Temple of the Crane

A battleship captured by Soliairs Taeyang and converted into their temple. It is the flagship of Soliairs' fleet.
Nicknamed the "Tempy", due to conflicts directly with the vessel oftentimes being battles in which her enemies are sunk out of spite. The nickname is both a play on her being renamed as the Temple of the Crane, and for Soliairs' temper. Rumors however suggest that the nickname started as the ship being a temporary capture, intended to later be replaced by the anticipated ROC Superclass Destroyer ships, set to be deployed in 20,045.

Purpose / Function

The Temple of the Crane is the temple and holy ground of its god, Soliairs Taeyang. The vessel still serves its original purpose as a battleship, being used by Soliairs to intimidate, chase, and blockade ships during raids at range under threat of heavy fire, usually to surrender or be sunk. As the flagship, The Temple is oftentimes a point of gathering for other vessels within the fleet that many smaller ships will often take advantage of for protection from retaliation. Almost always, she is flanked by other members of the fleet such as The Bamboo, fishing vessels from Ryoma, God of Tuna, and civilian craft.
Due to being Soliairs' temple, its crew and staff are considered the god's priests, and thus cannot be prosecuted by mortals, a fact Soliairs heavily takes advantage of in day to day operations. Members of their cult, refugees, and children are often housed on board to prevent attacks by mortals and retaliation against them.
The ship also serves as the primary home of the god and their family, where much of Gulana Taeyang and Heritai Pagoni's childhoods were spent. Soliairs themselves lives aboard the ship full time, including when docked in port for resupply or repairs.

Design

902 feet long Top speed (full load): 42 knots. Top speed (light load): 43.6 knots

Alterations

Numerous alterations have been made to the ship throughout the years in Soliairs' command. The first major alterations were the removal of all Republic of California insignias and designations by brute force, oftentimes being cut out of the ship directly. The ship was also given numerous repaints to distinguish her from ROC battle cruisers, though many of these paint jobs did not last to weathering and battle.
Windows particularly on the cabin have been reinforced with steel grates and mesh to prevent breakage while also allowing crew to use them as weapons stations. Along the deck, additional gun stations, turrets, and shields were added for crew in combat. Numerous points of damage have been repaired with steel plating salvaged from other ships throughout the years.
During the War of the Moon, the ship has lost her bow transmission tower due to dragonfire strikes. The bow tower's communication equipment was removed and instead used to repair the stern tower's electronics.

Defenses

Three 3 muzzle ROC naval Armorstrike turrets, capable of firing 18 inch armor piercing rounds are on deck, with two at the bow and one near the stern. These turrets have been retrofitted to rotate faster than their traditional ROC counterparts by way of sacrificing the majority of their armor plating. The stern cabin has been been retrofitted as a shooting gallery and armored with steel mesh and bars to prevent debris from entering.
Most sections of the deck have had additional turrets, gun stands, and anchor points for automatic and semi-automatic weaponry as well as shielding for crew that can be quickly detached, disassembled, and moved to other sections of the ship as needed, allowing her crew to be highly mobile and defensive. Frequently, weaponry systems on board are exchanged for new ones from other ships raided by Soliairs, making The Temple highly unpredictable in her capabilities.
It is rumored, though not confirmed, that the vessel may house torpedo rounds on board with the capability to launch as needed. Additional rumors claim that the ship also possesses missile launchers, though it is highly likely this is confusion with the crew's skill in using fire mana, in particular the Sun's Grasp technique.
Due to gutting of the ship's noncritical systems throughout the years, The Temple is one of the fastest battleships in the world, capable of reaching top speeds of 43.6 knots on a light load. Additional retrofitting and modifications to her engines and rudder systems allow the ship to be incredibly mobile and agile, capable of incredibly fast turns for such a large vessel. Due to this, she has a reputation of being capable of chasing down most large vessels with ease, and has on occasion been used to ram other ships with minimal damage to herself from ROC shielding and a triple layer hull.

History

Republic of California Battle Cruiser

The ship started its life as a ROC destroyer class battleship, named the ROC-Sacramento Battle Cruiser, or ROC SBC 86 under its official designation. First deployed in 19,972 as a part of the Republic of California's new fleet as their flagship, the ROC SBC 86 was deployed to numerous naval lines under its operation, though mainly acted as a support vessel and as intimidation to California's enemies.
Following a string of robberies, sinkings, and commandeering of civilian vessels off the coast of California by Soliairs, SBC 86 was deployed alongside several smaller vessels in 19,997 as a threat to the new goddess that raids upon the nation's vessels would not be tolerated. Unbeknownst to the Republic, Soliairs had long been baiting the nation into naval warfare as revenge for a statement by California's governor during their childhood, a threat to "...Bring the 50th (state) back into the Union.", and Soliairs was prepared for a military strike against their fleet. Utilizing illusions, false radar signals, and radio communications, Soliairs baited the SBC 86 into close quarters under the guise of being stuck on a reef, at which point they barraged the ship with empowered casts of Sun's Grasp, causing heavy damage to A-beam starboard hull.
The ROC SBC 86 was forced to retreat due to heavy flooding and was forced to be abandoned. The ship was fully sunk by Soliairs, and later raised and added to their fleet as their own flagship to further taunt the nation.

As Soliairs' Flagship

Following being raised from the seafloor, the ship was given emergency patches and brought to the Republic of Shanai for repair efforts. As the ROC SBC 86 had not fired a single shot during its conflict with Soliairs, the ship still had full ammunition stores on its capture. She was repaired in Shanai's main port, and declared as Soliairs' new temple and her crew as their priests, protecting them from prosecution by California. During its time in Shanai, the nation denied and knowledge of the ship, even with numerous videos and photos surfacing online from tourists and locals alike. Within Shanai, The Temple was hailed as a massive blow to California's pride and ego, cementing Soliairs as a common god in Shanai's local pantheon.
As further insult, Soliairs released videos, pictures, and livestreams of themself, Benjamen Stridde, and crew destroying the ship's interior and grinding off all of her designations and regalia as a ROC Battle Cruiser, instead spray painting the hull with Soliairs' emblem. On being declared their temple, Soliairs hosted a fireworks show from the ship's deck, becoming a yearly tradition during the Midsummer Fire Festival in Shanai that is ended with rounds being fired in California's direction.

War of the Moon

During the War of the Moon, The Temple acted as the primary artillery support of the pantheon's forces against the Lunar Dragonflight. By shelling the glaciers across the coast, the ship caused instability in the terrain, making landings risky for the lunar dragons as well as providing cover for the pantheon and mortal troops on the ground due to the ever changing landscape of the primary battlefield. The ship, however, was vulnerable during reloads, and suffered numerous fly-by dragonfire strikes, causing heavy damage to the primary deck, cabin, and smaller weaponry systems. Later phases of the main battle saw the addition of Ludovic as additional support, especially during reloads.
Despite this, during the main battle a lunar dragon performed a suicidal dragonfire strike of the ship after being struck in the throat by Ludovic, and caused extensive damage to the cabin by shattering windows, crushing key equipment, and starting several fires onboard. Ludovic himself was thrown overboard, but luckily able to be quickly pulled on board before he could drown.
On Vega's fall and the first news of the eruption of the Pacific as a result of his death, Soliairs as well as The Temple retreated with the mainline fleet in order to assist in evacuation and recovery efforts. Due to the speeds sustained by the ship on its way to the Republic of Shanai, numerous fires, and damage from dragons, The Temple began to burn out its engines and run out of fuel. She was pushed far beyond natural design limits in order to reach the islands in record time, and as a result of this and being pushed forward by mana from Soliairs themselves, lost engines and ran aground on arrival in Shanai's port with a heavy port list.
The hip is currently being used as the base of operations for Soliairs as well as their cult in rescue efforts of Shanai and surrounding territories, as well as a field hospital for victims of the eruptions. It is currently unknown what the future will hold for the ship due to her extensive damage as well as the disruption of global shipping due to the ongoing disaster in the ring of fire. It is speculated that Soliairs will attempt to salvage the ship with parts from less damaged members of their fleet, but that she will be retired as the flagship and instead solely used as their temple. It is likely that The Bamboo will replace The Temple as flagship.

Founding Date

19,972

Alternative Names

Temple of Soliairs, The Tempy

Type

Vehicle, Ship

Parent Location

Shanin Islands

Owner

Soliairs Taeyang

Owning Organization

Cult of Soliairs

Characters in Location

• Gulana Taeyang
• Namen Lugal
• Soliairs Taeyang

Related Tradition (Primary)

• Sparring Days