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Post by xander10 on Apr 29, 2022 1:25:38 GMT
After a small scale naval exercise between Sadalen and the Association was complete, to storied captains, Arhus of Sadalen and Commodore Perrin of the Association, came by eachother, and although the two did not know it at that moment, they were about to start a historic race.
Arhus: 'I heard about your wonderous journey, Mr. Perrin. We've got the ships, we've got the men, and we've got the engines, I bet you could make it all the way back to ancient homeland in the frozen north with your ship.'
Perrin: "Oh for certain, I have myself been planning an expedition to the north pole, though I myself do not believe it to be some Ancient Homeland of the Germans, afterall, the ancient stones in the Association point to our people arriving from the South East of Vrirtha, not the North where those rotten danes live"
A: 'But all of our most ancient stories talk about the great land in the north! Even the Latins and Greeks record it, calling it Hyperborea.'
P: "Well, there is only one way to really check if the Raikh's or Association's legends are true, we must both go there for ourselves, afterall I there is no believing without seeing it ourselves, though I doubt it will be a pleasant place to visit either way, given the ever freezing temperatures of the north"
A: 'Then sir, how about a bet? I own ships, many of them in fact. I am willing to wager the value of my current fleet, some ten-thousand Þaler, on us being able to get to the North Pole first.'
P: "So roughly thirty eight and a half thousand firjenons? I may not have that much money myself, but I am sure I can convince my backers, Mister Yerkes and the Sheenish Navy, to take a gamble on my winning this race, such is my confidence that the Unicorn and her crew will push to the pole faster than any other crew on the seas today."
A: 'To the great race then! I shall begin advertising in the papers for recruits and also see about outfitting my ship.'
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Post by xander10 on Apr 29, 2022 1:27:49 GMT
Want a Life of Legendary Adventure?
One Mr. Arhus is advertising for crew for his legendary expedition. While certain positions command higher rates, he has promised every able-bodied seaman a Schilling a day and a stake of land in the Arctic should he win the race and the Schilling a day regardless of the outcome. His vessel is a refitted bomb vessel with modern steam engine and reinforced hull, making it an iron-clad of first rate quality. |
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Post by Fleischmann on Apr 29, 2022 12:29:28 GMT
News of this challenge quickly spread, with some papers of the Raikh jokingly saying that Hairas Arhus would declare himself the new Hauhkuno should he succeed in finding the Hyperborea. Others took a more serious position on the matter, pointing out that should he leave now, the ice would be starting to form again and that the land would surely be covered in twilight should he arrive swiftly and darkness should be tarry. Throughout all the reports, a strong undercurrent of excitement could be felt and only the most fringe and minor expressed doubts as to whether he would succeed. It was with such a strong atmosphere that he not only receive quite a few Sheenish sign-ons, but many others travelled from the Raikh to Sheen in order to take part in this monumental expedition. Such was the confidence of those assembled, that the crew which would have only been seven-hundred and six was boosted to a thousand men strong, with the extra three-hundred meant to act as colonists once they found land and establish an outpost to solidify the Raikh's claim. The ship itself was the height of modernity, though it was built thirty years prior. Formerly known as so Kregja and part of the Hauhkunoleiksflutt, the warship had been retired from military service ten years ago and had taken up as a fast passenger and cargo vessel, having had its gun-deck converted to storage space, cabins, and amenities, and its engines removed and upgraded not even two years prior to allow it to compete with the Great Tit-class of ocean-liner for speed. The mighty Skrik, for that was the ship's name, set sail from Sheen with many well-wishers who had come from near and far to see the ship's departure. Little did they know, not a single man would return from this ill fated voyage.  |
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Post by xander10 on Apr 29, 2022 15:48:45 GMT
Commodore Perrin went on completing his lengthy plans, meticuously planning out the resources required, the clothing needed for the bitter cold, and sorting out the final acquirement of Ymiri Huskies. He had planned to wait for the summer of 1200 for his voyage, but this Mr Arhus has excacerbated the time in which he had to get to the pole, It was either now or he wouldn't get to the pole first. Perrin had already gotten his hands on one of the Northern Port Icebreakers, used for getting cargo ships in and out of port for the ice trade. Although she was not as fast as SNS Unicorn, SS Ymir was perfect for the job of a polar expedition, and required a much smaller crew than the ship given to him for his commission. SS Ymir set sail just a day after the Skirk  |
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Post by Fleischmann on Apr 30, 2022 4:30:36 GMT
With fair weather on their side and high morale, the ship made record time on its approach to Ymir. Rather than use its engines from the outset, it was decided that it would sail there under wind so as to conserve fuel for the later parts of the journey. With a good south-west wind, the ship flew across the waves. Along the way, a couple of whales were spotted. A few men took shots at them with their sidearms, none of them landed close and the whales were able to peacefully continue their frolic as the vessel was not for whaling.
Entering into the Ymir Strait, the vessel saw the first signs of possible issue. While not frozen yet, there were clear signs of freezing starting early this year.
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Post by xander10 on May 4, 2022 1:06:35 GMT
The Ymir was not as fortunate, her slower pace lead to her trundling slowly but safely through the northern passage to her home port. She steamed at 12 knots with her veteran crew with high hopes of success, though Perrin was angry with himself, how did he allow himself to set sail in Autumn! He knew it would have been easier to complete expedition in Summer, with little ice and constant sunlight, though he had made extra preperations to make sure he had the best chance of getting back alive. Entering the Ymir strait, as feared Perrin saw the ice that made him choose this vessel over the Unicorn, and as the Ymir hit the first section of pack ice and get through it with little issue, Perrin smiled. Perhaps this was the right decision.
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Post by Fleischmann on May 13, 2022 15:47:30 GMT
The Skrik was beset by high winds and waves upon entering the Strait of Ymir, being battered on all sides. Despite its good construction, many of the crew were left incapacitated by the shaking and movement of the ship. This resulted in a few injuries, as the sails had to be brought in and the switch to coal made.
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Post by xander10 on May 13, 2022 23:37:55 GMT
Entering the Ymir strait, the SS Ymir had little to no issue with the pack ice that had filled the strait, and sailed at a breakneck pace through the strait and into the North Sea. The stormy weather of the North sea was of little threat to the sturdy Ymir and while the ship was rocked about, the veteran crew of the Ymir were not phased, and managed to pass by the storm with little issue.
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Post by xander10 on Jun 16, 2022 1:05:15 GMT
Heading further towards the ice cap, the waters are calm but icy for the SS Ymir, which is no trouble for the vessel. As the ship edges closer to the Ice Cap, icebergs fill the waters but cause the vessel no issues as it is easily able to avoid all of them. Eventually the Ice Caps themselves are visible from the bird's nest and Perrin begins preperations for the journey to the pole itself.  |
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Post by Fleischmann on Jun 16, 2022 1:12:42 GMT
The last part of the journey to the ice sheet was terrible, the high winds and waves forced the ship repeatedly against the icebergs, damaging the hull. The men had to work tireless shifts in order to plug breaches. Still, that was not enough. During one of the final collisions, the boilers were damaged. In a heartbeat an explosion was heard and much of the engine room was awash in scalding hot water and filled with steam. Thankfully, fire did not break out, though the men present were all horrifically injured. The effect of this accident was not immediate, but now without the boilers, the ship's heating systems were no longer functional. They would have to rely on the stoves and need to crowd into areas which could be heated to survive. Likewise, the engines could no longer be used. If the expedition was to make it, they would need to do so by wind and man power.  |
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Post by Fleischmann on Jul 13, 2022 15:33:31 GMT
Setting off onto the ice sheet, the men were not prepared for what awaited them. The boiler explosion had damaged most of the cold weather gear that they had prepared and there was not enough of it to go around to begin with. The men had two of their three tractors fail early on and were forced to shift their equipment and supplies by hand, slowing down their progress considerably. The men suffered greatly in this endeavour and quite a few got lost in the endless white expanse.
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Post by xander10 on Jul 14, 2022 2:34:02 GMT
On arriving to the ice sheet, Perrin sorted out the sleds for the expedition on towards the pole. These were to be pulled by Ymiri Huskies and the crew made good time towards the pole, using compasses in the day, and the stars at night. While there were some hitches with one of the huskies eating extra rations, spirits were high and Perrin was confident that the flag that would fly over the pole would be Sheenish.
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Post by Fleischmann on Jul 18, 2022 23:37:52 GMT
With the initial chaos and disasters behind them, the expedition started making good speed. The weather cleared up as they went further north and they were able to find solid ice to march along. Despite the horrific nature of the environment, they were able to make good progress and without injuries. To stop people from wandering off, the entire expedition tied themselves together in a long chain using ropes. Despite this, a sense of foreboding began to creep into the minds of the men. They could not tell if they were any closer to their destination and they did not know how much longer they would be marching for.  |
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Post by xander10 on Jul 18, 2022 23:45:30 GMT
The Sheenish expedition did not fair so well for the next few days as strong winds reduced visibility considerably, leading to several men becoming lost for a time, though some were able to make it to the camp. One of the dogs pulling the sleds fell into a crevace, and with it went a full days worth of rations, dropping morale. however after a few rough days the conditions improved dramatically, and Perrin sensed he was only a few days travel from the Pole itself.
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Post by xander10 on Aug 24, 2022 0:49:16 GMT
Perrin's Ship, the SS Ymir, was the first of the two ships to return back to the Port of Sheen, they returned to great fanfare but Perrin still thought long about how Arhus was doing, he hadn't seen the man since they both left the North Pole, but was nonetheless happy that he has finished his expedition first, and was able to share the triumph of reaching the pole with Arhus. He informed the media of the fact that it was a joint victory on reaching the North Pole, and the photos of the two expeditions at the North Pole became the talk of the entire Association for days on end. The wait began then to see if Arhus would make it also.
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Post by Fleischmann on Aug 24, 2022 12:21:57 GMT
The Fate of the Skrik The captain of the Skrik had refused to return, insisting instead on continuing his search on his own. Despite this, when the party he had been a part of came back to the ship, the crew voted and decided to mount a rescue mission to drag the man back with them, even if they had to do so against his will. For two weeks, they scoured the ice-sheet, braving terrible conditions, until finally they came across a lone tent in the endless expanse. After entering the tent, they found their leader frozen and hunched over, with his hands on a journal that was filled with increasingly illegible writing. Despite this blow to morale, the party managed to return to the ship, if half starved and with a deep chill in their bones. While they had been gone, their crewmates had managed to effect repairs to the ship, patching the holes and breaks as best they could, though the boilers were beyond saving. With the vessel in a somewhat sea-worthy state, they began their return. Navigating the ice and with the stronger men using explosives and picks to break it when necessary, they were able to slowly creep back towards the open ocean after three long days. By now, many of the crew had become pneumonic, as their clothes were almost constantly wet from the snow melt and the heat was only high enough to stave off frostbite in order to conserve fuel, but they kept going heedless of the pain it caused them. For the next fortnight, they slowly sailed back having to deal with unfavourable winds and a constant need to bail water out from the less than perfect reapairs. Sadly, as they were nearing the coast of Ostrea, disaster struck. A great storm swept over them and the ship was tossed like a cork at sea. The men fought to keep it from sinking with everything they had, but a great beast came up from the depths and tore off their main mast, before breaching the hull with its monstrous beak. The men rushed to the boats, but it was no use, as they saw tentacles come up and smash them or else drag them down below. Of the one-thousand and three-hundred who set out originally, only sixty-three survived and were able to make it ashore, either by clinging to driftwood or someone not losing their boat that night. It is from these men, that we know the fate of their ship. |
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