First Light of a New Age

Chapter 21: Unfortunate Event

High Tarxan Nation, On The Ocean Near A Tarxan Port, Near Portville, On The Ocean Near The Country Of High Tarxan.

First Year Of God, First Day, First Five Days, First Month.

The sailors of Melian's fleet were all shuddering in nervousness as the mighty metal ship ahead cast flickering beams of light toward them. They were confused how they were able to conjure such a powerful beam of light. They saw nothing that bright before.

Melian was in an immensely tight position. The ship before them had just decimated an entire force of demons and sea monsters. She knew that if she reacted harshly, they might get blown into oblivion by the entire strength of the magi-cannons even from one ship alone.

The beam of the lights that was coming from the metal ship continues to flicker. However, after a few moments of it flickering, it finally stopped. What followed next almost made their souls leave their body. One of the metal ships before them suddenly started moving, and its unexpected motion alarmed her sailors.

The Elven sailors nearly rushed to man their battle stations, but Melian immediately ordered them to hold their positions. The colossal ship approached them at an unprecedented speed, unlike anything they had ever seen before. Melian's heart raced as she watched the metal ship draw nearer, unsure of what would come next.

Upon having a closer look, the metal ship that they were seeing was painted entirely with different shades of gray. This puzzled them why the metal ship was heavily painted gray as most nations use a wide variety of colors to paint their ships, as naval battle's also are a battle of prestige and always showcase their nation's pride.

In naval warfare, a ship's paint color often signified its importance or function, with wealthier or more powerful nations investing in elaborate designs. 

Well, except for the Orcs, they typically painted their simple wooden ships with any color depending what they like, such as painting them red just to increase its speed faster than even their ironclads. And how does that work? Not even the most skilled magicians and wise scholars were able to understand, but that's Orc magic for you.

Anyway, back to the topic, the use of gray paint on the metal ship confused Melian and her crew. Gray was considered the cheapest color, implying the ship was of little significance.

Time passes by, and before they even knew it, the lone metal ship was already at their side. The distance between them was long enough for comfortable communication without triggering the other side to attack each other.

Now that they could see the metal ship at a much closer look, most of the sailors and Melian were surprised. The metal ship looked very sophisticated and advanced compared to their ironclads that were built crudely. Compare to their own crude ones, the metal ship was definitely one of a kind as their sleek form and modern construction stood out as remarkable. No doubt, their intricate design and engineering techniques spoke of superior technology and craftsmanship that are far beyond anything the Elven fleet had encountered before.

As soon as the metal ship approached, they were able to see figures coming out of the ship, and into its deck. They couldn't make out what kind of race they were seeing on the deck of the metal ship, they also couldn't recognise the flag that the ship was waving.

The flag of the metal ship had a shade of alternating red and black right triangles. In the middle of it sits a yellow-colored triangle with a sun at the top with eight rays. On the side of the yellow triangle was a moon with a star and a cross. The inside of the yellow triangle was a shield with peasants and soldiers with swords. The shield was surrounded by a crown at the top and on the sides were a star and a hammer.