Major Edwin Ral

Major Edwin Ral

Full Name: Edwin Ral
Titles: Major (later Lieutenant), Pilot

Appearance

Ral was short compared to those around him and slightly overweight, though not fat. He had dark brown hair that was receding slightly at the forehead. In The Fight for Rislandia, he was described as wearing a large, fur-lined hooded jacket over his standard uniform, appropriate to the conditions of the voyage.

Background

Edwin was chosen as pilot at the young age of 22, having previously served on the naval ship G.R.S. Bronwyn. Baron Theodore von Monocle personally selected him for the position.

Role in For Steam and Country

In For Steam and Country, Edwin piloted the Liliana during the diversion assault, operating the ship's controls smoothly and precisely throughout the engagement. He kept the ship mobile to make it harder for Wyranth forces to track, and lifted altitude considerably during the battle. He was present on the bridge when Zaira von Monocle collapsed.

The Walking Giant

During the Battle of Rislandia City, Edwin executed a desperate spinning maneuver to dislodge the walking giant that had grabbed the bottom of the airship. Prior to the maneuver, he expressed unease, his lips tight nearly in a frown, and warned that flying too close for too long was dangerous. After the ship was struck, he noted that she was not flying right. He braced himself with his feet wedged against the controls during the explosion and managed to get the ship level again afterward. When the situation became critical, he directed the crash into the giant on order, shouted that the damage was too severe and they were going to crash, and was unable to turn off the turbines during the crash. The resulting crash destroyed both the giant and much of the Liliana, but saved the city.

Role in The Blood of Giants

In The Blood of Giants, Edwin continued to serve as pilot and helmsman of the Liliana, manning the piloting station on the bridge. He executed Zaira von Monocle's commands flawlessly, addressing her as "Baronette." He confirmed a course adjustment to fifteen degrees northwest on her order, and later set course at thirty-seven degrees on Lieutenant Colwell's correction. He used the gyromatic expanding telescope for navigational bearings and made preparations for grounding the ship when required.

During a critical engagement with the Nightmen, Edwin used a nearby volcano to attempt to throw the Nightmen's ship off course, and caused the Liliana to lose altitude at a key moment, giving the crew the upper hand. He also executed a brilliant maneuver to reposition the ship away from the Nightmen's transport, steering the Liliana clear of both the volcano and the enemy vessel on command.

When asked about evasive maneuvers, he inquired whether he should take them before acting. He was not on duty during the night shift when a bat incident occurred aboard the ship.

Following a landing, Edwin grinned at Lieutenant Colwell's comment about his landing rating, claiming his rating was effectively eight out of eight since no prior pilot had ever given a nine or ten. He was described as good at landing the ship.

The Loveridge Incident

While the Liliana was grounded in Loveridge, Edwin had a memorable encounter with a woman named Thesally at a local pub. She turned out to be connected to Dr. Metzengerstein's experiments—a spider-woman hybrid created by mad science. Edwin later reported having discovered Dr. Metzengerstein's laboratory near Loveridge and witnessing a woman with extra, spider-like arms there. He reported the scientist to General Cartwright at the time. In The Steam Knight, it was noted that a good number of the army brass had thought he had been shell-shocked from battle as a result of this report, though recovered documents later confirmed he had not been imagining what he saw. Edwin also mentioned that the farm in Loveridge had burned down when he was last there.

Role in The Fight for Rislandia

In The Fight for Rislandia, Edwin continued to serve as pilot of the Liliana, manning the bridge throughout the campaign. He set the ship down with minimal shaking and was trusted by Zaira von Monocle to follow course corrections without double-checking, a confidence earned over the previous voyage.

Edwin noted it would be another hour or two before arriving at the Oler Mountains and that setting down would not be easy in that terrain. He later found a flat landing area near Lake Avily. He stopped the Liliana hovering over a thinly-wooded area so a commando could descend, and teased Zaira about crashing the ship.

During combat over Rislandia City, Edwin adjusted the piloting controls deftly, executed evasive maneuvers, spun the ship around for cannon volleys, brought the ship in a loop for another pass, and kept the ship turning so both sides could fire. He executed a hard banking turn to bring the port cannons to bear on the Wyranth and afterward apologized for an overzealous maneuver. He was described as too focused to smile during battle. When Zaira von Monocle lost her footing during cannon fire, Edwin briefly released the piloting controls to catch her, then immediately returned to them.

He moved levers to lift the airship further and set it into forward motion, pulled back on the lever to stop forward movement and hover, put the ship back into gear after a bomb was dropped, and turned the ship so Zaira could see the explosion. He was praised by Lieutenant Colwell for placing the ship well.

Edwin was left alone to man the bridge when Zaira and Colwell ran outside during a shooting incident. He motioned for the narrator to go ahead of him when departing the bridge. He produced a pocket watch to check the time and pushed controls to increase ship velocity when ordered.

Edwin demonstrated an aptitude beyond pure piloting when he said he thought he had figured out part of a coded Wyranth message, believing his pilot's brain could detect patterns others could not. He thought he had cracked some of the code, reading the top lines as "Project Walking Monster," and speculated this could relate to Wyranth troop deployments.

He was ordered by Zaira to set a course for Plainsroad Village and bring the ship up into the clouds. He piloted the Liliana back to the mine and later to Cliffside Castle, setting the ship down in the empty pasture by the road there. After landing, he grinned and said he had set her down "like a baby." He asked Lieutenant Colwell if he really had a beach house. He was counted among those Zaira von Monocle considered home.

Promotion

During the events of The Fight for Rislandia, Edwin was promoted from Major to Lieutenant by Zaira von Monocle and wore new rank pips following the promotion.

Role in The Steam Knight

In The Steam Knight, Edwin held the rank of Lieutenant and was identified as the former pilot of the Liliana. He was present at the mission briefing in Cid's office and traveled with James Gentry and Ethan von Lantern to the Zenwey continent aboard the Liliana.

At the briefing, Edwin recounted his earlier discovery of Dr. Metzengerstein's laboratory near Loveridge, which had taken place nearly three years before the briefing. He described witnessing a woman with extra, spider-like arms at the laboratory, stating: "A woman with extra, spider-like arms." He also warned that airship design plans had disappeared from the Liliana when it crashed. He noted that the farm in Loveridge had burned down when he was last there, more than two years before the events of the book. The recovered documents from the mission confirmed that Ral had not been imagining what he saw, vindicating his earlier report to General Cartwright.

Personality

Young, confident, and eager to impress, Edwin was known for his skill and composure under fire. He struggled with the boredom of being grounded and missed the thrill of flight. His dry humor was evident in his remarks about landing ratings, and he carried himself with the quiet self-assurance of someone who knew his value to the crew. During battle he was described as too focused to smile, yet in calmer moments his grin and easy manner were characteristic. He was also noted for his distrust of the Wyranth Empire, though he remained professional in joint operations.

In the short stories

In Tangled Web, Edwin is twenty-two and a Major, the pilot of the army's "only airship". The Baron recruited him after they met aboard the G.R.S. Bronwyn. While the Liliana is grounded at Loveridge, he goes to the pub and is seduced by Thesally, who lures him to Dr. Metzengerstein's barn. He wakes bound in spider web, burns his way free with his geared brass lighter, and knocks her into the fire. He escapes naked as the barn burns. Lieutenant Colwell picks him up on the road, and Edwin resolves to tell the king about "strange things... in these woods".

In A History of Rislandia

According to A History of Rislandia, Major Edwin Ral is noted in the context of two events that shaped the course of the Wyranth War of Years 437-442 and the history of Rislandian science.

The Battle of Rislandia City

A History of Rislandia records that Major Edwin Ral executed a desperate spinning maneuver to dislodge the walking giant from the Liliana, causing catastrophic damage to the ship. In the novels, the battle ended when Zaira von Monocle deliberately rammed the Liliana into the creature.

The Loveridge Encounter

A History of Rislandia also references Ral in connection with Loveridge, noting that he encountered a spider-woman hybrid there, identified as an experiment of Dr. Metzengerstein. The sourcebook's treatment of this incident appears in the context of Metzengerstein's broader history of illegal biological experimentation, lending institutional weight to what the novels present primarily through Ral's personal testimony.