moma'sak

The moma'sak was created by collective efforts of mages and engineers of the Order of Shadow. It was the first - and possibly only - time they actively took a side in a conflict, before the unification of Bran'Aredh, in order for that unification to take place. It was the secret weapon of Kar'Erdan, and it greatly helped in defeating his brother once and for good.
The moma'sak, the sand worm, is a flexible, cylindrical structure, made of a mixture of metal, sand stone and hardened crystals. In the front, the cylinder closes in a pointed head, like a spear. This part is the most ingenious piece of engineering and magic to this day: not only can it easily penetrate the thickest sand, but it also absorbs it, and uses it to propel itself forward. It can dive into up to twenty metres depth and moves quickly and silently.
Each moma'sak could carry ten soldiers and two navigators for about an hour, which was more than enough for elite units to easily and stealthily penetrate enemy forces and wreck havoc and chaos among them. The navigators, all of them trained saeli'tuk, would dive deeply and then turn the moma'sak vertically and burst out of the sand at the back of enemy lines, or in the middle of well covered archers, while Kar' Erdan's soldiers would jump out. It would then dive back inside and disappear before the enemy had the chance to attack or disable it.
Three moma'sak were enough to help win a war which could have lasted for years in a matter of days. However, it was agreed upon before hand, and the agreement was kept, that after that war, the moma'sak would never again be used against Aredhites, no matter the circumstances. Indeed, the sand worms were kept inactive behind the walls of the Order of Shadow, and were only used once more, when Bran'Aredh was attacked by Bondye, in the first and only holy war Eam'Rel has known. Now they lie in piece, and few outside of the Order have knowledge of these magnificent structures.