Merryweather Aldrige

## The Girl Who Saw The World

"Merryweather Aldrige" also known by her real name, Elizabeth Adelle Fairsmith, was an Asnean explorer, author, engineer, biologist and botanist who was famous for her many contributions to the field of science and Industry. Her most famous achievement however, was her expedition beyond the Eastern Sea Wall and discovering the once fantasy continent of Esea. She successfully mapped most of the southern and eastern part of the continent before somehow mysteriously disappearing somewhere near the Wyvern Isles, some speculating her to have died there, others that she is still alive and now living amongst the wyverns in their floating islands. Besides her most famous achievement, she is also famous for publishing many papers on both her findings and her inventions. Some of her inventions included: The Molly-Steam Siphoner (A device that was a breakthrough in the steam engine industry), The Adelle Magnetic Compass (A compass that locked itself to the magnetic poles of the planet), The Wilson Actuator (A tool that had important industrial applications), and The Royal Rifled Repeater, also known as the M-3R, a special rifle that allowed the user to fire off six bullets in continuous fashion without having to manually reload every shot, the weapon was only ever used by royalty and those with a lot of money due to how expensive it was to make one.

### Early Life

Elizabeth was born in the small village of Targatelle, located only a few kilometers away from Briemannia. Her father was an ironsmith and her mother worked as a fishmonger, she also had three other siblings who were all younger than her. As a child, Elizabeth had a talent for creating things. She often visited the local carpenter begging for the scraps of wood the carpenter would throw away. She would use those scraps to construct items. When she was 9, her father would bring her along to his work showing her his smithing, her mother would also take her to the docks showing her the fishing boats that came and went. She would eventually take young Elizabeth on a fishing trip. By 13 Elizabeth had grown to be a smart girl for her age, her parents noticing this would use their savings to send her to school in the city. Elizabeth would be enrolled in Vilereick Academy in Briemannia, immediately she would excel in her classes, learning subjects like math, science, and astrology. By age 16, Elizabeth would graduate the academy with some of the highest scores. However, despite having an education, Elizabeth would quickly find out that finding a job would be a lot more difficult than she thought. Eventually she would earn an apprenticeship in a factory producing steam engines. There she learned how to build steam engines and because of her background as a daughter of an ironsmith she quickly learned how to construct one herself. After spending two months working at the factory, Elizabeth had successfully created her own steam engine which was a lot more powerful than the original engine and also was more fuel efficient. Despite garnering praise for her invention, her engine would be stolen by her master which he would go on to patent and claim as his own. After this had happened Elizabeth would quit her job deciding to return back to her village. There, she would work in her father's ironsmith shop as an apprentice eventually becoming a very good smith. During her time at the ironsmith, Elizabeth use her free time building in her workshop in the back of the ironsmith shop. She would go on to invent a multitude of different gadgets and tools in her workshop each ranging in application. She would soon garner the attention of a man by the name of Wilson Laskaris, a traveling merchant who had stopped by the village on his way to Briemannia. While shopping at the ironsmith, Wilson would meet Elizabeth who would introduce him to her workshop and her inventions. Upon seeing all the different rare gadgets, Wilson would invite Elizabeth with him to Briemannia where he could sell her inventions to wealthy customers. Elizabeth would agree and the two would set for Briemannia. For the next five months, the pair would travel door-to-door attempting to sell the fancy items that Elizabeth had created. The two would quickly become rich from their ventures allowing Elizabeth to open up her own workshop in the city. The pair would have a falling out one night as Wilson would be caught attempting to steal the blueprints to some of Elizabeth's inventions leading to her kicking him out of her workshop. By age 20, Elizabeth's workshop had gained popularity by the locals who sought after her breakthrough inventions, some lucky people even obtaining apprenticeships at her workshop, some notable students include the famous inventor Lucius Cantuli, who created the Cantuli Carbine and found Cantuli Arms Enterprise.

### Expedition to Esea

By age 21, Elizabeth had gotten a name for herself, becoming a famous inventor. Under the pseudonym of Merriweather Aldrige, she would also publish multiple papers to universities with varying subjects such as: "The Discovery of Energy in Broulite Ore", "Theory for Magnetism", "Industrial Pollution and its Environmental Effects", and most famous "The Western Continent of Esea" which outlined the idea that there was a whole other continent across the Camtaran Ocean. Eventually the papers would reach the Asnean government who would soon take interest in the idea of a whole other continent. In particular, a young woman named Eleanor took keen interest in the idea. Eleanor, who was also a Praetorian Guard would request the senate to approve of an expedition across the Eastern Sea Wall. However, no senator would be willing to fund such an endeavor. Despite this set back, Eleanor would reach out to Elizabeth, who at this time was now only called by her pseudonym, seeking to speak about her published paper. Eventually the two would meet and discuss how one would go about traveling across the Eastern Sea Wall, Aldrige would propose seeking out the Wayfinders, a race of people who lived in the Rosston Sea in the Republic of Estria. Thus the two would set out to Estria to find a wayfinder who could navigate across the Sea Wall. Aldrige would use most of her money to buy a ship which she named "Brightsails". The two arrived two months later at large port city of Middlepoint Harbor seeking a Wayfinder. Eventually the two would find a group of Wayfinders however none would be willing to travel across the Sea Wall, all except for one person. A young man by the name of only Ruhi would be willing to take the two across the wall however for a price. Ruhi would turn out to be a very notorious fugitive in the Asnean Empire which had a bounty on him for over 3 million dahler. Reluctantly, Eleanor would agree however she still believed she could turn him in. The group would hang around the port for another couple months, gathering supplies and crew for the journey. The group would also hire multiple mercenary crews and ships with financial help from Eleanor. After five months of preparation, the expedition crew was complete. A fleet of eight ships, a combined crew of over five hundred people, and supplies to last over three years on the seas. The crew set sails on the early months of 1418 M.E. News would quickly spread of the expedition and soon would catch the attention of the Asnean Empire who still disapproved of the venture. The Empire would send a fleet of ships to apprehend the expedition however would be a few weeks to late. By the first month, a ship had already been lost by the expedition, one of the ships would be caught by a violent storm leading to its destruction. By the third month, the crew would reach the infamous Eastern Sea Wall, a stretch of water that spanned an unknown length across which is characterized as an area where there is no wind and the waters are very still.