Fruit Oil Lamps
History
When Dentheria overran its neighbors, the fledgling empire eradicated technology from the countries. The conquered peoples found themselves without electricity, farm and construction machines, medical and communication equipment, and societies crashed. Citizens died, businesses failed, and people had no idea how they were going to replace what they lost.
This was especially true for warehouses and factories, which, up until that point, employed people day and night. Without electricity, not only were their machines defunct, the employees could not see to operate things manually.
The lack of light plagued communities, who saw night-centric businesses like restaurants and bars close, nightshifts at factories and warehouses evaporate, and after-dark crime increase. Candles, in short supply, became a noble luxury, and left the majority of people with fires—if they had a fireplace to light one in. After all, electric heat made fireplaces obsolete but for aesthetic purposes.
Some wealthier merchants reverted to torches, but Dentheria had swept up the supply of oil needed to use them, so an underground market sprang up to deliver the precious stuff to those who could afford it. Most commoners, however, were left in the dark.
Fruit Oil Lamps
All artwork by Shade Melodique unless otherwise stated
························
Sunsour fruit oil was originally used as a lubricant for heavy machinery that ran on aquatheerdaal. It did not react with the mineral as other oil sources did, and while it did not last as long as sponoil, it was more plentiful.
Tearbury
In Jilvayna, a Vraindem restaurant owner by the name of Tearbury saw his income slipping away. He once catered to the working class, but the loss of businesses and money meant those who ate at his tables fell drastically, and if he attempted to stay open past dark, even though he had fires to light the dining room, few had illumination handy to travel to and from his restaurant. This needed to change.
Tearbury came from the countryside, where power outages during storms were common. His family used fruit oil lamps during these blackouts. The oil came from the sunsour, a hardy, easily grown tree that produced a hard, orange fruit that smelled sweet but tasted like burnt rubber. The fruits were gathered during the midyear harvest and pressed, producing a watery fruit oil.
This watery oil was placed in a vat and stirred vigorously, so that the oil drops collected together in the vortex, which then floated to the surface. The oil was skimmed off and set onto cloths so the remaining water could drain. While mainly used as a lubricant, if added to a lantern, it could fuel a light for several days.
And even if the oil went bad, it would still burn, just smelled a bit funky.
When the last month of midyear rolled around, he visited his family, helped hand-pick the fruit, and bought a vat of the resulting oil from the local orchard. He brought it to his restaurant, filled crude metal lanterns, and hung them along the walkway outside as well as from interior crossbeams.
He attracted the curious, who ate a meal while they questioned him on the light. Word spread quickly, and business owners paid him a visit, interested in the oil.
Several took trips outside of Vraindem to the orchard he told them about, and the fruit oil sold out.
Several took trips outside of Vraindem to the orchard he told them about, and the fruit oil sold out.
Seeing a chance at profit, the orchard owner expanded the sunsour grove over the next few years and developed a special lamp that would extend the use of oil. Other orchards began to grow the trees, and within ten years, the orchards near Vraindem served not only that city, but Coriy as well.
························
Growth
Other orchard owners and farmers started to grow the trees. Inventive others improved on the oil lamp design, and still others bred trees that produced more of the fruit. The fruit oil lamps reached the capital of Jiy fifteen years later and became a sensation.
The puppet king made a lukewarm attempt to halt the use of the lamps at Dentheria's behest, but quickly turned his attention elsewhere when he realized they had forgotten about the demand. Noble and commoner alike raced to purchase the new source of light.
The fruit growers met the increased demand and supplied all of Jilvayna with fruit oil to burn. The industry expanded beyond its borders to neighboring Ramira, Shaloar, and Abastion.
Factories that had re-fitted for a no-electricity environment purchased the oil in barrels since its ubiquity made the stuff cheap. Owners used huge glass bowls with reflective mirrors to light nighttime work. The docks in Jiy became especially active at night, unloading boats and moving the cargo to warehouses. Economic activity picked up because darkness no longer ended the work day.
While other sources of oil are present to illuminate the night, the sunsour fruit oil lamps are the most common throughout Jilvayna.
One concern over the fruit oil lamps was that of fire. The factory owners developed a coating to prevent the glass from shattering when dropped, allowing time for clean-up before the building caught fire. The useful coating made its way onto everyday lamps by direction of the king.
Comments