Front row, seated or crouching, left to right: The Highlanders Mercer, Vaslav, Isola, and Radomir. Second row, standing, left to right: The Highlanders Aspara, Demetrius, and Umasza, and the Palatians, Hymachus and Harcas.
Those who claimed direct descent from the original Daradjans who dwelt in the Harath Éduins chose the name Highlanders long ago, to distinguish themselves from those who had come to dwell in Daradja but were originally from elsewhere. The Highlanders are currently organized into 28 Great Clans of ancient lineage and an ever changing number of smaller clans. Many Highland warriors join one of the Free Companies, quai-mercenary bodies that serve Highland chieftains or Daradjan Citadel Kings, the oldest of which trace thier beginnings to King Cynan's campaign against the Thessid Empire and the great Black Day Battle of 1065. The Free Companies elect thier captains by popular vote. Eight such companies served King Bran of Dara Dess and continue to serve Artesia after Bran's death, a ninth joining soon after the events of the first series. The captains of the Long Claws and Steelhearts, Mikhail and Tenreuth, were left behind to guard the lands of Dara Dess and so are not pictured here.
Mercer son of Dyved — from the Av-Ruad clan, of the Black. The Ruad recently split into two clans, the Black and the Red, and Mercer joined a Free Company to escape their continued civil war. He commands 53 Highlanders in the Leatherskins Company, primarily drawn from the Fallas Av-Inris and Fallas Av-Tane clans. The Leatherskins had a long history of sailing as pirates out of the fort of Kar Corcova into the Kédran Gulf before Mercer brought them inland to Dara Dess.
Vaslav — the younger brother of Demetrius, from the Av-Tenved clan. He once served his brother as second, but split off from Demetrius when Demetrius swore servce to Artesia and Bran and formed the Blackwings Company. Though he later came to join the forces of Dara Dess, he never swore an oath to either Artesia or Bran. He commands 42 Highlanders, mostly from the An-Tenved and Cern Abrat clans.
Isola — from the Cill Nas Emrys clan. The newly chosen captain of the Blackhearts, one of the oldest and most storied Free Companies, created to follow King Cynan to fight the Thessids four centuries ago. She replaced her lover Theseus, killed in the Black Day Battle against Bran and the Agallites, and is in command of 87 Highlanders, mostly from the Cill Nas Emrys and Fer Brig clans.
Radomir — from the Feramore clan. He is the newly chosen captain of the Ironclads (so named when being outfitted in iron actually meant something, and so a mark of their long history), and commands 56 Highlanders, mostly from the Feramore and Dorn clans. Radomir was champion and line-breaker for the Ironclads' previous captain, Sela, who was lost in the recent Black Day Battle.
Aspara — from the Bodmall clan, and a daughter of its chieftain. Aspara was promised to the chieftain of the Kar Kadoc clan, and she took the unusual step of renouncing her clan to escape the arranged marriage; she is sometimes called 'the Bloodless.' She commands 67 Highlanders in the Bronzehearts Company, mostly drawn from the Mag Sheela and Kar Galam clans.
Demetrius — from the An-Tenved clan. Demetrius was the first Highlander captain to seek out Artesia, and he swore service to her in her capacity as warlord to Bran. The most veteran of the Highland captains in her service, he commands 103 Highlanders in the Silverwings Company, drawn mostly from the An-Tenved and Cern Abrat clans. He supposedly met Urgrayne the Witch Queen shortly before coming to Dara Dess, and was an old rival of Umasza's before they both swore oath to Artesia.
Umasza — from the Ban Bres clan. Umasza was the second Highlander captain to seek out Artesia. She commands 258 Highlanders and three sub-captains — Basi, Thersus, and Nicea (not pictured) — in her own right as the commander of the Marauders, called by many the greatest of the Free Companies, founded by Urian the Black to serve King Cynan himself. Her company is drawn mostly from the Ban Bres, Fallas Av-Tane, Fallas Av-Inis, and Av-Faelan clans. Umasza is known to have met Urgrayne the Witch Queen, and is widely considered a member of the Witch's Host. She could have claimed the chieftainship of the Ban Bres clan, but instead ceded to her younger sister Iva Valen, and now serves as Artesia's second-in-command.
Other officers —
Hymachus of the House of Uri-anza — a Palatian master smith and armorer, trained at the Arsenal, the great iron and ship works in the city of Palatia Archaia itself. He left the service of the Palatian legions after a scandal involving the daughter of the captain-general of the Sixth Audrawners (who also happened to be from one of the Great Houses of Palatia), and originally sailed south to Therapoli seeking employ. While in the city he was told of the Highlands and of a war captain who already employed a Palatian master sergeant, and he came into the service of King Bran and Artesia. 20 smiths and armorers now work under him, along with over 50 assistants, and he has taught them a few of the Arsenal's secrets, including the technique which produces the distinctive blue-black plate armor of Artesia's company. Like all master smiths, he is an enchanter and magician.
Harcas of the House of Goatis — a Palatian ex-legionare, former master sergeant of the 43rd Labirine Guards. He left the legions to escape his creditors after amassing some rather bad gambling debts, and came south across the Sun's Anvil into the Highlands, where he soon found a position with Artesia's company. He now serves her as her master sergeant and fieldmaster, and she has given him tactical command of the bannerets — lesser lords without the 20 bannermen required to become banner lords and gain their own holds. 13 bannerets with 117 bannermen are currently at his disposal. Harcas is somtimes called 'the Carcass,' because of an incident in which he was forced to play dead after a defeat at the hands of the King of An-Athark early in Artesia's career, but is more often referred to as 'the Hammer,' because of his relentless emphasis on company discipline. Harcas has instructed Artesia and her company in some aspects of Palatian legion warfare, perhaps most notably in the march and logistics traditions that have resulted in Artesia's company being widely considered the fastest, best-supplied army in the Highlands.
Second row, standing left to right: Sava, Yerwin, and the banner lords Pavel, Malcolm, and Ferris. Front row, seated or crouching, left to right: The banner lords Bela, Borna, Sylus, Ustin, and Moromir.
Sava of Paster Myr — a Daradjan soldier from Artesia's ranks, chosen to be her chief of household, campmasters, and guard captain. Having had difficulty gaining recognition from Bran's other banner lords, Sava was one of the first soldiers to join Artesia's company when Bran granted Artesia a captaincy. The number of bannermen under Sava's command in Artesia's personal Guard has risen to 42, increased by the recent addition of Bran's eight remaning King's Guard.
Yerwin of Tel Pass — Artesia's chief scout and pathfinder. A veteran hunter and mountaineer born in the Tel Éduins, Yerwin served as a mercenary scout for a number of Citadel Kings and banner lords before coming into the service of Bran and Artesia. He runs herd on a motley group of woodsmen and pioneers who act as scouts and lookouts; the number changes with the seasons, but is currently about 25.
Daradjan tradition names as a banner lord any landholder or noble who can muster a full banner, a unit of at least 20 mounted soldiers, though the terms are often used more loosely and in some variation; any banner lord who holds a citadel could claim the title of Citadel King, for example. Bran held as his vassals eight banner lords with holds, one banner lord without a hold, and three mercenary captains; seven of his nine lords and two of the mercenary captains sided with Artesia against Bran. He also received tribute from six Citadel Kings and their banner lords, who have now all pledged the same to Artesia. Constans, Lord of Har Homa, and Thales, Lord of Niras Point, managed to reach the safety of the mountains before Bran's end, while the mercenary captain Dymas and his company perished in the Black Day Battle and the night that followed. Constans and Thales were stripped of their holds in absentia. Hueylin, Lord of Myr Iras, and considered the highest ranking of the remaining banner lords, had been wounded in a battle against King Alexus of Finleth, and so was chosen to remain behind as Artesia's spokesman in the Highlands (and so is not pictured).
Pavel, Lord of Myr Lamas — the highest ranking of the banner lords riding with Artesia into the Middle Kingdoms. His father, Poven, had feuded for years with Bran's father, Coromir, until Coromir renounced the Divine King, after which Poven became a stalwart vassal. As Artesia considered Pavel a formal man given to tradition, she was unsure of whose side he would take during her conflict with Bran, but he considered Bran's alliance with the Agallites of the Middle Kingdoms a greater breach of tradition than her unspoken challenge to Bran's power. He fields a force of 60 bannermen on the campaign.
Malcolm, of Uthage, Lord of Gail Palwark — an Umati mercenary in Artesia's service, awarded the hold of Gail Palwark and made a banner lord. Malcolm was the youngest and landless son of the Lord of Uthage, vassal to the King of Umat; he had been sent to Therapoli to study at the University, but he ran out of money and became a mercenary rather than return to Umat. He eventually commanded the Horned Company serving Bran and Artesia. He rides with 50 bannermen; over a dozen have remained behind because they were exiles from the Middle Kingdoms who feared to return for various reasons.
Ferris of Sess Pogue, Lord of Umis Karat — Ferris' mother, Caila, was the sister of Lysia, King Bran's enchatress and magician; it is hard to say of whom Caila approved less, her sister or her daughter, who became a mercenary. At an early age Ferris was initiated into the mysteries of Hathhalla the Avenger, the Devouring Fire of the Sun, an ancient divinity with two major temples in the Highlands. The mercenary company she eventually came to command had many Hathhallic initiates and was commonly called the Lion Company. She was awarded the hold of Umis Karat by Artesia, and now leads 70 bannermen in the field; 20 exiles in her company stayed behind rather than return to the Middle Kingdoms.
Bela of Gallos, Lord of Bellova — descended of a Huelt vassal to Bran's grandfather, Vormir of Nagria, who took the citadel of Bellova as his own hold by force. Like most of the descendants of the Huelt arrivals, Bela considers himself a Daradjan. His family had long ago abandoned the worship of the Divine King common throughout the Middle Kingdoms and embraced the Highlands traditions of making sacrifice to Yhera, the Queen of Heaven, and her divine sisters and children. Roughly half of the 50 bannermen riding with Bela trace their ancestry back to somewhere in Huelt, but they all refer to themselves as being 'of Gallos,' the ancient home and hold of Bran's grandfather, Morovic.
Borna of Gallos, Lord of Niras Point — the younger brother of Bela; though he had no hold of his own, he was a renowned enough warlord to attract a sizeable company to his banner. He has been rewarded by Artesia with the hold of Niras Point, which formerly belonged to the fugitive lord Thales. He brings 40 bannermen from his household on the campaign.
Sylus, Lord of Tel Lorat — Tel Lorat has long been held by refugee Highlanders from the Amadan clan who crossed the Tel Éduins and took the citadel by force after fleeing the factional bloodshed which split the clan. Sylus became a vassal to Bran after seeing Artesia lead the army of Dara Dess in a battle against brigands besieging the town of Teppin. He rides with 30 bannermen from his household.
Ustin, of Dara Ramat, Lord of Bose Bridge — the youngest of Artesia's banner lords, Ustin served as a bannerman under the last Lord of Bose Bridge, Tofer, who died in a battle against the King of An-Athark without an heir. Bran named Ustin, who rallied Tofer's remaining bannermen in the fight, as the new Lord of Bose Bridge. Though this indebted him to Bran, it was Artesia's counsel and help which enabled the inexperienced Ustin to survive as long as he has as a warlord. He brings 25 bannermen on campaign.
Moromir, Lord of Tel More — the oldest of Artesia's banner lords and the last to become a sworn vassal of Bran. His hold, Tel More, somtimes called "High Wall" because of its location in the difficult slopes of the Tel Éduins range, could probably have stayed independent or simply made offer of tribute to Bran, but Moromir had grown tired of sitting in his mountain citadel. His face was scarred in his first battle by a brigand chief, and he recently lost a tooth in the taking of Dara Dess. He rides with 45 bannermen.
