Rowan's objective was clear: he could not afford to lose this arms race against House Stormsong.
First, Rowan established the overall direction for the development of Kul Tiras's warships. After the battle to annihilate the Freehold pirates, the major fleets had begun reviewing their experiences and examining their shortcomings.
The problems traditional sailing warships had exposed in naval combat needed urgent solutions. The Kul Tiras Navy far surpassed the Iron Tide Fleet in both combat experience and the fighting quality of its sailors, yet it had failed to gain an advantage from the beginning of the war to the end.
The fundamental reason was the performance of their warships. Blessed by the Zandalar Loa Cult, the Iron Tide Fleet's ships had become several times more powerful, matching or even surpassing those of Kul Tiras.
Raw strength could overcome any number of tricks. Better warship performance brought an inherent advantage in naval combat.
Encounters at sea were unaffected by advantages in weather or terrain. Whether a storm or a cyclone appeared, both fleets would suffer its effects.
Kul Tiras's warships had remained unchanged for centuries. Now, enemy ships were growing increasingly powerful, and the Zandalari Trolls in particular had openly intervened to aid the Iron Tide Fleet.
Threats brought challenges. Kul Tiras had grown from a few dozen merchant vessels into the Alliance's strongest maritime kingdom through constant learning and reform. Sadly, even such an excellent division of power had eventually grown rigid.
As the ruling center of Kul Tiras, the Family Council divided the nation's power into five shares. Unlike the monarchies of the other Alliance nations, this distribution of power drew frequent criticism from their royal houses.
Yet it was precisely thanks to the Family Council's political model that no single voice had dominated Kul Tiras's economy.
Early on,