Tideborne Veilriders

Typically 900 core combat marines, supported by:

• ~300 specialists (mages, navigators, surgeons, whisperers who commune with sea beasts)
• ~200 logistical crew and handlers

When fully mobilized with auxiliary coastal militias, numbers can swell to over 2000.

• Coral-inlaid scale mail that resists salt corrosion and offers some buoyancy.
• Waterproof packs with collapsible harpoons, nets, line grapnels.
• Medical chests with salt-dried herbs, treated linen, minor restorative potions.

• Curved seablades that cut cleanly through water, ideal for deck or beach fighting.
• Harpoon-launchers for boarding or anti-beast defense.
• Compact tridents used by officers and whisperers, often engraved with sigils to repel sea curses.
• Slings with weighted shot to entangle rigging.

• Wavecutters: sleek Virellian vessels with shallow drafts, enchanted sails that harness minor wind-spirits. Typically 12-15 ships form a standard flotilla.
• Light skinboats stored on deck for stealth landings.
• Giant seahorses or turtle-like creatures sometimes used by elite whisperers for undersea reconnaissance.

• Led by a High Tidecaptain, who is advised by:
• Shipmasters (for naval maneuvers)
• Veilchanters (for magical weather manipulation & morale)
• Surgeons-General (for biological threats like poisonous marine flora/fauna)

Each ship has its own Deck Lieutenant, who commands boarding operations and maintains discipline.

• Mastery of flexible formation shifts: from tight shield knots on beaches to loose pincer movements in shallow water.
• Known for “Veil Strikes”—using mist, illusion magic, or bioluminescent decoys to ambush larger fleets.
• Rapid pivot to inland advances, exploiting riverways to extend reach beyond traditional naval engagements.

• Grueling amphibious drills; must endure weighted dives, underwater combat tests, and days on minimal rations to prove adaptability.
• Whisperers train for years to learn sea beast signals and tide-speaking.
• Regular requalification every two years to maintain active Veilrider status.

• Supported by coastal supply galleys that carry salted meats, hardtack, limes, enchanted fresh water barrels, repair kits for sails and hulls.
• Specialized Tidewrights handle enchantments to keep vessels swift and hulls free of barnacle curses.

• Expensive, requiring steady tribute from Virellian coastal towns.
• Annual festivals double as fundraisers, with offerings to sea gods ensuring safe voyages and offsetting costs of potion and rune imports.

• Drawn from Virellia’s coastal youth who show prowess in swimming, diving, or fishing.
• Many volunteer from family lines tied to marine trades or who owe ancestral pacts to Thalor.
• A smaller number of inland hopefuls are sponsored by guilds seeking prestige ties to the Veilriders.

The formation was born during the Reaving Tides, an era when sea raiders from distant archipelagos threatened Virellian shores. The first Tideborne Veilriders turned defense into relentless counter-raiding, striking enemy flotillas in their own harbors.

Culturally, they’ve become symbols of Virellia’s oceanic might and resilience. Their banners—seafoam woven with crescent moons—fly over festivals honoring Thalor and Naelir. Ballads still tell of the Battle at Coral Hollow, where Veilriders used deceptive tides to encircle and crush a fleet three times their size.