White Wings

The White Wings is best known as the mother ship that was wrecked by the first conduit boat to travel between Mraydor and Galtern, on the same day that the Unity began. The incident planted the seed of a resistance effort that caused the Unity's downfall forty years later.

Size and Layout

The White Wings was a trade-class mother ship of slightly above average capacity, triple-hulled with extended decks. The interior was open along the middle third for cargo with a raised walkway around it and bunks lining the inside of the hull. It had sleeping space for 150; the family numbered 120 at the time of the incident. As a mother ship it had no washing or cooking facilities--auxiliary boats were expected to support those functions.

Destruction

Instead of joining the traditional New Year's Meet on Barkold, the Mother Captain of the Castuvol family ordered the ship to wait beside the conduit. Most Tideriders were opposed to the new boat transport system, which created a barrier across traditional routes through the Inside Sea. Aytish, Mother Captain of the Castuvol family, wanted to witness firsthand the success or failure of the conduit boat rather than wait for the news to reach her through word of mouth.
The White Wings rested at what was known to be a safe passing distance between ships; however, this distance didn't take into account the weight and speed of the conduit boat. It generated an unexpectedly powerful wake that swept over the mother ship. In its calm-seas configuration, the White Wings was thrown about with more force than its outriggers could support. Although the ship was able to limp to Galtern with the support of the auxiliary fleet, the damage to the framework was too severe to repair. The Castuvol family was forced to split as a result.

Legacy

The loss of the White Wings forced more than half of the Castuvol family to take refuge on Galtern. Among those was Delu, who spent the next six years of her life in an orphan farm. This experience, along with the disfiguring injuries she suffered, motivated her to create the Dissolvers to fight against the conduits that she felt were responsible for the destruction of her family and a threat to the Tiderider livelihood. When she and two of her cousins bought the Everblue to serve as their command ship, they renamed it White Ducks as homage to the ship they grew up on.

Destruction Date

2000 Vol