Two weeks had passed since Altan opened the sealed chamber. Now, at the upper training yards above the shipyard cliffs, Chaghan stood at the edge of the mock trireme deck, watching rows of newly formed Blacktide Spear Corps go through formation drills.
They were a different breed now.
Gone was the standard Stormguard plate. In its place: lighter steel armor layered with storm-dyed leather vests. These new vests, etched with qi-reactive runes, transformed when activated, becoming buoyant like water-slick life gear, allowing the warriors to remain afloat despite their heavy weapons and armor. Even when unconscious, the vest would keep them above water.
Shin and arm guards made from hardened leather bore runes of defense, warding against blades and piercers. Each Blacktide carried a compact crescent shield slung at the shoulder, their primary weapon a barbed long-bladed spear with a leaf-shaped profile and a reinforced midrib. The blade was wide at the base for cleaving, tapering to a hardened thrusting point. Serrated edges allowed for brutal retraction, while the shaft bore grip-grooves and a rear-weighted balance for control during shipboard combat. The full weapon length measured approximately six and a half feet, allowing for both deck combat and surf-line engagements. It was built to stab, hook, and tear through light armor in close quarters.
Their secondary weapon was a short stabbing spear reimagined for shipboard and surf engagements. The weapon measured around 1.1 meters in length, with a blade roughly 35 centimeters long. Designed for close combat thrusting, its weight was centered for tight-angled engagements in confined ship decks and breach points. This short spear complemented their longer polearms, providing flexibility during boardings or shallow water combat.
Four javelins were secured across their back, each fletched with leather grip-wrapping. A short gladius-style blade rested at the hip, perfectly balanced for close work in shipboard chaos.
Each trainee wore their full loadout through every drill and routine. On their backs sat the standard-issue Backsatchel Kit, compact field bags reinforced with glyphwork and preservation lining. It carried their dried rations, water flasks, flint, salve packs, weather wraps, whetstone, binding rope, and a scroll tube. Meals and rest periods were taken with kits in place. They were to become one with their gear.
Below, they trained in full combat rhythm on a scaled mockup of a trireme deck, practicing ship-to-shore transitions, shieldline spear thrusts, and high-speed javelin throws. War mages stood nearby, recording formation timings, adjusting wind barriers, and calling out failed rune activations.
Every morning began with a javelin gauntlet. Soldiers lined up at the edge of the cliffside yard and hurled their javelins into hanging targets and rolling barrels dragged by rope pulleys. Misses earned immediate repetition.
Midday drills focused on climbing netting while in full kit, diving into the water, and reboarding mock decks under hostile fire simulations. They trained underwater grappling against tied opponents, learning to strike, evade, and use leverage without relying on footing. Formation drills were practiced under wave machines to simulate rough surf. Deck clearing exercises involved sudden enemy appearances from hidden compartments. Timed breach runs through tight hull corridors tested reaction time and spatial coordination.
Evenings ended with spear kata, repetition of form and footwork on slick planks soaked with seawater.
Some days, the corps ran weighted laps from the cliff's base to the ridge above. On others, they practiced live-blade duels with war mages generating slick mist and wind bursts to simulate chaotic landings. Night drills included silent boarding exercises under starlight, with no verbal communication allowed, only hand signals and squad memory.
Chaghan barked, "Again. The Drowned Fang must collapse the shield wall in one breath. Not two. You're not marching. You're killing."
The corps surged forward again, spears plunging in rhythmic unity.
Behind him, Daalo stepped up. Altan and Lord Qui were beside him, quietly observing the drills.
"They're adapting fast," Chaghan said without turning.
"The armor passed submersion trials," Daalo added. "The rune-flow stabilizes on full activation. The vests won't let them sink. Not even when unconscious."
Altan nodded. "Good. Equip the regular marines and ship crew with similar vests. They don't need to fight like Blacktide. They just need to stay alive."
Daalo bowed. "I'll pass the task to my assistant. The forge teams are ready."
Chaghan gave a short nod. "Then we have our tip of the spear."
Daalo handed him a scroll. "Final adjustments to the trireme interior. I've consulted the Stormcasters on weapons stabilizers. The firing deck can be sealed with a pressure screen."
Chaghan opened the scroll and scanned it briefly.
"Make sure all five are ready before the end of the next moon. Altan will inspect them himself."
Daalo gave a short bow.
They all turned back to the deck, where the Blacktide Spear Corps struck again.
Later that day, Altan turned to Chaghan. "Let me see the ten-man unit."
Chaghan nodded and raised a hand. A single squad broke off from the rest, forming a tight line before them.
Four Stormtide elites, non-elemental, hardened through the Stoneheart and Waterheart paths.
Two Virak'tai, dark elves draped in shadow-threaded cloaks, blades glinting with void sigils.
Two Skarnulf, fire-blooded beastkin clad in ember-forged mail, wielding pyrebite axes.
One warmage, water-attuned, carrying a verdance warstaff etched with regenerative glyphs.
One hospitalier, silent and focused, the medic's salve-kit strapped across her chest.
Altan observed them, arms folded. "Any of the eight can lead?"
Chaghan answered, "All except the warmage and medic. The rest rotate leadership during drills."
Altan gave a firm nod. "Good. Squad's solid. Keep their tempo up."
Chaghan gave the signal for the unit to return to formation as the three commanders looked on in silence.
As the sun lowered and the troops broke for meal rations, Altan walked past one of the fire pits. He reached into a pack and took a strip of their issued ration, biting into the preserved meat and flatbread mix.
He chewed, then turned to the hospitalier standing nearby. "Add a ration bar. High protein, infused with tonic herbs. One bar a day. Something that can replenish strength mid-operation."
The hospitalier bowed. "Yes, Commander. I'll begin the formulation with the field healers."
Altan said nothing more, but nodded once, already moving on to the next matter in his head.
The next morning, a prototype ship was launched from the dry docks. The shipyard buzzed with preparation. Lord Qui, Chaghan, Daalo, and several war mages and engineers boarded the vessel for a weapons test beyond the bay.
The ship's bow housed the first of a new siege-grade weapon, an arc-enhanced ballista mounted on a rotating platform. Five channels of etched magick conduits fed into the weapon's limbs, allowing it to fire five magick-tipped bolts in rapid succession.
Each arrow was marked with elemental sigils. The first bolt struck the floating wooden target and burst in flame. The second detonated mid-air with concussive force, sending a shockwave across the waves. The third impacted with a shrieking whistle, piercing through the reinforced center of the mock hull. The fourth shimmered with a frost rune, flash-freezing half the wreckage. The final arrow exploded with kinetic force, hurling splinters skyward.
The observers watched in silence. The sea rippled with the echoes of destruction.
Altan turned to Daalo. "This one. Scale production. We'll need ten before we set sail."
Daalo gave a single nod, the engineers already recording adjustments behind him.
Then Altan handed Daalo a sealed scroll. "A rune design. Carve it into the hull."
Daalo opened the scroll. The rune was sharp-edged, spiraled, and marked with veiling loops.
"Phantomis," Altan said. "From the old tongue. It means illusion. Ghost. A stealth field, if we can activate it."
Daalo looked up. "And the power?"
Altan unrolled a second schematic. "We stitch sigils into the sails. When unfurled under the sun, they'll absorb energy, channel it to a reservoir core. Enough to activate Phantomis for short durations. We'll need to perfect the weave."
Daalo stared at the drawings. "Commander… this is uncharted magitech. We've never bound solar flow into magickal channels. If this works, we could apply this to the city's defenses, to its walls."
"Later," Altan cut him off. "First, we need to win a war."
Daalo, still holding the schematic, looked again at the ballista. "Commander, we can also adapt this to the ballistae. Right now, it takes too much from our warmages to channel air element to launch the projectiles. This would ease their burden."
Altan turned, pleased. "Good thinking. If you see anything else, anything that helps with the war effort or the expansion of the Stormguard, you bring it to me. Anytime."
Daalo bowed again, a spark of ambition already lighting behind his eyes.
Altan glanced at all three—Daalo, Chaghan, and Lord Qui.
"If your divisions require funding, speak to the Chasm Steward. There are allocated reserves for the war effort. I won't have progress stalled by bureaucracy."
Author's Note:
Phantomis-Class Trireme
Name:Phantomis
Class: Stormguard Stealth War Trireme
Designation: Blacktide Vanguard
Nickname:Ghost of the Tides
Overview
The Phantomis is the first of a new line of arc-enhanced war triremes developed under Commander Altan's naval modernization directive. A hybrid vessel combining advanced war magick, traditional shipbuilding, and Stormguard spear doctrine, it serves as the primary assault carrier for the elite Blacktide Spear Corps.
Forged in the depths of Stormguard shipyards and tested beyond the cliffs of the eastern bay, the Phantomis was not built for defense. It was born for invasion.
"It does not sail toward you. It is already there, veiled in sunlight, waiting with a hundred spears and a bolt of fire drawn."
— Stormguard coastal survivor account
Key Features
Hull & Build:
Reinforced oak and ironwood frame layered with storm forged metal reinforcements.
Runes etched into the keel and spine of the ship for seaworthiness, pressure resistance, and magick conduction.
Pressure sealed inner corridors for breach combat and elemental shock absorption.
Crew Capacity:
50 Rowers
Not slaves. These are trained Stormguard marines. Storm trained, qi hardened, battle born.
Rowers are linked in a minor ritual field, channeling magick with each synchronized pull. Every stroke pushes the vessel farther than natural force allows.
They practice breath discipline, body forging, and underwater combat to seamlessly transition from propulsion to warfare.
"Only fifty rowers power the Phantomis, not because it is light, but because each rower is storm trained, qi hardened, and battle born. Their strokes are deeper. Their breath lasts longer. And when magick fills the hull, their oars carry her as if the sea itself feared to resist."
Support Crew:
Shipmaster, helmsman, sail hands, war mage technicians, and onboard engineers.
Total non combat crew: 20–30, depending on mission scope.
Troop Capacity:
Can carry up to 200 Blacktide Spear Corps and all their equipment and kits.
Armament
Primary Weapon:
Arc Ballista (Bow mounted)
Rotating siege grade ballista with five firing channels.
Arc conduits feed from the ship's internal magickal matrix.
Launches specialized bolts:
Bolt I – Flameburst (ignites on impact)
Bolt II – Concussive (detonates mid air with shockwave)
Bolt III – Piercer (void whistle and armor penetrating)
Bolt IV – Frostspike (flash freezes target)
Bolt V – Kinetic Blast (area disruption)
Secondary Defenses:
Magickal pressure screens to shield firing deck.
Side rigged repeater harpoons for boarding prevention and hull control.
Veil System: Project Phantomis
The ship is named for the magick rune Phantomis, from the old tongue, meaning ghost or illusion.
Veil Runes carved into the hull and sails create a reflection field.
Activated by drawing solar energy via embedded sigils in the sails.
Channels energy into a core reservoir.
Allows the ship to blend seamlessly into sea and sky for short durations.
Effectively renders the ship invisible at distance or during surprise assaults.
"When the sun catches her sails, she vanishes. And when she appears again, it's already too late."
Strategic Role
Coastal assault landings
Blockade breaking
Ambushes via Veil activation
Boarding raids under cover of night
Experimental deployment for storm masked invasions
Future Considerations
Phantomis class triremes may be scaled for full fleet formations.
Arc ballista magick system can be adapted for city defense.
Veil runes considered for deployment on defensive walls and aerial platforms.
The Phantomis represents the cutting edge of Stormguard naval doctrine, a symbol of Altan's shift toward speed, stealth, and overwhelming precision.
It is not just a ship. It is a weapon.
A shadow given sails.