Of all the nations of Tableheim, the Kingdom of Midland is the one which it can truly be said the sun never sets upon. With her powerful navy she has conquered many foreign and exotic lands. Trade from all ports pours into her coffers through her adept merchants, her ships have even touched upon the very edge of the world, with expeditions near the thick ice wall that marks the outer edge of Tableheim. Midland's rivals envy her, and her armies have proven their mettle in more than one war on the Continent. The Comte de Villenois seethes in his court at Chateau de Mer about how one day he will conquer the lands of the Wyvern Kings. The Herzog Von Saxenburg marvels at the wealth that Midland has and courted favor with the Wyvern Kings off and on, seeking to have a family member one day replace their dynasty.
Midland had its origins in the clans that inhabited the stormy isle since the beginning of the world. There was a time when other empires had conquered the isle, first the Lupines, who drove the clans into the northern half of the isle, where the mountains and lochs shielded them from southern conquest, and the hard winters forged the clans into a strong nation of warriors, under the sign of the Unicorn Kings, the House of MacSeamus. In the south, new invaders came from the far north, the Drakon Men. Fierce, cruel, and adept sailors they overran Midland, establishing new kingdoms in the north and the south. In the north and westernmost part of the isle, the Drakon Men fathered the MacMuir House who with their ships became powerful enough to rival the MacSeamus dynasty over who would be High King of the Northlands. In the end though the MacSeamus kings could not conquer the rocky coasts of MacMuir lands without a proper navy and likewise the MacMuir lords proved unable to dethrone the MacSeamus in open battle and so far from their supply ships on the coast. Even when Drakon men were hired to fill out their armies, the Lords of the Sea could not take the heart of the North and hold it. The MacSeamus dynasty adopted the Unicorn as their symbol because none could conquer the mythical beast save a virgin. The MacMuirs eventually became part of the kingdom of the North but have always been a trouble spot within that part of the island. Meanwhile in the south, seven kingdoms were settled by the Drakon men who called the island Midlandr because it was midway between their frosty northern kingdoms and the rich continent to the south. Their Kings warred amongst each other for land and hedgemony until the coming of Alf I, the Great Overking of Midland. A pious man, Alf set up schools and churches and ordered that the language of Midlanders be standardized and soon he had conquered the whole of Midland with his great armies, whilst building a strong navy to throw off the yoke of the Drakon Sea Kings who worshipped the old gods and demanded constant tribute from the kings and earls of Midland. It was in this time that the House of Alfling, adopted the Wyvern, the white wyrm, as their sigil to prove they were the equals of the Drakon Kings.
The Wyvern of the House of Alfling.
The Unicorn of the House of MacSeamus. Also known as the Unicorn of the "Auld North" or Old North in Northlander speech.
In due time, wars, successions, marriages religious reforms, and other such things shaped the island into what it is today, a strong, free nation with its own Parliament, and a dynasty that can rightly boast the circle of the earth is theirs by right to rule. The navy that Alf I built became the King's Navy, and the armies of Midland and Northland march together in wars scattered across the breadth of Tableheim. Grey coated Northlander regiments with their bagpipes and tartan plaids prove their valor even against the most impossible of odds, whilst red coated Midlanders fight for King and Country as they plant the Midland flag on many a foreign shore. King Seamus III/IX of the Twin Kingdoms of Midland and Northland reigns over this mighty empire and has taken to the field of battle personally much like his predecessors. The descendant of the bloodlines of Alfling and MacSeamus, the King has proven his ancestral mettle in both Parliament and on the field of glory. When the succession was in crisis during his youth, he fled to the Northlands to the home of his uncle, John MacMuir, Lord of the Sea, and raised a Royalist army to fight the foreign usurper invited by Parliament to take his throne. The War of the Twin Kingdoms lasted for 4 bloody years as the clans "cam oot" or "turned out" for young Seamus and Jacobs (the Nikean form of Seamus) fought Villeins (old Midlander for Villenois) all across the north of Midland. Eventually at the Battle of Camsworth, the Jacob army defeated the last remaining Villien army and sent the would be king Jean back to his ships on the south coast. The Counts of Villenois have not forgotten this indignity.
Seamus III/IX of the House of MacSeamus/Alfling resplendent in a Midland red uniform.
A young Seamus during the War of the Twin Kingdoms, wearing the tartan of his forefathers.
A soldier of the 2nd Northland Regiment of Foote. During the Religious Wars of the previous century, the Northlands Council (similar to Midland Parliament but the main officials are Clan chiefs) voted to issue uniforms to the standing army. Grey was the cheapest color available so it was chosen because who ever heard of a Northlander who turned down a bargain?
A Midlander private of the 54th Regiment of Foote, the Chancely Regulars. Red proved to be an affordable, durable color for Midland uniforms and the Act of Parliament of 1647 standardized the army and made red the official color of all Midland uniforms, barring certain exceptions.
The military of the Twin Kingdoms is led by a varied and aristocratic but professional force. Many of the Northland nobility send their sons into the military seeing it a great honor to fight for their rightful king, each clan a sworn sword for the House of MacSeamus since ancient times. In Midland many nobles see opportunity in both the army and navy and duly so, for there are many opportunities available abroad that will bring wealth and prestige to a young, enterprising lad that he can't find at home. It is this combination of empire building and trade that has created an effective though small fighting force for such a tiny island. Midland controls a good quarter of Tableheim and they are quick to remind those who dare defy the Wyvern banner of the price of challenging the Masters of the Ocean Sea.
General Blair Dunconnell, at the Battle of Prestonkettle. Shot off his horse and pinned underneath in the first charge, he valiantly fended off his attackers til help arrived and won the engagement having two Northland clansmen carry him on a targe (a type of shield) to the enemy lines. The men of Clan Kay still shout the warcry "Targaid airson Blair!" "A targe for Blair!" in battle.
Seamus at the head of a Northland host entering Dun Ectar in triumph. Dun Ectar is the ancient seat of the Northland kings and of the MacSeamus clan.
General Hogan leading a Villein army in a last ditch defense of the Northland village of Portoon. Mike Hogan, a stout Northlander from the sea coast lands of MacMuir, was pardoned by the king when the war ended and has proven to be a very able and loyal commander in the king's army.
Young Angus MacMuir, Lord of the Sea, and First Admiral of the King's Navy. He is an expert in maritime warfare and is a formidable presence in a sea battle. Although the First Admiral is mainly a desk job, Angus has turned the position into a front line experience as he often does his "desk work" aboard his warship, a first rate ship of the line, HMS Breath of Muir. The MacMuirs maintain their own private flotilla of small ships, mostly fast third rate craft like brigs and sloops, which have been popular with the Sea Lords as excellent raiding vessels.
Duncan MacLorna, chief of Clan MacLorna and chief Spymaster for the King. His network of informants on the Continent keep the royal court abreast of events brewing there. He is not above his own political intriguing, but he confines it to keeping ahead of his competitors and seeks to protect the King from all threats.
Admiral Sir George Pennine. Admiral of the White Fleet, which protects the home island from attack. His brilliant victory over the Villenese fleet at Trappen-Geese ensured the Midland army on the continent would not be cut off from its supply as Lord Carstairs deftly outmaneuvered his opponent, General Antonio de Spoletti. Pennine wears the old Admiral's uniform in this portrait, a symbol of his long service to the Crown. The Admiralty shortly before this portrait was made changed the uniform to more fitting blue.
General Percy Carstairs, Lord Glosterby. An astute tactician and a proponent of maneuver warfare, Lord Glosterby comes from the borderlands of Midland and is no stranger to fast paced raiding campaigns. If he can't overtake an obstacle, he simply goes around it.
Sir William Hansom, Duke of Whitstane (old Midlander for White Stone). One of the oldest families in Midland, Lord Whitstane is not as able a commander as most others but he does not shy away from glory either. Most often he can be found in the thick of battle urging his men onwards to the enemy. He does dither at times and does not have a strong strategic grasp like his contemporaries. His real expertise is seiges. He took the fortified town of Bon au Villenois, but lost the subsequent Battle of Aujus when General O'Donnell, a Northlander in Villenese service, cut off his supply route with 2,000 cavalrymen, forcing Whitstane to retreat to the coast.
Admiral Sir Gerald Perkins, Admiral of the Blue Fleet which is stationed in the West Fridays. Perkins has done a good job of chasing the Villenese out of most of the Jamaquin Sea, but the pirate haven of San Cristo Trinidado still eludes his grasp.
Sir John Bullwarth, Lord Governor of the Siddikh Raj and Director General of the East Friday Company. The Fridays are the name given to a chain of islands in the Eastern Sea which were discovered on a Friday morning with much thanking of God by the Espani sailors who discovered them. When men sailed west to find a faster route to the "East Fridays" they bumped into the "West Fridays" and the Greater Continent of Winland.
Alisdair Kay, Chief of Clan Kay, and Lord Marshal of the Twin Kingdoms. Though he rarely takes the field, he is a proven general as he was (and still is) the main strategic advisor to the king during the Jacob War. His military reforms standardized the regiments and put more competent commanders in the field like Hogan and Carstairs.
Fiona MacMuir, Lady Roseheath. Daughter of John MacMuir she was a lover of the king and is now his closest friend and confidant. She often works with Duncan MacLorna in creating false information to feed to Villenese spies in the royal court. A veteran intriguer herself, she keeps her clan's interests at heart and it was through her influence that her brother Angus became First Admiral.
His Geminic Majesty, King Seamus III/IX, after his victory at Toorbrigd, a village in the north of the Continent, part of the small Duchy of Wittenhoff, which was overrun by Villenese troops during the War of the House of Spittlesbach.
His Geminic Majesty's Army faces the Militaire de Villenois in the midst of the Klauswald. General Dunconnell commands the Midlanders against Marshal Spoletti and the Villenese crack troops.
