Of Salt and Sweat
The sounds of tools beating at wood and stone rang out across Carsepolis amidst the crashing waves and screeching gulls, as Valar surveyed his growing port from atop his keep. Finally, he could bask in the warm waters of success, the cultivation of everything his family had been working for the past two generations.
The Vances were a prodigious family among the Myrosi people, having been elected by the Captains of the Carsepolian Fleet to lead them as Admirals at the last three Concords. Valar's brother Argus had even become the Champion of the Myrmidons, the elite warrior monks that served the will of the mighty sea god Myr. That had been the work of their father, Otis, who had known that a Vance in such a high position of power would help their cause greatly.
Ah, but if only Valar's father were alive to see that Valar had achieved what his forebears spent their lives planning! Their chests would swell with pride, he was sure. He was surprised they didn't break from the chains that held their spirits at the bottom of the sea with Myr and burst from the waves with exaltation.
A sunbeam flashed through the clouds across Valar's gold-hued face as he stood idly in his musings, causing him to throw up the webbed fingers of his right hand as a shield. It was a hot day, to be sure. The Admiral unlooped the cask of saltwater at his belt and upended it over his head, allowing the soothing liquid to flow down his bare torso. Flashes of emerald shone from the moistened skin as the water mixed with the oils that Myrosi secreted to aid their swimming. Pushing back his locks of greying hair, Valar glanced at the bay below him once more.
Curving out to the east where the water was calmest was the City of Stilts, the oldest part of Carsepolis. Built in the typical Myrosi fashion, it was a maze of longboats, wooden boardwalks and crannog roundhouses jutting from the surface of the sea – and it was an unsuitable location for the great port that Valar was turning his land into. It did have a quaint sentimental value to it however, and it would be wise not to pull the Myrosi from their traditions for the mean time, so Valar set his grand development plans over to the western part of the bay.
There, hundreds of Myrosi milled about heaving stone into place to build Valar's city – no, [i]their[/] city. He had, after all, done all he had done in order to benefit his people. He admired the work that had been done already. A great stone harbour was in place, big enough to fit a score of the largest galleys, and while it wasn't the prettiest for the time being, it was functional. A tall basalt wall lay beyond that with around fifty feet of clearance for cargo and market stalls. The wall was not yet finished, but would eventually encircle an area looping behind the keep and around to the City of Stilts. Within the walls would be a plethora of newly erected villas to be used as inns and brothels, playhouses and fighting pits, as well as housing for the Myrosi that would be coming to Carsepolis from it's neighbouring ports of Trian and Gallena.
Trian and Gallena. Once independent townships , they were now territories of Carsepolis and ultimately ruled by Valar. Convincing their fleets to join with Valar's own had been no easy task. Karridan Haritos, Admiral of Gallena, had long been friendly with Valar and their townships had traded frequently. He was also fierce and stubborn, which had not helped Valar's cause much when the Gallenic fleet voted against his proposal. Karridan had been mistrustful of Valar's intentions when they first spoke about his plans to merge the Myrosi townships, and had insisted that his people would rule themselves for as long as his fleet sailed the seas.
The response had surprised Valar, who had been sure that his friendship with Karridan would secure Gallena to his cause. No matter how much he tried to persuade the man, nothing would work. Valar slowly came to realise that in order to persuade Karridan, he would need to convince him that his fleet was not strong enough to defend Gallena. It was then that he made plans to win Trian.
If Karridan had been stubborn, then Raedus, Admiral of Trian, was simply a bullheaded fool. Trian was the smallest of the three townships, and the most exposed to outside threat. However it still stood unscathed by rape or battle, and that had given it's people a sense of arrogance. They felt that they had managed just fine on their own so far, thank you very much, and they had no need for the protection of a fleet that hid away in a secluded bay.
Carsepolis was, fortunately, not without it's allies in Trian. The people were poor, and it was easy enough to win the favour of their captains with coins and trinkets. They would readily vote for the joining of Trian with Carsepolis, but Valar had felt that their loyalty to the buffoon Raedus could hinder his operations in the future. It saddened him to sink to deceptive and treacherous politicking, but he needed to put a new Admiral in place.
The Perrus family were held in high regard among the people, and one of their number, a young man named Godi, was widely believed to be the favoured successor to Raedus. Valar had met with him one day and discovered that the man also had a great deal of respect for Valar's plans, and agreed to help him in the fullest should he become Admiral.
That evening, Valar received word that Raedus had left Trian to apprehend a crew of pirates that had killed his son. Valar's cousin, the bastard Tyrone, arrived in Carsepolis with both bodies the next day.
Some weeks later, the Gallenic fleet agreed to the merging after a sizeable detachment of warships was spotted on the horizon.
Everything had come together eventually, and Valar had no doubt that this was the beginning of great things for his people. His city of salt and sweat would be the greatest thing to happen in their history. The only thing left for him to do was declare a new Admiral for Fleet Carsepolis, now that he had assigned himself the new role of Master Admiral. He gazed outwards across the sea and saw the sun falling towards it's edge. His captains would be gathering in the great hall for the Concord. He took a swig from his flask of saltwater and allowed the luscious liquid to wash over his taste buds, before spitting it out over the edge of the balcony and retreating into the keep.
The Vances were a prodigious family among the Myrosi people, having been elected by the Captains of the Carsepolian Fleet to lead them as Admirals at the last three Concords. Valar's brother Argus had even become the Champion of the Myrmidons, the elite warrior monks that served the will of the mighty sea god Myr. That had been the work of their father, Otis, who had known that a Vance in such a high position of power would help their cause greatly.
Ah, but if only Valar's father were alive to see that Valar had achieved what his forebears spent their lives planning! Their chests would swell with pride, he was sure. He was surprised they didn't break from the chains that held their spirits at the bottom of the sea with Myr and burst from the waves with exaltation.
A sunbeam flashed through the clouds across Valar's gold-hued face as he stood idly in his musings, causing him to throw up the webbed fingers of his right hand as a shield. It was a hot day, to be sure. The Admiral unlooped the cask of saltwater at his belt and upended it over his head, allowing the soothing liquid to flow down his bare torso. Flashes of emerald shone from the moistened skin as the water mixed with the oils that Myrosi secreted to aid their swimming. Pushing back his locks of greying hair, Valar glanced at the bay below him once more.
Curving out to the east where the water was calmest was the City of Stilts, the oldest part of Carsepolis. Built in the typical Myrosi fashion, it was a maze of longboats, wooden boardwalks and crannog roundhouses jutting from the surface of the sea – and it was an unsuitable location for the great port that Valar was turning his land into. It did have a quaint sentimental value to it however, and it would be wise not to pull the Myrosi from their traditions for the mean time, so Valar set his grand development plans over to the western part of the bay.
There, hundreds of Myrosi milled about heaving stone into place to build Valar's city – no, [i]their[/] city. He had, after all, done all he had done in order to benefit his people. He admired the work that had been done already. A great stone harbour was in place, big enough to fit a score of the largest galleys, and while it wasn't the prettiest for the time being, it was functional. A tall basalt wall lay beyond that with around fifty feet of clearance for cargo and market stalls. The wall was not yet finished, but would eventually encircle an area looping behind the keep and around to the City of Stilts. Within the walls would be a plethora of newly erected villas to be used as inns and brothels, playhouses and fighting pits, as well as housing for the Myrosi that would be coming to Carsepolis from it's neighbouring ports of Trian and Gallena.
Trian and Gallena. Once independent townships , they were now territories of Carsepolis and ultimately ruled by Valar. Convincing their fleets to join with Valar's own had been no easy task. Karridan Haritos, Admiral of Gallena, had long been friendly with Valar and their townships had traded frequently. He was also fierce and stubborn, which had not helped Valar's cause much when the Gallenic fleet voted against his proposal. Karridan had been mistrustful of Valar's intentions when they first spoke about his plans to merge the Myrosi townships, and had insisted that his people would rule themselves for as long as his fleet sailed the seas.
The response had surprised Valar, who had been sure that his friendship with Karridan would secure Gallena to his cause. No matter how much he tried to persuade the man, nothing would work. Valar slowly came to realise that in order to persuade Karridan, he would need to convince him that his fleet was not strong enough to defend Gallena. It was then that he made plans to win Trian.
If Karridan had been stubborn, then Raedus, Admiral of Trian, was simply a bullheaded fool. Trian was the smallest of the three townships, and the most exposed to outside threat. However it still stood unscathed by rape or battle, and that had given it's people a sense of arrogance. They felt that they had managed just fine on their own so far, thank you very much, and they had no need for the protection of a fleet that hid away in a secluded bay.
Carsepolis was, fortunately, not without it's allies in Trian. The people were poor, and it was easy enough to win the favour of their captains with coins and trinkets. They would readily vote for the joining of Trian with Carsepolis, but Valar had felt that their loyalty to the buffoon Raedus could hinder his operations in the future. It saddened him to sink to deceptive and treacherous politicking, but he needed to put a new Admiral in place.
The Perrus family were held in high regard among the people, and one of their number, a young man named Godi, was widely believed to be the favoured successor to Raedus. Valar had met with him one day and discovered that the man also had a great deal of respect for Valar's plans, and agreed to help him in the fullest should he become Admiral.
That evening, Valar received word that Raedus had left Trian to apprehend a crew of pirates that had killed his son. Valar's cousin, the bastard Tyrone, arrived in Carsepolis with both bodies the next day.
Some weeks later, the Gallenic fleet agreed to the merging after a sizeable detachment of warships was spotted on the horizon.
Everything had come together eventually, and Valar had no doubt that this was the beginning of great things for his people. His city of salt and sweat would be the greatest thing to happen in their history. The only thing left for him to do was declare a new Admiral for Fleet Carsepolis, now that he had assigned himself the new role of Master Admiral. He gazed outwards across the sea and saw the sun falling towards it's edge. His captains would be gathering in the great hall for the Concord. He took a swig from his flask of saltwater and allowed the luscious liquid to wash over his taste buds, before spitting it out over the edge of the balcony and retreating into the keep.