Illiana Solomon on House Varkolak
Welcome to this week’s Nefarious Knowledge column, where we can share with you some of the world of revenants described in Liber Vampyr. Today’s article features notes about House Varkolak. These notes were found in the study of Illiana Solomon herself, a noteworthy revenant featured in our book Liber Vampyr.
House Varkolak
Chapterhouses
House Varkolak has its largest base in Gorgynia, thanks to an agreement between its leader, Edward Varkolak, and Marosh, the head of that city. I suppose living around the lich’s mindless servitors must allow the people of that city to overcome the usual unreasonable fear mortals have of the undead. What I don’t know is what Marosh gains from this bargain, for swelling Varkolak numbers come at the expense of corpses for his own workforce. My best guess is that Marosh wants Edward to increase his attempts to foment rebellion in Claustor, giving the arrogant paladins of Kyldor better things to do than worry about him and his necropolis. This theory unfortunately depends heavily on rumors and speculation that Marosh has designs on Kyldor, which even I was unable to confirm.
In addition, it would be wise to keep an eye on the house chapter in Megiros. Since he has given the house the ability to exist and recruit openly in his country, there is little doubt that the Caliph is receiving very generous bribes from Edward. But knowing him, I’d wager that Edward has set his sights somewhat higher, and is paying for something more than the ability to post “House Varkolak” on the Megiros chapterhouse. It is unlikely that Megiros is his primary interest, of course, but the opportunity for him to gain real power in Megiros is certainly there. The chapters on the Imre peninsula in Malandar, Sorcha, and Kiesmara should not be entirely ignored, but their much smaller size makes them less important. It may be worth investigating, nonetheless, whether there is a special reason for the chapter in Kiesmara, considering that Queen Livana has specifically banned them from her city, and being a revenant herself she is not so easy to keep in the dark as the ignorant mortal rulers elsewhere.
Leadership
As head of the House, Edward Varkolak must be carefully considered. He has many strengths, not the least of which are his intelligence and his belief in dealing swift and effective justice on those who cross him. However, he does have his weaknesses, which appear to be growing more severe recently. From what I can gather, his prior ill-tempered nature has grown into an all-out rage problem, and he has apparently grown into quite the petty tyrant. His tailor nearly lost his head when a suit of clothes was not delivered on time. The only balm for this in particular issue seems to be sensual “massages” from some pretty trollop or other. Rumor claims his last mistress lasted an entire month before he grew tired of her – quite a long-lived affair, for Edward. And the man’s lusts do not end with women.
His penchant for bloodsports is well known within the house, and it has apparently been growing along with his rage. He is continuously seeking for grander spectacles, for a greater thrill. A simple bear-baiting or arena fight is no longer enough for him. Where once he would be content to set human slaves against each other or, occasionally, a lion or the sort, his private blood-pit is now always stocked with more exotic, more ferocious creatures, who fight not only each other, and human slaves, but more and more frequently members of his own house, as well. The calculating will see that knowledge of this hobby can easily be used against him, if necessary, for with the fights come the risky, quite frankly ridiculous wagers he has been known to make on them. Why, once he gambled his seat as head of House Varkolak on a fight between his “son” Basil and a purple wurm. Fortunately for Edward, Basil emerged victorious, but I can witness that it was only just. For a chance to see a bloody battle, Edward will risk just about anything, it seems.
Perhaps fortunately, he is not the only one with influence within the House. My time with certain members of House Varkolak has shown me that there are others worth considering. For instance, only a fool would fail to note that his wife Anastasia is not merely for show. She could run the house perfectly well on her own, should Edward be removed – given this opportunity, she may even surpass him. Of course, she would have difficulty in first establishing her dominance, for many of House Varkolak see her as weak and simpering, and would not accept her transition from Edward’s wife to head of the clan without some kind of contest. She keeps a lower profile than her philandering husband, certainly, but I suspect this is less to do with a lack of involvement in Varkolak affairs and more to do with careful control of her public image. Her husband’s reputation for going through women impresses only the most pig-headed of his followers; rather, it exposes a weakness, an opportunity for manipulation. Of course, those such as myself who are privy to more than the average rank and file of that house are not unaware that Anastasia has had several affairs of her own, but she has had the intelligence to be discrete about these incidents. And really, with Edward always running off after the latest beauty or blood game, who can blame her for finding a distraction or two of her own?
Then, of course, there is Basil Varkolak, Edward’s “adopted” son. If he is the best heir Edward can produce, I shudder to think what disasters the others must have been. Admittedly, he does share Edward’s love of bloodsport, which may cast him in a favorable light to his sire, but in this desire for an ever more dangerous game, he far surpasses even Edward. True, he is an exceptionally effective House assassin, but there are others who could replace him and would create fewer problems for the Varkolaks. His proclivity for torture has been getting more and more out of control. Apparently his tastes in this run all the way back to his childhood as a mortal, when he reputedly tore the wings off of small birds and similar pointless atrocities. By the time he was embraced he was apparently a wandering madman who enjoyed torturing and killing those he met on the road. His change to revenant has done nothing to disabuse him of this habit, and it is a good thing that he travels often, because if he ever stayed in one place for long he would quickly attract unwanted attention. It’s hard not to, when you never drink from the same person twice because you insist on torturing them all to death afterward. Though his skill with a blade is admittedly impressive, I cannot imagine any way that he could earn his current status (or even have his behavior tolerated) if Edward weren’t so attracted to such…simple entertainments. A competent house head would find less reckless muscle.
One must also consider Jonathan Telimar. He is certainly no heir to Edward’s title (a terrible shame – any revenant would be proud to call him “son”), but even so, he is far more important than Basil. He is almost always found at Edward’s side, and acts as a sort of butler. That is not the extent of his services to Edward, however – though he puts on a good show as a calm, disinterested servant, he is in fact quite the observer. He is perhaps Edward’s most trusted advisor, and with good reason. Rumor has it Jonathan has even acted the spy when Edward calls for it. In fact, Jonathan could wield quite a bit of personal power if he did not feel such unswerving loyalty for the leader of his House. Pity, really. He’ll never reach his full potential if can’t cut off his attachment to Edward. I doubt there is much room for manipulating this man, though – he is too perceptive, and this makes him quite the adversary. Those seeking to infiltrate House Varkolak will have to find other avenues.