Midlands (Sword of Truth)
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The Midlands is a fictional location in the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind.
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[edit] Geographical Characteristics
The Midlands are between the nations of Westland and D'Hara in the New World. They were sealed away from Westland and D'Hara by the boundaries about 40 years before the start of the series, which have since then fallen. There are many places in the Midlands where there are rumors of terrible beasts. However, most of these stories are just that, stories. But not all. The Midlands can be a fantastic and dangerous place. There are a number of nations within the Midlands, most who have a king or queen that is the master of the domain. Other lands are ruled in different manners, such as by councils. Some are places of magic creatures, such as the night wisps. No humans live in these lands.
The Midlands never had close relations with D'Hara. It was a distant and secretive land that they knew almost nothing about until the war with Panis Rahl.
[edit] Government
The Midlands were a loose confederation of free lands; free, at least, to rule as they see fit, and only so long as they live in peace with each other. They were made up of several distinct nations that cooperate together in an organization called the Council of the Midlands. The Council of the Midlands was given force by the wizards and Confessors who enforced its rules and ensured that small or weak nations were protected by larger or more powerful neighbors. The Council of the Midlands was governed by a group called the Central Council of the Midlands.
The Council of the Midlands was disbanded shortly after the fall of Darken Rahl in order to unite as one nation under D'Hara and Richard Rahl against the threat of the Imperial Order.
[edit] Culture
The Midlands is a land of magic. In the Midlands, no matter having to do with power is small. Servant girls in the Midlands are required to keep their hair short as the length of a girl's hair has a certain social significance. Long hair is a symbol of authority, bordering on defiance if it is inappropriate for her status. It is a sign that she has power to do as she wishes, and that none may command her, that she is a threat to all. Short hair is a sign of submission to their man and every other person of higher status than they. A woman who allows her hair to grow beyond the length appropriate to her status is forced to forfeit some of that status in punishment. Most women in the Midlands were not sufficiently important enough to have hair long enough to touch their shoulders. A servant woman or peasant's hair may be long enough to cover her ears, but no more, and never past her jawline. Noble women often had hair that touched their shoulders and event went a little beyond. A Confessor's hair often reached halfway down her back.
A common religious practice in the Midlands was to push a raft of wildflowers into a body of water as an offering to the spirits of one's ancestors and as a request for protection.
Due to a spell casted by Panis Rahl, in the Midlands, any red fruit is poison.
[edit] History
[edit] Old Days
Long ago, wizards were almost like rulers, and they became frustrated by the corruption about them. They hated the lies and deception. They wanted a way to prevent corrupt leaders from using their power to deceive and subvert the people. At that time, many unscrupulous leaders would simply accuse their political enemies of a crime, and have them executed for it, at once dishonoring them and eliminating them. The wizards wanted a way to put a stop to this. They needed a way that left no room for doubt. So they created a magic, and gave it a life of its own. They created Confessors and the Seeker of Truth to discover important truths.
The wizards made one mistake when creating the Confessors. They didn't give sufficient thought to how the power would take a life of its own. They didn't foresee how the power would be passed on to the offspring, and be so different in men. Shortly after the creation of the Confessors, a few male Confessors joined forces, and brought about a terrible reign of cruelty. It was called the dark time. At last, the wizards hunted them all down and killed them. Many of the wizards died too. From that time, the wizards withdrew from trying to rule the lands. Too many of them had been killed anyway. Instead, they only tried to serve the people, to help where they could. But they no longer interfere with rulers if they can help it. They have learned bitter lessons.
In the past, arrogant rules had thought to make the Confessors submit to their word. In those times, there were farsighted Confessors, now revered as legends, who knew they must lay the foundation for their independence, or forever submit to domination; so the Mother Confessor took the rulers with her power. The rulers were removed from their thrones, and replaced with new rulers who understood that Confessors were to be left alone. The old rulers, those who were taken, were kept in Aydindril as little more than slaves. The Confessors took those old rulers with them when they traveled to the different lands, made them carry the provisions and luxuries of travel. Back then, there was more ceremony surrounding the Confessors than there is now, and it made the intended impression. From then on, Confessors have always been the highest ranking beings in the Midlands.
[edit] D'Haran War
Two generations before the birth of Richard Rahl, the Midlands were a confederation of nations, as was D'Hara.
Panis Rahl was a leader of one of the D'Haran nations who, through backstabbing and treachery, took over all of D'Hara. By that time, the peoples of the Midlands had seen what he was about, and were not to be taken so easily. They knew that signing a peace treaty with him was as good as signing an invitation to invasion. Instead, they chose to remain free, and joined together, through the Council of the Midlands, in a common defense. Many of the free lands held no favor with each other, but they knew if they did not fight together, they would die separately, one at a time.
Panis Rahl threw the might of D'Hara against them. War waged for many years. As his legions were finally slowed and then halted, Rahl turned to magic. Panis was ruthless in his use of magic against the free people using trickery, sickness, fevers, and the shadow people. Whole battalions were found killed to a man.
When Panis Rahl started using the magic in that way, a great and honorable wizard, Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander, joined the side of the Midlands' cause. Many thousands had already died in battle, but the magic killed many more. With the help of the great wizard holding Panis Rahl's magic in check, his legions were driven back into D'Hara.
[edit] Aftermath of the War
The wars had been devastating, but it was concluded that going into D'Hara to destroy Rahl and his forces would be too costly. Yet something had to be done to keep Panis Rahl from trying again, as they knew he would. To keep the forces of D'Hara at bay, Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander created an impassable boundary between D'Hara and the Midlands. Many in the Midlands were more frightened of the magic than of the hordes from D'Hara, and they wanted to have nothing to do with it ever again. Another boundary was put up, and Westland was set aside for those people. So it was that there came to be three lands, separated by the impassable boundaries.
At first things were quiet in the Midlands after the boundaries were put in place as people recovered from the war. As time wore on the Central Council of the Midlands became corrupt and, because of their greed, began appointing the position of Seeker of Truth to whomever they chose and would mishandle important magical artifacts. The other wizards Zedd had trained also became consumed with greed, and sided with the council. Because of this, the great wizard left the Midlands for Westland and cast a wizard's web so that no one would remember his name or what he looked like.
[edit] Darken Rahl Movement
Darken Rahl was the son of Panis Rahl and the heir to D'Hara. The Darken Rahl movement started almost 40 years after the boundaries were put into place and sprang up out of nowhere. All of a sudden crowds of people in the bigger cities chanted the name of "Father Rahl", calling him the greatest man of peace that ever lived, despite the fact that he lived on the other side of the boundary. At about the same time, gars began pouring over the boundary to D'Hara, killing a large number of people. No one knew it, but the boundary at the time was weakening and in the spring it faded away.
It was then that the People's Peace Army, Darken Rahl's army, marched right into a few of the bigger cities. Instead of fighting them, crowds of Midlanders threw flowers at them wherever they went. People who didn't throw flowers were hung, not by the armies of Rahl, but by the people of the Midlands. After a time, the People's Peace Army stepped in and stopped the killing. Instead, the dissenters were sent to schools of enlightenment to learn about the greatness of Father Rahl, about what a man of peace he was and became Rahl's most fanatic converts. Darken Rahl went before the Central Council of the Midlands and asked them to join him in an alliance of peace. Those who did were held up as champions of harmony. Those who did not were held up as traitors and publicly executed on the spot by Darken Rahl himself. This began to open the wizard's eyes to Rahl's tyranny. Rahl then outlawed the use of all magic in the Midlands and declared anyone using it an insurrectionist, including all creatures of magic. Then he outlawed fire. People in many areas of the Midlands ignored the alliance, although Rahl considered it a petty problem. His true goal was to obtain the boxes of Orden which would make him master of all, without having to fight anyone.
Five of the six wizards realized the truth and began a search for the great wizard, Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander, so that he could make the appointment of a true Seeker of Truth to combat Darken Rahl. The sixth wizard, Giller, sold his services to Queen Milena (although it was later discovered he did so to protect one of the boxes of Orden). Darken Rahl began his hunt for the great wizard as well. The great one could not be found in the Midlands, and it was concluded he had fled to Westland. It was decided that someone would have to journey to Westland to find him, and, if need be, force his cooperation. Even the five wizards combined did not have the power to force the great one to make the appointment of the Seeker of Truth, therefore they sent someone who did, the Mother Confessor, Kahlan Amnell. The wizards cast spells over the Mother Confessor's tracks so none could know where she went or follow, as well as spells that allowed her to cross the boundary without dying. They then killed themselves so they could not be made to talk.
[edit] Notable Locations
- Aydindril
- Tamarang
- Horner's Mill
- The Wilds
- The Rang'Shada Mountains
- Pendisan Reach
