Post by Lord Hamilton on Feb 20, 2013 13:41:27 GMT
The HMS Brigantine was a beautiful new battleship of the Gotzborg Royal Navy when fate callously struck her. A violent storm had whipped up during the night of September 5th, 1906. The fall rains had come, and with them the last lightning storm of the summer. Nature had decided to put her full fury into the effort before withdrawing in advance of autumn. And it took the crew of the Brigantine by surprise.
The Lighthouse of 1906 is not the modern and sophisticated lighthouse of today. In 1906 Lighthouse was a mere formality, with a small tower lighted by crude oil lamps. And during the violent storm, her guiding light was shrouded by the dense fog and pelting rain, so that the crew of the Brigantine were sailing blindly along the rocky shore of North Pharos.
Valiantly the Brigantine tried to sound her way ahead. But she missed a great rocky escarpment that extended from the shore out into the waters, thinking that this land mass was but a mere sand bar deep enough under the churning water that the battleship could sail over it. They were wrong.
A loud grinding of metal preceded a lurching stop as the ship rammed far up onto the rocks. A large gash ripped along her bottom, and water began pouring in. But, alas, the crew could not abandon her due to the violent storm raging around the vessel. Yet the rock was strong enough that the ship only sank midway, coming to a rest on the escarpment, before slightly listing to the side. And here the Brigantine came to a final resting spot.
The Brigantine grounded
After the storm passed, the crew of the Brigantine sought to repair the great ship. But the damage was too much. Yet Gotzborgers have a long history of devotion to their navy, and the y refused to abandon ship. Nor did they leave when a band of pirates appeared to harass them and try to gain the powerful munitions of the ship, as well as any other goods they could steal.
Bravely the crew of the Brigantine manned the guns of the Brigantine, which still protruded above the water. Due to the list, they could only angle the deck guns so much - but it was enough to do the job. Opening fire the great battleship raged in its first fight and sent the pirate ships to the bottom of the ocean in a fiery haze. Yet the Brigantine herself had suffered further damage, and was now firmly crushed into the rocks.
The Captain of the Brigantine tried to order his men to return to Gotzborg. But they steadfastly refused to abandon their precious ship. Eventually the Captain was forced to accept their plan or face a full-scale mutiny. Envisioned by ship engineers and supported by an enthusiastic crew, the sailors on the Brigantine devised a plan to secure the ship permanently to the rock using the hull of the ship as a foundation. This was the beginning of the settlement we now know today.
After constructing a walkway from the ship's deck to the shore, the crew endeavored to turn the ship into a great shore fort. On the shore, a small settlement arose around the smelters and manufacturing buildings erected to refit the ship. At first these facilities were extremely crude, made of salvaged parts off the battleship. But eventually their abilities became more refined, and thanks to interaction with the local population, their own population began to grow. Eventually they opted to join with the Lighthouse City State as the administrative center of North Pharos.
As the ship transformed into a great fortress, so did a city come to arise on the shore adjacent to it. Eventually these formed into a cohesive city that we know today. Although rusting in parts and hardly identifiable as a battleship, the great prow can still be discerned from the massive fortress walls as it juts out along the rock into the ocean. On its deck, the massive barrels of its guns - now properly leveled - aim out to sea, warding off pirates that would attack this now-bustling metropolis. Thanks to the loyalty of her crew, the HMS Brigantine was indeed gifted with eternal life.
Originally written Sept 7, 2010
The Lighthouse of 1906 is not the modern and sophisticated lighthouse of today. In 1906 Lighthouse was a mere formality, with a small tower lighted by crude oil lamps. And during the violent storm, her guiding light was shrouded by the dense fog and pelting rain, so that the crew of the Brigantine were sailing blindly along the rocky shore of North Pharos.
Valiantly the Brigantine tried to sound her way ahead. But she missed a great rocky escarpment that extended from the shore out into the waters, thinking that this land mass was but a mere sand bar deep enough under the churning water that the battleship could sail over it. They were wrong.
A loud grinding of metal preceded a lurching stop as the ship rammed far up onto the rocks. A large gash ripped along her bottom, and water began pouring in. But, alas, the crew could not abandon her due to the violent storm raging around the vessel. Yet the rock was strong enough that the ship only sank midway, coming to a rest on the escarpment, before slightly listing to the side. And here the Brigantine came to a final resting spot.
The Brigantine grounded
After the storm passed, the crew of the Brigantine sought to repair the great ship. But the damage was too much. Yet Gotzborgers have a long history of devotion to their navy, and the y refused to abandon ship. Nor did they leave when a band of pirates appeared to harass them and try to gain the powerful munitions of the ship, as well as any other goods they could steal.
Bravely the crew of the Brigantine manned the guns of the Brigantine, which still protruded above the water. Due to the list, they could only angle the deck guns so much - but it was enough to do the job. Opening fire the great battleship raged in its first fight and sent the pirate ships to the bottom of the ocean in a fiery haze. Yet the Brigantine herself had suffered further damage, and was now firmly crushed into the rocks.
The Captain of the Brigantine tried to order his men to return to Gotzborg. But they steadfastly refused to abandon their precious ship. Eventually the Captain was forced to accept their plan or face a full-scale mutiny. Envisioned by ship engineers and supported by an enthusiastic crew, the sailors on the Brigantine devised a plan to secure the ship permanently to the rock using the hull of the ship as a foundation. This was the beginning of the settlement we now know today.
After constructing a walkway from the ship's deck to the shore, the crew endeavored to turn the ship into a great shore fort. On the shore, a small settlement arose around the smelters and manufacturing buildings erected to refit the ship. At first these facilities were extremely crude, made of salvaged parts off the battleship. But eventually their abilities became more refined, and thanks to interaction with the local population, their own population began to grow. Eventually they opted to join with the Lighthouse City State as the administrative center of North Pharos.
As the ship transformed into a great fortress, so did a city come to arise on the shore adjacent to it. Eventually these formed into a cohesive city that we know today. Although rusting in parts and hardly identifiable as a battleship, the great prow can still be discerned from the massive fortress walls as it juts out along the rock into the ocean. On its deck, the massive barrels of its guns - now properly leveled - aim out to sea, warding off pirates that would attack this now-bustling metropolis. Thanks to the loyalty of her crew, the HMS Brigantine was indeed gifted with eternal life.
Originally written Sept 7, 2010