Rorgon Glanfeuil

(Rename of Roger Vaux)

Rorgon Glanfeuil was a Breton wizard. He was Imperial Battlemage to three Emperors of Tamriel: Cephorus II Uriel V and Uriel VI.

Early Life
Rorgon Glanfeuil was born in the province of High Rock. His parents were Lady [TBA], a count's daughter, and the mercer Jean Glanfeuil. This marriage (and thus its issue) was considered morganatic. Whilst Roger was denied the noble status of his mother, he inherited the [Mother's House]'s magical affinity. This manifested itself at an early age and was nurtured by the local chapter of the Mages Guild. Under the tutelage of the wizard [Guild Mage], Glanfeuil proceeded through the ranks of the Guild to Journeyman.

With the sponsorship of the Guild, Glanfeuil matriculated to the Arcane University in the Imperial City. After several years of study at the university he was inducted into the War College - the illustrious battlemage academy.

[...]

The Battle of Skingrad
Glanfeuil commanded the cohort of battlemages sent by Emperor Cephorus II to garrison the city of Skingrad in 3E 251. They were charged with holding the city against the advance of Haymon Camoran. The Camoran, fresh from conquering Valenwood, invaded Colovia and threatened the Imperial City itself. The defence of Skingrad was meagre; the Emperor had committed his legions to fight in the succession war. The Camoran Usurper, however, had not yet assembled the irresistible undead host for which he was later dreaded. Falling against the walls of Skingrad, the Usurper's minions were assailed by the arcane fire of Glanfeuil and the battlemages, supported by the city guard and militia. The inferno could be seen from the White-Gold Tower. Despite four days of savage assault, the gates of Skingrad withstood the wrath of the Usurper. Loath to invest the city, the Camoran withdrew his host to the west, brutally sacking Kvatch. From thence the conquest of Hammerfell began.

The Battle of Skingrad was hailed as a victory for the Empire. The immediate threat to the Heartlands and thus the capital was removed. It would prove to be one of the few victories scored against the Camoran Usurper, who continued to desolate western Tamriel with impunity for a further fifteen years before his final defeat and death. The cost of this victory was great; only half of the battlemages dispatched to Skingrad survived.

Wounded and sullied by the stench of burning flesh, Glanfeuil was received by the Imperial City with great honour. He privately advised the Emperor and Elder Council that the 'victory' at Skingrad had been determined by the Usurper himself; the city would have doubtlessly shared the fate of Kvatch if the Camoran had not elected to pursue easier quarry in the west. Cephorus II, whose right to the Ruby Throne was contested in a civil war, was determined to claim a victory against Camoran to bolster his legitimacy. As an additional exhibition of imperial power, the emperor created the first Imperial Battlemage since the reign of Katariah – Rorgon Glanfeuil.

In his early reign, Emperor Cephorus II was preoccupied with the succession war triggered by his election to the Ruby Throne in 3E 247. Even as the Camoran Usurper laid waste to whole provinces, the emperor's legions battled the loyalists of Prince Andorak - son of the late Emperor Uriel IV. One such loyalist was Tarquinia Mallus, Countess of Leyawiin, who had been besieged by the [Number] Legion for twenty months. The newly-elevated Imperial Battlemage was sent by the emperor to bring the siege to a conclusion. The defiance of Leyawiin infuriated Cephorus, who sanctioned Glanfeuil to raze the city.

Arriving at the siege lines, Glanfeuil immediately sought to parley with the beleaguered countess. After several days Tarquinia agreed to meet the Battlemage at the Ayleid ruin of Telepe. In the course of the negotation, Glanfeuil warned:"'Do not doubt that at my whim your city will be reduced to ashes, and my good lady with it.'"At length Glanfeuil persuaded Tarquinia to capitulate, assuring her that the emperor would show clemency to a Countess of Cyrodiil, in exchange for oaths and hostages. The gates of Leyawiin were opened to the [Number] Legion. Defying the Battlemage's command, the legionnaires (whose pay was over a year in arrears) plundered the city. The emperor was initially incensed by the favourable terms which Glanfeuil had offered the rebel countess: Tarquinia remained the ruler of Leyawiin (despite its sacking) and faced no punishment for her 'rebellion'. Cephorus had hoped to make an example of the recalcitrant lady.

In time, however, the Battlemage's magnanimity was vindicated. Many adherents of Prince Andorak, informed of Countess Tarquinia's submission, defected on similar terms. By 3E 256 support for the prince had diminished to such an extent that he forfeited his claim to the Ruby Throne in exchange for a High Rock kingdom.

[...]

Mysterious Akavir
In 3E 268 Emperor Cephorus II died. As Imperial Battlemage, Glanfeuil proclaimed Cephorus's son as Emperor Uriel Septim V. At once the new emperor revealed his ambition to conquer lands beyond Tamriel – namely the continent of Akavir. This, he argued, would unite the fragmented Empire which he had inherited. Meetings of the Elder Council which the emperor attended discussed nothing other than war. At once such convocation Glanfeuil warned that invasion of  'Mysterious Akavir' – a landmass undocumented since the Second Era – should not be launched hastily. The Battlemage urged the emperor to first commission an intelligence gathering expedition. Uriel duly delegated this task to his Imperial Battlemage.

Glanfeuil approached the Mages Guild (of which he was still an affiliate), who enthusiastically approved the proposed expedition. Partnering with the Imperial Geographical Society, a ten-member expedition was assembled. The mission embarked from Leyawiin in Second Seed 3E 270, remaining in contact with their Tamrielic counterparts via telepathy [ew]. The expedition did not reach land – which guides of the Society confirmed to be western shore of Akavir – for thirteen weeks. Only two days after landfall, the mission's telepathic link to Tamriel was severed. The fate of the expedition was unknown.

The emperor proved the sincerity of his martial ambitions by conquering the island of Roscrea in 3E 271. Annexation of Cathnoquey, however, would take a further five years. Uriel V, who sought to emulate his august predecessor Tiber Septim, was frustrated by the slow pace of his campaign.

The Brass God
In the winter of 3E 277 the Imperial Battlemage was secretly summoned by the emperor to the province of Elsweyr, where he was escorted to the hidden Halls of Colossus. These ancient ruins were thought by most (including Glanfeuil) to be a myth. Such legend spoke of a terrible power concealed within, which also proved true. The Halls contained the partly rebuilt Numidium. The towering Dwemer construct had been acquired by Tiber Septim and utilised in the final phase of his conquest of Tamriel. After its destruction the Blades scoured the continent for centuries in search of its scattered components, assembling them in the Halls of Colossus.

Now the emperor charged his Imperial Battlemage with completing this project, to expedite his conquest of Akavir. Whilst the Blades continued to retrieve the fragments of Numidium, the Battlemage was to learn how the golem could be reactivated and controlled – knowledge lost to the ages. To this end, the title of Grand Artificer was conferred upon Glanfeuil. The existence of this project was kept strictly secret: known only to the emperor, Glanfeuil and the Blades.

Like its components, the lost lore of Numidium was scattered throughout Tamriel. Once an active member of the Elder Council, Glanfeuil was now rarely listed on the roster of its meetings. Over the years Glanfeuil scoured libraries, vaults and ruins in all nine provinces. He was briefly imprisoned for burgling the Crystal Tower in the course of his quest.

Glanfeuil was reluctant to directly involve the Mages Guild in his search, certain that the Council of Archmagisters would discern the emperor's plan and seek to interfere. Uriel V held the Guild in low esteem, preferring the counsel of the Psijic monks.The Battlemage might well have despaired, then, when he discovered that the knowledge he sought rested beneath the Archmagisters' feet - within the vault of the Arcane University.

This vault (known to the Guild as the Inner Library) secreted some of the continent's most precious texts and artifacts. It was famously impenetrable but by leave of the Guild's leadership, secured by magical wards and deadly devices.