The Mariknights

When sailing the eastern seas of Comalan, it is rare to cross paths with another ship that doesn't fly a certain flag above it's mast. Salica's kraken insignia floats proudly before a blood-spattered sail. This is the mark of Akis' Imperial Navy, a fleet of magical corsairs known as Mariknights. With astounding control of their movement on the sea, deadly swordsmanship, and the ability to control the very water around them, these swashbuckling soldiers were once the pride of the Sea Empire until the empire fell in the dawn of the Second Age. Before this point, the very sight of a single well-armed mariknight was once enough to keep the meek away from the oceans and a single one of their ships was enough to turn the course of other vessels with even the most hardened and zealous templar crews. They were legendary for their ability to fight on open waves and were consequently synonymous with terror on the sea.

When the empire fell, a disgraced mariknight captain was pulled under the waves by Karashartal and pinned beneath a massive boulder, where he slept throughout the Second Age. But on a stormy day in the Third Age, his body was found under the sea by the Avatar of Salica. He came with a message from their goddess warning that the mariknights would need to sail once more in order to protect Comalan and was relieved to find that the captain hadn't completely died. As a sai'mul, the alcoholic Mariknight named Harley Rumgourd rose from his watery prison and pledged to start a new fleet of Mariknights that the new Midania could be proud of. With Atunis Astersong named their honorary Admiral, he dubbed the Mariknights' new flagship, the Light's Grace and entrusted its command to Harley and his recent maulan friend, Largo. Together, they have sailed tirelessly in search of all of the secrets which once made their fleet great.

By reputation, the mariknights are all considered to be fearsome warriors who are to be avoided at sea with few exceptions. This is made even more terrifying by the knowledge that many of them are now sai'mul, who are seen as relatively invulnerable. In truth, modern Mariknights are primarily concerned with defending the islands under Midania's banner from sailors from Mortanis with imperialistic designs for each of them. As the sole military force of the young nation, mariknights were instilled with a strong sense of pride, both in who their ancestors were and in the future of their country. This is a strength for them that is countered by the lack of discipline throughout the entire fleet. While this is a problem they remain dedicated to working on, it stems from their general disdain for hierachy. Each ship has its own captain who decides where the crew sails and who they attack, each captain has a vice captain who carries out their orders, and each ship reports to their Admiral. Besides these three distinctions, everyone from hardened veterans to talented newcomers have the same level of decision making power within the fleet. But this half-measured approach to authority has created a power vacuum that leads to rivalry and sometimes outright hostility between different crews. Only the Admiral is trusted to mediate these disputes, but they are far too common for each instance of violence between mariknights to get his attention.

Individually, a mariknight is trained in countless skills to power their reputation as fearsome warriors and perfect sailors alike. Every one of them is trained to manipulate water at will through magic, which makes them nearly invincible on the sea or near any other body of water. This effect is limited by proximity to the water itself, which is why mariknights are trained to carry massive clay vessels which contain a supply of water they can weaponize later. When carrying these vessels becomes impractical, they are also trained to be deadly fighters with their sabers. On a mariknight ship, everyone has to be useful in more than one way to guarantee their survival which is why the members of each ship's crew is trained not only to fight, but in some duty related to the sailing of the ship itself. Make no mistake, though. Everyone, from the ship's cook to its helmsman to its navigator, is a deadly warrior.