Vardis Egen

"My Lady, I would gladly fight the Imp's champion for you."

- Vardis Egen

Ser Vardis Egen is a recurring character in the first season. He is played by Brendan McCormack and debuts in "The Wolf and the Lion." Ser Vardis Egen is the Captain of the guards at the Eyrie. In the trial by combat, he is the champion for Lysa Arryn and is killed by Bronn fighting for Tyrion.

Background
Vardis Egen is a knight from House Egen in the service of House Arryn. He was captain of Jon Arryn's personal guard in King's Landing and then became captain of the guards in the Eyrie for Robin Arryn and his mother, Lysa Arryn. He is a knight of some reputation, but is no longer a young man.

Season 1
Vardis leads the group of knights who meet Catelyn Tully and her prisoner Tyrion Lannister before she enters the Eyrie. Lysa orders Tyrion imprisoned in the sky cells. Tyrion claims that he wants to confess his crimes and then demands a trial by combat. Though many men, including Lord Eon Hunter and a Knight of House Lynderly, offer to fight as Lysa's champion, she asks Ser Vardis to represent House Arryn. At first he says that fighting Tyrion would be unfair, but Vardis accepts when Tyrion asks that he be represented by a champion. The sellsword Bronn offers to be Tyrion's champion. Vardis fights dressed in full metal armor and carrying a large and heavy wooden shield. His speed and dexterity were easily outmatched by Bronn, who wore only a leather armored shirt. During the course of the fight, Bronn throws things into Ser Vardis' path and even trips him, while quickly dodging and weaving to avoid Vardis' attacks. Ultimately Bronn tires out the more heavily armored knight, severely injuring him with a quick slash and disarming him.

Bronn then stabs Vardis in the neck and pushes him through the "Moon Door" in the center of the throne room sending him down a thousand-foot drop. Lysa snaps angrily to Bronn that he didn't fight with honor. The sellsword, pointing to the Moon Door, answers that Ser Vardis did.

In the books
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Ser Vardis Egen is an extremely loyal servant and retainer of House Arryn. He had been the captain of the guard when Jon Arryn was Hand of the King. He is described as heavy, square, plain-faced, silver-haired, and having no humor. In the battle with Bronn, Vardis is not only quite a bit older and slower than Bronn, but Lysa has given him Jon Arryn's great sword to defend the honor of the House, which is a heavier and unfamiliar blade.

In the book, Bronn kills Vardis without pushing him out of the Moon Door (which is set in the wall, not in the floor).