The last type of ship was the support ship. These large two- to three-mast vessels ranged from one hundred to three hundred feet in length. They were capable of transporting two hundred to a thousand tons of cargo over the required space for supplies and provisions as well as three hundred to over eight hundred troops. They could employ transported soldiers as oarsmen if there was no wind or use them as a defense. They did not have siege engines and were not utilized in a battle unless it was unavoidable. They supplied the navy with food, water, and ammunition for the ballistae, catapults, archers, and general provisions. They were also used to carry Alliance army legions to reinforce an operation or to transport troops for an invasion. The naval reserve of fifty supply ships could transport up to five legions if necessary. They had good speed and were able to keep up with galleys and warships most of the time. They could also tow a barge for a bronze dragon or a wing of hippogriffs.
Each ship was commanded by a captain with a commodore or junior admiral in charge of a particular fleet. A senior admiral oversaw two or three fleets with the master admiral and his staff located at the capital. An experienced wizard was usually assigned to each fleet for magical firepower and protection.
Ice Bay Weir had a contingent of twenty-five dragons under Vermax’s and Tyrenth’s lead; the complement included Tyrenth’s silver dragon mate as well as seven bronze, eight copper, and eight brass dragons. Both Vermax and his dragon led from the front, always stressing courage in battle and honor in life, almost to a fault. They personally sent many a chromatic to its death during the Great War and were credited with stopping a small Morgathian fleet from slipping past to the High Mountain inlet.
“Tyrenth, give Nemareth and Livoth my congratulations, and we will welcome our latest brother to our fold here at the capital and ensure his skills and powers are honed,” Michenth answered in his powerful tone.
“Yes, Vermax, congratulations, and we also understand your circumstances in the sea lanes. This seems to be a common occurrence in our coastal weirs, but keep us informed of the white dragon activity,” Becknor added. “Ferranor Weir, Scimenth, Hardren, what do you have to report?” he asked.
Hardren was a thin, wiry man with short brown hair. He was of modest height and had sharp, almost elvish features. His serious demeanor was offset by a rare show of humor. He did have a definitive sense of purpose that reflected the basic mood of most bronze dragons. The Ferranor Weirleader was a dedicated but calculating fighter, who wielded a javelin dragonstone weapon, similar to Lupek’s in that it could be thrown like a lightning bolt and struck with incredible power. However, his hit with a sonic burst upon impact and was able to inflict severe damage upon anyone within up to thirty yards of the strike. This weapon was also very effective underwater, especially in conjunction with his mithril-lined buckler for close defense.
“General Becknor, Ferranor has also experienced an increased number of attacks to shipping in our assigned seas, but not to the degree that the other coastal weirs have seen. It must be the pirates’ and saragwins’ fear of the dwarves,” he said with his sharp northwestern accent and a slightly mischievous smile as he nodded to King Drekar. Hardren was a staunch friend of the dwarves even though the Enlightened had somewhat of a strong support base in the Ferranor and Denar regions. This was mostly due to the influence of the Tekend family that resided in the area. While it was known that dwarves did not like the water, King Drekar tried to place dwarf contingents on the merchant ships that were hauling their products and especially those with quality gemstones coming in or out of the dwarf mountain city. This had been effective at surprising many saragwin boarding parties attacking these ships; however, the Tekend-owned merchant ships had refused such aid.
Ferranor itself was located in the heavily mountainous region on the northwest coastal part of the Alliance, which the dwarves had almost hollowed out. This was home to their largest population of several hundred thousand. They originally started in Ferranor Mountain Weir, mining it for its large iron ore deposits, and spread out from there. They had either hollowed out or tunneled into almost the whole northern quarter of the Ferran Mountain chain. The industrious dwarves had even made a large tunnel that connected the southern border of the port city of Ferranor, which the weir overlooked, to the southern tip of Kestal Lake, which lay east of the mountains, and the large expanses of forests that surround it. The tunnel was a wonder of dwarven mining and construction ability. There were even inns and keeps within the tunnel for travelers and the wagon train passengers to rest. Most were run by halflings, whom the dwarves employed; the smaller cousins to the dwarves had dispositions that were more suited to inn keeping than the dwarves with their moody temperamental tendencies.
Ferranor Weir, while slightly smaller than Draden, sat on a jagged rock outcropping on a curved mini peninsula, well positioned to defend the city from a naval attack. The mostly human city of Ferranor surrounded the port and the narrow jagged valley that led to the north shore of Lake Kestal. It mainly supported the fishing industry and the dwarves in importing and exporting goods and products, including metal works, stone items of all kinds, and jewelry of their expert make. This uneasy partnership made Ferranor the center of trade in the extreme northwest of the Alliance.
The legion assigned to Ferranor Weir was slightly smaller than the standard Alliance army legion with only two infantry battalions; a catapult battalion; a cavalry company; a reinforced land dragon platoon; a sapper company; a ranger company mounted on a combination of s, giant eagles, and latoucs; and an aerial company of mounted hippogriffs. Ferranor Weir had a complement of six bronze, seven copper, and seven brass dragons. A dwarf battalion was directly attached to Ferranor and fought directly for the weir. The dwarf city of Minara, located all around the weir and under the adjacent mountains, could muster several legions on a relatively short notice and generally worked with Ferranor Weir. These dwarf legions had formed the center of the combined Alliance Army during the last battle of the Great War decades earlier in Battle Point. While at less strength than they had then, the dwarves could still muster a significant army if the need arose, for every dwarf, no matter the trade he or she engaged in, was trained as a fierce warrior. The elves in the Allghen Forest situated between Ferranor and Ice Bay Weirs and slightly to the south could muster a single legion on a moment’s notice, but with half of them being master archers and with dozens of elvish wizards, that legion was the most feared in the Alliance.
“Otherwise, sir, our next biggest problem is the constant harassment from the Enlightened and their arbitrator friends,” Hardren quipped.
“Our fights at sea have also involved engagements with several kraken and pirates. Even the Shidanese have been employing more apprentice sorcerers and dark-crystal weapons. This development is a growing threat and predicates stronger action on our part, as well as the training of more wizards for the Alliance Navy,” Scimenth added.
“Thank you, Hardren, yours and Scimenth’s efforts and dependability are a credit to your weir. We know that you all will stem the tide of the threat at sea and the threat at home from the Enlightened. Denar Weir, Tridenth, Bristurm, please state your concerns,” Becknor stated in a slightly heavy tone, for he knew what was to follow.
“General Becknor, Michenth, my fellow dragonriders, noble dragons, and friends, like always, we shadow Ferranor’s concerns and issues. We at Denar Weir have pursued the saragwin and the pirates out to the deep seas when they attacked our shipping. The dwarves and the sea elves have also been a tremendous aid in this. We strive to help them bring the fight to the enemy, sending those devils back to the abyss of the deep,” Bristurm stated in his usual brisk but reverent manner.
Bristurm was a strong, dedicated, and resolute fighter and proficient monk. He was heavily muscled and physically powerful as well as an extremely strong-willed and intense man. His sharp features indicated that he had some elvish blood in his ancestry, but he had the intensity and dri
ve of personality to match a dwarf. This was not surprising, for it was the dwarves who actually raised him, since his mother was killed by Morgathian raiders when he was seven. His father was Tridenth’s rider for many years until he was killed in a fight with the chromatics during the Great War.
Bristurm spoke fluent dwarf and was the first dragonrider to coax them into venturing onto ships to provide protection when the Alliance Navy was unavailable. He wielded two weapons of power. His dragonstone axe was a weapon created with the help of his dwarf family of the Denar Mountain Province, whom he considered brothers, as did his fierce bronze dragon. The axe had a front main blade that had a unique inward curve. It was similar to Ordin’s thunder hammer in that Bristurm could throw it and control its flight to roughly a hundred yards. It struck with a lightning bolt shock on top of the tremendous slicing capability of the mithril blade and then returned like a boomerang. The shield it generated was of the same power as a holy sword’s. He also had a halberd-type weapon or a mithril-bladed spear/axe that could both stab in a thrust and slice like a long-handled axe. Both his weapons worked underwater as well.
Bristurm was an intense but fiercely loyal dragonrider for the Alliance. He was a warrior through and through; he and his dragon eagerly waited for the word to be unleashed for battle. Mkel considered him a good friend, and they and their dragons’ conversations of politics and military matters would often go on for hours when they were together. Becknor and Therosvet did keep a close eye on him and Tridenth though, for they did have slight tendencies to be overly aggressive at times, and both harbored great anger toward the Morgathians and anything that had any sympathy for them and the chromatics.
Denar Weir had a standard legion attached to it, and they were highly integrated with the dwarven armies in the southern chain of the Ferranor Mountains. The only difference the Denar legion had from Ferranor Weir’s was that they were a part of a combined weir and dwarf army group. It was a venture conceived by both Bristurm and the dwarf prince of the southern mountains. During the last Dragon War, it was noticed that the second largest force after the Alliance Army, the dwarves under King Drekar, were often unsynchronized with their human counterparts. This did not happen because of ill will, but rather a different style of fighting. Now the legions assigned to Ferranor, Denar, and Talinor Weirs, as well as Draden’s smaller contingent trained directly beside the dwarves. This enabled the dwarves to be more effectively integrated with the Alliance Army in the case of a massive call-up of forces. Denar also had a similar complement of dragons to Ferranor’s with six bronze dragons, seven copper, and seven brass.
Of the coastal weirs, the copper dragons mostly patrolled the shorelines and a couple of miles out to sea. The brass dragons went out a little farther while the bronzes could travel great distances over open ocean, mostly because of their greater flying ability, swimming proficiency, and that fact that they could breathe underwater. The split in military commands from the regular Alliance legions and the weir legions was designed as a check and balance on the power of the central Alliance government. However, there was a great deal of cross leveling and cross assignment of officers and soldiers between the two commands to promote cooperation and standardization with them as well as developing mutual respect.
Denar Weir itself was almost a southerly mirror image of Ferranor with the weir mountain fortress totally hollowed out and reinforced by the dwarves. It did differ in that it was actually an island weir that was situated in the middle of the shallow bay that stood in front of the port city of Denar. This fair-sized city was a harbor, trade, and guild center that primarily serviced dwarven products and other goods for the southern dwarf and Alliance provinces in the region as well as human iron—and steelworks and supporting guilds.
The dwarves had also constructed a tunnel that went under the bay connecting the weir with the closest mountain along the shoreline. This was the first of the many magnificent projects the dwarves accomplished, and it allowed the weir to be freely reinforced from the land. While Denar did have a teleportation circle, its close proximity to Draconia still allowed a great amount of goods and traffic to be transported along the main road to the capital. This was easy because the road system there and all throughout the Alliance was well maintained by both dwarves and human construction guilds. The stone and dwarven concrete roads connected all the major cities and weirs in the republic. These were maintained even with the advent of the teleportation circles, for they were still heavily used and would serve as a backup in case the circles were compromised.
“One of our copper dragon pairs has also just nested an egg. The gemstones and crystals for Denar are still flowing at an acceptable rate, and our dwarf allies and our weir have conducted several exercises together with great success,” Tridenth added. “All we need is more Alliance warships assigned to the Denar fleet, so we can take the fight to the enemy. We are always up for battle, but even we can’t be in two places at once.”
“That is easier said than done, Tridenth. The funds to construct naval vessels must come from the senate, for it is their responsibility to maintain the non-weir-affiliated legions and all the Alliance fleets’ over eight hundred ships. While the sale of the heating, cooling, and lighting crystals does fund the weirs’ assigned legions, we would have to increase the prices we charge to cover the costs of building and maintaining fleets, which is also not mandated by the Articles of the Alliance for the weirs to have,” Valianth spoke over the impetuous but well-meaning bronze dragon.
“That would start a firestorm with the Enlightened senators, who want us give them away for free,” Colonel Therosvet added.
“Let them bleed for the benefit of all if they so desire more drachlars,” Tridenth growled angrily. “The POE’s activities in Denar have stretched our patience to the limit.”
“Yes, sir, it is not easy to fight an undeclared war to our front and have these politicians stab us in the back with their ranting,” Bristurm added to his dragon’s sentiment.
“Your anger is understood, my brothers, but these are the issues we are challenged with. We must have faith that common sense will prevail, but we must also be prepared if it does not,” Valianth commented in a commanding tone, as if to tell the bronze and his rider to be calm. Mkel knew that Denar’s Weirleader and senior dragon were strong in their beliefs. He agreed with them for the most part, but he and Gallanth were not Capital Weir leaders.
“Thank you, Denar Weir; we will address your concerns to the senate as well as the Military Command Council. Rom Weir, Licanth, Keisem, what say you?” Becknor intervened to keep the meeting moving.
“Sir, Rom Weir is very busy these days. Our entire complement of dragons is almost totally engaged in convoy escort and patrols of our local waters. We even have our youngest bronze dragon chasing the occasional saragwin that slips by the sea elves into Sauric Bay. As far as crystal and stone making, we are just under our production goals and are having trouble getting quality gems for dragonstone weapons as well as for our dragons’ consumption to maintain their powers. We are not in a crisis shortage for them yet, but if we get into more fights, it might be an issue. We do not have a trading port, just docks for the fleet, so we are not as fortunate as the other weirs in that sense. Otherwise, our garrison is just below full strength and performing regular sea duty on the support ships in case of attacks by pirates or saragwin,” Keisem stated with his normal friendly smile.
“We have seen an increase in the occurrence of sorcerers on the pirate ships we are sending to the deep, as well as magic using saragwin shamans. We do have good news in that my mate is stirring and will likely rise any day,” Licanth added to his rider’s comments.
Keisem was a good-natured fellow with short but wavy black hair, brown eyes, and a naturally friendly smile. He and Mkel had also attended the university in Draconia together and frequently practiced with their crossbows on the ranges there with Jodem. Keisem, while an easygoing m
an, did have a fierce sense of loyalty to the Alliance and his friends. While Rom Weir was one of the two smallest Weirs, they directly supported the navy and guarded the entrance to Sauric Bay with their fleet and assigned dragons. They also manned the substantial complement of catapult and ballista batteries that guarded the choke point formed by the twin weirs at the entrance to Sauric Bay.
Keisem stood at just less than six feet tall and was of stout build. He wielded a unique type of dragonstone crossbow weapon that didn’t have limbs and mostly fired deadly lightning bolts to a range of three hundred yards. It could inflict almost as much damage as Colonel Lordan’s lance. It could shoot bolts almost as far as Markthrea, but was not as fast to reload. This capability was also effective when he had to fight underwater. Additionally, he employed a mithril-alloy long sword that sported a smaller dragonstone in it, which gave it a cold strike capability, similar to but not as powerful as Lawrent’s two-handed sword for close combat. Like all bronze dragonriders, Keisem had a helmet that when activated sealed its wearers head in and allowed him or her to breathe air from the water. This way, the riders could travel with their dragons below the depths.
Dragon Alliance Dark Storm : Dark Storm Page 5
