The Wheel

"Wisdom and virtue are like the two wheels of a cart."

— Japanese Proverb spoken by Yami

The Wheel is a key technology, which fundamentally changes the way every race moves around and transports things.

History

The wheel is a round object with a hole or an axle through its center. Taken alone it's of little use, but when part of a transportation system including roads and draft animals, it is of extraordinary value to human civilization. The earliest depiction of a vehicle with wheels is found in ancient Darkshelf, from approximately -3500 Merithich Era. The first wheels were of solid wood; spoked wheels first appear around -2000 Merithic Era in eastern Adlak, where they were used on horse-drawn chariots. Later improvements included iron hubs which turned on greased axles, and the addition of springs or some other sort of shock absorber.   Contrary to popular myth, the wheel was known in Veluntia prior to the arrival of the humans. However North, Central and South Veluntia lacked draft animals, so pretty much everything was transported by slave races. Lizardfolk, catfolk, and other races are not designed to pull for long distances: they are more efficient carrying weights on their shoulders - in backpacks, for example - so carts were not developed. Once horses and other draft animals arrived, the native people happily used wheeled vehicles just like everybody else.

The Wire Wheel 

Wire Wheels on a Penny-Farthing

Wire wheels, wire-spoked wheels, tension-spoked wheels, or "suspension" wheels are wheels whose rims connect to their hubs by wire spokes. Invented c. 4094 by a combined effort of inventors Blaunche Voorhees and Sidonie Van Kerchkhoven. Although these wires are generally stiffer than a typical wire rope, they function mechanically the same as tensioned flexible wires, keeping the rim true while supporting applied loads. The term suspension wheel should not be confused with vehicle suspension.