The Royal Admiralty of Piratas was larger than just the mainland territory. To its south were groups of ships that had been chained together and connected via bridges, making several massive wooden ‘islands’ that were anchored to the seafloor. These makeshift islands served as a place for the numerous ships of the Piratas Royal Navy to dock and resupply and were also used as a series of naval forts to be used in the event of the Sub-Humans or Marine Monsters attacking. Piratas had the most massive navy in the entirety of the Human Kingdoms, even outnumbering the ships owned by the Theocracy. While this would normally be frowned upon by the Church, they got away with this because most of Piratas’ navy was designed to raid and plunder up and down the coasts of the Sub-Human lands. Piratas was the nation that contributed to the slave-trade almost more than any other nation, as the need for slaves in the Human Lands always exceeded the supply that the slaves already in the Human Kingdoms could produce. The ships Piratas owned were massive and heavily armed and armored, which was a necessity due to having to cross the Sea of Teeth in order to reach the lands of the Sub-Humans. And today was a day like any other, with the waters calm and serene; just like the people of Piratas liked it.

All that changed when the Commonwealth attacked.

The massive makeshift islands were torn apart from underneath by torpedoes, claws and particle beams, while the ships that tried to flee were only able to for a short while. After 24 hours of non-stop attacks, the waters that were formerly under the control of Piratas had been seized by the Gaian Alliance. Now, three days later, the surviving ships and the Royal Admiral and his subordinates had been blockaded in the largest of Piratas’ ports. Any attempt to leave the natural harbor that was the capital was met with overwhelming force. Mages who would have been able to drop what could be called ‘Magic Depth Charges’ were unable to be sent out as the ships that made it out far enough for the spell to be used effectively without damaging their own ships were sunk almost immediately. The most hardened of the sailors and marines had been lost to the cruel waves during the opening 24 hours, and bit by bit Piratas began to suffer from its blockade.

Instead of investing in roads, Piratas had instead invested in canals. With all of their cities and towns connected by a vast network of canals, it was possible for a naval invasion to attack anywhere in Piratas’ territory if they managed to control the water. Now, the decision that had been made and stuck to for over two centuries had come back to bite them. Any attempt to ship food or supplies from one part of Piratas to another was met with disaster as the transport ships carrying them were sunk and the goods lost soon after they left to docks. With all of the roads being nothing more than thin dirt paths that were in various states of disrepair, there was no way for any help from deeper inland to reach the capital. But that did not stop the Royal Admiral from deciding to throw one last roll of the dice.

…

Nine days after the waters were seized by the Gaian Alliance, the remaining fleet of the Royal Admiralty of Piratas made a last, desperate gamble. To great fanfare the crews of every ship left afloat made a grand procession from the cathedral where the clergy had blessed them down to the docks where they boarded their ships and prepared for battle. The flagship of the Royal Navy, the ‘RAPS Genus Superior’ was escorted by the rest of the fleet out to sea, and much to the surprise of the marines and sailors they managed to make it into open waters without conflict. Just to be safe, the mages on board the ships would occasionally drop the spell ‘Magic Depth Charge’ into the water, but still nothing responded. As they moved even farther out to sea, they saw the splintered remains of the makeshift islands, and a few shadows in the water, but no other sign of their foe.

Then they were hit like a category five hurricane.

From deep below them a barrage of torpedoes and particle beams ripped through the water and impacted the smallest of the ships that made up the bulk of the armada. In only a few moments the entirety of the faster, more nimble elements of the armada had been reduced to sinking wrecks and shattered timber. From out of nowhere, as if a veil had been lifted the full force of the Gaian Alliance Navy manifested itself at the rear of the Piratas Armada. One of the Tree-Fuckers’ signature tactics, using spirit magic to render ships practically invisible had been used to great effect, and now the over one-hundred-and-seventy ships that made up the fleets of the Non-Human parts of the Gaian Alliance had made themselves known as they barreled down on the confused and demoralized Piratas navy. Never before had the Sub-Humans shown such cunning and cohesion, and never before had they ventured outside of their territorial waters en masse to bring the fight to their enemies.

As the ships of the Piratas Navy made hasty maneuvers to attempt to get into a better position, the Sub-Humans launched a torrent of explosive artillery from their ships, while the unknown force from beneath the waves continued to attack the ships from under the water. As confusion turned to panic and then to despair the whole of the Piratas Navy shattered and every ship left afloat made a mad dash back to the safety of their port. Unfortunately, the sea was going to be fed with a glut of bodies and wrecks that day, as every ship that broke ranks was blown to smithereens one after the other. If they had simply stayed close to the coast, then this wouldn’t have happened.

As his ship was being torn apart piece by piece, the Royal Admiral slowly walked from the bridge down the steps to the deck of his flagship, mournfully singing the anthem of his homeland as his flagship disintegrated around him.

“Rule, Piratas. The masters of the waves. Never ever shall we be slaves. Rule eternal. Our nation never fades. Proud and glorious are we, her braves.”

As he finished the first verse and was about to begin the next, a mega-particle beam from a Grublo tore through the heavily damaged underside of the ship, not only erasing the Royal Admiral himself but also generating enough heat to ignite the stockpiles of ‘Smoking Boomdust’ that the Piratas Alchemists had partially reverse engineered from the smokeless version used by the Rock Midgets. With a series of massive explosions, the ship that had seen a thousand battles over three hundred and fifty years became nothing more than floating driftwood and tattered cloth.

Piratas’ Navy had disappeared beneath the waves and now the capitol itself was open to invasion.