Lore:Vanus Galerion

Archmagister Vanus Galerion
Ficheiro:ON-npc-Vanus Galerion.png Archmagister Vanus Galerion as he appeared in 2E 582
Raça	Altmer	Gênero	Male
Nascimento		Summerset Isle
Morte
Residência		Summerset Isle
Aparece em		ESO

Archmagister Vanus Galerion, or Trechtus, was the founder of the Mages Guild and one of the most famous users of magic in the history of Tamriel. He trained with the Psijic Order along with fellow student Mannimarco. He strongly opposed Mannimarco's practice of necromancy, and would eventually lead an army of mages in a massive battle against Mannimarco's legions of undead, where he was killed.

History

Early Life

"Trechtus" was born in the early years of the Second Era in the Summerset Isles to serfs on the estate of a minor nobleman, Lord Gyrnasse of Sollicich-on-Ker. His father had secretly, against the law of Lord Gyrnasse, taught himself and then Trechtus to read. They had to rely on a black market to get around the restriction Gyrnasse put in place, but still managed to get a steady stream of books and scrolls. When Trechtus was eight, the smugglers were found and imprisoned. Some said that Trechtus's mother, an ignorant and religious woman fearful of her husband, was the betrayer of the smugglers, but there were other rumors as well. The trial of the smugglers was nonexistent, and the punishment swift. The body of Trechtus' father was kept hanging for weeks during the hottest summer Sollicich-on-Ker had seen in centuries.

Three months later, Trechtus ran away, making it as far as Alinor, half-way across Summerset Isle. A band of troubadours found him nearly dead, curled up in a ditch by the side of the road. They nursed him to health, and employed him as an errand boy in return for food and shelter. One of the troubadours, a soothsayer named Heliand, who had trained as a mystic at Artaeum, recognized the boy's potential. When the troupe was performing in the village of Potansa on the far eastern end of Sumurset, Heliand took Trechtus, then eleven, to Artaeum, where the Magister of the Isle, Iachesis, also recognized this potential and took Trechtus on as pupil, giving him the name of Vanus Galerion.

At Artaeum

Vanus Galerion and Mannimarco were the most brilliant students in Artaeum at the time. While Galerion used his talents wisely and honorably, Mannimarco turned to the dark arts and was slowly corrupted by them. Galerion was aware of his contemporary's transformation, and confronted Mannimarco; however, Mannimarco scoffed at Galerion's threats, and continued to study the dark arts. When the Psijic order sent Mannimarco to mainland Tamriel to run an errand, Galerion realized that the necromancer would use the opportunity to amass a following there. The masters ignored Galerion's warnings about the terror they were releasing on the rest of Tamriel, a mistake that Galerion would not soon forget.

He had many disagreements with the Psijics (though they were united in a hatred of necromancy), and he left Artaeum to pursue his dream: bringing the wondrous benefits of magic to the general public.

Birth of the Guild

When he began collecting magic-users from around Summerset Isle, Galerion attracted the animosity of all. He was operating out of the urban center of Firsthold, and there was a common (and not entirely unfounded) attitude that magical experiments should be conducted only in unpopulated areas. Even more provocatively, Galerion proposed to make magical items, potions, and even spells available to any member of the general public who could afford to pay. No longer was magic to be limited either to the aristocracy or intelligentsia.

In 2E 230, less than a year after leaving Psijics, Galerion was brought before Iachesis and the King of Firsthold, Rilis XII, and made to state the intentions of the fraternity he was forming. Galerion's speech to Rilis and Iachesis was not recorded for posterity, but his charter, at any rate, was approved. It proved to be extraordinarily successful, and Galerion himself would become very well-known for his wisdom. He's still cited as the authority on many magical concepts, such as trafficking with daedra, and the modern schools of magic were developed by him. He formed the Order of the Lamp as protectors of the Guild.

It is that claimed Galerion departed from the Guild, angrily calling it "a morass", before departing Tamriel entirely. However, this is at odds with accounts that he continued to lead Mages Guild forces against Mannimarco's Worm Cult throughout his life.

Invasion of Coldharbour

After the Soulburst, Vanus Galerion became increasingly concerned about the activities of the Worm Cult and the looming threat of Molag Bal's Planemeld. In 2E 582, he and the Soulless One attempted to negotiate a cease-fire in the Alliance War, so that the three alliances could commit their full resources to an assault on Coldharbour. This negotiation was ultimately unsuccessful, but the alliances did endorse a smaller action, in which Mages Guild and Fighters Guild forces invaded Coldharbour to stop the Planemeld.

During this invasion, Galerion personally destroyed the Great Shackle that was intended to bind Coldharbour and Nirn together. Then, along with the Soulless One, Laloriaran Dynar, and Meridia, he entered and disrupted a planar vortex that connected the two realms, ending the threat of the Planemeld.

The Great Battle

Galerion cried, echoing, "Worm King, surrender your artifacts,
And their power to me, and you shall live as befits the dead."
The hollow laugh of Mannimarco answered: "You die first."
The mage army then clashed with the obscene and unholy force. - Mannimarco, King of Worms

Galerion headed north with an army of Mages and Lamp Knights to a cursed mountain path to settle his business with Mannimarco. Galerion and his army were met by an equally powerful army of necromancers on the mountain, and both sides were ready to do battle.

As the two armies clashed, lightning and frost cascaded around them. The necromancers summoned various undead creatures to their sides which were battered by streams of light forged by the battlemages. Galerion noticed, before the end of the battle, that Mannimarco was no longer alive: he had turned himself into a lich, thus gaining immortality. For a long time Mannimarco was thought to have died in the battle. Although Galerion himself was killed, Mannimarco clung to his state of undeath, and the practice of necromancy would live on, Mannimarco's followers were either killed or scattered, and the triumphant army Galerion left behind secured his legacy and the legacy of the Guild of Mages.

Undeath

In his never-ending lust for power, the undead Mannimarco began a tradition of killing, soul trapping and collecting the bodies of powerful wizards, most often arch-mages of the Guild, which he would then resurrect as Worm Thralls and study. Galerion was one such Thrall, whom Mannimarco developed a particular fondness for. He was still in a state of undeath in 3E 433 when Mannimarco once again returned to the affairs of mortals.

Notes

• Many principles of magic are named after Galerion. In TES V: Skyrim, Wylandriah makes reference to "Galerion's Law of Casting". Ancotar's Journal mentions how "Galerion's Ninth Law" being immutable derailed a magical experiment attempting to spontaneously generate life.

See Also

• Galerion the Mystic de Asgrim Kolsgreg — A biography of Galerion, a Psijic who founded the Mages Guild
• Guild Memo on Soul Trapping de Vanus Galerion, Archmagister Emeritus — Vanus Galerion's proposal on the use of soul-trapping magics
• On the Utility of Shock Magic de Vanus Galerion — Archmage Galerion's notes on the flexibility of shock magic
• Origin of the Mages Guild de The Archmage Salarth — Where and how the Mages Guild started
• Mannimarco, King of Worms de Horicles — Biografia de Mannimarco, o líder dos Necromantes, em versos