• Published 5th Jun 2016
  • 3,044 Views, 89 Comments

Dominus Protector Meus - Zh3sh1re



The year is 1700. Sweden stands unchallenged in Scandinavia. Denmark, Poland and Russia have all lost territories to a united Sweden under Charles XII. Suddenly, the sky is filled with lightning and the Swedish Empire is whisked away forever....

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Contact with foreign ships

Formerly Northern Sea (AC. Now Celestial Sea)
Swedish Naval Territory – January 29th
The reforms instituted by the king had been felt all over the branches of the Swedish Navy. Reorganization, recruitment and garrison. For the Swedish navy, it was a unknown new task to them. Exploration? That was something that Spain and England was used to. But the Swedish navy? They had not done much exploration since the viking ages.

However, the new reforms had put him in his unique position of captain. His name was Claes Sparre, a former shipman of the Dutch navy. He had returned to Sweden just about two years ago and he felt that this time, he would stay in his own country. Now, he was the captain of a large Third Rate ship of the line named HMS Bohus.

The Swedish navy had continually been patrolling around the new Island-nation of Sweden. It felt strange, having this much territory to patrol and explore, but as a man of Sweden he was following his duty to his king and fatherland. Currently, he was sailing in formation with two other ships, one Fourth Rate ship of the line called HMS Ösel, and one Fifth Rate Frigate called HMS Fredricus. He did not personally know the other captains, but as the largest ship in the formation he was sailing first.

The Bohus was armed with 74 guns, most notably eighteen 24-Pounder guns. Hopefully, if the worst came to fruition and he would meet hostile enemy ships, they would be able to annihilate them without much fuss. Nonetheless, it was a dangerous mission. Sailing in unknown waters such as these. He was also more than happy to house a small contingent of marines. They were not numerous by any accounts, but they would hopefully be enough if they were to experience a boarding.

He leaned on one of the railings as he looked out across the endless seas. His face contorted slightly as he spotted something in the distance. With a quick snap of his fingers and a shout to one of his servants, he had a spyglass in his hands. He looked out across the sea. It was undoubtedly a ship. Perhaps more disturbing, it was flying a flag that he did not know who it belonged to. As a Dutch sailor, it was nigh-impossible not to pick up on most of the European flags during the long voyages. The flag in question was black, with what looked like a crossbow in white in the middle. It was hard to tell from this distance, but the ship seemed to be a galley of some sort. That could only mean one thing. They were close to land. No captain with sanity would sail a galley out into open ocean.

"Ready the cannons. Prepare to fire, but not before I give my mark. Inform our sister-ships that an unknown vessel have been spotted and that we're forming a line of battle." He commanded a sailor as he continually looked towards the new possible-threat. "Aye, captain." He quickly shouted a few commands down the chain before running over and started communicating with his fellow ships via flag. Hopefully, someone would come up with a better way of communicating.

The wind was decreasing, which meant that the galley would have better mobility if it were to come to that. However, he had faith in his ships and in god. No one could beat that.

Two kilometers east of the HMS Bohus
Stormclaw was not having a good day. What he thought would be an easy day of raiding trade-convoys turned out to be an encounter with what was undoubtedly warships. Big ones, too from the looks of it. The gryphon frowned as he spied towards them. Ponies? Gryphons? He simply couldn't tell. They were too far out. With the wind winding down, they could not run far. Those sails seemed big, which meant they were fast. The oars may be useful if we got close, but we cannot hope to outrun them.

"Laddies! Arm the harpoons!" He frowned. If they recognized his flag, there would be a battle and he would lose. Badly. He knew as much as that. But Tartarus, he would fight til the end if he had to. "Helmsman, take us closer. Up alongside them." He ordered as he began looking over the gryphons on his ship. They were battle-hardened, that much was sure. Perhaps the occupants of the other ships were green. That meant they could take it by hand to hand combat. But, that seemed impossible seeing the elite-look of the ships. This seemed like a flagship if nothing else.

Sweat started to run across his forehead, which he wiped away quickly. It's time for that legendary gryphon courage. He had not been bested yet, and he had been in more dire situations than this. His eyes widened as the gap between the ships began to close. The three unknown vessels had made some sort of formation, looking like a line. Smart, he thought. That way they could simply go forwards and unload their broadside one by one.

He brought his spyglass closer to his eyes and looked over the possibly-largest ship he had ever seen. However, as he looked upon the deck he froze. Those were not ponies... They were... Minotaurs? No... They looked skinnier. The deckhands wore simple white clothing and brown pants, something that was to be expected of simple sailors. But the ones that wore more intricate clothing.... He saw the captain looking back at him. He had a long coat, blue in color with yellow details. Most likely made to resemble the flag they flew. Perhaps their national colors?

He lowered the spyglass and gulped. This is an entirely new species. He was sure of it. Now, Stormclaw wasn't the most educated of gryphons but he knew most of the races on the discovered part of Equus. He had raided more than half of them. These ones... He had never seen anything like it.

As much as he hated it, he had to try some form of diplomacy. As soon as he saw the broadside capabilities of the ships he knew he had no chance. He could not see the actual weapons in the broadside hatches, but they must've been some pretty large ballistas. Most likely filled with firemagic.

Stormclaw cleared his throat and waved over to one of his fellow deckhands. "Raise the white diplomatic flag. We cannot simply hope to beat these creatures or their ships." Stormclaw saw the disgust in the deckhands face, and he felt the same. Diplomacy... Not something for a pirate to be engaging in. But when times are dire, a pirate have to use his every weapon.

HMS Bohus
Claes could hardly believe his eyes. All over the galley that seemed to have been made hundreds of years ago were creatures straight out of mythology. He had sailed the Mediterranean with the dutch navy, and he had seen the paintings in Greece. Those same paintings and these creatures of blood and flesh were eerily similar. He tried to remember the name of them. "Griffionen..." He spoke quietly. True, that was the name in Dutch, but he knew the Swedish translation. "Grip." That was it. Gryphons. Thankfully, the crew were professional enough not to just stand and gawk. He could see his fellow seamen look to the mythological creatures from time to time, but overall they were surprisingly vigilant.

He turned to his deckhands and marines. "Men, load the cannons. Marines, ready your muskets. We cannot go into this unprepared. Remember, be vigi-..." He was interrupted by one of his deckhands. "Captain! They're raising the white flag. I assume that it means they want to meet." Claes nodded slightly.

This was perhaps the best and most logical ending to this. This would allow him much information, if they spoke the same language that is. "Raise the diplomatic flag. I wish to speak to them myself." He commanded. "Marines, ready up but do not attack. Remain watchful." As he spoke this, his own vessel and the galley had begun to line up alongside each other. Good, he thought. That meant that if hostilities would erupt, he could end the ship easily with his broadside cannons.

He was about to order a rope ladder to be cast to the galley below them when he heard several gusts of wind, as if a giant hawk had taken flight a few meters from him. That was pretty much exactly what happened. Three griffons had taken flight from the galley towards the deck of the Bohus. His men was visibly shaken, but he issued a quick command to calm them down. The three griphons only wore scarce clothing. One wore a hat, and another one a vest. Simplistic.. Even spartan, Claes thought.

The three gryphons landed on the deck, and looked around with watchful eyes. They had discipline, Claes had to give them that. Some of his own marines visibly clenched their loaded muskets. His own personal guard of marines inspected the foreign creatures, most likely looking for weak spots if hostilities would blossom up. The gryphons quickly identified Claes as the leader of the ship, most likely due to his exquisite uniform. They walked hesitantly towards him, stopping around ten feet in front of him.

Claes cursed under his breath. What language does he use? He cleared his throat and spoke in Dutch. "Good afternoon, captain." The gryphons seemed confused, and looked at eachother. Alright, not Dutch. He tried to remember his English. He had learnt it during his time in the Dutch navy. A useful tool to have when negotiating with British ships. "Do you understand me now?" The gryphons immediately opened their eyes wide. I'd take that as a yes. The foremost mythical creature took a step forward and began to speak...

"I assume you are the captain?" His voice was a bit squeaky, but it was without a doubt English. Awfully convenient, Claes concluded. Besides being squeaky, which Claes assumed to be because the creature in front of him was partly bird. Claes started to formulate an answer in his mind.

"Indeed I am, gryphon. And in turn I assume that you are the same?" Claes Responded. Stormclaw understood immediately that Equish was not his primary language. Stormclaw just nodded. He was not the most talkative gryphon, as he had always thought that actions spoke higher than words.

"Forgive me, I am quite shocked. I have never seen a creature such as yourself." Claes continued, seeing this as a perfect opportunity to gain some valuable information for the king. "Likewise..." Stormclaw responded.

So far so good, Claes concluded. "We have stories... Well, old myths talking about creatures such as yourself... It's interesting to see such a magnificent specimen such as yourself on my own." Stormclaw couldn't help but feel a bit flattered, but he knew that the flattering was simply a technique to lure him into a false sense of security. Stormclaw's two deckhands which he had brought was visibly sweating. Being around this many foreign creatures... It made them feel uneasy.

"I could not hope but recognize your ship as a galley... Does that mean there is land closeby?" Claes asked, deciding to push a bit harder. Stormclaw recognized this, but by not abiding to his question, things could quickly turn sour. He had a strong feeling that the only reason the captain was talking to him was to gain information. "Yes... You assume correctly." Stormclaw turned around and pointed out towards the sea. "That way. Not far at all. Perhaps a day's travel." Stormclaw hoped that he had bought himself some good will.

"Ah... Oh, how horrible of me. My name is Claes Sparre, and this is the HMS Bohus." Claes introduced himself. Stormclaw scrambled to remember the name. Such a strange name. "I'm Stormclaw, shipchieftain of the Nest." Stormclaw concluded, nodding along with his own sentence. "No prefix? Does that mean that you are indipentent? I cannot help but recognize the flag. It does not seem like a national flag, but more of a..." Claes halted. How had he not thought of this before? They were pirates! The flag just screamed pirates. He cursed his own ignorance and stupidity. Perhaps he could salvage this.

Stormclaw immediately recognized the look in Claes eyes. He figured it out. He had to act fast. The men he brought were strong fighters with a sword. If he were to pull a sword and try to escape to his galley, he could rally his men and try to fight by the sword rather than ballistas. Stormclaw decided that waiting was not in his best interest. As a pirate, he knew that speed was needed to overwhelm a larger foe. And so, with that in mind, he bounced back and pulled his sword, alongside his deckhands.

The reaction of the strange creatures were instant. In just a second, he had several metal sticks pointed towards him, deckhands had drawn swords as well as Claes himself. "Try me, Creature." Stormclaw said the now-hostile captain. Claes smirked back. "I will enjoy gutting you like a pig, Pirate." He spat the last word with disgust. Claes hated pirates.

The entire ship drew it's breath in silence. Things were about to get interesting...