Adrestian Royal Navy

The Adrestian Royal Navy is the independent arm of the Adrestian Armed Forces, and is often seen by outsiders as one and the same, due to the fact that the Adrestian Navy (to include marine and air forces) consist of over 80% of that country's military personnel and over 95% of its budget. The latter falls under the ultimate command of the Prince of Adrestia. While the Ralgon Emperor is nominally commander-in-chief of the Adrestian Armed Forces (as an extended branch of the Ralgon Armed Forces, this has been in name only since late 1685 AN. In addition to being the only major independent fighting force of the Ralgon Empire, the service also has several independent overseas commands, the most notable being the one formed to protect Ralgonese and Adrestian immigrants to the City-State of Teigang, as well as to support its parent state's alliances with other member states of the USSO.

The service is by far Adrestia's largest and best-equipped, in contrast with its small but well-equipped ground self-defense force. Were it alone, the Adrestian Royal Navy could easily win against the numerically inferior and less heavily armed (and armored) Ralgon Imperial Navy, were it not for the alliances that either side would garner during an actual war. The ARN is easily the most important contributor to Adrestia's current wealth, stability, and prosperity, due to its strong grip on piracy control and commitment to keeping international waters in the region open for all peaceful traffic.

History

Roots

The roots of the current Adrestian Navy have three different origins. Firstly, the Great White Fleet that had originally contributed to Adrestia's first waves of colonization was, itself, heavily armed and backed by the then-formidable Ralgon Navy. About a third of Ralgon's naval assets ended up stationed permanently at the rapidly growing colony, shocked at the level of economic growth the region started to generate.

Colonial Era

During the ten years that followed the colony's official foundation in 1675, the colony's own armed forces protected the region. The cost of upkeep by the Ralgon forces augmenting the colony's defense was high; but, with the trade flowing through the region, the colonists with their growing numbers (and deepening pockets) could easily afford the expense. With the Great White Fleet's decision to set its headquarters at Tranquility Base triggered an era of the organization transforming into a home-grown defense force, forming the precursor of Adrestia's own military. Meanwhile, the funds paid to the Ralgon government triggered a short golden age for the latter, and enabled it to carry expansionist campaigns in the homeland of Drag'os.

Post-Crisis

The growing power of the Adrestian Navy was further augmented with the mass defection of Ralgon captains and crews to the Adrestian side of the armed forces during and after the catastrophic series of events that lead to the Destruction of Drag'os, or the Crisis of 1685, by a previously-unheard of swarm of its most dangerous creatures driven into a rage by the already-destructive conflict between the Ralgonese forces and hostile aboriginal tribes on the west of that island. (These natives themselves used in battle many of those same dangerous fauna, a practice widely considered anathema to the Ralgonese people).

The resulting exodus of elite Ralgonese people along with the military forces they directly sponsored took place from 1684 to early 1687, and cost the homeland's Navy over half its best sailors, two-thirds of its ships, and individuals whose assets were collectively worth nearly 65% of the country's central stock exchange. Of the Ralgon domestic forces, nine out of every ten battleships and all but three capital-sized carriers transferred to the Adrestian forces, in return for Adrestian citizenship for themselves and their families. Such people received a pardon in 1687 by Emperor Shiro, despite the controversy generated over the decision, because "these people technically never left the country in the first place, but rather relocated to another province," since Adrestia never went through with a formal declaration of independence in a traditional sense.

The massive, powerful Navy has been independently responsible for maritime security in the region since 1686 AN, when it purchased the economically and strategically important colony of Alphaville from the Bassarids (at great cost), and slowly assumed control over most of the South Island Archipelago (to exclude the Arbor Islands) beginning in early 1686. However, the investment proved more than worth it; the Adrestian Crown made its investment back before the end of 1687, With the situation at home dire and with remaining Ralgon forces either helping allies close to home with the Cibolan Reconquista or the wars of reclamation going on in the homeland,

In the same year, the Adrestian Crown purchased the right to maintain a Royal Navy independently and solely for itself. It also compensated the Ralgonese government for 1.2 times the market value of ships and equivalent pay for personnel who permanently deserted to Adrestia during the Crisis, allowing the latter to launch serious efforts to reconquer the island of Drag'os from hostile native groups and subdue the island's now-enraged fauna.

Since that point, the Adrestian Navy has slowly begun expanding Adrestia's reach northwards beyond its traditional confines on South Island, with plans to annex significant portions of the island (part of which is known to locals as "Northern Avalon") to accommodate a rapidly growing national population. Additionally, under the terms of the 1687 peace that concluded the Civil War, a significant portion of the Adrestian Navy is currently pledged to support Ralgonese efforts to re-stabilize its home regions, re-claim the coastlines lost during late 1685, and encourage cooperation in an effort to bridge wounded relationships between the Adrestian and Ralgonese peoples.

Finally, a significant Adrestian force consisting of a full fleet formed around a capital-sized battleship is currently stationed in the City-State of Teigang, in an effort to boost the nation's prestige abroad, as well as showcase the semi-independent state's power to act fully at its own discretion, as well as protect its sovereignty independent of its parent state's forces.

Conquest of Northern Avalon

(1687) -- (Planned Expansion of Adrestia)