Stellospheric Core

Note: What you will learn in this course of study is a Rothilimion state secret. You would not be in this program if Rothilimion did not consider your character, your loyalty, your record as an officer, and your skill in engineering sufficient to advance to Engineering Command. Revealing the contents of this text to outsiders is considered high treason by the Council and will be dealt with accordingly.
Many years ago, denizens of Liggjavard were occasionally able to travel beyond the sphere of our world, into the Stellosphere and to other worlds, by clinging to the Ginnunghval that visited from beyond our atmosphere. Short-lived races rode where the Ginnunghval took them without consideration - many perished. Some returned with wondrous tales of other spheres in Hvatvetna, spheres with life both like and unlike that of our own home. Over time, the sages of Rothilimion were able to observe enough about the Ginnunghval to begin a deliberate course of research. The primary researcher was Sage Peleril.
Sage Peleril and their team first collated enough tales to predict when and where the Ginnunghval would visit. They used this information to more fully research the behavior of the Ginnunghval and their travel patterns between the spheres, as documented by the surviving research associates. Finally, the researchers captured several Ginnunghval and studied the function of their bodies to determine how they moved. That research was successful! (See Appendix 2 of this text for a summary suitable for Engineering Command officers.)
Based on their learning, Sage Peleril was able to craft the first Stellospheric Core. It serves two purposes. It generates a bubble that turns stellospheric aether into air we can breathe. More importantly, it replicates the internal organ used by the Ginnunghval to move as they wish through the skies and between the spheres. The principles of Stellospheric Core construction, maintenance, and operation are the central topics of this text.
With the research at a successful conclusion, Ginnunghval are now treated as a protected species by Rothilimion. However, Ginnunghval don't come to Liggjavard as often as they did centuries ago. While it was disruptive to the Ginnunghval species, Engineering Command believes the invention of the Stellospheric Core was worth the unfortunate side effects. Our monopoly on travel through the skies and between the spheres of Hvatvetna (outside the use of arcane teleportation circles) allows Rothilimion to maintain independence and neutrality in what would otherwise be a hostile world.
Your mastery of this material contributes to the future strength of the country and the people of Rothilimion. I encourage your diligence and look forward to seeing the fruits of your education!

— excerpted from the Foreword of Stellospheric Vessel Engineering: An Introduction, at the Officers Academy, Rothilimion Engineering Command

Utility

When firmly mounted along the spine of a worthy vessel, a Stellospheric Core provides motive force for the vessel and gravity to hold the crew in place. The larger the core, the more motive power is available and the larger the bubble. Use of arcane magic is required to operate a core, and senior officers in the Engineering Command must be capable of at least learning the basics of magic use. (A non-spellcasting officer can use the Magic Initiate feat to gain a spell level, which is all that is needed to operate the Stellospheric Core at a minimum level.)

Manufacturing

The Stellospheric Core is a crystal grown from layers of minerals sourced from the five habitable spheres in the realm of Hvatvetna. The original cores were taken from the bodies of the gargantuan Ginnunghval, whale-like creatures that are able to fly through the aetheric void between worlds by growing the crystals inside their bodies. The Stellospheric Core manufacturing process developed by the Rothilimion uses high-pressure tanks and complicated chemical processes, guided by arcane magic, to develop comparable crystals in the lab. The necessary minerals are collected by Rothilimion Engineering Command expeditions to the other spheres in the realm.
The expense of obtaining the raw materials, as well as the complexity and cost of the manufacturing process, makes Stellospheric Core manufacture a significant fraction of the national budget of Rothilimion.

Related Articles

/* Sage Peleril */

/* Reduction of Kabatnos */

Inventor(s)

Sage Peleril sponsored and led the original research in Ginnunghval biology that led to the development of the Stellospheric Core.

Access & Availability

As noted above, manufacture, installation, and maintenance of Stellospheric Cores is a Rothilimion state secret. Some details on operational use have filtered out of Engineering Command. The existence of ships that fly is open knowledge in the realm of Hvatvetna. Passengers are occasionally allowed passage on a stellospheric vessel, when such passage aligns with Rothilimion aims.

Notes on the Rothilimion

The Rothilimion are Elves, long-lived, largely academic, somewhat reclusive, very wealthy, living large in their home city. They are not expansionistic, and at this point, nobody starts anything with them because they're the only ones that have flying gunships. They'll get their own article soon!

Is this a take on Spelljammer, the 2nd Ed. AD&D supplement?

Totally.

DRAFT

This article is currently a work in progress and may be incomplete or subject to change.