Chapter 16: The Black Hawk

[Captain Willam’s journal]

 

I was the captain of the Red Sun for a while, she was my proudest ship I've ever sailed. In the start, I had doubts about whether or not a ship can carry a lot of heavy load like those cannons and its ammunition, but my doubts soon disappeared when I felt the speed. It wasn’t as fast as those longboats from the north and the ironborn, but it was fast for a ship that was carrying those huge cannons.

 

My first duty as the captain of the Red Sun was when it first sailed, when Prince Morian had just built those cannons, and he designed the Red Sun so it could carry them. At the end of 279 AC, we sailed it for the first time to patrol the step stones, hunting for pirate ships. Prince Oberyn had given me the task to command the ship, a huge honour on my part, being the first captain to helm this magnificent ship.

 

Before we sailed, Prince Morian had to tutor me on how to run the ships, because it was different from our small ships that we are used to. The sails are wider, the rigging is much stronger, the hulls are much thicker, therefore harder to manoeuvre. Prince Morian told me that in order to turn the ship, you need to have at least two men operating the wheel, not to mention tending to the sails, it was complicated, but the Prince told me to learn how to move her as quickly as I could, I do not want to disappoint the prince, so I had to. At the first sail, Prince Morian said that he would take command of the cannoneers, that I have to learn from him, I agreed, and we set sail towards the step stones.

 

And so we sailed with almost 300 men on deck, 100 for archers and manning the sails, while 200 were below deck, manning the cannons. That day, the winds were strong, and the seas were kind, and we travelled at the speed of at least 10 knots. It was a calm journey, the ship was able to withstand huge waves with a little bit of manoeuvre, and a couple weeks later, we arrived at the Step-stones.

 

That day, the prince was standing on top of the sail rigging with his black hawk, looking for ships nearby. He released the hawk, and the hawk flew away. We searched for a whole day, before as the sun sets, Prince Morian alerted us that a pirate ship was sighted nearby. I didn’t even see that damn ship, yet the prince already saw it. Turns out, the ship was a day away, I don’t even know how the prince got it, but the crew said that the prince was looking through his hawk’s eyes. I've had a hard time believing it, but later, I would know that their words might be true.

 

When our ship and the pirates came in contact, we were outnumbered 3 to 1, the crew was certainly worried, for good reason, but Prince Oberyn threatened them that if he saw any cowardice, he would kill them himself. And so the battle began, we were surrounded, with the three ships blocking our path. Prince Morian told me to turn the ship’s side to one of the ships. I turned the wheel along with a couple of men, and other men turned the sails so it matched the wind. And so, the ship turned slowly to one of the pirate ships, facing the side of it to the pirate ship. Our crew heard the pirates laughing, claiming that we were asking to be rammed, they would soon know that they were mistaken.

 

As the ships were getting closer and closer ram us, arrows started to rain down upon us, shields were deployed, and only a couple of men were injured. I heard the prince shouting from below deck, preparing to shoot, but they didn’t, they waited, and waited, and waited. Once one of the ships was around ¼ mile from our ship, the thunderous booms began, and the ship began to shake.

 

The prince didn’t command the cannons to be shot at once, instead, the cannon was shot one by one, from the right to the left, when I asked the prince later why he did that, he said that so it wouldn’t burden the hull too much, as the recoil of the cannon was quite strong. Once the cannon balls struck the pirate ship, it hit their hulls and decks, it wasn’t the cannon balls that killed them, it was the wood splinters, we heard screams of pain from the pirate ship, and we cheered, but that cheers is soon stop when another volley of arrows by the other ship struck our ship.

 

The cannons kept firing, the sounds of the cannons echoed throughout the seas, as if a storm was coming. The pirates were undoubtedly scared and confused, the one that we’re firing at has its ship’s hull riddled with holes, their rig has fallen down, practically incapacitating their movements. I then turned to the other ship, the sails turned once again, and the ship moved slowly. This time, the Prince bought something from below the deck. He, along with the engineering crew, gave us three boxes of black balls with a metal string on top of it. We didn’t know what it was, but then the prince instructed us to get near the ship that has been incapacitated, and so we did, dodging the other ships arrows as well.

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Once we were near enough, the prince and the engineering crew took the balls to their hands. They pulled the metal string on top of it, and threw the balls to the enemy ship. The result was frightening. The balls have exploded, the splinters of the iron balls scattered, hitting the pirates that are still alive. Screams of agony followed as the balls exploded. The prince then faced me and said to be careful with it, once you pull the strings, instantly throw it away, and possibly take cover. He also said to not waste it, as it was hard to make, it was all we have.

 

Prince Oberyn tried the balls, and he looked like he was enjoying the screams produced because of the balls. And so, the cannons shot the ship one last time, before it sank slowly, and the pirates inside of the ship began begging for help.

 

We, of course, ignored it, damn pirates, always making trouble in our seas. After we sank that ship, we turned to the other two ships. The cannons continued firing, splinters of wood killed those pirates easily, archers also supported the cannon fire. And so, there was all but one ship left.

 

The prince then told me to ram the ship, I was confused, why? We were winning, then he told me that the ammunition is running out, and we still have to travel to King’s Landing for Princess Elia’s wedding after this. And so I agreed, I turned the ship to the last ship, targeting the side hull, and we dropped all of our sails, running at full speed.

 

While we were approaching the ship, Prince Oberyn gave the crew a big meaningful speech. He said that a new era of Dornish dominance of the sea is approaching, and we were all one of the first men to see it. I admit, even my blood started to boil. Our fleet has always been decent, it doesn’t have anything to brag about, but now, if we build more of these ships, even the Iron Fleet will stand beneath our feet.

 

Our ship then rammed the pirate’s ship, almost breaking their hull. Our crew then jumped to the pirate’s ship, killing all the pirates they could find. Prince Oberyn and Prince Morian were in front of them all, but the strange thing was, Prince Morian didn’t use any weapon, he only used his fist.

 

I was about to warn the prince, but then a blade, hidden from under his wrist, suddenly appeared, and he stabbed a man’s head using that blade. I was surprised, even Prince Oberyn looked amused. Prince Morian used hand-to-hand combat, but he combined it using his hidden blade.

 

The prince was killing pirates efficiently, but he was not a god. He was quickly surrounded, but another strange thing happened. When the prince killed a man, slitting his throat using his blade, a pirate came up behind him, intending to stab him from the back, but a bird, a black hawk, suddenly swooped down from the sky, attacking the pirate. The hawk used his beak to stab the man’s eye. He pulled the man’s eye and threw it away, making the pirate scream. The prince then acted by slitting that pirate’s throat, and he thanked the hawk. Ever since that, the prince fought alongside the hawk, as if they were one. It felt like the prince was the body, and the hawk was the eyes. It was a strange sight, all of my crew talked about it non-stop after that. They started to call him ‘The Black Hawk’ because of the hawk’s resemblance with the prince and his connection with it, a name that would eventually stick with the prince.

 

When all is said and done, we looted the pirate ship, a couple chests of gold, some slaves that we freed once we arrived at Sunspear. And finally, when we finished, we went back to Sunspear, to pick up Prince Doran and the Princess of Dorne for the marriage.

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