Carrack

Outside the Interior Sea, the Thyssalis Sea, the coasts of Southern and Eastern Karia and the coasts of the Storm Sea, triremes, quadriremes and quinqueremes are quite useless as they are not design to open ocean travels. Instead, most of the peoples and realms of Yeia have adopted the carrack as the ocean going ship.

Development

Carracks as we known it in Yeia were invented in the northern realms of the eastern continent of Karia. In the now lost republics of Abbos and Taryn, in modern day Nythia. It was adopted by the Ikarian merchants in the island of Valia who were the first to see this northern ships. Then the Ikarians also adopted this ship for trade, but also for war. In 369 AP, 30% of the Ikarian Imperial fleet was formed by Carracks. In 450 AP, ten years before the fall of the Ikarian Empire we know that the carracks used by the Ikarians were now equipped with cannons.

Blatian carrack by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

The adoption of this ship by the Ikarians also made neighbouring nations adopt this type of ship. Among them the Green and Snow Elves, the realms of the north west of Teria and the Wesdalandians and Witharfians. This ocean-going ship became very important as for the first time, the nations of the Western regions of Teria could travel with their goods safely to the East, to the Interior sea, the most active trade node in the world, and the Ikarians could travel safely too to their dominions on the island of Valia without the need of using triremes and travelling close to the seris coast.
The seris on the other hand, with their distinctive naval tradition and robust ships, didn't have the need of adopting the new type of ship, and only a few dozen have been built in Seria, mainly by trade companies.
Centuries later, the Carracks are still a vital part of trade and war across Yeia. They played a vital part in the development, expansion and economic growth of the Republic of Valia, who is currently the world's first builder of this type of ships. And Valian Carracks can be seen across the Northern, the Interior and the Storm seas travelling with their goods to the distant corners of the known world.

Description

A Carrack is a three- or four-masted, they are square-rigged on the foremast and mainmast and lateen-rigged on the mizzenmast. They had a high rounded stern with aft castle, forecastle and bowsprit at the stem. All of these elements make it a great ocean-going sailing ship ideal for long range travels.

Uses and variations

As it has been said, carracks are used mainly for trade but can also be used for war. In fact both the Valian Republic and The Blatian Empire are famous for their feared carracks equipped with cannons and marines with firearms, specially in operations or battles fought on the open sea and not near the coast. This ship were also extensively used for war in the naval war between Wesdaland and Stormitia in the 7th and 8th centuries that saw the first and largest battles between carracks.
A posterior development of the carrack is the Galleon, invented by the Blatians not so long ago that has more firepower and better protection, but the numbers of this ships are still few, and they are often used for escorting important merchant ships or as flagships during war.