When the Fleet was given its commission thousands of years ago, the Grand Admiral was given the Lion's Heart, a powerful artifact, by Corellon himself. This magical jewel would power many of Lionheart's defenses and give the Grand Admiral the Mandate of Arvandor. So long as he or she held the Heart, they had the blessing of the elvish deities. This Mandate alone has ensured the loyalty of the thousands of elves that have served the Fleet over the ages. Though past Lionheart stations have been destroyed, the Heart has never been lost. It always returned to Corellon, who chose the worthiest elf he could find to serve as the new Grand Admiral. Today, Grand Admiral Lylanna keeps the Heart at the center of Lionheart, entrusted to her most loyal troops, three Baelnorn guardians. The Heart has not been publicly displayed in centuries, and has pass into legend among many elves.
Lionheart's greatest protection is its mythal. It was laid by the five most powerful High Mages the Fleet had at its disposal at the time. Backing them up was a collection of more than one hundred Fleet mages, who provided magical energies to help weave the mythal. Around them danced a thousand or more elves, who called out to the heavens for their deities to bless the station. The Seldarine answered, sending avatars to help with the weaving of the mythal. The price, however, was high. Seljuril's physical form was consumed by the process, and her spirit became that of the mythal. She guards over her creation, protecting the place that she sacrificed so much for. She was allowed to add a single grand power to the mythal. The other four High Magi were allowed to add a single major power each, and the circle of nine casters surrounding them were allowed a single minor power each. In total, the mythal of Lionheart has a single grand power, four major powers, and nine minor ones.
Lionheart's mythal has but a single grand power: the ability to teleport without error, to another sphere. This power can be used only once a year, as the energy to do so taxes the mythal greatly. This power can only be activated by the Grand Admiral herself, who must order Seljuril to move the station. So long as the moves are infrequent (i.e. less than once every few decades), Seljuril will gladly teleport the station. Usually, the move is done after a longwinded debate over its new location between the various admirals and dispatches are sent out to all fleet admirals, notifying them of the move. Cargo ships are rerouted and supply lines are redirected. Such moves are infrequent because of the logistic nightmare it creates within the Fleet.
The major powers of Lionheart were designed to aid in its defense and security. The first of these protections is a defense against teleportation. No one, be it mage, priest, or psionicist, can teleport into Lionheart. All attempts to do so result in the person being bounced, physically, into the Astral Plane. If the person has no means of returning home, they are trapped in that plane until rescue comes. Likewise, the teleport and related spells completely fail to function within the mythal. No one can teleport around Lionheart, nor can the teleport off of the station.
The second defense is a magical barrier against any sort of scrying. Spells and psionics fail to penetrate this magical defense. Attempts to use such powers on Lionheart result in a kind of mental snow that gives the caster a headache and reveals no information. Crystal balls, magical mirrors, and like devices fail as well. However, such devices can be used from within the station to communicate with those outside the mythal. Such communication is possible both ways if the device is specially tuned to a magical system of said devices.
The third defense of Lionheart is a psionic suppression field. All sciences and devotions of the Telepathic and Psychoportive disciplines are completely nullified while the psionicist is within the mythal. Likewise, all spells belonging to the school of mentalism are nullified. This defense cuts down on spies and ensures the privacy of the many admirals and diplomats aboard the station.
The last major defense of Lionheart is a magical block against any sort of planar intrusion. Astral and ethereal beings cannot enter the mythal, portals cannot be opened, and gate spells fail utterly. Spells that open portals into the Ethereal or Astral Planes will not work on Lionheart, nor will those magical items that create such portals. Items and spells that create extradimensional spaces do work on Lionheart, but Seljuril has the power to shut such items down at will if they endanger the safety of the station.
Lionheart's mythal has nine minor powers. Two of these powers are left up to the DM to create; the rest are detailed below. Most of these powers aid in the maintenance of the station in the hostile environment of space. Others aid the station in a number of other ways.
The first minor power of Lionheart is self regeneration. If the station is damaged during a battle, it will automatically start magically repairing itself at the rate of d4+2 hull points per day. This magical regeneration works in addition to any other repairs the elves make upon the station.
A potent healing field is the second of the mythal's minor powers. All those that spend an extended period of time inside the mythal heals damage. The rate of healing is roughly d6 points of damage per day in addition to the normal healing rate. Lost limbs regenerate over a period of time. Digits are regrown after a weeks exposure to the mythal, while lost limbs usually take a couple of months to regrow. During times of war, elvish wounded are send to Lionheart to heal and recover.
The third minor power is closely related to the first two. The mythal has a beneficial effect on all plant life inside the station. Hence, all plants on the station grow twice as fast as normal. The mythal provides the plants with the nutrients and energy to survive. Thus, the garden can be indefinitely sustained with minimal maintenance. This benefit also applies to the spaceborn plants that the elves use to build their ships. Any elvish ship on board the station will naturally repair 2 hull points per day, so long as a team of trimmers keep the ship growing into the proper form. The many flitters aboard the station need to be trimmed on a weekly basis, however.
The fourth minor power provides Lionheart with a supply of fresh air. The mythal magically cleanses the air and keeps it fresh. The air will never degrade below foul, no matter the cause. If the air is somehow degraded, the mythal will revert the air quality back to fresh within one turn.
To compensate for unusually cold or hot spheres, the mythal provides magical warmth or coolness to keep the station comfortable. Though the station's temperature will fluctuate from sphere to sphere, the temperature will never drop below 40-degress F nor will it rise above 90-degress F. This keeps the elves comfortable, no matter where they might go.
The sixth power of Lionheart's mythal is a magical field that affects fire. Nonmagical fire is quickly extinguished on Lionheart, and magical fire always has half its effects. This power is to protect Lionheart more from the smoke fire produces rather than the damage it causes. Note that the galleys of the station are equipped with magical stoves that provide heat but involve no fire. Thus, hot meals are common.
Poison is a favored tool of assassins, and is strictly forbidden on Lionheart. To enforce this policy, the mythal nullifies poison completely. While in the mythal, any poison turns to water, permanently. There is no save and the poison is destroyed.
Though Lionheart is heavily protected by magical means, there is always a chance that those defenses will be breached. To deal with ships on a more physical level, Lionheart is equipped with numerous defensive ballista and catapults. Some are magical, most are not. The elves are slowly replacing worn out and old non-magical artillery weapons with magical weapons, but the cost is high. Almost every elf aboard the station is trained in using at least one type of artillery weapon. Thus, all artillery weapons on Lionheart are considered manned by weapon experts and crack crew.
The two largest concentration of artillery weapons is the area surrounding the docks and at the top of the great wall. Each dock area is protected by twenty medium ballista and ten light catapults. These weapons are scattered in blister pods along the outside of the dock area. The hanger doors of each dock is guarded by two heavy catapults, which discourage attacks on those doors. Above each dock area is a weapon platform for two heavy ballista and a heavy catapult. The Great Wall encircling the base is topped by a thick ring platform, 50' across. This platform serves as an emergency landing strip for flitters as well as a gunnery platform for no less than 24 medium ballista and 24 medium catapults. All of the weapons are protected by turrets, which give them a 270-degree arc of fire. No weapon on the platform can be rotated to fire inward toward the towers. In all, over 800 elves are needed just to man these weapons and to keep them supplied with ammunition. Each weapon has a storage bin near it with enough ammunition for the weapon to be fired twenty times. Lionheart has enough ammunition stored in its various cargo holds to fire each weapon a total of one hundred times.
Aside from the incredible magical defenses of the mythal, Lionheart is guarded by the Akh' Imprius, and small but extremely elite army. These brave men and women are the primary defenders of the station. In total, over 1000 elves, hadozee, and allied creatures are counted as part of the Akh' Imprius, though virtually every elf on Lionheart is armed and knows how to use those weapons. Since Lionheart is a military outpost, no civilians or children are allowed onboard, and everyone on the station is quite capable of defending themselves. The four main types of troops are the hadozee scouts, the eagle-riding skymen, the marines, and the noble knights.
The Hadozee scouts are among the wildest and bravest defenders of the Akh' Imprius. When the elves made their alliance with the hadozee during the Unhuman War, several hadozee were chosen for guard duty at elvish bases. As these guards gained training and experience, they became more and more valuable and highly prized by elvish captains. Hadozee made excellent marines, swooping down on enemy ships en-mass, striking at weapon pits and enemy officers. Because they were most often the first to set foot on enemy ships, the elvish captains dubbed them the "Hadozee Scouts." Two hundred and fifty years ago, Grand Admiral Yelzul decided to commission a unit of the Scouts at Lionheart. Should an enemy ship bypass the magical defenses of Lionheart, the Scouts would swoop down from the curtain wall upon the enemy ship and take the fight straight to the enemy. Some two hundred hadozee are counted among the Scouts deployed at Lionheart, all led by Lieutenant Hhaazon (NG hadozee m F10). All Scouts at Lionheart are fighters of levels 3-7.
Assisting the Scouts in defending the curtain wall from enemy ships is the Skymen, a unit of giant eagle-riding elves. The Skymen are not numerous, only fifty in all. However, what they lack in numbers they more than make up in fierceness and tenacity. The Skymen favor bows and lances. Their tactics include pelting an enemy ship with arrows, taking out weapon crewmen and spellcasters. If resistance persists, the Skymen swoop in and bring their lances to bare against those still on deck. Anyone hit by their lances must save vs. breath weapon or be blown clear off deck and into the void. Skymen are usually fighters, but some are mages or even rangers. They are led by Lieutenant Luiliel (CG ef R9; Str 17, Cha 16), a fierce and wild-tempered woman. Even Captain Avaliar has problems keeping this woman under control.
The marines form the bulk of the defenders of Lionheart. They number over seven hundred strong, all armed with spears, swords, and bows. The marines man the various weapons found throughout the base and protect Lionheart from boarders from enemy ships. In times of battle they don chain armor and rush to weapon pits to battle their foes. They fight with cold discipline and iron will. All marines on Lionheart are fighters levels 3-8. They are led by Lieutenant Crimson (LG em F/M 12/10 Str 18 (10)), a bladesinger and a powerhouse of an elf. Lt. Crimson is cold in battle; his subordinates say he has vowed never to surrender and never retreat.
The most elite unit on Lionheart is the Noble Knights. Drawn from the nobility a dozen worlds, the Noble Knights are the charged with the personal defense of Admirals, visiting diplomats, and the Grand Admiral herself. They are charged with interior security of Lionheart, which they are extremely good at. All are armed with swords, shields, and spears. They are clad in elvish chain armor, which is always worn when on duty. Only fighters and fighter mages of levels 5-10 are allowed to serve at Lionheart. They are led by Arms Captain Verraand (NG em F/M 12/15; Str 17, Int 17, Wis 18) himself, the leader of the whole Akh' Imperius.
All of these defenders does not count the crews and marines aboard ships that are also part of the defense of Lionheart. For the most part, these ships are not part of the permanent defense force, thus are not detailed here.
Unknown to most elves aboard Lionheart is a small, extremely powerful defense force that would strike fear into the hearts of any enemy. Seven dragons of various species make Lionheart their home. Some pose as elvish admirals, using their shape shifting abilities, and have considerable political influence. Others have come to join with the elves in the defense of elvish worlds, using their powers to aid the elves wherever they can. One has come seeking knowledge, and sees the library of Lionheart as the best place to acquire that knowledge. All dragons living on Lionheart answer directly to the Grand Admiral, and follow her orders without question. They are her secret weapon in the event that there is a political coup in the station (such as the one that destroyed the first Lionheart). Each is detailed in the NPC section below.
Given the importance of Lionheart as a military outpost and the recent aggressions by the scro-led goblin-kin, Grand Admiral Nuliaque has decided to assign a large squadron of spirit warriors to the defenses of the base. A number of these warriors have been taken from hidden bases throughout the spheres, while others were assigned to Lionheart after they escaped the fall of such worlds as Lar and Arborianna. The spirit warriors are all under the direct command of Arms Captain Verraand, who is currently buried in paperwork as he tries to restructure the chain of command for the Akh' Imprius to accommodate the new recruits. He has put Captain Evlian Ilkirad (NG em F9/W8) in charge of the spirit warrior squadron, but that position is tentative at this time. If Captain Ilkirad proves to be an incapable leader, or should a better leader present himself or herself from the ranks of the spirit warriors, Arms Captain Verraand would be willing to replace the Captain.
At the present time, the number of spirit warriors is a mere ten warriors and a pair of zwarths, each with a crew of six elves. Hangers for the spirit warriors are under construction and teams of elvish laborers are working hard to convert unused barracks and cargo bays into hangers. The new spirit warrior hanger will be located between Docks B & C, on the opposite side of the station from the defensive hanger. This was a strategic decision on the part of the Arms Captain, as he did not want to cluster too much of the defenses in one location. When completed, the hanger will be spacious enough to support thirty warriors and five zwarths. Grand Admiral Nuliaque hopes to have a force this large based on Lionheart by the end of the next year or the beginning of the year after that. The warriors, when inactive, will "sleep" in glassteel tubes lining the walls which will be filled with magical gases that will keep the spirit warriors healthy. The zwarths will be docked in a pentagram-like setup.
To further protect Lionheart against attacks, a number of elvish ships have been assigned to defend the station. These ships' only duty is to patrol the space about Lionheart and remain at the beck and call of the Grand Admiral. This fleet consist of two armadas, eight men-o-war, twelve cutters, two battle dolphins, a trio of hammerships, and twenty flitters. These ships can be found anywhere within a single day's travel of Lionheart. Lionheart itself is the base of thirty one battle-rigged flitters, six dragonflies, and three dasmelflies. The dragonflies are used in hauling cargo, but could be pressed into service if the need arose.
