Fantasy The Dawn Bringer | IC

[Berries]

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Captain's Log
The Dawn Bringer
4 October, 1956

Location: 6514 miles NE off the coast of Aman
Wind Speed: 15-20 knotts
Cruising Height: 750 feet
Weather Conditions: Some wind, moisture in the air may indicate a storm coming.

Captain's Notes
We are into the third day of the Dawn Bringer's maiden voyage. So far she has held up well, and I foresee no issues with the ship. The crew is another matter entirely, however. For one, my quartermaster is a no-show. I was promised a competent man from the ranks of the elite guard, but the man never arrived. We nearly delayed cast off for a day to wait for him but I received orders stating that we were to depart immediately.

So far, I do not have a good reading of the crew. They have been performing their duties but have yet to be battle-tested, and I was given no choice on which members to choose for my crew. As far as I can see, the first mate is competent but the two gunners are hot-heads and both swear worse than any of the men. A disgrace to this government vehicle. I see no purpose in hiring a strategist for this venture since this is a straight-forward extermination mission, but once again I had no choice. I have avoided speaking to him entirely. Finally, the few times I attempted to speak with our navigator I was met with nothing more than stammers, which did little to inspire my confidence.

I cannot say I am optimistic. Within the next hours we will soon be entering pirate territory, and perhaps I will return tomorrow with higher praise after seeing this crew in battle. Or I'll be dead, with this glorious airship sunk.

Signing Out,
William Reed

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Day 3 | The Dawn Bringer | 7:15am

So far, the Dawn Bringer's voyage had been uneventful. Their departure had been met with little enthusiasm as they were just one of the hundreds of airships being set off in the wake of the government's attempts at setting an end to the pirate problem, but unlike the majority of the government's airfleet the Dawn Bringer set sail alone. Most of the other airships were venturing in fleets of five or even ten ships to more effectively exterminate any pirates they came across, but the Dawn Bringer had been assigned a fairly low-risk area and therefore they were a fleet of one. For this reason, a lot of the crew were more inexperienced and had little experience with government work before: the only exceptions were William, the captain, and Iven, the mechanic who had worked alongside William on multiple ships in the past. With all these factors considered, William was more than a little worried about the fate of this voyage, and wondered what he had done to his superiors to warrant his blind venture with a new ship and a crew with no official credentials.

Dawn had broken approximately two hours ago and the entire crew should be up and running by now. The frenzy that comes with getting to know a new ship and adapt to a new captain meant that they hadn't had time to interact very much thus far, and the mess hall was open for the majority of the day meaning that the crew seldom ate together and talked. Seeing that they were about to enter pirate territory, however, William wanted to get a jump start on crew bonding. At the moment, Joha was up in the crow's nest keeping watch and Iven was tinkering with something out on deck. Walking onto the deck, William nudged the mechanic with his elbow. Understanding his captain's cue, Iven stood up.

"All crew members assemble on deck!" The large man yelled; his voice easily heard from all corners of the ship and easily waking anybody who might have been asleep. Joha looked over at the deck from the crow's nest but made no move to get down, seeing that surveillance was going to be necessary throughout the captain's talk.

Spoiler: Captain's Log w/o BBCode

Captain's Log
The Dawn Bringer
4 October, 1956

Location: 6514 miles NE off the coast of Aman
Wind Speed: 15-20 knotts
Cruising Height: 750 feet
Weather Conditions: Some wind, moisture in the air may indicate a storm coming.

Captain's Notes
We are into the third day of the Dawn Bringer's maiden voyage. So far she has held up well, and I foresee no issues with the ship. The crew is another matter entirely, however. For one, my quartermaster is a no-show. I was promised a competent man from the ranks of the elite guard, but the man never arrived. We nearly delayed cast off for a day to wait for him but I received orders stating that we were to depart immediately.

So far, I do not have a good reading of the crew. They have been performing their duties but have yet to be battle-tested, and I was given no choice on which members to choose for my crew. As far as I can see, the first mate is competent but the two gunners are hot-heads and both swear worse than any of the men. A disgrace to this government vehicle. I see no purpose in hiring a strategist for this venture since this is a straight-forward extermination mission, but once again I had no choice. I have avoided speaking to him entirely. Finally, the few times I attempted to speak with our navigator I was met with nothing more than stammers, which did little to inspire my confidence.

I cannot say I am optimistic. Within the next hours we will soon be entering pirate territory, and perhaps I will return tomorrow with higher praise after seeing this crew in battle. Or I'll be dead, with this glorious airship sunk.

Signing Out,
William Reed

GM Notes

Tags: Vudukudu Duckler CrimsonEclipse Shadow

Welcome to the Dawn Bringer! This is the third day of the ship's voyage, and while your characters will have seen each other around the ship it's safe to assume there have been no in-depth character interactions. It can also be assumed that there are NPCs around the ship (cabin boys, crew hands, etc) that are neither GM characters or player characters. If you want, feel free to give them names and whatnot - I'll keep a record of NPCs once I get the lore page up. The lore page is going to contain more information about the world and particular destinations, but at the moment all you really need to know should be located in the captain's log. I will be using GM notes a lot throughout this RP to clarify points and whatnot, so make sure to keep an eye out for these in the future. ^-^ I'll also be using OOC for that, however. At the moment, the captain is about to give a pep-talk of sorts so get all the characters out onto the deck!

​

 

[Vudukudu]

Day 3: The Dawn Bringer: 7:16am

It had not yet been three full days since the Dawn Bringer had cast off, and Pax Corrin was already resentful of this posting. In his time aboard, he'd already endured numerous slights of the most impermissible kind. First, he'd been offered help with his luggage by some slave who dared touch his things without permission. Where he hailed from, touching the property of your superior was readily punished by the severing of hands, but he'd restrained himself to the point of simply delivering a slap that sent the young boy reeling and out of his way. Exarchs do not need such petty aid.

The second unforgivable sin was the status of his living quarters. Of course he'd been exposed to military, even spartan, residences before. Exarchs fully believed in the value of hardship to their youth, after all. Still, he expected more - his Empress, may the dust not take her, had made it sound like he was to be treated with the respect due to someone of his lofty station. The designer of the Dawn Bringer had clearly had little respect for the science of aesthetics. Rectangles could have greater beauty through precise mathematical ratios, and he found the room's length slightly wanting. Further, the furnishings were gaudy and bold. Clearly, they'd tried to accommodate for what little they know of Cintrian taste, but they'd failed to account for elegance. Fortunately, he'd been accompanied the first day by an entourage of uniformed, obedient porters who had changed the linens, replaced the bed entirely, and added a pair of five foot tall bookshelves stocked with his favorite philosophical and dramatic works. It would, he reluctantly admitted, have to suffice.

Pax was quick to answer the call to gather, having been awake for two hours now undergoing routine morning calisthenics. Rapier at his hip, he left his Repulser behind in favor of satin black gloves with spider-web like red lace. He'd read somewhere that the primitives outside Cintras were often startled and perturbed by the golden sigils his people wore pressed into their skin. Wearing gloves, as the admirable Ambassador Curin had, was supposed to put their minds at ease. Looking little at all like he belonged here and carrying a cup of tea, he made his way to the captain's side and stood a precise four feet away. "Captain." He greeted quietly, offering little more than a nod of acknowledgement.

 

[Duckler]

Soloris Khan
Day 3 | The Dawn Bringer | 7:17 AM​

It was only early morning, but Soloris had been long dressed. His usual white cloak, crafted with a delicate, synthetic fabric, was draped in an usually unprofessional manner over his shoulders. His rapier rested against the wooden leg of a table off in the corner, atop of which sat a small candle. Its flames flickering gently, causing shadows to shift around the confined room. Seated upon the edge of his bed, he was, as he always did first thing in the morning, reading one of the books he had brought along. The words Pirates & Privateers: the History of Maritime Piracy were printed in a bright red against the dull brown cover of the book. Even as his eyes sifted through the words across the page in a furious manner, Soloris couldn't help but pause. After a moment, he tried returning to the chapter but once again he found that his attention lied elsewhere.

For what felt like the first time that trip, he truly realized exactly the type of situation and risks he was facing. What surprised him even more was that, despite all this...he was excited. Extremely nervous, yes, but mixed with a tinge of excitement. He exhaled deeply, feeling as if recognizing his feelings had lifted a weight that he wasn't even aware of off of his shoulders. Standing up, Soloris stretched his arms out before moving over to the desk to pick his rapier. He picked it up and held it flat atop both of his palms, admiring the beauty and elegance of such a well crafted blade. It was a gift from an old friend, and just looking at it reminded him of what he was leaving behind.

His thoughts were interrupted by the loud voice of one of the men on deck, calling for the crew to gather together. Sheathing his blade, Soloris secured it to his hip before leaving his book at the bed and heading out the door of his quarters. As he made his way to the deck, he caught glimpses of a few of the cabin boys. Paying them little heed except a slight smile in their general direction, he continued on his way.

Today would be the first official meeting of the crew, and after essentially closing himself off within his room for the past three days, Soloris found himself curious of the others aboard the ship. The brief sense of hope that followed with the possibility that perhaps another scholar would be on the ship was quickly pushed away. As much as he wished were different, he was the anomaly among the crew and also the most likely one with minimal experience. Despite this, he was determined not to be easily outstripped by the crewmates, no matter who they may be. The sudden spur of competitiveness was unexpected but welcomed. If he were going to survive, he had to prove his worth on the ship.

As he pushed past the last door leading onto the deck, he was greeted by the bright rays of the Sun, almost blinding in comparison to the feeble candle he had become accustomed to. Raising his hand to the harsh light, he stumbled slightly as he headed in the general direction of the men awaiting. Not the entrance I had in mind, but it'll have to do. He thought as he recollected himself.

He greeted the captain and the stranger in a civilized manner and proceeded to briefly introduce himself as a scholar and tactician before positioning himself beside what appeared to be the first of his crewmates.

 

[Shadow]

In many ways the first few days aboard the Dawn Bringer had been exactly what Jepha had been looking for ever since he thought of a life on an airship. The experience of flying, miles above cities and towns, along with being able to be an important part of the crew rather than just a lifter of heavy things was everything he hadn’t been able to find on little merchant ships. Unfortunately, there had been a few experiences that he could do without. Mainly his first, second, and third conversations with the captain. He knew himself well enough to predict some awkward and stilted conversations, but for some reason the captain’s presence seemed to stall his talking ability almost entirely. In each encounter he had managed only one or two full sentences, delivered haltingly. It was easy to see that the captain wasn’t impressed with him, which only made him feel worse. Luckily the rest of the crew seemed busy enough that no one else had really tried to talk to him. So he had mostly stuck to going from his bed, to the mess hall, to his work space, back and forth to the mess hall, and then to bed. It was a bit monotonous, but it certainly helped to limit his awkward encounters to just the ones he’d had with the captain.

Jepha was in his work space bright and early. He had tried to make up for his non-confidence-inspiring conversational skills by getting up earlier and spending a little more time working than was strictly necessary. The fact that he had a work space was another thing that boosted his performance slightly. He had never done much more than grunt work on the previous ships he had been on, so a desk littered with maps and tools hadn’t been necessary before. He stood up and leaned over his desk, feeling perhaps a bit more important as he scanned maps and scrawled notes than he actually was. He flinched when a loud voice echoed its way down the halls to where he stood, calling for all crew members to assemble on the main deck. He paused a moment before he grabbed his worn out coat and navigated his way to the deck where a few people were already gathering. He saw a well-dresssed man introducing himself to the captain and he instantly stopped and changed directions to stand by the nearest wall. He already felt guilty for his awkward interactions with the captain and wanted to avoid any further such embarrassments. That, paired with his rather shabby appearance, easily convinced him to stay to the edges of the crowd. After all, he blended in rather well with the deck hands, with his tall, wide build and worn out clothes. He lowered his eyes to the deck and waited quietly as the rest of the crew arrived in pairs or small groups. The sooner everyone got here, the sooner the captain could make his speech, and then Jepha could go back to his little work area where the threat of disappointing random co-workers with his lacking social skills was zero.

 

[CrimsonEclipse]

"This should do it." Amanda said, licking her lips as she tasted the stew she had been preparing for the entire crew's meal. Of course she did not do it alone, that would be preposterous, but the cabin boys who assisted her mainly dealt with peeling the vegetables, cutting up ingredients, and doing other menial kitchen work while Amanda herself dealt with the actual cooking. It may look like hard work, and it is, but it's the sort of hard work Amanda is used to. After everything that happened to Amanda recently cooking was something that was calming and nostalgic to her, something she had loved doing once upon a time. A faint smile touched her lips as she reminisced about her life, but the smile quickly faded once she remembered what she had suffered through. She still loved cooking but now it felt really hollow due to the losses she had experienced. A frown replaced the smile on her lips, her hand gripping the wooden ladle so hard it seemed that it may break.

Amanda's reverie was broken by a hollering voice coming from above. From the sound of it the Captain seems to be assembling the crew members on deck. Amanda shook her head and placed he ladle back on the table and removed her apron. "This should be good enough." Amanda said to her assistant as she started to head towards the deck. As Amanda headed up the deck anyone could notice that she was clearly limping. She doesn't seem to be having a hard time doing so but it is clearly an inconvenience for her. By the time she arrived on deck she saw that, apart from the Captain, 3 more members were present. She looked each of them over, and to be honest, she was not impressed. As a seasoned airfarer Amanda highly doubted that these men have even been on a ship before, especially the two more timid looking ones. However, those two are leagues better than the third one, who upon one look is clearly an asshole. From the way he dressed to the way he carries himself to the way he looks at other people, if this person wasn't highborn then Amanda sure isn't female. Regardless Amanda chose to stand beside him, not wanting to seem like the highborn intimidated her in the slightest bit. "Captain." Amanda greeted with a curt nod.