Vardis Egen
Ser Vardis Egen was the captain of the household guard of House Arryn, a position he held under Lord Jon Arryn during his years as Hand of the King in King's Landing. A square, plain-faced man with silver hair and a heavy build, he was known for his lack of humor and his unwavering loyalty to his lord. When Jon Arryn died and his widow Lysa fled the capital for the Eyrie, Ser Vardis accompanied her, becoming the commander of her personal guard in the mountain fortress.
Role in the Eyrie
After Catelyn Stark brought Tyrion Lannister to the Eyrie as her prisoner, Ser Vardis was the officer who escorted the dwarf from his sky cell to the High Hall when Lysa Arryn summoned him. When Tyrion demanded a trial by combat, Lady Lysa chose Ser Vardis as her champion, declaring, "Ser Vardis Egen, you were ever my lord husband's good right hand. You shall be our champion." Ser Vardis was reluctant, arguing that the dwarf was no warrior and that slaughtering such a man would be shameful. "Look at him. A dwarf, half my size and lame in the legs. It would be shameful to slaughter such a man and call it justice," he said. Nevertheless, he obeyed his lady's command.
The Duel and Death
The combat took place in the garden of the Eyrie, beneath the statue of the weeping woman Alyssa Arryn. Ser Vardis wore heavy plate armor over mail and a padded surcoat, with the moon-and-falcon sigil of House Arryn on his rondels. He carried a triangular oak shield studded with iron and wielded a beautiful double-edged longsword engraved with silver tracery, which Lysa had had crafted for Jon Arryn in King's Landing. His opponent, Bronn, was lightly armored in black oiled ringmail over boiled leather, with a round steel halfhelm. From the start, Bronn used a strategy of evasion, circling and forcing the heavily armored knight to chase him. As Ser Rodrik Cassel observed, "He wants to make Ser Vardis chase him. The weight of armor and shield will tire even the strongest man." The tactic worked; Ser Vardis grew slower and his parries came later and lower. Bronn's cuts left deep gashes in the knight's armor, and blood ran from his elbow. In a final desperate charge, Ser Vardis threw aside his shield and lunged, but Bronn dodged, and Jon Arryn's engraved silver sword glanced off the marble elbow of the weeping woman and snapped. Bronn then put his shoulder into the statue, toppling it onto Ser Vardis, pinning him. As the knight lay on his side, Bronn drove his blade under the arm and through the ribs, killing him. The duel ended with Ser Vardis dead, and Tyrion Lannister freed.
Narrative Role and Significance
Ser Vardis Egen functions as a representative of the old order of the Vale—a loyal, dutiful knight bound by honor and oath to a lord he serves without question. His death at the hands of a cynical sellsword underscores the theme that in the brutal game of thrones, traditional chivalric values are no match for pragmatism and ruthlessness. His reluctance to fight the dwarf and his eventual defeat mark a turning point in Tyrion's arc, as the Imp escapes execution through cunning and the willingness of a mercenary to fight for gold rather than honor.
