Post by The Light on Jan 5, 2013 13:31:24 GMT -5
The men stood around the ship, waiting eagerly for the captain. As tradition goes, the first and last pieces of the ship were constructed by its owner, so Vickon with Leman in attendance once again took to the forest axes in hand. They returned with the last pine tree they would need, and the men reverently laid it down in the sand. Leman went to work then, scraping and sanding the wood, cutting the holes necessary for the ropes while Vickon , given extremely precise instructions, slowly carved the necessary matchlocks into the base. The tree would be set upside down when fitted with the other piece, making it quite water resistant to the constant weather it would have to endure. When Leman was done with his section he moved to help Vickon complete the final preparations. When the cutting was finally done, the crew gathered around the section and lifted it, wrapping ropes around it lowered by the men on the finished deck while Vickon and Leman clambered up the side. They heaved, raising the piece up out of the ground crews hands and onto the deck, laying it down perpendicular to the mast piece already set. Leman then took to the top, checking the bubbling cauldron that held the glue that he had carefully prepared the night before. Taking a moment, he then nodded to the mast crew for the final time. Vickon leading them, they hoisted the mast up and inserted the crossbars while the Captain hastily applied the boiling concoction to the wood. After that was done, they lifted the last piece and assembled the mast, leaving the ship finished.
Taking a break, the men stood back and admired the finished work. She stood a little larger and longer than the Grey Horse, the trees used being larger than the ones in the Iron Islands. The weirwood keel dominated the ship, its pure white shining out after being polished incessantly by the men. From the white of the middle, the woods darkened outward ending in a darker grey when it reached the edge of the deck. Her mast stood proud above all others, naked of the usual riggings and sails that normally graced the wood. It had taken close to a year to finish the ship, waiting for the wood to season and the glue to set. During that time a verifiable village had been set up in the little bay, the ironborn offering protection to those who wished to settle there. The forest had been pushed back, numerous homes taking its place. Crops had been planted, and with winter not coming on yet there was a very good chance that this place would survive. Leman had taken the wooden keep for his own, fixing the broken gates and repairing the decrepit walls. It now stood strong, a place of protection if the villagers needed to hide. Leman knew some of his men would not be coming with him as they had settled in this place of peace and prosperity, but to replace them there were willing young men, wanting to escape their lives of dreary husbandry and see the world. Vickon would draw his original crew from those men, and some veterans that Leman had privately talked with.
Leman formally gave the ship to Vickon in a short but simple ceremony, also handing over a black stallion, and the white sails that would fly from her mast. Vickon took the horse and led him to the bow of the yet un-named ship, and killed the beast with a slice to the neck that spilled its life blood over the wood. The weirwood seemed to suck in the blood greedily, and Vickon turned to the crowd and pronounced the name with a wicked laugh “The Sea Dragon!”
Leman’s carpentry to master
Vickon’s ship is finished
A small ironborn village set up in the Hidden Bay
Taking a break, the men stood back and admired the finished work. She stood a little larger and longer than the Grey Horse, the trees used being larger than the ones in the Iron Islands. The weirwood keel dominated the ship, its pure white shining out after being polished incessantly by the men. From the white of the middle, the woods darkened outward ending in a darker grey when it reached the edge of the deck. Her mast stood proud above all others, naked of the usual riggings and sails that normally graced the wood. It had taken close to a year to finish the ship, waiting for the wood to season and the glue to set. During that time a verifiable village had been set up in the little bay, the ironborn offering protection to those who wished to settle there. The forest had been pushed back, numerous homes taking its place. Crops had been planted, and with winter not coming on yet there was a very good chance that this place would survive. Leman had taken the wooden keep for his own, fixing the broken gates and repairing the decrepit walls. It now stood strong, a place of protection if the villagers needed to hide. Leman knew some of his men would not be coming with him as they had settled in this place of peace and prosperity, but to replace them there were willing young men, wanting to escape their lives of dreary husbandry and see the world. Vickon would draw his original crew from those men, and some veterans that Leman had privately talked with.
Leman formally gave the ship to Vickon in a short but simple ceremony, also handing over a black stallion, and the white sails that would fly from her mast. Vickon took the horse and led him to the bow of the yet un-named ship, and killed the beast with a slice to the neck that spilled its life blood over the wood. The weirwood seemed to suck in the blood greedily, and Vickon turned to the crowd and pronounced the name with a wicked laugh “The Sea Dragon!”
Leman’s carpentry to master
Vickon’s ship is finished
A small ironborn village set up in the Hidden Bay