- "A trading Eagle is not normally dispatched to a small fishing port in Cothique for matters of no consequence. We should be sailing to the Old World or Cathay. Instead, we are off the coast of Ulthuan carrying a cargo of warriors and horses."
- —Karaya, Sailor of the Eagle of Lothern, to Tyrion of Cothique[1b]
Owned by House Emeraldsea, The Eagle of Lothern is what's called an elven clipper; part trading vessel part warship, long and sleek and three-masted, dwarfing the fishing boats of Cothique like a whale alongside dolphins. The Eagle of Lothern has a huge eagle head carved into its prow, and a massive ballista can be found on both the ship's aft deck and near the prow. The flags fluttering from the ship's masts bear the Emeraldsea's coat of arms; a white ship against a green background.[1a]
The crew includes male and female asur, all of whom answer to Captain Joyelle. Said-captain is noted by High Elf Prince Tyrion as being both taller than Lady Malene, and sterner of face.[1a]
Horses can be led, one-by-one, up the gangplanks and then lowered by a small winch into the hold. Also below deck, down a stairwell, the cabins of junior officers each have just room enough for a couple of narrow bunk beds (the upper bunk being very close to the ceiling) and sea chests. A tiny porthole allows for natural lighting, the handles holding it in place difficult to unscrew.[1a]
The cookhouse is a small chamber with a firepit and cauldron. When twins Tyrion and Teclis were aboard on their way to Lothern, the cook gave them a form of spicy fish stew, alongside biscuits wrapped in a large leaf. Said-biscuits were not only nutricious and filling, but enchanted much like waybread - according to Teclis, with his brother reasoning it helped to keep the crew fit.[1a]
It wouldn't be until XI, 110 that the twins met with the Eagle again, this time in the harbour of Skeggi. The only reason the Emeraldsea clipper would be there was because it was looking for the two. Beneath the noble house's flag of heraldry, a featureless black flag flew, denoting that someone important had died.[2a]
Trivia
- Only officers and mages are allowed on the afterdeck.[1c]
- In Blood of Aenarion, the Emeraldsea coat of arms is depicted as a white ship against a green background, yet in Sword of Caledor, said-ship is golden.[1a][2a]
Source
- 1: Blood of Aenarion (Novel), by William King
- 2: Sword of Caledor (Novel), by William King
- 2a: Chapter 8
