A great warship of the Sessailaine, the Nereus was designed for both speed and power. Although the three masted vessel had space for cargo and was occasionally used for trade, the design was for war. It had been replicated down through the years since the days of the Mornan wars and its design was little changed from those days. Fully rigged, it was a beauty to watch under full sail. The foremast, near the bow of the ship, was the second tallest and had smaller sails attached to it that were tied to the bow of the ship. Like most masts, the foremast was divided bottom to top into three sections: the mast where the course sail was, the topmast which held the topsail and the topgallant mast which held its own sail called the topgallant sail. Behind the foremast at the center of the ship was the taller mainmast and near the stern was the shorter mizzenmast, each proportioned like the foremast. When all three masts had course, topsail and topgallant sails filled with wind, the fast sailing ship was at her best, skimming through the water like a graceful dancer.
Along both side of the deck were a number of catapults that could throw the various shipboard heavy loads the Nereus carried. Some were simple shot loads, buckets of round stone that would pepper an enemy vessel’s deck doing little damage to the wood but plenty to any crew. The others were of various uses, like the ball and chains that might wrap around a mast and cut it in half. The most efficient, however, was the large ball of rags soaked in a special kerosene and tar mix and then wrapped around a heavy stone. These could be then set alight so that when they landed they broke apart into a dangerous fireball of destruction.
Ships like the Nereus were not designed to carry passengers. They were designed to maintain the Sessailaine peoples hold on the eastern seas. The crew quarters were cramped to make room for weapons and for plunder or cargo, whichever the Nereus might be carrying. As she was a warship, spare masts and repair woods shared space with water and provisions. There was, simply put, no expectation that the Nereus would carry people other than its hardened crew. To be fair, the exception to that rule were the rusted chains in the hold. The Sessailaine, if attacked, would occasionally spare survivors. Still, such captives were never considered passengers. They would either be ransomed or become slaves.
The captain of this vessel was a man who was large even for a Sessailaine. His skin was a deep brown, almost black and it shone except for the whitened lines that were the reminders of wounds received in battle that ran across his chest. A single gold earring that dangled from his left ear was an affectation that he had obtained as a young sailor who had drunk too much ale during a visit to a foreign port. His burly chest was hairless and exposed as the shirt he wore was open in the manner of a young seaman. His leather pants and flat ship board boots made all who looked at him certain he was a pirate. He looked like a pirate and was secretly proud of being called one by outsiders when he visited their ports even while he protested it loudly.
Not all Sessailaine dressed like Captain Thugard. He didn’t care. The Sessailaine lived in a cold part of the world where the winter storms locked them into port four months of the year. Compared to a harsh winter in Sessailaine, the coldest weather in the northern sea was warm. Thugard was at the bow of his ship, his hands holding the rails and staring out like an eagle searching for prey. The cold of wind and water meant little to him. He would often stand there for hours, gauging the moods of the sea and secretly longing for the days when his people still raided other nations and the holds were full of booty.
Leaving the bow, Thugard walked to the stern of the ship to the bridge. A door dead center of the front of the bridge opened to the entrance to the cabins where Thugard and his officers were housed. For this trip, Thugard had surrendered his cabin to the mages, Cadeyrn and Moiril. They looked almost too young to be joined but their magic and Moiril's expert handling of the deadly twin blades she always carried belied their age. On their arrival at Sessailaine, the island homeland of Thugard's people, they had transferred the Sky People folk to another vessel. Cha'Rai and Bha'Mak the two oldest and by default the leaders of the Sky People worked with the Sessailaine leaders to transport the Sky Folk to a near empty Island where they could begin to rebuild their civilization.
