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[h1][u]Ride at Dawn[/u][/h1]

The Festival of Eshiran slowly came to a close. Lanterns once held to illuminate the stalls now flickered to darkness and the stalls that filled the market place were either covered or placed back in storage. The ringing in people’s ears was replaced with the calm of waves crashing at the port. Children found themselves clutching their first vuvuzela as their parents tucked them into bed. Many people comforted themselves with their loved ones one last time towards the end of the festival. The city of Zengali had raised its spirits to the sky for the sake of tomorrow and hopefully this would be the last time they would have to. 

Before Lor had carrassed over the eastern cliffs of Zengali, men and the odd woman were loading themselves onto ships. Some vessels stood mighty with their large sails and double or triple gun decks. The mightiest vessel of war was the galleon that The Marquis of Zengali wielded, the Mkuki wa Zengal. From the quality of construction to the polish of the cannons, no expense was spared in the creation of it over the last few decades. Accented with bronze and well equipped with the most cannons, many men found themselves boarding the ship.

The next ship that held some spotlight was a fluyt-like ship with Hodari riding upon it. The main sail and flag proudly showed the symbol of the Pentad in all its glory. It was loaded up with a concerning amount of firepower, enough to where one would be concerned of its ability to stay upright on the waves. Some number of Mezegolian warriors and people of the church boarded it for it was their duty. Stained a deep red, the powerful fluyt stood out even if the size of the vessel did not compare to the handful of larger ships.

Another one of the larger ships was a Eskandish long boat, so long and wide that it may as well been called a bastardized Galleass. The Eskandish mongrels that called it home swore on their father’s names they could carry it over the very mountains of Mezegol! It carried the head of a dragon and the claws of a sandbar as decoration. Upon the beastly southmen ship, a deck of rowers stood above a deck of guns, and antique shields of a bygone era lined the sides of the longboat. It could get quite the burst of speed but trying to do that while fighting was quite the challenge. Though in spite of this, they seemed confident. They would happily accept any Sovereign Pact aligned person and even a Revidian that showed enough heart.

To the side of the formation, towards the open waters, was a handful of sloops of war, cutters, and one special sloop with 19 cannons. Were the odd mercenary, former pirate, and some Virangish on some of the better cutters. There was a true ghost crew on one of the cutters and was almost completely empty. It was certainly ready to be boarded and a note was pinned on the mass that any person of notable character would be given ownership of it on the completion of the hunt.

Many other ships filled out the ranks as a diamond formation catalyzed for easy travels. The success of this expedition was almost solely based on that the thresher wouldn’t come too close to shore and attack before people where the ships were in position. The ride of a few hours held people's breaths at bay and the normally loud people were silent as to not add any reason the Thresher would attack. Every moment felt like a relief and a blessing, especially to those like Zarina who had seen how quickly it can destroy a sloop.

But the fleet did make it to their chosen arena. It was here, at the remains of the old Sant'Agata della Compagnia Rossa now laid among the rocky shallows. There was only an hour of wait before a sacrificial caravel was sent into deeper waters to lure the White Thresher to trap. Of course the ship needed someone to take control of it and the Marquis had requested one brave soul, blessed by the gift, to take on the perilous task.

An hour later, Lor had reached its high peak in the sky. Far in the distance, they could see the mage returning to the fleet, closely followed with a growing bulge in the water behind it. The cannons were readied as the ship skipped over waves at an unbelievable pace. Even with all the speed granted to them by Dami, the water grew larger and larger behind them. With a rush of white water, the ship disappeared but what of the mage? No one knew the fate of them but still they fired their cannons at the beast. now breaching the surface. 

What was there was not the White Thresher rumored about but a monster nearly 300 feet in length. The white carapace had growths of sickly gray-blue and green liquid leaking at the seams. The claws have seemed to burst and then reform into jagged sickles. Mages could feel the unending reactions roiling inside of the creature at a distance. Water steamed off of its massive body and then it suddenly stopped. All but the strongest of mages lose their faculties as they temporarily crumble at its massive draw of energy. The warm ocean behind it suddenly had a small iceberg behind it as it threw itself toward the fresh ships, still thirsty for blood.

The fight has begun.

[hider=Instructions]
Please pick the ship you want and make a special action you want your character to have the option of doing during the Discord event. The action can truly be anything but try to keep it on topic. Please then DM me both your ship selection and special action via a direct message on Discord or on the Roleplayer Guild. If both had not been sent, then I will take the liberty of putting you on a ship and choosing a special action. The thread will be up tomorrow, have fun people. 
[Hider=Ship Options]
Every free agent or shipless person will need to designate what ship they intend to board for the sake of headcount, and in the case the ship sinks they know who has fallen in battle. Choose wisely as each ship has its strengths, weaknesses, and positioning in battle that can give you an edge.

A Host of Flyboats: Older boats that are mainly being used to fill out the perimeter near the pirate ship. They each have a handful of guns and are being run by untrained merchants rather than the military inclined. 

The Salty Swallow: An Enthish Sloop of War ran by Enthish privateers who happened to land in Zengali. The crew seems more inscrutable than the pirates on St. Elmo’s Frye. The cannons seem well maintained, even if the ship itself seems in desperate need of debarnacling and is eerily covered in a powdery layer of salt. They are rather loud and welcoming to any proud sailor or so they claim. Past the notable integrity of the crew and ship are two comically large ballistas at the stern of the ship. What accompanied them was some Haureenium-tipped harpoons and strong rope. It rides on the outer side toward the shore and is positioned near the pirates.


Nameless Cutter: Held on the outside of the formation towards the open water is a nameless cutter run with the minimum crew to operate. Not many people are willing to get on a cutter to fight a monster but with such little interest, the Marquis has declared that any persons of notable character to take charge of the ship may keep the ship if it survives the fight.


[b]Fortis Offerto[/b]r: A larger than normal Fluyt commissioned by the Bishop of Zengali some years ago. It is well decorated for a ship of the order of red Rezindians, the sails hold the symbol of the pentand and it has been given a beautiful red stain which has been well maintained against the corrosion of the sea. Two dozen large cannons are at the disposal of the ship and the cannon loaders have been rumored to be rather skilled. The ship is helmed by Hodari as captain and is well stocked with warriors of the church as well as some men from neighboring villages that had come from the mountains in Zengali’s time of need. It is placed left of center towards the pirates and the shore.

Kuvunja (Raimy’s Fluyt): A modern fluyt, only constructed a single year ago, is the vessel that Raimy found himself being captain of. The ship is of Revidian make and is moderately armed with the newest cannons and some special cannon shots that can only be properly fired by mages. It is in a relatively safe position towards the open ocean when in formation. 

Heraldik för Fiskar: A bastardized hybrid of a galleass and Eskandish Longship. Ran by an Eskandish and Virangrish crew, they are willing to accept any sovereign aligned friends on board. The ship is rather long, decorated with large shields, dragon skulls, and thresher claws. With a full deck for rowing, it is capable of bursts of speed unseen by other ships of its size. The main attraction is the fish head bow and scale painting to give even more character to the vessel. Any layman will make a worrisome note that the gun deck is below the rowing deck. Will you be joining their very merry crew at the front of the formation?

Mkuki wa Zengali: At the near center of the formation lies the largest of the Galleon’s. This was none other than the Marquis’s personal vessel of war. It was dedicated for few things other than war with 48 heavy cannons mounted and another 8 swivel cannon for this massive ship. Well decorated from the Zengali bronzeman and the architects have taken extra effort to reinforce the mass and hull with bronze. It was a proud ship that held many of the greater warriors that Zengali had to offer. All of the students are allowed on it.

Ciro’s Ship: A very normal transport ship. It carries 24 heavy cannons and feels relatively hollow without its cargo, though some empty crates are still on board. The normal crew that guards it has been offloaded and now the Marquis is allowing anyone to fill it. The ship is very sturdy but significantly slower, tailing the formation at the very end. 

Partenope 74: The Partenope is a galleon that sits between a vessel of war and transport ship. It has some makeshift repair and off colored stains from the use of binding magic on the stern, portside, and rutter. It is equipped with an appropriate amount of guns though some makeshift swivel cannons have been added to the top deck. This is the last surviving galleon of the Revidian trade fleet that was assailed by the White Thresher. It is the most overstocked when it comes to manpower as all its forces were rejuvenated by the song of Leon Solaire. It sits to the left of the Marquis and is the 2nd most impressive ship in terms of fire power. Any Revidian or those with allegiances to the Central Alliance may board this mighty vessel though it may be crowded. [/hider][/hider]