Saverian Navy

The Saverian Navy refers to the naval fighting force of the Kingdom of Saveria, both before and after its incorporation into the Nesarian Empire. The Saverian Navy is an important subject of historical scholarship due to the prominence of Saverian fleets throughout history, and the strong influence that Saverian naval practices had upon the Imperial Navy; the Saverian system was essentially used as a model for the Imperial Navy and was copied over mostly intact.

## Punishments

Keeping order on a ship was an extremely important task, as lawlessness and mutinous behaviour could defeat a ship much faster than any enemy. Punishments for infringing the laws of the ship were very severe and were strictly enforced by the captain - if the Captain was not himself severe, the Admiralty would be severe with him.

The most extreme punishment in the Saverian navy was keelhauling - that is, being tied to a rope and dragged underneath the ship's hull to be torn to shreds on the barnacles and other marine growth. Keelhauling was only used as a punishment for rape, mutiny, piracy, disobeying orders when in combat or murdering or attempting to murder a crewmate. Keelhauling was always intended to be an execution rather than merely an infliction of torturous pain; if the condemned survived being keelhauled, they would be continuously keelhauled again until they died.

The step below keelhauling was flogging, with the amount of lashes received dictated by the severity of the offence. Drunkenness, disorderly conduct (which usually meant fighting with crewmates), failing to salute an officer and disobeying orders are examples of infringements punished by flogging. The latter one applied to disobedience when outside of combat; disobedience in combat was punished by keelhauling.

Minor infractions such as tardiness, unacceptable hygiene and laziness were usually punished by being deprived of certain rations such as meat, and being given more watered-down serving of cider each day.

## Rations

> "*Bad food makes a man lose heart more readily than a hundred enemy ships.*"
> ― Prince-Admiral Meiuan Felurion
>
>

One of the greatest innovations of the Saverian Navy, which was emulated wholesale by the Imperial Navy, was its rationing. The development of Saverian naval rations is often credited to Prince-Admiral Meiuan Felurion, a prince of the royal house of Reiana who went into naval service in the late 4th century BC and insisted upon receiving the same food as the rest of his crew. When he discovered how repugnant the food was, he declared that it was "a repugnant insult to our brave sailors" and immediately set about using his influence to overhaul the rations, contacting scholars from across Inecuria to devise the best possible solutions. He himself took a great interest in cooking, and came to personally aid his cooks whenever he had the time. His remark that "bad food makes a man lose heart more easily than a hundred enemy ships" has since become a popular maxim across Inecuria.

Up until the advent of refrigeration technology, which dramatically improved a vessel's ability to store food on-board, Prince-Admiral Meiuan's reforms remained for over two thousand years, with only marginal changes. With advice from scholars across Inecuria, and with experimentation in his own kitchen, he made the best effort he could to balance the multiple needs for food that would preserve for long periods, food that was nutritious for the men, and food that was fulfilling and relatively enjoyable to eat. To ensure that the food was prepared properly and "with an acceptable degree of tastiness", Meiuan created the Naval Cooking Corps, an institution specifically dedicated to training cooks.

Although Meiuan's reforms covered a great many aspects, the most notable of them are listed here in no particular order:

* Porridge sweetened with a little honey for breakfast each morning (Meiuan recommended that removal of the honey was a suitable punishment for poor behaviour)
* One cup of tea served alongside breakfast, to which milk was to be added if it was available
* The provision of raisins with every lunch - Meiuan recommended (but did not obligate) that sailors were to be allowed to eat their raisin ration with their porridge at breakfast instead, but insisted that the ship "keep a very close record" of who had done this to ensure a sailor could not weasel their way into a double ration
* Several "blood-biscuits" each day, which is essentially the same as hardtack with pig's blood mixed in with the dough, for added nutrition and to make use of blood that often went to waste
* Fresh bread was obliged to be acquired whenever the ship docked at a port, which would temporarily replace the ration of blood-biscuits
* Fresh fruit and vegetables were obliged to be acquired whenever the ship docked
* The provision of cheese with every lunch and dinner
* The provision of pickled vegetables for both lunch and dinner, but *only* if fresh vegetables were unavailable - peculiarly, Prince-Admiral Meiuon obligated that there should be a gap no longer than two days between each serving of pickled sweet onions, as he greatly enjoyed the taste of these, but he utterly forbade the serving of pickled eggs as he found these repugnant
* Two "generous" cups of Prince's Brew each day, one at lunch and one in the evening. Prince's Brew is the nickname given to a simple drink made of one part cider and two parts water. Officers were permitted to have Admiral's Brew, a stronger drink made of half cider and half water, but were also held to a higher standard; if found drunk, their Brew ration was to be cut off entirely as punishment, whereas a common sailor would merely have their Brew diluted down further to one part cider and four parts water
* A gap of no longer than three days between each serving of meat, which typically took the form of salted cuts of pork or smoked sausages, but could also be beef, lamb, Trihorn or venison
* The provision of a bottle of vinegar every five days and olive oil every eight days, to be "applied as the sailor desires"
* Once the continent was unified under the Nesarian Empire and trade with distant corners of Inecuria became significantly easier, Chalparni-style spicy pickled chutney became a common occurrence on Saverian ships and it was eventually mandated that there should be a gap of no longer than two days between serving it for lunch
* Once it became discovered in the mid-2nd century AD that citrus juice warded off scurvy (though they would not know the reason why until the discovery of vitamin C in 1912), the provision of citrus juice at least once every other day was also made mandatory. This was usually in the form of lemon juice, acquired from Ladhara in Chalparna or from Kuateoha, though ships were also known to provide lime juice. Orange juice was only provided to officers, since oranges were significantly more expensive due to their far more desirable taste.