Midlanders

The olive-skinned Midlanders, more formally known as Argosans, have a culture similar to medieval England, ruled by a king and court of hereditary highborn, vastly outnumbered by a growing underclass of commoners.

The Midlanders are not a numerous people, but control Lake Argos via the walled cities of Crow’s Keep, Northgate, and Port Brax, making up the central basin referred to as the Midlands (Argosa). The Argosans are leaders in scientific advancement in the region, for example, they are the sole producers of full plate mail and secret concoctions such as alchemist’s fire.

Midlanders venerate seven deities, an amalgam of some of mankind’s enduring divinities since the Second Age. High and low born alike partake in private prayer and public worship; celebrating at temples, guided by ordained clergy. The Seven Ancients are as follows:

 • Argona (health, protection, healing, happiness, hope) • Baal (decay, disease, suffering, death),

 • Fenrir (skill, luck, fate),

 • Graxus (war, courage, struggle, glory),

 • Shennog (night, darkness, mystery, deceit, madness),

• Soliri (sun, weather, nature, creation), and

 • Wodon (knowledge, art, wisdom and justice).

Common Midlander apparel includes tunics, doublets, dresses, and tabards, complemented with sturdy trousers and boots. Prosperous citizens tend to wear more linen than wool, with greater finery. In times of war, only Midlanders field armies with heavy cavalry. Their main force consists of mail-clad men-at-arms, pikemen, and regimented archers.