Marigold Apace

It is a significant moment in the story of Awldor that a ship can once again travel across all the seas of this world. For the first time since the recovery, we can reach any horizon we set our minds to.

— Alicia Ravenwood, Historian

It is true, The Archivists Guild owes a lot to this ship. The passions of many for knowing more about the world and its distant past were sparked by the return of Captain Amaya Pneuma and her ship the Marigold Apace. The treasures and knowledge brought back to our continent had expanded the horizons of our conception: of strange far away lands, of the The Ancient Order and the vast power they once wielded, and an inkling of the horrors of the The Great Collapse.
Captain Amaya's Journal, written during this around the world voyage, had become one of the most important artifacts both for the story it records as well as the implications of what the captain had seen. It is not too much of a stretch to say that those who have studied the journal and any other materials related to Amaya's voyage never saw our world the same way again. It is fortunate that the captain had the Marigold Apace, a ship that never failed her.
The Marigold Apace sailed around the world under the command of Captain Amaya Pneuma. This long and dangerous voyage saw the ship traveling across every major ocean, and it was the first time such a voyage was completed since The Great Collapse. It is a rather unexpected course of events considering that the Marigold Apace began life as the first of a new type of ship- the Centrum Galleon.

This ship was conceived to protect Centrum's trade routes, but her destiny all along was to sail into the unknown!

— Paeris Zumlar, Shipwright.

Like the Wind

As a galleon, Marigold Apace was specifically intended to secure the free city's trade routes across the Occulus Sea as an armed cargo carrier. She was to be the first incarnation of her class, but proved to be a problem child of sorts. Her sturdy hull proved too heavy for the sails she was rigged with.
During her maiden voyage in the spring, the Marigold Apace, initially named the Antecedent, plodded across the Occulus Sea at an agonizingly slow pace. The greatly disappointed crew returned the Antecedent to the harbor at Centrum and back into the hands of the shipwrights to see if the situation was salvageable. It is still unclear to this day what had gone wrong in the design and construction of the ship that led to this failure- and the need for an expensive refit. It would be weeks before the flawed galleon saw the open sea again.
The shipwright's solution was to enlarge the Antecedent's sails. It was deemed to be less expensive than building a new vessel from the materials of the old one (some debate on this remains). Of course, solving one problem can bring about another. The additional sails and lightened hull resulted in a higher center of mass that required greater skill to manage else the ship could capsize. Antecedent's instability could be alleviated to a degree when laden with cargo, heavy weaponry, and a skilled crew.
Instability notwithstanding, Antecedent astonished onlookers when she set a new speed record for sailing vessels on her first voyage after the refit. She had nearly capsized at one point during that voyage when a particularly strong breeze caught her sails but the crew's determination prevent such an inglorious end. Antecedent then returned to the harbor where she had earned a new name: the Marigold Apace, both for her speed and the flower that was discovered on her deck while out at sea. Appropriate ceremonies were observed to avoid bad luck in renaming a ship frame.
Future galleons were redesigned and had more fundamental changes in construction that allowed them to better fit their intended role as armed merchant ships. No other Centrum Galleon could keep up with the Marigold Apace in spite of several efforts.

Armament

Centrum's galleons not only represent some of the largest sea faring vessels seen in post collapse Awldor, they also wield some of the most devastating weaponry developed for the high seas- the cannon. Marigold Apace could be outfitted with a total of 18 cannons, with 9 to each side- 8 on the main deck, and 10 on the lower gun deck. Later galleons could outfit more cannons- up to 24 for the largest ship (with even larger designs proposed). Cannons are relatively rare in Awldor due to their reputation for unreliability and the inherent dangers of handling large quantities of gunpowder. Centrum's efforts to develop this area has yielded enough expertise to forge reliable cannons and to outfit them to their ships.

Marigold Apace

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The deck plans for the C.M.V. Marigold Apace.

Class

Centrum Galleon

Nickname

Marigold

Designation

Centrum Merchant Vessel (CMV)

Owner

Amaya Pneuma

Owning Organization

Sea of Fortune Company

Width

8.5m (27.89ft)

Length

34m (111.55ft)

Weight

475 tons

Speed

8-11 knots average

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The Marigold Flower

In addition to the name on the hull, an image of a bright orange marigold is also painted. There was a tradition on the ship to repaint the flower to ensure it remained a bright image.

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It usually is only one that gets all the attention.

— Harry Oakhand, Centrum Shipwright

One of Four

The Marigold Apace did not travel the globe alone. Three three other vessels were also part of the voyage:
R.L.S. Vuorovesi - commanded by Captain Darya Silvermoon Forblåste - commanded by Captain Svalis Xiloscient C.M.V. Suerte Inesperada - commanded by Captain Pontius Ophiucus

Note(s) from the Archivists:

The Archivists owe a lot to Captain Amaya and the Marigold. If that voyage had not happened, and was not undertaken in such a tough and spirited vessel, then it is likely the Archivists Guild would not exist as it does now. - Archivist Taenya Naïlo
Do the words 'marigold' and 'apace' make a lot of sense when set in that order? I'm genuinely not sure. - Archivist Bob