As early as 1242, Callum had begun to build a fleet near the town of Amalphis, strategically located at the mouth of the Weeping Bay and equipped with a natural sheltered port that made it easily defensible.
The work continued with even greater alacrity following the return of Ezran and Aanya, both of them well aware of the importance of defending the coast from Neolandian raids. Katolis and Duren had never been nations with a strong maritime vocation, so Ezran secured the help of a large number of Tidebound elves, universally recognized as the most skillful sailors on the continent, to the point of appointing Drungarios (Vice-admiral) one of them, the elf Oyrin.
The fleet, although set up in record time, was impressive: it consisted in sixty galleys and twenty-five heavy galleys, as well as a dozen merchant galleons adapted for war use.
Such a threat could not leave Neolandia indifferent. Ilehas was aware of the disparity of forces that existed between his kingdom and the Empire of Katolis, especially now that the latter could count on the support of Del Bar and Xadia. The Katoleans could afford to be defeated, they had enough men and money to replace the losses. Neolandia could not count on such luxuries.
Taleq was also aware of the problem. At that time, the magician had fallen in disgrace with the king because of his defeat in the Delbarite campaign: Ilehas had accused him of cooperating with the enemy, and had him imprisoned for high treason.
Although his status guaranteed him house arrest, Taleq feared for his life and that of his family, so he decided to take the risk.
"I proposed to the king a plan to eliminate the enemy fleet without needing to endanger ours. It was an extremely dangerous task, and I volunteered to carry it out. Ilehas agreed: If you will succeed - he said - you will redeem yourself in the eyes of the nation and you will regain your office. If you will fail, you will atone for your mistakes by dying in the line of duty."
And so, secretly, Taleq moved south, along with a selected group of soldiers and dark magicians.
The legend says that they were helped during the trip by a blind smuggler: it is really true that the commoners would invent any nonsense to make more interesting a gossip!
Silly legends aside, the fact is that somehow Taleq and his men managed to evade the surveillance of Ezran's men and enter Amalphis. The fleet was protected not only by an entire army battalion, but also by the spells of the Tidebound elves. Approaching the ships directly was impossible, so Taleq decided to exploit the current.
He and his men stole a series of fishing boats, filled them with flammable material (probably even using dark magic), and waited. When the wind blew towards the port of Amalphis, they took the ships out to sea, hid them with dark magic, and let them drift after setting them on fire.
Driven by the wind, the boats reached the city's shipyards without being noticed. Only some hit the ships: most of them crashed into the docks of the civil port or was taken away by the current. But it was enough.
The fire, fueled by the wind, soon spread throughout the arsenal. The tidebound magicians had to give priority to the salvation of the city and its inhabitants, and concentrated on extinguishing the flames that flared up in the civil port. When the fire was finally brought to an end, half of the mighty Katolean fleet had been reduced to ashes. It was April 2, 1244.
This was not a complete victory, of course, and as the ships were still under construction, the Katolean casualties were negligible. It was howewer a great success for Taleq, and also for Ilehas, who had halved the enemy forces without practically fighting, gaining valuable time. But the joy of the King of Neolandia would have been short-lived.
Quoting Taleq's chronicle, "Terrible are the gifts of the gods: they never give anything without taking something in return. That day they granted me victory and salvation; but through them they were preparing ruin for the king."
