The All Flags Navy (sometimes called the All Flags Fleet or the Lost Fleet)[1] was Tamriel's instrument of vengeance against the Sload of Thras, who were held responsible for releasing the Thrassian Plague in 1E 2200 which claimed more than half the continent's population. The All Flags Navy was formed under Baron-Admiral Bendu Olo, the Colovian King of Anvil, to deal justice upon them in a conflict that would become known as the Thrassian War.[2][3] The Navy was composed of ships manned by Redguard, Breton, Colovian, Argonian, Altmer,[4] Dunmer,[5] Khajiit, Orc[6] and Nord sailors.[7] According to some sources the fleet was composed of ships from all of the nations and provinces of Tamriel.[8][9] One obscure account mentions Maormer, Dreugh, and even Dragons being involved in the invasion.[UOL 1]
It was the largest allied naval force in Tamrielic history.[2] After several victories at sea the Navy assaulted Thras,[5] slaughtered all the Sload they could find, and used unknown magic to sink their kingdom into the sea (though Thras would rise again later).[2]
HistoryEdit
In 1E 2200 the Thrassian Plague began to spread through Tamriel, killing over half of the population of the continent.[10] The plague made its way inland from the western coast, reaching as far east as Elsweyr.[11]. By 1E 2230 most of Tamriel had become convinced that the Sload of Thras were responsible, and in 1E 2241 the Alessian Emperor agreed to fund the proposal of Bendu Olo, King of Anvil to build a navy to punish Thras.[5][12]
Baron-Admiral Bendu Olo was said to have spared no expense preparing his fleet for the war against the Sload. According to some scholars he fully employed as much as three-fourths of Tamriel's shipbuilders while outfitting the All Flags Navy to brave the treacherous waters surrounding Thras.[13] The majority of the fleet was built in the shipyards of Gonfalon Bay and All Flag's Islet on the Systres Archipelago. Other large shipyards used for the fleet included those in Alinor in the Summerset Isles[5] and Shipwright's Regret on the eastern shore of Rivenspire in High Rock. It was there where the mixed, provincial fleets were outfitted into the swiftest and strongest armada to ever sail the seas.[9] The island of Stirk was used to assemble the fleet before sailing against the Sload.[14]
Skirmishes with the Sload started in the 1E 2250s and by 1E 2258 all-out war had broken out. In 1E 2260 the fleet sailed against Thras itself [5]
As it crossed the seas to reach Thras, the fleet was beset by Sload raids. Accounts by a Dunmer fleet captain describe great sea beasts resembling blighted whales rising from the water and spraying the fleet with clouds of acidic ichor that dissolved sailor and ship alike and stopped only when the substance was set aflame, while Sload riders on their backs unleashed spells of profane power and magic that made the elves on board clutch their heads in pain until all the Sload were slain. Unlocking the secret to breaching the Sload sea beasts proved to be a turning point to the conflict, as prior to that the Sload could attack with impunity from beneath the waves. It is theorized that Archmage Syrabane might have had a hand in this, as his focus throughout the conflict appears to have been arcane naval warfare, though the details remain hazy. [5]
The All Flags Navy sailed through the Abecean Sea and into the Sea of Pearls, the waters surrounding the Thrassian Archipelago. There, they sailed through a fierce storm for two days and were beset by a dense fog. The fog created what seemed like a solid cloud encircling the isle of the Sload. Once there, a magical projection of Baron-Admiral Olo appeared on the decks of the ships and issued orders to sack the largest island and lay siege to its coral tower. Soon after they began their assault, the blue light atop this coral tower began to pulse and bleed energy into the clouded sky. Afterwards, the island began to crack and sink into the ocean. The sinking island created a great whirlpool which sucked in roughly half the fleet.[4] These ships evidently were sucked into Coldharbour, the realm of Molag Bal.[15]
After the sinking of Thras the captains sailed to the Systres led by Bendu Olo, where they signed the Concordat of Fraternity, binding them and their races to the cause of "peace and cooperation", before sailing back to their homelands. Various Breton and Colovian laborers and engineers remained on the Systres, now a part of the Kingdom of Anvil, to build a monument to the All Flags Navy. Many of them decided to remain in the Systres after the completion of the monument, becoming the ancestors of the Second Era inhabitants of the archipelago.[5]
Eras later, the notes taken by members of the All Flags Navy still hold some of the only information available in the realms of men regarding the Sload.[2] Sload hold-outs in Auridon were wiped out by a returning remnant of the Navy after the sinking of Thras.[16] Baron-Admiral Olo's tremendous success with the Navy is said to mark when the Colovian Estates began to overshadow eastern Cyrodiil, which would eventually lead to the War of Righteousness.[10]
NotesEdit
- One of the captains of the navy was Baron-Captain Olsien Guy Mard, an ancestor of the Second Era Evermore royal family of Guimard.[17]
- Tsona-Ei was First Mate aboard the All-Flags ship the Golden Era, which was under the command of the Captain who made a deal with Molag Bal in order to enslave those who ended up trapped in Coldharbour.[4]
- During a battle against Sload forces by the Silversmith, a group of Hadolids briefly joined against the Sloads before withdrawing. The Silversmith signaled thanks, but the Hadolids ignored this attempt at contact by Captain Grigette Maston.
- One of the Nord bands who took part in the attack on Thras were the Dov-rha Axethanes, who served as guards and champions to the kings of Skyrim.[7]
- Druids of the Stonelore Circle were among the Bretons who participated in the attack on Thras. They manned the vessel known as The Sea Stone. After it returned to High Isle, Archdruid Orlinan donated it to put on display as part of the memorial.[18]
- Jorunn the Skald-King makes reference to the "All-Flags Army," also formed at Stirk. It is unclear if this is a simple dialogue error or if there was indeed an army formed alongside the navy of the same name.[19]
See AlsoEdit
- Auridon Explored, Chapter III by Fenlil the Wayfarer — A fragmented travel guidebook covering the isle of Auridon
- Journal of Tsona-Ei by Tsona-Ei — The journal of a sailor in the All-Flags Navy
- Pocket Guide to the Empire, 1st Edition: The Wild Regions by the Imperial Geographical Society
- Systres History by Trilam Heladren, Associate Dean of Eltheric History, University of Gwylim — A history of the Systres archipelago
GalleryEdit
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Journeying West
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Shipwright's Regret
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Shattered remains of the Lost Fleet in Coldharbour
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All Flags Islet
ReferencesEdit
- ^ Orthuna's dialogue in ESO
- ^ a b c d Pocket Guide to the Empire, 1st Edition: The Wild Regions — Imperial Geographical Society, 2E 864
- ^ Hadolid Researcher's Journal
- ^ a b c Journal of Tsona-Ei — Tsona-Ei
- ^ a b c d e f g Systres History — Trilam Heladren, Associate Dean of Eltheric History, University of Gwylim
- ^ The All Flags Navy Started Here
- ^ a b Dov-rha Sabatons antiquity codex entries in ESO
- ^ Lady Arabelle Davaux's dialogue in ESO
- ^ a b Za'ji's dialogue during Wright of Passage in ESO
- ^ a b Pocket Guide to the Empire, 1st Edition: Cyrodiil — Imperial Geographical Society, 2E 864
- ^ Pocket Guide to the Empire, 3rd Edition: All the Eras of Man, A Comprehensive History of our History — Imperial Geographical Society, 3E 432
- ^ 2. Baron-Admiral Bendu Olo
- ^ Shipwright's Regret's loading screen in ESO
- ^ Vanus Galerion's dialogue in ESO
- ^ A Graveyard of Ships quest in ESO
- ^ Auridon Explored, Chapter III — Fenlil the Wayfarer
- ^ The Royal House of King Eamond — Seneschal Derric Andras of Castle Evermore
- ^ The Sea Stone
- ^ Jorunn the Skald-King's dialogue in ESO
Note: The following references are considered to be unofficial sources. They are included to round off this article and may not be authoritative or conclusive.
- ^ Nemon's Memorystone — Nemon