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With a brutal crash and a sickening creak, the timbers of "Aldryame" began to shiver. The ship's company had fought hard, but the heavier broadside of HMS Balrog was finally taking its' toll. Capitaine Églefin drew his sword and prepared to strike his colours... While Wheelingturn has grabbed much of the limelight from the past Mordredian Wars, and even made himself Prime Mincer to King Gorge, his late-lamented contemporary, Lard Hewratio Kneelson, has received much less coverage in writings on the subject. But while the Army of Catalucia played a decisive role in the war, they could have done little without the gallant orcs of His Monstrosity's Navy. This brief overview intends to describe some of the important facts and traditions of not only the Albion Royal Navy, but also the fleets of their allies and opponents. The Albion Royal Navy The fleet of Lard Kneelson is reknowned and feared throughout the world of Valon. With their sturdy, if inelegant, ship designs and punishing broadsides, the Albion RN have been almost universally successful across the world's oceans and seas. Only the East Valonian fleet of the Secessionists has come close to disturbing the absolute control of the sea-lanes that this mighty force has for long enjoyed. The Ferach Navy Before the coming of Black Powder, the Imperial High Elf Fleet was a truly impressive edifice. With fast, sleek hulls and accurate bow and ballista shooting, together with "Elf Fyre", had made the navy a feared sight by Morgana's enemies. But with the rise of the Ferach, many of the (mainly royalist) Elven captains fled or were executed, and the officers promoted in their places were largely incompetent, inexperienced or both! The fleet has degenerated, and the unfortunate Admiral Vilenerve has been unable to bring back the old magic. (A few of the royalist captains absconded with their ships and have taken the role of privateer/pirate - as experienced captains with good crews, they are a force to be reckoned with). The excellent Amorican vessels are largely built under the watchful eye of Cirdain Tellerie, the Chief Shipwright. His technical skill and eye for a functionally beautiful line has resulted in the fastest, most manoeuverable hull and rigging designs in all of Valon. But the quality of officers and ships' companies, together with political manipulation of the Navy, reduced this technical edge to nought. Even so, a competently handled Elfin ship in motion is a sight to behold. The Nepolise Fleet With their amphibious nature, the Todoroni would be expected to have some nautical units. But, as with everything in Nepolia, the fleet is a shambles of old galleys, galleases and ships-of-the-line.
The current fleet consists of: • Il Amphibioni (Flagship; 74-guns)
• Il Consevioni (74-guns)
• Il Adviosi (50-guns)
• Il Metti (50-guns)
• Il Caepti (50-guns)
• Five frigates (20-36 guns)
• Five galleases (10-18 guns)
• Numerous small galleys, yachts, barges and galliots. The Troll Fleets The Troll-lands are home to various clans of sea-trolls and sea-trollka, including the Sjutrolls, Marbendils and Fossgrimen. Some of these are semi-aquatic, but make long sea-journeys in wooden long-ships, with both sails and oars. With the coming of Black Powder, there have been modifications to the ships of the Troll navies, equiping them with artillery. The various troll kingdoms and jarldoms are at each other's throats as much as anybody elses, and the main naval activity is coastal, and any ship entering troll waters is in danger from the long-ships. The Krautian High Fleet With no naval tradition, and little interest in ships and ship-building, the Krautians maintain a very small fleet. But, with typical dwarven ingenuity, they have constructed ships with various automated power-systems and metal armour, making these Krautian vessels an unusual (if restricted) threat. The Ostarian Flotilla The Ostarian Flotilla is a largely river-based fleet of armed barges and small-craft, many of oared or oar and sail propulsion. The dogs do possess a few small ships capable of sea-service, but are hardly a naval nation. The Algarvian Navy With their scattered empire, the goblins of Algarvey were an early naval power. But, as with most of their works, the Royal Algarvian Navy has become outmoded and weak, with a mixture of galleases, ships-of-the-line and loan ships from Albion. The Catalucian Navy The Catalucians needed a fleet to maintain links between North and South Catalucia. They developed huge vessels capable of carrying large amounts of material by sea, and armed some of these as escorts. Their navy consists of huge floating fortresses, which are heavily built and armed, but unmanoeuverable and poorly crewed. The Otharmann Fleet The Othari are another semi-aquatic race, and again mainly use galleys (or Zebecs) to patrol the Otharmann Sea and other areas. Their Sea-Otter Janissaries are fierce opponents, and capable of living full-time in the water. The Imperial Witchlands Fleet Like the Dogs, the undead of the Witchlands have a largely river-borne fleet. Their classic vessel is the zombie-crewed chaika which is a small gallease, capable of travelling through shallow rivers and across ice. Their few high-sea vessels are said to be constructed from the finger- and toe-nails of the dead... The United Secessionist Fleet The US fleet consists of small, but powerful, ships-of-the-line. The East Valonians do not build large first- and second-raters, but packs a heavy broadside into their cruising frigates. They do not aim for set-piece sea-battles, but to attack the merchant shipping of their enemies. It is rumoured that a Krautian steam-ship has been acquired by the Secessionists, for use on the Kinkon River in their continuing campaigns there. Author's Note Thanks to Jim Parmenter for some interesting ideas. Webmaster's Note This was originally published on Danny's excellent website marked as 'Under Construction' and is reproduced here with permission from the author. |
