Rowan McGregor

''"Tis McGregor, our Marshal that leans on that sword, and while we are watching kneels before his lord, for each cavalier that loves honour and right, will follow our father, Ithilia, tonight..." --Raid on Kybycyell, war song of the Ithilian Dragoons''

Rowan McGregor, sometimes spelled Rowan MacGregor, is a minor character in the Legends of Altmar campaign. Rowan is Leonian noble, royal adviser, and Marshal. He served as the first marshal of the Ithilian Dragoons under King Vermeer II, leading the unit to many victories in the Southern War. After Raul la Fere seceded the duchy of Leohampton from Ithilia, he joined his lord and currently serves as the marshal of Raul's army.

Biography
Rowan became a knight of his home region of Cheltenborne and quickly proved himself a valuable warrior and tactician under Marshal Theodore Falke. His leadership in battles against the Vikings gained him a great deal of respect and after his father was killed in battle, he inherited lordship over Cheltenborne, about the time the Southern War broke out.

After investment into a strong cavalry force, King Vermeer established the Ithilian Dragoons to raid the Abington countryside in an effort to support Ithilian army efforts in the Southern War, selecting Count McGregor to lead the band of knights and cavalrymen. Rowan's tenure as marshal was a large success, and the unit ran amok almost to Hawthorne. Under his leadership the Dragoons won a pivotal battle near the village of Kybycyell, defeating Gaihu's elite vanguard and paving the way for an Ithilian occupation of the region, and threatening the Abington capital. McGregor also had success against the Vikings, before resigning his command to focus more on administering his estate and his political career.

McGregor petitioned King Vermeer and the Council for various political offices, but was denied each time, including being passed over for the office of Grand Justice for his rival Sidd Kingsley. After this, McGregor retreated from political life.

After Katherine Yorke was assassinated and her killer Raviel Hevoria was exiled, Rowan resigned from his position as Count of Cheltenborne, in protest of Sidd's decision not to execute Katherine's killer. He also cited he would not serve the child-duke Caleb Kingsley, Sidd's son. He accepted the newly vacated lordship of Cantervern after Duke Raul la Fere controversially confiscated the title from its previous lord.

When Raul seceded the duchy of Leohampton from Ithilia, proclaiming himself king of the new realm of Leon, Rowan followed his new liege and was offered marshalship of the new Kingdom's army, which he accepted. He currently wages war against Sidd Kingsley in the Ithilian Civil War.

Personality
Rowan is often seen as distant and reserved, though while some see this as professionalism, those who have known him for a while know that Rowan feels he has been wronged and passed over all his life and avoids personal attachments as a result of his past. He is a strong believer in the concept of honor and while he generally attempts to do the right thing, his pride often gets in the way of that.

Rowan is a tactical master and is calculated in his actions both on the battlefield and off. He sometimes seems standoffish as a result.

Sidd Kingsley
Sidd and Rowan both served marshal Theodore Falke during their tenure as knights; Sidd representing Crahandan, and Rowan representing Cheltenborne. Rowan has always viewed Sidd as his greatest rival, as the two came to the forefront of the Ithilian nobility at the same time. He and Sidd were in competition for titles and positions in court for most of their tenure as lords of Cheltenborne and Lothruin respectively. Notably both were considered for the role of Marshal of the Ithilian Dragoons after their formation by King Vermeer II, though Rowan was ultimately chosen, placing Sidd under his command.

While Rowan was chosen for this prestigious position, he was not above Sidd in the hearts of his peers, especially the heart of the Duchess of York, Katherine, whom he had fallen in love with. During the Southern War, Sidd and Katherine struck up a romance and later married, devastating Rowan, and fueling his rivalry with Sidd even further. When Sidd was appointed Grand Justice of Ithilia, it was clear he had become the more successful of the two, leading to strong resentment and Rowan becoming outspoken opponent of Sidd's ascension to the throne. He currently fights against Sidd in the Ithilian Civil War.

Overall, Rowan views Sidd as a hated rival. Personal and professional tensions between the two created great rift between the two lords, and Rowan refuses to let it go. Sidd harbors no true ill will towards his former comrade, though he acknowledges that the two have always been nemeses.

Katherine Yorke
As Katherine spent much of her childhood in Cheltenborne, she knew Rowan from a young age. The two had always been very close and as the grew up, Rowan developed romantic feelings for her. However before he acted upon his feelings, she began courting Sidd Kingsley, whom she later married. Though Katherine was aware of Rowan's feelings for her, he never told her personally, out of respect for her decision to marry Sidd. Despite her marriage to his hated rival, the two remained good friends, though things were never really the same between them after.

After her death, Rowan was despondent and assured Sidd his full cooperation in bringing her killer to justice. After Raviel Hevoria was exiled to the Colonies he denounced Sidd for not hanging the man as a traitor. Rowan visited her grave in York regularly until the outbreak of the Ithilian Civil war.

Raul la Fere
Rowan views Raul as a valuable ally. The two served together for decades in Ithilian campaigns to the north and south. When Raul offered Rowan the title of Count of Cantervern he accepted graciously and became a vassal of Leohampton, rather than serve the child Caleb Kingsley, the Duke of York after Katherine's murder. Both men share a distrust of Ithilia's king and found a natural alliance together. Rowan sees Raul as a true ruler and follows him without question. Raul views him as one of his most trusted advisers.

Trivia

 * Rowan (as with many elements of the Ithilian storylines) was developed out of an existing character from a text-based RPG from over 10 years ago.
 * As the campaign was originally developed out of the Ithilian stories, Rowan's storyline was one of the first to be written