Vingalmo is an Altmer vampire of the Volkihar Clan (Dawnguard) and one of Lord Harkon‘s two primary advisors. He is the book-loving, sharp-tongued one. His rival Orthjolf is the brawny one, and the two trade insults whenever they share a room. Both want Harkon’s throne.
Where to find them
He lives in Castle Volkihar. If you join the vampires at the end of Awakening, you will find him arguing with Orthjolf in the dining room.
Quests
In Bloodline, Vingalmo is the first to stop you at the castle door and accuses you of trespassing. When he sees Serana, he forgets you entirely and announces her return to the whole court.
During The Bloodstone Chalice, he is suspicious when he hears that you are taking the Chalice. Behind your back he sends his underling Salonia Caelia after you to kill you and take it, hoping to strengthen his own position against Harkon.
Later he gives two vampire side quests. In New Allegiances, you calm a chosen mortal with vampiric seduction and then turn them in private. The candidates include Haran, the innkeeper of Winterhold, Cairine in Markarth and Valindor of Riften. Each one gives the clan new eyes and ears. In The Gift, he knows you are married and wants your spouse turned too.
Personality & relationships
Vingalmo is polished, condescending and constantly plotting. He welcomes you warmly and then immediately warns you not to trust Orthjolf, who supposedly wants the throne. Orthjolf says the same about him, and both are right. He believes only those descended from Harkon’s mortal bloodline can properly receive his blood, and only when the stars line up. He claims to have found a suitable candidate when the stars were favourable. Orthjolf likes to mock him as a bookworm, and in one exchange Orthjolf teases him about a meeting with Harkon that Vingalmo apparently was never told about.
Good to know
The book Night of Tears credits him with a work about ancient Saarthal called Treatise on the Altmer Antecedent. If you get cured of vampirism, he suggests asking Harkon (or later Serana) to give you the gift again.
