The Kingsail

The Kingsail, introduced in 968 A.D, was the first siren-hunting ship built by the Iksandi empire.

Appearance

The Kingsail, along with all siren-hunting ships, has a low freeboard and long keel for cutting through groups of sirens. The Kingsail in particular has yellow and white sails and flies a flag with the crest of Iksand: two dragons and a sun on a tierced brown field. The bowsprit features the image of a roaring dragon as well, often holding a lantern in darker times. The Kingsail has space for twenty harpooners along the railings, though in practicality it was usually armed with fourteen. The kingship has one deck below the main deck, for sleeping and storage. Since the Kingsail was not meant to undertake long voyages, a week at most, it does not have a kitchen. The ship is painted red with yellow accents.

Use during the Iksandi Sea Civil War

The Kingsail was the first ship built during the Iksandi Sea Civil War, meant to hunt and transport sirens. At first, there was concern about how sirens would be transported without large tubs, but once the Iksandi learned that sirens could survive extended periods outside of water, they treated them as any other prisoner aboard a ship and transported an estimated 100 sirens using the Kingsail throughout the conflict. Mostly, however, the Kingsail was used to kill sirens. Harpooners would stand behind the rails as the ship steered through a pod, the long keel disturbing them and bringing them out from underneath. The marksmen would aim for the sirens that swam closest to the surface. Through its use in the war, it and the many other siren-hunting ships drove the Northern Sirens out of the Iksandi Sea and claimed the use of the sea and its resources.

Decomissioning and other use

After the civil war, the Kingsail was used as a recreational fishing vessel for nobility, who hunted fish in a similar way to sirens, albeit with nets instead of harpoons. It was also used to make short journeys away from the coast for private vacations. In 1350, the Kingsail was decomissioned and salvaged for useable wood. The decorations and bowspirit were saved to be used on the new Kingdrake I, a royal ship used for non-military affairs and diplomatic travel.