High Elf Navy

A Dragonship

A Hawkship being swallowed by a Black Leviathan.

The High Elf Navy is the mightiest naval power of the Warhammer world. Its main task is to protect the island of Ulthuan, its colonies, outposts, and the sea trade routes of the High Elves. Its most dangerous foes are Dark Elf corsairs and Norse pirates.

Ships

The High Elf fleets are composed by agile vessels, who instead of cannons are equipped with mighty repeater bolt throwers.

Dragonships

Dragonships are the most powerful vessels of the High Elf fleet. Only Starwood from the Anhara Draconis forest, trees grew twice as thick and half again as tall as normal Starwood, were used to build hulls of the Dragonships. Its bled resin makes its hull glitters like shimmering gold, like the scales of a dragon. As Anhara Draconis as since been burnt down by Dark Elves during the time of the Sundering, no more Dragonship will never be built again. The loss of one is a tragedy and epic sagas are sung in its honour when such tragedy occurs. Thus, those ships only goes to see for war and never for missions of peace or of fewer importance.

Only silver-helmed nobles are selected and can join the crew. They frequently have to vie for their place on board, during ritual contests or arms. The Dragonship tower above even the mighty Eagleship. The only rumour of it's main weapon, the Dragonblade, causes sailors of other races to shudder.

Forged in ancient days, long before the Sundering, Dragonblades are forged from truesilver, an adamant and steel alloy. Heated in the breath of the great Dragons, moulded by the mightiest spells of high mages, it may be the hardest substance in the world. Only then, are potent runes inlaid from the elder days and rare are men able to merely look upon them without going mad.

Both twin prows of the Dragonship are set with a Dragonblade, thus capable to slice across other ships like a sharp blade in butter, shattering them completely. The Dragonship carry distance weapons too, in the presence of two Eagle Claw bolt thrower firing forward.

Eagleships

Eagleships are the most common vessels of the High Elf fleet. Eagleships are the cornerstone of the high elves fleet. Armed with broadside Eagle-Claws batteries, those craft are huge, sleek and streamlined, making them fast and deadly ocean-going. They are able to out-race even Bretonnian Corsairs and are far more manoeuvrable than any ship of the old world. Their hulls are made from a single curved mighty Starwood tree, grown specially for this purpose by Masters Shipwrights of Ulthuan.

Those guardians shipwrights tend groves of Starwood lovingly for a time equal to many men lives. They sculpt the shape of the trunk as it grows, working with the wood to maintain its strength and integrity. They then carefully select the strongest, flawless of these magical trees before they are uprooted. Mighty spells are then used to keep the plant alive and the masts are actually branches grown out of the trunk that will became the hull.

Its sails are works of art in themselves, woven from the hair of several shriven priestesses and spiderwick in a tapestry of enchanting beauty and finally ensorcelled.

Trunks are bled just before the ship are launched and the sap of the living tree is tapped and allowed to flow out and over the hull. Only Master Shipwrights are allowed to know, the resin is hardened till it is a strong as steel and remains watertight. The ship is then blessed by the High King himself and allowed to go to sea.

Hawkships

Hawkships are smaller and agile vessels. Mainly created to counter Norse raiders and patrol duty on the rocky coastlines of Ulthuan against any invasion raider, the Hawkships are swift and highly manoeuvrable. Hit and run against larger crafts are the intention behind the creation of those ships. They are able to perform attacks and then escape to bring warning back to the Elf ports.

Hardy young seafarers form their crews, who relish the danger of their task and take delight in performing the most alarming and seemingly foolhardy of manoeuvres. They are so manoeuvrable that they can turn very tightly indeed. Each ship is armed with two forward-firing Eagle Claw bolt throwers.