wage war in the south, but had instead embarked on a trading expedition to other tribes of the Ytren, the Sea People, and further north to XuinDo, brought the first examples of this dreadful weapon to Stairon.
Since then, the combat arsenal of the inhabitants of the small port has gradually begun to expand. Now even the entrance to the harbour was protected by heavy ballistas mounted on swivelling bases and crossbows positioned in low watchtowers. The jarl had ensured the safety of his home port, insisting that he had no desire to tempt Fate as long as he had the means to protect his harbour from the incursions of pirate gangs and warriors from the south. However, so far there had been no opportunity to test the effectiveness of these ingenious weapons beyond the regular target practice exercises carried out on the approach to the harbour.
The ships were just passing the harbour entrance, and Jarl Olaf could already be seen standing proudly on the bow of the largest warship in this small fleet. The Flame of Dawn, as the ship was called, was the only three-deck vessel hailing from Stairon. Its design was a modified version of the Empire’s giant, four-deck warships.
Einar’s father was proud of his own ingenious approach to the classic XuinDo shipbuilding tradition. When he set about this project, he took a critical look at the drawings of one of the latest vessels launched at Geritun, the Empire’s largest shipyard, and snorted in slight disgust. He said at the time that such a huge ship was unsuitable for effective single-ship combat, as it was too cumbersome and would not react quickly enough. A few days later, he presented his design for a new warship. The elders were horrified when he showed them the drawings of the three-decked monster. They did not even want to hear of building anything of the sort, but the jarl adamantly explained what a magnificent vessel the Flame of Dawn would be. It was only when the druid Heres backed Olaf that the elders gave their consent, and construction began
