a world where vampires, lycanthropes, and mortals would live in a peaceful coexistence. But when he tried his experiment on a mortal, it caused her to go mad. Because of this, he abandoned his research altogether, considering it to be too dangerous. He would later desert the Gray Host, resolute in his ideals. He decided to forge his own path in order to achieve his goals of peace.

Second Era

When King Emeric was a boy, his father sent him to Castle Ravenwatch to study under Count Verandis. By that time, House Ravenwatch was one of the oldest families in Rivenspire. Verandis would later play a key role in convincing the nobility to support King Emeric's Greater Daggerfall Covenant. Without Verandis', Emeric would not have had the support he needed, and the Greater Daggerfall Covenant would never have come to be.

Count Verandis was also friends with Wylon Montclair, the leader of one of the three noble families that ruled Rivenspire after Ranser's War. When his wife Baroness Leila Montclair fell ill circa 2E 582 and was close to dying, he asked Verandis to turn her into a vampire to save her from death. Both Verandis and Leila refused this alternative, so Verandis attempted to use an Ayleid relic to cure her. Unfortunately, the relic was not powerful enough, and Leila's illness eventually returned. Afterwards, Reezal-Jul, an Argonian in service of the Montclairs secretly plotted to overthrow High King Emeric. He manipulated Verandis and the Montclairs to search for a more powerful relic, known as "Abagandra", the Lightless Remnant. This artifact, resting within the great spire of Doomcrag, had been corrupted in ancient times. However, when Verandis came into contact with it, its corruption deepened. It turned everyone present into vampires, including the Montclairs. Baroness Leila did not want to live as a vampire and attacked Verandis, who resorted to killing her, angering Wylon. In retaliation, Wylon used the Lightless Remnant turn all of the people of Rivenspire into bloodfiends. Count Verandis felt great remorse for his involvement and issued a proclamation declaring his loyalty to the people of Rivenspire and King Emeric and expressing his desire to destroy the Lightless Remnant.

Subsequently, he and the rest of House Ravenwatch worked to end the threat of the artifact and the mad Montclairs. With the aid of the Vestige, Verandis worked to stop his old friend. After Wylon was defeated by the Vestige, the Lightless Remnant began to crack and release its terrible power, a sight which led the vindictive Wylon to rejoice with his last breath. Fearing Rivenspire's devastation at the artifact's destruction, Verandis sacrificed his life to transport it to Coldharbour.

Within the year, the Vestige and Gwendis would resurrect Verandis, saving him from an eternity in Coldharbour. Verandis, the Vestige, and House Ravenwatch worked to stop Rada al-Saran from reawakening the Dark Heart and sacrificing all the souls in the Reach in an attempt to free the Gray Host from their torment in Coldharbour. Despite these efforts, Rada was successful in binding the Gray Host to the Dark Heart. As a former member, Verandis was also bound to the Dark Heart. The connection would cause Verandis to lose himself to its darkness. However, he was able to resist its pull long enough to help stop Rada. Alongside the Vestige and Lyris, he entered Rada's sanctuary realm, Grayhaven, where Rada was conjuring an apocalyptic storm known as the Darkstorm that would consume all the souls in the Reach.

Despite Rada's skill with the Shehai and his mastery over his Vampire Lord form, Verandis outwitted him and turned the power of the Dark Heart against him. After Rada was defeated, Verandis stayed behind to manipulate the Dark Heart's power to end the Darkstorm. Using the Heart's remaining power, he was able to resurrect many of Markarth's fallen. With the Heart's power fading, it ejected Verandis from the realm. Verandis' soul melded inextricably with the Dark Heart. As long as it remained dormant, the connection would be tolerable. He chose to become its guardian and to make sure that the Dark Heart would never be used again.

Gallery

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  Verandis, disguised as a mortal (ESO)

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  Verandis and three of his wards: Fennorian, Gwendis, and Adusa of the Ravenwatch (ESO)

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  Verandis, after his soul melded with the Dark Heart (ESO)