IEN

by John Carl Flores

The Imperial Elven Navy, commonly known as the IEN, is a monolithic military organization devoted to protecting the interests of the elven race throughout the wildspace and the astral sea.
They are considered an ally to some, a pest to others, and a delicious target to the various scum and villainy of wildspace.
"Your mission is simple, Captain Kyark. Defend this sphere against all attacks by forces of the Scro, ogres, neogi, illithids, beholders, pirates, hobgoblins, undead, vodoni, rogues, and common orcs. I fear we have no reinforcements to spare, so good luck, Captain."

Admiral Alfallin, Imperial Fleet

The IEN mainatins a fleet of hundreds of vessels, including but not limited to the following types:

• Star Moth

• Warbird

• Arrowwing

• Flitter

• Armada

• Armada, Monarch

The Imperial Elven Navy seeks to promote, as well as protect, elven interests throughout the universe, actively engaging with larger elven nations while adopting a more paternalistic attitude towards smaller elven communities scattered across wildspace who are forced to share their territories with other humanoids, especially non-elves.
The IEN is militaristic in nature and highly organized, and is commanded by a Council of Admirals, headed by a Grand Admiral. These leaders, considered elders even by elven standards, command the Navy from a hidden base known only as "Lionheart": its location is kept top secret and is changed every few years to prevent surprise attacks.
The Council of Admirals recognizes the sovereignty of the various elven kings, queens, and princes from over fifty planets within their purview. Technically, an order from one of these heads-of-state should be enough to mobilize local elven naval forces. However, the Council is fully aware of the dangers of interfering in groundling politics, and as long as the orders reflect a dire need in self defence, the Council is quite happy to deploy available forces. In all other cases, however, the orders may become "lost" or the local forces will be wrapped up in some other matter. Terrestrial elven rulers have learned over the years not to become overly dependent on the IEN.
The Imperial Elven Navy maintains a number of embassies in most major non-elven settlements, which serve as a hub for local elven activities. As with most bureaucracies, these embassies tend to be inefficient, a matter made worse by the fact that most elven bureaucrats consider non-elves to be a waste of time. Navy representatives make it a point to keep their contact with groundlings (especially non-elves) to a minimum. They are particularly invested in keeping all elven spelljamming technology, especially helms, out of non-elven hands, and would rather destroy an elven ship rather than see it taken over by non-elves.
Despite losses taken during the Second Unhuman War, the Imperial Fleet still has the largest organised Fleet in most spheres, making them one of the most powerful organisations in space. As a result Fleet representatives tend to be pushy and overly presumptuous when dealing with others. Elven forces have a tendency to stick their noses in areas where they are neither wanted or needed. Directing them (politely) to mind their own business may result in an apology and withdrawal, or in a sky full of Star Moth warships.
Not all elven communities welcome the IEN's meddling and overly paternalistic attitude. Many of the smaller colony worlds, such as Spiral, Numeliador, or Minial's Arch, have been settled by renegade Fleet officers, some who may have been cashiered for disobeying orders or for causing trouble, and as such refuse all contact with the Imperial Navy: sometimes to their detriment.
Across the systems that survived The Shattering, only the island nation of Evermeet on Toril (Realmspace) maintains regular contact with the Imperial Elven Navy. This small cluster of islands even served as a major base during the Unhuman Wars, and currently serves as the Fleet headquarters for Realmspace. In Krynnspace, the Imperial Elven Navy maintained covert contact with the elven nations of Qualinesti and Silvanesti; however, since the destruction of Krynn and dissolution of those nations, few individuals refer to themselves in this manner anymore. In Greyspace the IEN finds it easier to maintain a presence near the hospitable outer worlds of the sphere, including Greela and the Spectre, due to the spherical asteroid field known as the Grinder, which makes it difficult for ships to travel directly to Oerth, the primary of the system. Only the elven Kingdom of Celene maintains an ambassador to the Fleet, and even this is primarily a courtesy appointment.
Despite the sheer number of vessels available to the navy, the size of the territory they're attempting to patrol is enormous, and numerous elven ships disappear every year without trace, However, the Council of Admirals are unwilling to commit resources to finding these vessels, and instead prefer to ignore these losses, instead choosing to list these vessels as "overdue" as opposed to being lost. Given the nature of the astral sea, occasionally vessels reappear, but more often than not they become ghost stories.
Notable Members: Prominent members of the Elven Imperial Fleet include:

• Commander Airenfir, imprisoned onboard Gamaro Base after being captured by the Scro while patrolling Moragspace.

• Tel Astrid, secondary helmsman on the Star Moth Sparrowhawk.

• Admiral Cirathorn, commander of the Fleet based at the Rock of Bral, as well as captain of the elven armada, Empress Dorianne. Admiral Cirathorn played a pivotal role in Teldin Moore's quest, when he revealed to Teldin that he possessed the Cloak of the First Pilot and that his destiny was tied to that of the Spelljammer.

• Admiral Serin Ghar, commander of the Evermeet Fleet on Toril in Realmspace.

• Admiral Highstar, commander of the elven forces onboard the Spelljammer, and captain of the elven armada, Triumph (now dismantled and retired from active service).

• Admiral Icarus, commander of the Realmspace Fleet, as well as captain of the elven armada, Arrow of Justice.

• Kora, a ship's-engineer assigned to the elven armada Constellation, and later sent on a mission to Shadowspace.

• Master Khotus, a human instructor who taught Imperial Fleet pilots the art of spelljamming.

• Captain Krissos, commander of the Greyspace Fleet, as well as captain of the elven flagship, Luminary of Ehlonna.

• Aldyn Leafbower, ex-battlepoet and Grand Admiral of the Elven Imperial Fleet during the First Unhuman War.

• Vallus Leafbower, senior advisor to the Grand Admiral of the Imperial Fleet during the lead up to the Second Unhuman War and captain of the elven swanship Trumpeter. Previously he had served as the ship's mage and secondary helmsman onboard the hammership Probe, alongside Teldin Moore, the Cloakmaster.

• Mirandel, an Imperial Fleet battlewizard who was married to Admiral Cirathorn and served as second-in-command of the elven armada, Empress Dorianne.

• Sergeant Berl Mooncrest, second-in-command of the Star Moth Sparrowhawk.

• Marta Mornstar, primary helmsman on the elven Star Moth Sparrowhawk.

• Commander Silanos, chief advisor to the Grand Admiral of the Imperial Elven Navy in the lead up to the Second Unhuman War.

• Shusaka Iki, a human shugenja who served as an advisor to the Council of Admirals before being seconded to an expedition sent to Shadowspace.

• Admiral Silmara, an Imperial Fleet ambassador assigned to the court of Prince Andru of Bral.

• Sindiath, a retired Imperial Fleet admiral who founded the Sindiath Line to serve as a merchant navy adjunct to the Fleet.

• Commander Stardawn, a rising star among Imperial Fleet officers who was assigned the task of tracking down the Spelljammer, learning its secrets, and assuming command if possible.

• Captain Anadis Starlight, commander of the elven Star Moth Penultimate, which was destroyed by a hammership crewed by horg in Greyspace.

• High King Thilandriel was the elven ambassador to the council of war called in response to raids conducted by the Vodoni Empire.

• Tolivin, a xenobiologist who served as an advisor to the Council of Admirals before being seconded to an expedition sent to Shadowspace.

• Captain Sirian Windharp, commander of the battle dolphin patrol-vessel Starfoam, which discovered the first armada overrun by witchlight marauders at the outbreak of the Second Unhuman War.

• Admiral Yerthad, commander of the outer Krynnspace Fleet, as well as captain of the elven Star Moth, Liira's Kiss. Yerthad and the 'Kiss were KIA shortly after the events that resulted in the destruction of Krynn.

• Captain Sylvywynd XIV, captain of the Star Moth Tremendous Gale, a Pirate hunting vessel in Realmspace

Foreign Relations

The Imperial Elven Navy serves as a formidable stabilizing force in many areas of wildspace, and as such has garnered a great deal of support from most merchant companies and religious organizations (though the Chainmen consider most Navy officers to be nosy busybodies). Considering its role as an elven merchant navy, the Sindiath Line has particularly close ties to the Fleet. The Company of the Chalice has considerable respect (and not a little awe) for the Fleet.
The IEN counts amongst its enemies the scro and other humanoid races, including orcs, ogres, goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears, as well as those who threaten the well-being of elven communities, including various pirate bands.
While the Company of the Chalice actively supports the Fleet, other military brotherhoods believe the elves think too highly of themselves and are too quick to interfere in private affairs (Perhaps the fact that all of these groups have at one time or another been on the opposite side of a conflict with the IEN has something to do with their resentment.)

Type

Military, Space navy

Training Level

Professional

Veterancy Level

Experienced

Related Historical Events

• 2851 SYoF
  End of the second Unhuman War UHW2
• 2840 SYoF
  Beginning of the second Unhuman War UHW2
• 2816 SYoF
  Battle of the Broken Sphere
• 2609 SYoF
  First Unhuman War ends UHW1
• 2462 SYoF
  First Unhuman War begins UHW1