The Emperor with a Frozen Heart
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Born in Bloodlet Throne, Falkreath in the year 16 of the second era, Vanik Ice-Heart was born to vampiric parent's and raised in the vampire lair until the age of twenty-eight. At that point, he was given a choice: either become a vampire or become another one of the lairs thralls. In his long years in the vampire covens company he had become accustomed to vampire politics and had been given a thirst for power at a young age by his parents, it seemed natural to become one of them. As he grew both in stature and battle prowess, he often would feel the need to feed without warning and the needs sudden onset often left him feeling gobsmacked and in almost in physical pain. The master vampire of the lair sensed this and enjoyed seeing his lesser in this type of pain. But he later realised Vanik's hunger would eventually hinder his ability to perform normal vampire activities. So he taught Vanik a little trick. He taught Vanik to use the frostbite spell to heal himself and dull the pain. It helped Vanik ease the feeling of hunger and staunch most bleeding or swelling most of the time, but when blood became scarce, he found its effect on him weakened considerably.
Week after week, month after month, year after year, Vanik "lived" a life covered in blood, cutting a bloody swath across the entire northwest side of Skyrim. Vanik lived like this for a grand total of 186 years and had been promoted to the rank of Nightwalker. When a raid went sour, he just killed. This happened on a number of occasions and had grown quite a reputation in the lair for his insatiable cruelty, even for a vampire. The master vampire of the lair began to notice the increase in Vanik's recklessness and confronted him. The master vampire also wasn't too keen on being outdone by someone he considered still to be a lesser. A heated argument ensued and Vanik said in no uncertain terms, that he wouldn't take orders from a spineless half-wit vampire that wasn't worth giving the time of night. He had just come back after another botched raid and casually walked to his quarters to rest after the argument. At this time, Vanik asked himself a question all sentient creatures ask themselves at some point: "Why am I still here?" He pondered this for days and had decided that the lair no longer had anything worth staying for.
His parents had taught him everything about being a vampire and had gone to great lengths to twist Vanik's once innocent, childish demeanour into a cold, cruel, and bloodthirsty one. And that is what he had become. His undead heart held no fear ... and no remorse. And so, he gathered his things and began anew. He sought to use the ongoing war in Cyrodiil as a way to quench his bloodlust. Many more years had passed, and he had risen high on the wing of the Ebonheart Pact. He single handedly won many a battle with the fierce blizzards he conjured. For months on end, winter snow storms raged above Covenant and Dominion war camps. Once a mere Tyro, he had risen to become the region's Emperor Reagent on several occasions and a Grand Overlord with all the Ebonheart Pacts forces in Cyrodiil under his command. He reveled in his power, and made sure his enemies knew it.
No matter how many assassination attempts and plots of his downfall they conspired, he always won. And then it all fell apart. In the short span of a single year, all 3 alliances completely collapsed under the weight of their enormous losses from the long and bloody war waged in Cyrodiil. Vanik was to be retired from duty in Eastmarch and the remaining Pact forces withdrawn to help protect Morrowind, Skyrim, and Black Marsh from domestic threats. But Skald King Jorunn knew that Vanik served well and deserved the best for his aid to the Pact. Despite being a vampire. So, instead of retiring to an icy citadel, he was made a military adviser to the king and one of Jorunn's most elite honor guards. But Vanik was still the vampire from all those years ago. He rejected the king's offer and went out to carve out his ice fortress on one of the many mountains of Skyrim, where he would be able to live as a king himself. He already knew how it feels to have that power from during his time as Emperor Reagent and had every intention of reaquiring it.
And so he searched, through the fall of the Ebonheart Pact and the raging wars of Talos of Atmora's ascendancy to Emperorship that followed, to the Oblivion Crisis and the rise of the Nerevarine, to the fall of the Tribunal, to the ravaging conflict later known as the Great War. And it is here, on some remote mountain in Skyrim, that he came full circle … and began anew. All … over … again.