Eyries

The first eyries were wooden sail-based airships and were likely used to travel between islands. It was only as the construction of the eyries evolved and people were able to make larger, more comfortable eyries that they began to use the eyrie as a home base instead. The combination of migratory tradition and practical limits on growing food, eyries naturally developed a tendency towards raiding rather than trying to defend territory in an always changing enviroment.   Sails and skybeasts fell out of favour with the advent of motor engines. Fueled by the methane plentifully available in both the upper and lower reaches of Uranus, motor engines remained dominant for a long time. The transition towards crystal engines was slow, especially compared to other planets. With far lower auroral activity, aurorite is less plentiful than on Jupiter. Since early crystal engines were unable to match the sheer power of mature turbine technology in atmosphere, development of native Uranian crystal propulsion was abandoned.   Contact with offplanet people, and more importantly off-planet technology was what really brought crystal engines into relevance. Imported engines are sought after for their ease of maintenance and the prestige of owning such sophisticated technology. Alongside the adoption of crystal technology, sails have made a full comeback. It is now common to see sails as secondary propulsion, and some eyries have even adopted it as their main power.