Floatship
A rediscovered technology that allows transport through the air with less cost than traditional magical methods.
History
Following the doiscovery and repair of the The Feather by a group of adventurers from Chirin-on-Dimar, the plans for the design of an vessel that could sail through the sky made their way to the Kingdom of Caresnas. Although the design of the Feather was innovative and cheaper than a vessel flying only by magic it was still prohibitively expensive for commericial or even military use. Despite the cost challenges there was no denying the potential advantages to a form of air transport that didn’t rely on living mounts. A team of researchers was tasked with finding ways of adapting the learnings from the Feather into a more cost effective design. Their initial craft focused on simple floating contrivances that used lightweight materials and a larger bag of the gas used by the Feather. While not useful as transports they had some potential for use by the army. One side benefit of the initial designs was a cheaper way of producing and controlling the gas needed. With this cost saving the creation of larger gas bags to lift a vessel became more practical and the design evolved to incorporate a higher proportion of gas based lift. This further reduced costs compared to the Feather as it required less magical power and large gems. While it was hoped that the new floatship could be used to support the End of Darkness Expedition the first succesful flight of a fairly small vessel only occured 3 months after the expedition set out.Power Generation
The magical elements of the vessel are powered by a storage rod. These rods contain a limited amount of magical energy (about 7 hours of routine operation time) and must be recharged by a wizard or similar spellcaster.
Propulsion
Lift for these vessels is generated through a large bag of gas, along with a limited amount of magic to help reduce weight. The gas is stored in bladders and dispensed into the bag through an ingenious device which can not only control how much gas goes out, but also suck in and compress the gas.
The vessels are propelled by either a favourable wind, or using the flumph principle in which a continuous wind is expelled in the opposite direction to the desired direction of travel.
Up and Down
The valves that expel gas and compress it again are a key part of the viability of these new vessels. The gas is expensive to make, despite recent improvements to the process, and releasing the gas to go down would add significant costs. The valves ensure the gas can be reused, and their draw on the storage rods is only noticeable during a descent.
Owning Organization
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