Airships

Flitting across the vast skies of Vathis, from mote to mote, city to city, village to village, fly the airships of our age.

Airships have tied the far corners of the world together, allowing multitudes of people to travel from one end of the continent to the other. From the military industries of the major nations, to the dreams of small-time adventurers, airships are highly sought after for the freedom and influence that they grant.

Introduction

Airships were first invented shortly after the age of eldria refinement began.

Afterwards, what can only be described as an explosion, rapid adoption took place and numerous airship manufacturers rose in nearly every country in the world. In turn, this expansion into the skies drove a new lifestyle to the peoples of Vathis, eventually bringing about the creation of the Vathis Sentinels and the sky pirates known as the One Hundred and Seventeen Sky Dragons. Since then, three forces have ruled the skies of Vathis, the Vathis Sentinels, the Sky Dragons, and the independent Outlaws. Nearly every nation in the world maintains a significant airship fleet, both for defense and power projection throughout the skies.

Description

Airships are large wooden vessels that very much resemble the wooden sailing ships of the sea, complete with cloth sails.

The Ether Drive System rests in the center of the ship, built around a large hole that goes from the top to the bottom of the ship. The Ether Drive System, or EDS for short, allow lighter than air travel by partially placing the EDS on the Ether. In turn, the EDS links together with the sails and allows the Ether to propel the ship at a constant pace without any visible propellant. At the bottom of the ship sits a large ballast hanging far off of the bottom of the ship which allows it to reaming in an upright position. The piloting deck is typically found on the front of the ship in a glass-enclosed room allowing the pilot to see far afield. Airships range in size to small five crew ships, to large floating battleships holding hundreds of professional soldiers and crewmen. Airships are typically equipped with vaedric cannons and combat between fleets is both and amazing and fear-inspiring feat. During the First Empire Wars, such battles were commonplace. However, the Second Empire Wars expanded upon this with the full might of the Shattered Hand coupled with the vast resources of the Vavairen Empire promoting some of the largest airship fleets known in the current day.

Current

Since the end of the Darkest War rapid airship production has been spurred by the need for the reclamation of the depopulated and scarred lands of the Darkest War.

Airship technology has significantly advanced in the wake of the military investment during the war. Due to this, many independent airship contractors have fallen to the wayside and their operations have been swept up by the much larger airship engineering companies that were financially backed during the war. Some of the most world renown companies, such as Dirizh of the Trisviet Union and the Nato Shipyards of Washu, have become highly sought after for their state of the art ship design and new armoring capabilities. Airships have become a somewhat widespread commodity, with many older models and those with patina, ending up in the hands of up and coming merchants and captains. Their trade, piloting, and docking are typically strictly controlled by the Vathis Sentinels, but this is often subverted by Outlaw and Sky Dragon owned docks in many outlying cities.