Personal System Calendar: Year 00015, Day 1-28, Month V: The Imperium
Imperial Calendar: Year 6859, 1st to 28th day of the 5th Month
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Preparation
With a bit of preparation, the contingent had more or less gotten their things sorted. They would only have to ride the Large Wagon, Oron, towards Kirka village, and it would be kept safe there until someone came to pick it up. They'd figured it would be more useful if it was put into its intended use during the time they were gone than simply sitting idle in Kirka village without being put to work. Once someone from Maya Village came to retrieve it, it would be brought back home to finally start its actual maiden voyage.
With a bit of preparation, the contingent had more or less gotten their things sorted. They would only have to ride the Large Wagon, Oron, towards Kirka village, and it would be kept safe there until someone came to pick it up. They'd figured it would be more useful if it was put into its intended use during the time they were gone than simply sitting idle in Kirka village without being put to work. Once someone from Maya Village came to retrieve it, it would be brought back home to finally start its actual maiden voyage.
Baron Kirka's substitute, the person Kirka considered most fit to lead the village in his absence, was his most loyal subordinate, Gareth Rufus. He had formerly served as the Commander in charge of the village's protection, and had since been promoted to the position of Village Chief. He was the one who responded to them, since Baron Kirka was actually out of the village at the moment. Most likely he was back in Gremory attending to business. He returns to the village from time to time to take a break. So it's Rufus who takes charge of most of the administrative side when the Baron is out, and since he could act as proxy for his master, he had to be the one to respond.
"Greetings my friends! In lieu of my master Baron Kirka I would be responding to your request. I have already made contact with the Baron and he did confirm he could lend you a vessel to transport you towards your destination. We would like to confirm the party size of your group and your intended destination.
—Rufus"
They quickly responded, confirming their number, 22 souls, and their intended destination towards the Arwenian river coast of Count Xavior.
Within 7 days a response made it back confirming a merchant vessel with cargo heading that direction, arriving at Kirka for resupply by the end of the month, specifically before it heads further south to trade.
They responded once more and thanked Village Chief Rufus for his help, confirming in their letter that they'd be arriving three days early before the vessel.
The merchant vessel is called the GMV Skipper, meaning Grand Merchant Vessel. It's commandeered by the boat captain named Skippy, a longtime friend and subordinate of Baron Kirka. These boats mainly transport rare goods from the north down to markets further south.
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GMV Skipper
GMV Skipper
Owned and Operated by: Kirka's Trading Company
Vessel Specifications
- Class: Grand Merchant Vessel (GMV)
- Designation: GMV Skipper
- Role: Heavy Merchant Cargo Vessel
- Owner: Kirka's Trading Company
- Length: 90 m
- Beam: 18 m
- Draft: 5.5 m
- Height (Keel to Masthead): 55 m
- Displacement: ~6,000 tons
- Cargo Capacity: 2,500–3,500 tons
- Propulsion: Triple-masted sailing vessel
- Operational Range: Rivers, inland seas, coastal waters, and ocean voyages
Crew Complement
- Master (Captain): 1 (Skippy)
- First Mate: 1
- Second Mate: 1
- Navigator: 1
- Boatswain: 1
- Quartermaster: 1
- Helmsmen: 4
- Sailors & Deckhands: 42
- Riggers: 8
- Carpenters: 3
- Blacksmith/Shipwright: 2
- Cook & Galley Staff: 4
- Physician/Healer: 1
- Clerks & Cargo Masters: 6
- Merchant Representatives: 6
- Security Guards/Marines: 30
- Total Standard Complement: 113 personnel
Carrying Capacity
- Cargo: 2,500–3,500 tons
- Passengers: Up to 120
- Temporary Troop Transport: Up to 4,000 soldiers if required
The GMV Skipper is the flagship heavy freighter of Kirka's Trading Company, built to dominate long-distance trade across the Great Central-Western River and the surrounding seas. Designed to maximize cargo efficiency while still keeping enough crew and security to operate independently on long trade runs.
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The Arkanian Geological Scar
(Fun Geographical Fact of Arkanus)
It was a fact taught to every child who passed through even the most basic Imperial schooling: that the Great Central-Western and Central-Eastern Rivers weren't simply rivers in the way the word was normally understood. Imperial geographers had settled that distinction generations ago, back when the first cartographic surveys of the continent were commissioned under the early days of the Empire. No ordinary river that is naturally carved by the rain and current could reach fifty kilometers across at its narrowest throat, let alone the three hundred kilometers its western counterpart had hit at its widest bend. No riverbed naturally shaped by centuries of flowing water could plunge twenty kilometers into the earth. It was deeper than any trench the sea itself could claim.
What the surveys found instead was that these were to be considered as continental-rift rivers, the flooded scars of the continent's original sundering, back when the three subcontinents of Arkanus had been one unbroken landmass before the cataclysm tore it apart. The ocean had filled those old fracture lines, waters from the southern and northern oceans quickly pooling into the fissures that were too deep and too wide to have ever been carved by something as patient as erosion. They may have looked like rivers from a gods perspective, and they indeed behaved like rivers, in their currents and their navigable channels. But underneath, they were wounds the world never fully closed.
That classification, though old and unremarkable, was taken as settled fact by anyone who'd cracked open a geography text. That was exactly why Destroyer-class vessels of the Royal Imperial Navy could patrol these waters they called "the river" like they were patrolling the open sea.
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Departure from the Village
After another week passed they started their journey towards Kirka village earlier than necessary, so they'd get there before the vessel did. Their journey wouldn't stop for any extended period of rest. It would run continuously throughout the day, only pausing long enough for their draft beasts to recover, for the party to eat their meals, or for them to sleep for the night. Their party was smaller than expected, but it was also the most elite the village had. The new uniforms with the village emblem, brown and olive tone, close enough to the colors of the forest, were good to look at. They hoisted the village flag too, signaling to anyone who approached them where they were from.
Talon One was currently made up of all of its new members, minus August, who is the oldest member of both groups. He is also the overall leader of the security group, the head of their department, and the highest ranked military leader of the village, having earned the rank of Grand Marshal and holding the title of Supreme Commander of the Eagles Veil.
For Talon Two, most of them were here, 9 out of the 10 members, minus Benethar of course. August had no plans of bringing Master Ben's secret, dangerous project that was being kept hidden from the eyes of the world, along on a very exposed journey like this, not without probably causing more harm than good to them and the village as a whole, especially with the inquisitive eyes of others who were more scholastic and had deep ties to the magic world that was constantly watching for any abnormalities to their surroundings. He argued that Benethar would be instantly discovered by these inquisitive eyes and crazed minds of people who had pursued the wonders of magic for far too long, or who had conducted similarly dangerous and unsanctioned experiments themselves, or who had done similar findings or theses on things that may be closely related to anything even remotely like Benethar. That was what August thought would happen if he indeed came with them. That was enough reason for him to pull him out from the roster completely, and Master Ben couldn't agree with him more. He thanked him for it without even needing to ask. Benethar of course accepted his fate later on, though of course not without him throwing a fit of protest first before accepting his eventual fate. After all, he was just as much a member of the team as anyone else there.
For that, he blatantly asked for a sanctioned duel against August. His conditions for his removal were simple: if he were to win against him, then he got to join them, and if he lost, then he accepted whatever was already planned. Those were his only two conditions.
Well, that's exactly what they did. They went down to the ground hole where August and the rest of the Talon members trained from time to time. It was the same place they'd once held the surviving Arwenian assassins as prisoners.
Those who came to watch their duel got a fiery spectacle out of it.
The battle commenced with Grandmaster Daemon serving as their third man, the referee of the duel; he gave them a few basic instructions before they began. They commenced their fight and on the get go Benethar gave it everything he had. He used all of his naturally built advantages, from his height, his body build, and the number of his arms, but it turned out a grandmaster candidate, even one not officially recognized as such yet, was still leagues ahead of him.
August watched his every movement patiently. He moved economically and efficiently, barely avoiding blows that would have been fatal if they had landed directly on anyone else. He countered first with his blade, but then transitioned to unarmed combat, because as time went on he figured out weaknesses in Benethar's offense and defense. It wouldn't be easy to spot if you were untrained, but for someone with a keen eye for combat, a small variable like this could be the difference between a victorious position and a losing one, especially when accounting for an actual fight where lives were on the line.
A few minutes went by, and the match could already be seen as finished, as if the victor had long been decided.
In the end, Benethar conceded after August threw him with his bare hands, sending him flying through the air and smacking him down on the ground. August didn't even reach for his weapon as the match went on. He simply showed him the massive gap between them. He even allowed Benethar to lift his own limiter, so long as he kept it under control, with Master Ben and Master Miles serving as referees, watching close by, along with members of Talon One and Two.
To Benethar it felt like a crushing loss. He went at August with full force, holding nothing back, while August barely had to try. The moment repeated in his head as August caught one of his arms mid-swing, used his own momentum against him, and sent him crashing to the ground in the end. He stood over him and asked if he wished to concede. There was no emotion in the way August said it. He simply found no joy in it, no pleasure in doing it. It was a meaningless fight for him, with no stakes on the line. It was just his way of letting a disgruntled employee air his grievances while also putting him in his place. Hence why Benethar didn't protest further.
Instead, August asked him to guard the village specifically in their absence, which did nothing for his sour mood. But he understood the assignment. He was still a trusted member. It was just that this mission would bring greater risks with him on it. In a way, his absence would actually protect the village and would potentially, in theory, let them avoid any international incidents.
Admittedly, it wasn't the first time Benethar had pushed something like this either. Most who knew him figured it was never really about winning in the first place, at least for him. It was more about testing himself against someone stronger every once in a while, keeping himself honest about where the ceiling actually was. August understood that much about him. That's probably why he agreed to the duel instead of just shutting it down outright, since a flat refusal would've had Benethar stewing over it for weeks anyway. This way at least he had his answer, even if it wasn't the one he wanted. Master Ben didn't say much watching from the side either. He just nodded his head once it was over. That nod probably meant more to Benethar than he'd ever say out loud.
Before their journey August said goodbye to his wife and child, knowing he wouldn't see them for at least 3 months depending on how the journey would actully went. He kissed them goodbye, said his usual words of affirmation and love for them and he left the doors of the Finn household without looking back. He didn't really need to worry about the village right now anyway. Master Ben and Master Miles were there, and even Mistress Mirabeth now seemed to be getting more reliable as time went by. Most of the powerhouses were there, plus the imperial garrison force, with General Spinneweb leading them. The village was more secure than it had ever been with all of these factors in place, but that wasn't really what let him leave with peace in his mind. It was knowing Angeline and Adessa would be safe behind those walls until he came back for them.
Other than August all of them have also said their goodbyes to their loved ones and friends.
Understood — so it's a rotating shift, not a fixed assignment: Group 1 takes the front/rear watch first, then swaps with Group 2 after a few hours, back and forth throughout the journey. Here's the passage updated to reflect that:
Then they began the slow march out of the village, with half of their formation riding inside the wagon while others took defensive positions around it. This was a well-considered strategic tactic that would both save their energy for actual emergencies and allow the defenders to rotate in shifts without exhausting themselves. In total: Chief Red, August, Talon One at full complement of 11, then 9 of Talon Two, this includes Princess Mee-rka of course. 22 people altogether.
The combat formation they adopted was actually mixed, with veteran and new Talon members combined. The remaining twenty, excluding Chief Red and August, were separated into two groups of ten each. Group 1 was made up of 4 veterans from Talon Two and 6 rookies from Talon One, and Group 2 was made up of 5 veterans and 5 rookies. The two groups rotated shifts every few hours, Group 1 taking the front and rear positions first, five up front and five at the rear, while Group 2 handled the driving and protected the middle, taking the top of the wagon as their post. Once the shift changed, the groups would switch, with Group 2 moving to the front and rear while Group 1 took over driving and the top watch. Since the top of the wagon was a great vantage point, whichever group held that post was also on the lookout for every possible approach. August would also be flying with Finnester overhead to scout their way, before dropping down to give them updates on road conditions ahead, whether there were beasts along the path, or approaching merchants or visitors. He would later return to the wagon during their journey and join Chief Red inside. He could communicate with Finnester through a telepathic thought, the kind apparent in most bonded beasts and their counterparts. But he wanted to ascertain and see for himself that the roads ahead were safe at the moment and that no emergencies were currently on the road.
They set off for Kirka using Oron as their ride. They looked very professional in their new armor, which is specialized and custom made for each person's specific proficiency in combat. Their formation ran front, mid, and rear, rotating between the two groups as their shifts changed. They also had the advantage of Finnester joining from the sky, giving August updates whenever he required them.
The eagle could've technically just flown alongside them the whole way south, but August limited this and only let him join for the land portion. He didn't want to cause an international scene by bringing a legendary creature like that somewhere it had no business existing outside the Great Forests of Arkanus. It was also probably counterintuitive to bring something like Finnester, a Mighty Peregrine Eagle, into a war-torn place that was still carrying deep scars from the Arwenian collapse and the Beast Dominion Wars, which had left beasts from the forest ravaging parts of those lands.
It might've caused unnecessary panic among military personnel too. So the call was made. They'd lose some aerial information gathering and support because of it, but it was still better than getting mistaken for invaders.