Flying Carpet

♪A whole new world!♪ Oh wait, wrong one...

— A reader commenting on the seventh chapter of Seeking for the Lost Northern Stars

Flying carpets, also known as magical carpets or flying rugs are a special kind of rugs that can be found in Moskova. They are also featured in several folk tales, in many of them sharing a place with The Firebird and other creatures like Sirin.
The most recognizable feature of magical rugs is the ability to fly and carry huge amounts of weight in the air, but there are also records of carpets with other powers such as invisibility. They are one of the most common items own by witches, but also are one of the things that catch tourists' attention.
The first mention of them in the novel is during the seventh chapter.

Materials and designs

Flying rugs can be crafted usung a wide variety of materials. They tend to be done basically of woolen thread but sometimes they can include linen thread, cotton and even silver or golden ones.
The pigments used are both local and imported, while designs vary depending the region where the rug was manufactured. Some common designs that can be found are geometrical ones, depictions of animals, everyday life, fairy tales or events of the Nobility.

by Voice of central Asia.

Fake flying rugs

Client:"100 rubs for a rug?!"
Seller:"But it is a real magic rug, you won't regret it!"
Client:"For the last time, magic rugs are just a fairy tale!"
Seller:"But in Moskova, fairy tales are real!"
Client:"I'm not a kid! This is the last time I buy something here, this city is full of scammers!
Seller:"But..."
*Aliosha and Dylara pass by on a really turbulent magic carpet ride*
Client:"Give me ten"

— Just a normal day at Ulán Shang Kov's Market Square

Asides real flying carpets, it is also possible to find fake ones around Moskova. In fact, in most markets, the amount of Fake rugs sold can surpass the amount of real ones. This tends to be done by sellers who like to take advantage of tourists.
Alongside common rugs claimed as magical, it is also common to find defective and illegally obtained carpets. This is a problem in most markets of the Empire, but it becomes serious in bigger cities such as the Capital, where crime gangs can involve in commerce.

A curious law...

"It is forbidden to argue about politics while riding a flying carpet after 9 p.m"

— Yes, this is a law

Moscow Silhouettes by Andrey Gubanov

Sergei: Taxes should dissapear!
Ivan: Taxes are neccessary!
*Sucession of punches among both men*
*Rug crashes on the window*
Prince Vasily: And that window will be paid by both of you's taxes.

— Approximate transcription of the event.

Flying carpets are involved in one if the weirdest and most curious annecdotes from Ulán Shang Kov and Moskova itself. Everything happened on Avil 15, 1335. Ivan Shugapov, a local and normal man, tended to ride his flying carpet pretty often at the capital. However that night, his recently formed family was visited by Sergei Pukhachev, his father-in-law. As part of the reception, he invited Sergei to a nocturnal rug ride around the city.
Both men were talking while riding the carpet as they would do in a normal day, but the problems began when they started to talk about politics. What began as a talk became an argument, and the argument turned into a fight when they began to argue about taxes.
They both were too busy fighting that they really didn't know where were they going, and the flying rug ended breaking a window from the Royal Palace and snucking into the Great Prince Vasily 's bedroom.
This embarrassing, yet curious incident motivated the monarch to create one of the most curious laws that are still applying in the country: "It is forbidden to argue about politics while riding a flying carpet after 9 p.m"

The Magical Carpet by Viktor Vasnetzov

Price

Varies

Rarity

Middle

Length

1m- 3m

Weight

from 1kg

Speed

0,5-120km/h

Cargo & Passenger Capacity

200 kg

Power generation

Magic

Propulsion

Magic

Related Ethnicities

Moskovar

Super Fast Rugs and Rug Races

Magical rugs can have any imaginable feature, however, there's a special kind of rug donominated as "Super Fast Rugs". While a normal rug can fly in a velocity range between 0,5 km/h and 120km/h, these rugs can reach even higher velocities.
These rugs don't tend to be sold to common people pretty often because the excess of velocity can be dangerous, but there's a sport that uses them as their main feature: Rug Races.
As how people do Sukhilx Races in the South, in the West of the country Magical Rug Races can be a pretty crowded event, and one of those "must see" for tourists who visit Ulán Shang Kov.


Why not enjoy your ride with some music?