Dragonfrigate Wizard Halcyon Blithe - Hardcover

James M. Ward is the author of gaming fiction as well as an award-winning and bestselling designer of games. He lives in Elkhorn, Wisconsin.

Chapter One
Encounter the Enemy
 
HIS MAJESTY'S ARTICLES OF WAR: ARTICLE XXI
 
All officers of all fleets, squadrons, naval stations, and vessels belonging to the navy are required to show in themselves a good example of virtue, honor, patriotism, and subordination; to be vigilant in inspecting the conduct of all persons who are placed under their command. Any commander who offends against the Articles shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
 
 
"Fire!"
 
BOOM!
 
Fifty-two blast-tubes, on three different decks, unleashed their hellish shot at the enemy in the distance. The deafening noise filled the dragonship in a wave rocking the hull on the back of the sea-dragon first-rater. A wall of round shot arced forth, reaching out for the enemy first-rater at the end of the line.
 
The Durand's own broadside missed the Sanguine by a wide margin, churning up the sea in plumes of water as tall as the Sanguine's one-hundred-and-fifty-foot masts.
 
The living sea dragon that was the warship Sanguine roared a challenge to the enemy in the distance, surprised to hear no roar back. Every time it fought the distant creatures floating on the sea, amazement filled its tiny brain. Enemies' growl and roar not go BOOM.
 
The sea dragon didn't understand the nature of the shell on its back, but it liked the small pets that scurried around the shell and fed it wonderful treats like hay and lettuce. As in all battles, the dragon knew there would be good eating for it in the near future.
 
Elan Swordson, a midshipwizard first class, stood at the edge of the quarterdeck on the back of that dragon, able to see over the smoke. He noted the successful hits on the Durand. Smiling, he looked back to see the officers on the quarterdeck all working toward maneuvering the ship. He didn't like not controlling a blast-tube, and he especially didn't like to see Halcyon Blithe on a tube in the middle of the tube deck. "I'll go down and make sure the salt chests have full jars," he suggested to the second officer.
 
She nodded and he went off to the tube-deck.
 
The wall of smoke from the tubes of the Sanguine obscured any chance of seeing what their shots might have struck. Hundreds of men worked at reloading their tubes as the dragonship ignored the prevailing winds and tacked quickly to port, allowing the other side of the ship to bear its deadly blast-tubes on the not-so-distant enemy.
 
For one member of the Sanguine's crew, all the noise and smoke and the dragon roaring its challenge presented no distraction to what he was doing. Through the confusion of the battle, Halcyon Blithe, midshipwizard third class, commanded a blast-tube crew facing off against the Maleen first-rater Durand. His six-foot lanky frame bent intently over the blast-tube, waiting for the enemy to appear in the firing port. There was an intense red glow in his eyes, part of his demon heritage that those respecting him never asked about. Like many other spellcasters on the ship, he had a long white war braid down his back. It marked him a wizard of power, and he used that magic to heat up the blast spike about to be driven into the touchhole of his deadly weapon. He was a good-looking man of sixteen years, but today his handsome face was twisted in a snarl of hate and fury. He was fighting one of the Maleen ships on a special written list he constantly carried in a pouch next to his heart.
 
"Stand by!" Halcyon shouted to the blast-tube crew of the Deadly Dori. Every ship of the line had crew who named their blast-tubes. The Deadly Dori blast-tube fired a thirty-pound sphere of iron up to one mile from the ship.
 
Over the blast-tube, Halcyon faced the Durand in the distance, and this battle for him was very personal. Halcyon began muttering to himself. "You and three others shot my father's ship to the waterline."
 
At the same time, he made sure his crew did everything perfectly. "My father struck his colors and you fired at him anyway. I'm here to bring the revenge of my family down on your heads!"
 
As they all worked, no one could hear what he was mumbling. Blithe didn't care. The enemy in front of him helped to kill his father. Halcyon was fighting for more than king and country. He was fighting for his father.
 
Ashe Fallow, the master chief petty officer in charge of keeping the flow of blast-gel moving from belowdecks to the many blast-tubes on the blast deck, noted Halcyon's look and grew a mite worried. Few things missed the steely eyes of the chief. A thin man at a little less than six feet tall, he seemed shorter as he was constantly slouching, displaying a relaxed style even in the heat of deadly battle. Bald at fifty, he was a lifetime navy man and liked it that way. The chief decided to hover near the Deadly Dori, just to keep an eye on the young Lankshire officer. Officers always need help, he wryly thought.
 
"Damn your eyes, Fallow, can't you see that salt chest is empty!" Swordson shouted at the chief. "I don't want your men lagging behind the shots being fired."
 
A salt chest stood behind each of the blast-tubes during battle. It held a large supply of salt with jars of blasting gel placed in the chest. The packed salt kept hot sparks from igniting the jars. The packing also kept crashing materials from breaking the jars in the heat of battle.
 
"I have three gel monkeys working on this section of the deck, bringing the blasting gel from the orlop deck to these blast-tube carriages. They can't move any faster than they are now." Fallow's words fell on deaf ears. The midshipwizard was watching what Blithe was doing.
 
"Steady on!" Denna Darkwater commanded her squad at the center of the upper blast-tube deck. Darkwater loved a good melee. She was just under six feet tall, and her troll heritage showed from the long blue hair now in a war braid down her back to her dark greenish flesh, which resisted sword strokes and pike strikes like the best armor. In spite of her monstrous heritage, she was a lovely woman with muscles of steel. There were thirty-two small ivory skulls woven into her braid--one for every enemy officer she'd killed in hand-to-hand combat.
 
She too was surprised at the look of hate on Midshipwizard Blithe's face. In the short time she'd come to know Halcyon, she'd learned to like and respect him. She would gladly watch the young midshipwizard's back.
 
He was an officer, but she liked him nevertheless.
 
Normally, tubes fired in a solid wall of shot. Halcyon's tube waited not for the prow of the enemy ship to come into line with the blast-tube, but for the center of the ship. He wanted the maximum chance for his shot to hit. He'd also decided to use all the long-range loads of gel in his tube. He didn't just want to hit the enemy; he wanted to pummel them to kindling.
 
Swab sticks and prybars hit the deck as six men jammed their hands over their muffled ears. Each of the crew had a scarf tied around his head. Under the scarf, each forced sailcloth into and around his ears.
 
Filled with deadly intent, Halcyon watched his blast-tube bear on the Durand, the enemy first-rater, not a thousand yards away. The enemy showed pockmarks in its port section from the Sanguine's previous blasts.
 
BOOM!
 
The rest of the port tube crew fired their blast-tubes the instant the long barrels bore on the prow of the enemy ship in the distance. A wave of sound blew everyone back and a wall of smoke filled their vision. Showing no nervousness at all, Halcyon held his fire as the ship rolled up the next wave and down to the bottom on the ocean's roll.
 
"Fire, you idiot! What's wrong with you?" Swordson shouted.
 
Feeling the young midshipwizard's murderous intent, the dragon roared its hate at the Durand and turned itself just right to allow Halcyon's tube to come in line with the middle of the enemy first-rater.
 
The dragon was able to see what Halcyon was seeing. It had grown more and more in tune with the midshipwizard's mind over the last week.
 
There was no tension or doubt in Blithe in the deadly moments of this battle. His entire focus centered on the Durand. The Maleen warship was an enemy that took part in the destruction of his father's warship in the battle off Porlun, a little more than a year ago. Halcyon knew every enemy ship that took part in that action. He'd vowed to be part of their destruction and this was his first chance to accomplish that promise made a year ago. He tried hard to contain his rage, but his face told a different story and his grim disposition caused his blast-tube crew to rush their duties.
 
Through the blast port, he waited until the movements of the enemy ship allowed the shot to have a chance to strike the center of the enemy's deck. The dragonship swayed down into the bottom of the ocean's roll. Halcyon held a steel spike above the touchhole of the blast-tube. Ramming that spike into the jar of blasting gel was usually enough to set off the explosion of the tube. The heated spikes guaranteed the successful blasting of the tube. On ships with magically able crew, those who could use magic were in charge of heating up the spike with their magical energies instead of heating the spike in a small brazier kept between each pair of blast-tubes for spike-heating purposes. Heating the spike with his magical ability, Blithe jammed it into the touchhole, and stood aside. He took great satisfaction in using his magic as the cause of the destruction he sent the Durand's way.
 
BOOM!
 
The smoke of the blast blew back onto the deck with blinding effect. The stiff morning breeze forced the choking smoke in everyone's faces. They blinked back the sting of the smoke. Halcyon Blithe's orders had them quickly pick up their equipment to reload the tube.
 
On the quarterdeck, Second Officer and blast-tube Master Andool Griffon looked...