Perpetual Flight
Perpetual flight is a modern and largely theoretical technology that uses arcanomechanical methods to grant a mortal creature or mortal-made object long-lasting flight, or flight that should be impossible due to its mass.
Manufacturing
First, all materials used in the process must hold magic well and have some kinship with the element of air. For instance, a pair of winged boots may be made of roc leather, with Mithril buckles and Deepsilk laces and stitching. If even one element of the construction is too mundane, flight magic will fade too quickly from it to be practical.
During the object's crafting, an Artificer carefully engraves it with runes in either the Draconic or Auran languages. Immediately after it is crafted, a Transmuter must cast flight spells on it, and at regular intervals thereafter. This "curing" stage may take anywhere from a few days for a handheld object (like a self-propelling drone) to several months for an object expected to carry several people (like a flying carpet). After a few years' time, the object will start to lose its flight powers and need to be "recharged" by repeating the curing process.
An object's capacity for perpetual flight is significantly strengthened if its creators weave its enchantments into a ley line. A prominent example of the use of ley-tied flight is the flying carpets common among the upper classes of Cantonova. The downside to this is that ley-tied flight loses all potency when taken beyond the edges of its ley line.
Access & Availability
Nearly all mortals consider perpetual flight an impossibility. It has been studied more extensively in the Artificer, Transmuter, and Draconologist communities, though, with some limited progress made towards it.
Complexity
Artificial replication of perpetual flight is a wildly complex process. It requires incredibly specific materials and carefully timed production schedules. None but the most advanced and carefully integrated arcanists' guilds attempt even basic use of it.
Discovery
The Dragon has been the undisputed master of perpetual flight since time immemorial. Creatures from other planes are often capable of perpetual flight as well. Some religions say that the Soul of a truly good mortal is capable of perpetual flight in the afterlife (the Osirian ritual of weighing a soul against a feather is said to test this). Creatures native to the Elemental Plane of Air are typically capable of perpetual flight, as are some more exotic extraplanar creatures like the Reverse Bee.
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