What a weird way to travel....uh...well....
A carrier is a type of human-powered vehicle used for transporting people on the 3rd
level floating island of Bittra. The vehicles usually have the form of chairs or beds and are carried by two or more people holding two poles that hold up the sitting arrangement. Some of the carriers have a canopy to protect the rider from the elements while most do not.
The carriers are most common in the capital of
Solstadt but they can be found in most towns of the
Solanian Empire. In the other smaller countries of the island the carriers are even less common.
The reason why they are so common in the Solanian Empire is because the nobility uses them to get around Solstadt. With their
Masks on the
Solanians have a limited field of vision and can not drive any kind of vehicle safely. This is why this mode of transportation is popular. It's so popular that being a
Carrier is a popular profession among young people.
Solstadt
In Solstadt the most common Carrier is a rectangular box with glass windows. Some of the boxes have intricate gold-gilded carvings and fancy curtains. While the most common ones are plain black with white cotton curtains and logos on the side of the company that owns them. Across from each other on either side of the box are two thick poles. Two people will carry these carriers by holding the poles in their hands. Some of the poles have harnesses to make it easier to carry, though, this depends entirely on the company that owns the carrier and employs the people who carry them.
What makes them common is that these carriers are used by the public, who pay a small fee every month to the company of their choice and the company provides them with a card that they can show to the workers of that company who will carry them, when they are called.
The
nobility also pay a small fee every month to a carrier company, which company they pay might change every year. Because of this, the carrier companies compete with each other to win the favor of the royals. Having the favor of the royals brings status to the company in the eyes of the public and people who can afford it try to use the same carriers as the royals.
Of course, the carriers that the nobility travels with are larger, fancier, and costs more.
Some of the
royals employ their own
Carriers and have their own vehicles for them to carry.
Etmology
The reason why "Carrier" is used both for the vehicle and those whose profession it is to carry the vehicle is because the two words used in Solanian, "Aren" and "Alun", both translate to "carrier" in English. These two words also get confused for "Amun" which is used to mean somebody who is spreading diseases, usually knowingly. While "Renmun" is used for those who carries a disease and might unknowingly spread it.
Rarity
Common on Bittra, rare on any other island.
Manufacturers
There are several on Bittra
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