Cirdan17

Círdan i Henèse, also referred to as Cirdan17, known in Escharia as Johannes von Sudenwald, is a former Escharian citizen and shipwright from Aezenfjord best known for his ship construction while leading the Kaiserliche Marine and the Sovereign Aezenfjord Navy.

Jagdas
Círdan migrated to Jagdas from a region far to the north, and was a little-known traveller and writer in the south. His only completed work was Southern Cities, an account of his travels through four great cities of the south, notably including Tarnos and Vierina, which was stored in the library of religious freedom in Bishara-Shurud. After completing the book, he settled down on an uninhabited island in Shyr-Arrak and constructed a single merchant ship, IYMS Luthien Tinuviel, before the world of Jagdas came suddenly to an end.

Migration to Valdreach
After escaping the doomed world of Jagdas, the young traveller made his way to the brand new settlement of Aezenfjord in southern Rathnir, where he would live for many months. He founded the Imperial Valdreach Navy and designed and constructed the first Aezenfjord-Class Corvette-Escort ship IVNS Aezenfjord in the seas south of the city. The official government of the VIR did not approve of having port facilities in Aezenfjord, so the IVN consisted of that single ship until the decline of the nation and exodus of players from the city allowed Círdan to construct the port district and a second corvette, SAS Khara, under the secessionist government led by SirMisterPanda. The immortal Panda to this day extends the life of Círdan such that he has not appeared to have aged since this time period. A dark-haired, unshaven, somewhat gruff-in-appearance man of average height is how he is perceived by most. Shortly after the fall of Valdreach, he was invited to lead the newly formed Kaiserliche Marine in Escharia, when he adopted the name Johannes von Sudenwald, referencing the dense forests of the south.

Life in Escharia
Now leading both the Sovereign Aezenfjord Navy and the Kaiserliche Marine, von Sudenwald designed and constructed the new Sylene-Class Frigate Sylene in Lileanen. Eventually, the Aezenfjord and Escharian fleets merged into the KM and the navy at its height operated four fleets across the world made up of Aezenfjord and Sylene-Class vessels. When the ascension of Escharia took place, the naval structure of the Kaiserliche Marine collapsed, and Heimatflotte was sunk in the chaos. The remaining Escharian ships stationed away from Lileanen were transferred to the Sovereign Aezenfjord Navy, and Círdan migrated back to his original home there.

Aezenfjord Naval Expansion
In the aftermath of the Battle of the Straight of Viodoxa, the lord of Aezenfjord mandated the navy to increase its presence in the Svalden Sea. Círdan oversaw the rapid expansion of the Kurt's Landing fleet base (Fort Svalden) and restructuring of the navy. Also during this time, many Rathnir nations such as Aurlûnor Velande and the Empire of Uldurash began expanding their naval forces as well. With Vanguard and Sterling-Class ships entering service for the first time and the navy reaching an unprecedented size, Aezenfjord finally opened its borders to migrants including many refugees from Círdan's original homeland. These people were groups of migrants who fled their homes during the destruction of Jagdas, and became wanderers in Cymru and southern Sparwood.

As of the present, Círdan oversees a large but continuously expanding naval presence in the Cursed and Svalden Seas, several major ports where the SAN maintains extensive facilities, and the civilian settlement of Kurt's Landing as the duke of the region. Port expansion is ongoing in East Aezenfjord and Fort Svalden, with plans for a Marine Service base in Concord and new facilities at the Naval College of Aezenfjord. The navy has pushed to the skies with the Naydra and Eclipse classes of airships, successfully demonstrating the ability of Crimson-Warp propulsion to change the way that naval combat plays out in the modern era.