Ignei: Brimstone and Powder

The powdersmiths of Ignei are among the most talented and innovative across all of Eynoria. Fire, Brimstone, and detonating Powder are the very cornerstones and tenants of their faith. With so many local guilds in the region, standardization is impossible, but what these masters of the flintlock lack in uniformity, they more than make up for in creativity and technical brilliance...

— Preface to the 792 Era of Spirits publication of Ignei: Brimstone and Powder.

Purpose

Ignei: Brimstone and Powder is a series of publications exploring the technical expertise, design philosophies, and artisan traditions of powdersmiths hailing from the greater Ignei region. It also details many of the more common forms and variations of the rapidly evolving flintlock firearms and powder artillery produced in the region, as well as many key differences between Ignei manufactured weapons and similar weapons produced elsewhere on the continent of Eynoria.
It was originally intended so that powdersmiths from other regions would become more able to innovate and break the region's monopoly on high quality flintlocks, but it has arguably only increased the demand for Ignei firearms.

Document Structure

References

New publications frequently reference and quote from older versions, highlighting the changes that have occurred in the intervening years. It also draws from professional and technical manuals from Ignei and abroad, for purposes of illustration and comparison.

Publication Status

This publication's accessibility varies by culture, region, and jurisdiction. Across Ignei and the former Dragaeyn Empire, for example, it is completely outlawed. Across most of the regions of Aaltiera and Cossastjan, as well as the southerly Ikarrian Isles, jurisdictions freely allow the circulation and public consumption of the publication. Counties held by the Order of the Raven even encourage it's circulation for the purposes of developing better flintlocks for it's knights. Most of the other regions impose restrictions on the circulation of the publication.

Legal status

It is difficult to get the many Patricians and Republics of the Ignei region to work together, but out of a sense of protectionism and jealously they have all forbade the possession and publication of these documents, as well as conspiracy to possess or publish these documents. Individuals believed to be spying on Ignei powdersmiths, or conspiring to spy on Ignei powdersmiths are likely to be executed, innocent or not, typically by firing squad or kneeling in front of a light cannon.
The story is similar in the lands of the former Dragaeyn Empire, where each and every individual jurisdiction stubbornly maintains that their powdersmiths are the very best in the entire world. Mere possession of a copy is a capital offence.
Other regions hold that readership and possession is legal. Some extend this to all literate individuals, others restrict it to licensed powdersmiths, guilds, or nobility.

Historical Details

Term

This publication has been updated and re-published many times over many years by many different authors, as firearm technology has evolved and the fashions and philosophies of the Ignei powdersmiths have changed over the years.

Read the Document

Ignei: Brimstone and Powder

Some excerpts:

...The entirety of the Ignisien Isles and the mainland up to Mount Sonra are rich in materials needed for powder crafting. The vibrant yellow brimstone vents are the defining feature of the Isles, and possess a purity unmatched anywhere in Eynoria. Nitre is likewise abundant, multiplying on the rock walls of many of the tubular caves of the region...

...In a similar custom to that of the former Dragaeyn Empire, Ignei powdersmiths like to name their heaviest instruments of war after the fearsome beasts of story and legend. The Levythirn, the Perregryl, the Salmuundr, and perhaps in mockery of our most southerly of peoples and their ways, the fearsome Dragaeyn. These iron beasts of war are few and far between, metal of high enough quality is relatively scarce, with most powdersmiths considering the creation of more portable and flintlocks a more efficient use of quality iron. The five Princeships of Aaltiera may produce larger and heavier cannons, but they are perpetually hampered by lower quality powder...

...A most unique flintlock is the Sonra. Named for the Ignei word for our Sun, a small sack of liquid is inserted into the highly flared barrel, and a hot burning but short live lance of flame spouts forth. The secrets of the Sonra are well guarded, even by the standards of Ignei, and no examples are known outside the Ignei Peninsular...

...In a surprise to nobody at all, the people of Ignei do not in fact eat lead shot for breakfast as is often claimed. Any unfortunate sod on the receiving end of one of an Ignei musket however...

...A few months ago, in late 995 Era of Spirits, rumors started circulating about an Ignei powdersmith turning turncoat and joining the Order of the Ravens. No source confirming this can be found, and both the Ignei powder guilds and the Ravens deny this ever happened, but that has not stopped one Patrician from ordering his head to be bought forth without a body...

Close

Type

Manual, Professional Skills

Medium

Paper

Authoring Date

771 Era of Spirits