As a proud race of island natives far removed from the wider world, the basitins maintain a formidable navy as a first line of defence against any would-be invader. While the navy is not separate from the army as an organisational entity, due to the specialist requirements maintaining such a sea-faring force entails, naval sailors and soldiers maintain their own rank structure and lines of supply while still being under the overall command of the three high generals. The bulk of naval personal are of course sailors, those who have been trained since the age of enlistment to crew, maintain and operate the great variety of ships the navy retains in its domination of the Grand Sea. These vary in size from small schooners and sloops, medium sized 6th-4th rate ships and up to the vast 3rd-1st rate ships that strike fear into pirates and lesser human and keidran vessels everywhere. Crewing such craft is a full time job, especially during the frequent storms on the high seas and during battle and as such the sailors of the King's Royal Navy have little time to maintain combat proficiency with sword and shield, let alone fight hand to hand in a sea battle. This is where a specialist class of soldier known as marines fit in. While these men have a rudimentary knowledge of sail-craft, their primary focus is similar to that of their land-locked brethren, to close with and kill their enemies in melee combat during the boarding actions that most ship-on-ship battles eventually devolve into.

Their armour and weapons are specialised for this purpose and are quite different from those found on a battle field inland. The heavy and bulky metal cuirass is replaced by a much lighter and more flexible lamellar one made with a series of overlapping and individually threaded boiled leather plates. While not as protective as steel, this lamellar cuirass is still resistant to sword cuts, though only providing a modicum of protection against piercing and thrust weapons such as spears and arrows. Such a trade off is considered acceptable however due to the prevalence of swords and axes carried by enemy fighters and also because of the particular advantages this lighter armour provides to sea-born combatants. The first of these is that fighting taking place on a ship requires far more agility then that on land; with rigging to be scaled, stairs to be climbed and small gaps to be squeezed through, wearing a set of heavy and inflexible armour would only hinder the soldiers ability to perform their function. The second is that amongst the chaos of a boarding action, the likelihood of a marine going overboard is not insubstantial and a soldier encased in steel would surely be dragged down to the depths before any aid could be rendered from their fellows. In comparison the lighter leather armour of the marines gives them a much greater chance of survival, especially as swimming tests are mandatory part of any naval recruits training and as such all soldiers and sailors serving in the KRN are proficient swimmers.

The steel helmet of the land army is retained as such superior protection is needed to guard the most important area of the body from blows, and it has the advantage over the cuirass of being able to be removed quickly in case of a watery emergency. It also maintains its other purpose, as an identifier of rank. The burrick (short sword) is also retained because of its utility in the tight, confined spaces below decks where a longer weapon would only get in the way. The large kite shield of the Shieldbearers has however been replaced by a small metal buckler for the same purpose as the burrick: a large shield, while helpful in tight formations, does not lend itself to the unstructured and tight confines of ship combat. This buckler can be used both as a defensive ward to parry incoming blows and as an offensive weapon: an armoured fist which the marine can employ to batter his foe into submission.

Marines, as well as sailors, tend to be recruited from those basitins living in coastal regions as they tend to have a certain degree of familiarity with the sea and sailing already and so do not require the same amount of training as a land-locked farm hand might. The career path for the KRN is similar to that of the army and navel personnel can, and often do, make it into the top echelon of basitin society: the high generalships and the king. In fact, since the recent Templar attack on Hohlen Hold which led to the deaths of all three of the high generals, one of the navy's top admirals, Mordecai Seethe, has been elected to the position of Intelligence General. A high honour for one whose family can boast of no men or women holding high office as far back as the Contact Wars against the keidran and humans.

Basitins are the creation of Tom Fischbach over at http://twokinds.keenspot.com/