First Light of a New Age

Chapter 83: For Rock and Stone!

Western Isles, Entry To The Exclusive Economic Zone Of The Western Isles, Somewhere In The Ocean, Tarxan Coalition Command Ship

1st Year of God, Wednesday, 4th Week, Month Of Moses

It was dark and hot inside the wheelhouse with the only source of light and ventilation coming from several tiny slits along the armored hull. The air was humid and stank of sweaty bodies as crew members were stripped down to their waist working the controls of the fat and ungainly ironclad, a beast of a vessel more at home in rivers than the open sea.

The noise inside was noisy as the churning of the boilers and the grinding of the paddlewheel mechanism made conversation impossible unless shouted, and even then, the engine's roar swallowed words.

Standing tall at the helm, the Lord Admiral of the Tarxan Coalition's Fifth Wave squinted through the direction with his enhanced Elven vision, cut through the murk and guided the ship's course as he barked orders at the sweat-soaked helmsman.

The ironclad he was riding on was terribly ungainly in the open sea, capable of making even the most hardened sailor seasick. The paddle wheels of the sharp dagger-like shape of the ironclad constantly spun and pushed the ship forward together with twenty of its sister ships following behind with dirty smoke puffing out of its sole funnel, surrounded by several dozen more wooden sailing ships as escort and support.

Already, one of the forty Tarxan vessels had broken down and crippled before they even came into contact with the enemy and a small force of sailing ships had to remain behind to provide cover for the floundering ships as it underwent urgent repairs.

Flying overhead of the Fifth Wave Fleet, were a dozen dragons that spread out over a great area, acting as pickets and scouts. One of the dragons and its rider suddenly spotted dark dots in the horizon and he leaned forward in his saddle as his dragon dove downwards to gather speed as they rushed over to investigate the sightings.

Word soon came back to the Coalition Fifth Fleet in the form of signal flags and flashing lights from the scouting dragon that a fleet of five ironclads had been sighted in the distance. The Fifth Fleet quickly shook itself into a battle formation as they turned their heading towards the Iron Kingdom's fleet.

The six operational ironclads took up the middle in a single file, while the rest of the sailing ships broke up into two squadrons at each flank. The ironclads made a beeline straight for the approaching ships and both sides readied themselves for the long wait before the ships came into combat range.

As the grains of the sand in the hourglass slowly tickled down, both fleets came closer to each other until the superior range offered by height advantage of the Iron Kingdom's ironclads fired first. White balls of clouds appeared around the Iron Kingdom's ironclads as their magic cannons erupted. Moments later, the shrill of projectiles screamed across the skies and crashed into the sea around the Coalition's lead ships, kicking up towering sprays of water skyward.

Cries of dragons answered the echoing cracks of the Iron Kingdom's magic cannons and the dragon riders of the Coalition dove straight down at the Iron Kingdom's ironclads. Massive balls of flames were launched down at the Iron Kingdom's ships' decks below from the dragon's breath while the Iron Kingdom retaliated by rapidly spatting anti-air fire at the dive bombing dragons in an attempt to take them out.

Steam mortars followed by blasting deadly shrapnel into the air like massive shotguns. swatting down several dragons from the sky and shredded their wings with each blast. Yet despite the losses, a portion of the dragon's attacks smashed across the decks of the ironclads and the fiery spheres burst into flames.

As the smoke cleared, bubbles of magical barriers flickered into view, wrapping the Iron Kingdom's ironclads in iridescent shields. Flames cascaded harmlessly off the glowing domes and dissipated into nothing. The surviving dragon riders broke off the attack as they retreated to land to lick their wounds, having unsuccessfully dealt any damage to penetrate the defenses. With their aerial assault thwarted, they placed their hopes on the ships of the Coalition's Fifth Fleet to carry the battle forward.