High King Baldr

High King Baldr "the Breath" Hallvardsen was a Merethic Era war hero and Jarl of Windhelm. He founded the Atmoran Kingdom and ruled as the first-ever High King of Fatherland until his assassination in ME 69.

Early life
Baldr was born in ME 116 during the Dragon War. Raised in unforgiving and ruthless conditions, he had to learn how to survive and fend for himself from a very young age, and was recruited into the rebel forces when he was 15. The battle at Kjenstag, which Baldr took part in, claimed his father, Hallvard Pale-Wolf, a skilled Tongue. Baldr swore to follow in his father's footsteps after his gruesome demise, and tapped into the powers of the Voice.

Conquest
At the age of 37, Baldr "the Breath" led a campaign against the Dragon Cult, effectively sacking almost every stronghold and monastery his forces laid siege upon. During the last years of the War, Baldr fought alongside Hakon One-Eye and retook most of eastern Fatherland, securing the rebels' dominion over the city of Windhelm, where he proclaimed himself the first High King of Atmorans. During this period Fatherland saw the unofficial establishment of the Atmoran Kingdom, roughly half the size of Østmark. After the War, High King Baldr began fulfilling his duties as Jarl of Windhelm. It was at that time that he drafted the early version of Atmoran Kingdom's declaration of independence alongside generals Alfarr the Whisperer and Sjöring Black-Winter. The Kingdom would span the territories retaken by Baldr and his generals over the course of the Dragon War. At that time, the Kingdom would consist of one hold of Østmark, known as the Elder Hold and nicknamed by some "the Mother Hold". A year after Baldr had declared Atmoran Kingdom's independence, he decreed that the territory would be divided into four Old Holds, each ruled by a Jarl.

Death
In ME 69, High King Baldr was murdered by an unknown assailant in his bedchambers in Ysgramor's Palace, marking the beginning of the Atmoran Kingdom's tough times. Vigge the World-Weary, one of Baldr's generals, was named Jarl of Windhelm and was to be coronated to be officially titled High King if not for the growing tension between the Jarldoms, the people of which not only treated the successor with distrust for his open-mindedness, but also were involved in disputes over their territories. High King Baldr's Tomb is located under Windhelm, and has been subject to vandalism in several cases due to its accessibility.