'Tis To Glory We Steer

[The Australian]

For who are so free as the sons of the waves?

1912

The year has started badly.

The world is on a route straight to hell, as tensions between the Byelorusian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia reach a head. Both nations have many allies, and each of them has something to pick with their opposite. Things are not much better in Asia, as Japan is preparing to invade China, and the Chinese are already fighting a losing war with the Manchu.

In North Vinland, things are much more stabler. The Kingdom of Schildkroteland prospers with peaceful relations with her neighbours. She has a large army and a powerful navy, along with being the economic and industrial powerhouse of North Vinland, but she is allied with Scandinavia and the Kingdom of Prussia, and so is Scandinavia.

Things are heating up, and they can only get worse.

Character Sheet:

Name:
Age:
Gender:
Appearance:

Rank (For Me):
Biography:

[The Australian]

Name: Wolfgang Staudinger
Age: 20
Gender: Male
Appearance:


Rank (For Me): Hauptbootsmann
Biography:
Wolfgang Ludwig Staudinger was born in the city of Philadelphia, not long after the Schildkrotelander Independence was formed from the Declaration of Danzig, which led to the release of the Schildkrotelander people under full independence from Prussian rule. There would still be an alliance with the nation of Prussia, and even the king of Schildkroteland is also the Duke of Hesse.

Wolfgang's father was a naval officer, serving aboard the SMS Regalia, a destroyer which escorted convoys coming from Europe. His mother was a social worker, who had her hands full with the independence. He grew up mostly with his mother, as his father was always at sea, but when he came home, there was always happiness.

But, it didn't last forever. The Regalia's magazine exploded and many men were killed, including his father. His mother wasn't affected much, but Wolfgang was. His father was his idol, and now he rested at the bottom of the sea.

This pushed Wolfgang onto a career path that would change his life. Fresh out of school, he enlisted into the Naval Infantry, and after basic training, was assigned to the SMS Donnerkind, a small patrol ship which barely left coastal waters. After being promoted a few times, and transferred to many ships in his career, he was assigned to the SMS Heldentat, a Vaterland-class batteship, which was part of the largest ships in the Schildkrotelander Navy.

[Noxious]

Name:

Kira Benkendorff

Age:

19

Gender:

female

Rank :

Leutnant

Biography:

Life is always greener on the other side they say. Kira was nothing if not a poster child for this very statement. From the time of her birth very few decisions were left for her; instead her life had been mapped out in her father’s brain as he stared at his wife’s swelling belly. He was a good man, shrewd in business and cunning with a silver tongue and a twinkling eye. His daughter, while loved and doted upon, was first and foremost a commodity to help elevate the family titles. This was a truth that had never been questioned in their house, it just was.

To an outsider the budding child was given everything. She attended well-to-do private schools, brushing shoulders with the offspring of the men that would eventually control their world. She did well in school too, though it wasn’t because she particularly enjoyed the subjects but rather because Kira couldn’t imagine disappointing her father. She ate fine foods and learned how to select a proper household staff as well as the correct knives, forks and linens for the occasion. When it came time to end her schooling and push his young daughter into their rightful place in the world she was, for the first time in her life, given an option; she could marry a wealthy young man as her own mother had and begin to create a family or she could join the Military in hopes of soon becoming an officer.

Kira had never had to make a decision before. Her clothes were laid out when she awoke, her dinner’s okayed by her mother, her classes handpicked by head masters. She was at a loss. It was the sense of confusion and inability to make a decision that finally proved to be enough decision in and of itself. She was not prepared to start a family. She didn’t even know who she was and while a husband could provide minimal answers the military offered an expansive amount of options.

That is the short story of how she ended up here on the SMS Heldentat as an armed forces advisor. She had already gained some respect from the people aboard. She was reserved and respectful, traits quickly admired in her line, but she was also slow to speak. She focused and contemplated the questions she was asked with a care that showed some of the shrewdness from her father. She was also extremely talented in acquiring languages. This could also be attributed to her father, for he pressured her to learn as many languages as possible and traveled with his young daughter often enough that she could experience the rich bubble of these different cultures.

[The Australian]

The uniforms for me, just so I don't forget them:

Land uniform
At-Sea uniform
Dress uniform