Skyports
A skyport is a location in which skyships can dock, recharge and be maintained. It may also house external facilities for crew, cargo storage or commercial services.
Location and Construction
There exist, in general, three categories of skyports when it comes to where they are built - isolated, integrated, and hybrid. Isolated skyports are standalone structures that are entirely manmade, most often built on land that doesn't have elevation prominent enough to be able to house large vehicles above ground naturally. As a result, they are most often built in flatlands. Supporting structures are constructed of sturdy, resilient material such as steel and cement. Enchantments are present in newer builds in order to reinforce them and provide even more stability. Integrated skyports are built on top of tall, natural structures, most often cliffs and tall mountains. The high altitude provides a good base for docking skyships, meaning less material has to be used to build and maintain the structure. In Gnaritia, a lot of skyports in Sobago, Heafoten and Vevani are integrated into the mountains. Hybrid skyports build on top of an already elevated natural landscape, but provide additional height. This is done either out of necessity, the natural land providing enough of a base but not having enough altitude on its own to house skyships, or out of desire for more capacity. Skyships tend to dock in multiple levels, so elevating an already tall structure provides more docking space and more traffic.Layout and Facilities
The height of a skyport differs based on both what kind and how many ships it is meant to accomodate, as well as where it is built. Integreted skyports are located much higher, but because they are already built into a naturally tall landscape, the structure itself is shorter than their isolated and hybrid counterparts.Skydocks
A skydock is the clamp-like structure which is capable of holding skyships in place, suspended in the air, for the duration of their stay at a skyport. The number of skydocks in a skyport varies, as well as their size - larger ships need larger skydocks to be able to hold them up effectively. Skyships which wish to dock are assigned docking stations by the local Master of Communications to ensure its stability long-term. By making sure that the weight of ships is distributed equally along the build, repairs which put the skyport out of operation for a long period of time are less frequent.Windbreaker
If possible, the skydocks are built so that most face along the direction of the air flow. This is so the departing skyships can more swiftly and efficiently leave the skyport area. To ensure this, the structure often includes a windbreaker - a wall constructed solely for the purpose of stopping or redirecting unwanted windcurrents.Commercial and Private
To be able to run a skyport, an aspiring owner needs to acquire a Skyport Operator Licence. The yearly price of one is deduced by the number and type of skydocks that are built and in operation for at least a third of a year. Because of the high costs, skyports are often operated by established businesses and organisations with large capital, or cities which benefit from a proximity of one. These are generally referred to as commercial skydocks, ones where they are open to the public and docking and refueling is allowed for a fee. Since the cost of an Operator Licence is dictated by number of skydocks, some wealthy individuals build private skydocks near their homes. These skydocks are not used by the general public, operating on an invite-only basis. Some are even built for custom skyships, in such a way that docking any other kind of ship is effectively impossible. Because of the noise that a skyship produces, cities charge an extra fee that the owner has to pay on top of a Skyport Operator Licence.Skyport Management
The person in charge of a skyport is called the Harbourmaster - they do many administrative tasks, but their main job is to ensure that all operations within a skyport run smootly. Security is in charge of handling any bigger problems that may arise.Ownership
Private skyports are owned either by families or individuals. Commercial skyports can fall under a few different kinds of ownership: government-owned, city-owned or company-owned. Government-owned commercial skyports are either the main skyport for a Gnaritian region or a country that is a part of the Skytravel Affiliation Program. In these skyports, the role of security is filled by the state guard, and the role of Harbourmaster goes to the Guard Captain. City-owned commercial skyports are often located in close proximity to the city under whose ownership they fall. The security in city-owned skyports is still performed by state or local guard, but the city appoints its own Harbourmaster. In these cases, the Guard Captain remains in charge of the guard, but they have to answer to the Harbourmaster in regards to the goings-on of the skyport. Company-owned commercial skyports may (but do not have to) have the guard fulfill the role of security. If they choose not to, they have the ability to appoint their own security to the skyport, most often from the ranks of veterans and mercenaries. Harbormaster is also a paid and appointed position, and security answers to them. There can be a Head of Security, but that role may also be performed by the Harbormaster. It all depends on what the company decides is best.Personnel
Besides the positions of Headmaster and security, there is also the Master of Communications. This person is in charge of contacting incoming and departing skyships as well as other skyports in order to approve or deny flight plans. They are most often a mage, but that isn't required as any magical means of communication necessary for the position is often supplemented by arcane devices and enchantments. Most skyship ports offer a dock-pilot as an additional service. For a fee, a specialised, experienced pilot can be sent to an incoming ship to take over the control and help dock it. Sometimes, a ship may encounter issues with docking upon arrival - this is often a problem for bigger ships. This can happen due to overdocking, but is worse in cases of bad weather, a naturally difficult-to-manouver landscape or both. In these situations, a dock-pilot may be mandatory to dock a ship, and the fee is waved if a form is filled within a timely manner.Refuelling
As part of a Skyport Operator License, the presence of refueling services on location is mandatory. Refueling refers to the replenishment of the myore which powers the anti-gravity and wind-producing mechanisms which allow the skyship to move.The Means
Either the owner has a refueling team on site, they have a contract with an enchanter guild, or they use an automated syphen myore refuelling system (the ASyMyR) Because refueling services are mandatory, there are on-site refueling teams hired by the owner at most any skyport. In addition or instead of an on-site, personally hired team, the skyport may have a contract with one of the many enchanter guilds which exist in Gnaritia (like the Arcanical Scribe Association, Incantatorres, or Brachium Magicae to list a few). Refueling like this, often referred to as by hand, means wizards are located all over the skyport, tending to many ships at once. More recently, the new Automated Syphen Myore Refueling system (The ASyMyR system, sometimes written as Asymir) has begun to see more wide-spread adoption, especially in bigger skyports. This system allows for a centralisation of on-hand workers, as one main myore deposit is used to store the arcane energy, which is then rederected to the individual docks. Though it is reliable, transmition of arcane energy through the ASyMyR system is intentionally slowed to avoid overloading the network.The Cost
Though the purchasing cost of the ASyMyR system is high, it doesn't require as much personnel as refueling by hand does. This makes it the cheapest option availiable at any commercial skyport which has committed to using it. As mentioned, however, it is the slowest refueling method - even a class-1 skyship has to be docked for multiple days to bring its myore to maximum capacity. Having to pay for that dock space every day also adds to the cost. Guilds are the fastest and most reliable option, but they are also the most expensive. In addition to that, they may not always be available during busy days, and most guilds do not provide their services after nightfall. On-site, hired refueling teams serve as the middle road. Being faster than the ASyMyR system and cheaper than the guilds make them an attractive option to most. Given that they are hired by the owner of the skydock also assures that the service is availiable for night refueling. More and more, reports of unregulated refueling have been surfacing all over the land. Wizards with no qualifications or contract offer their services for a low price, much lower than conventional means of refueling. We urge pilots and captains to beware these offers, as the reprocussions of these back-alley deals can be severe. There have been reports of monitoring systems being tampered with to display a higher mana storage than actually present, resulting in ships unexpectedly losing altitude mid-flight, as well as reports of over-fueling, which can lead to spontaneous combustion. Please, report these individuals to the appropriate authorities. (And here I will add the price chart once I have it, if I decide to add it)Defenses
A functional defense system is a mandatory part of a skyport as according to the licence needed to operate one. This is achieved through a remote-controlled shield system. This system is heavily regulated and is susceptible to routine and non-routine inspections.
The Guard Captain/Head of Security is in charge of engaging and disabling the defense system, but only at the command of the Harbourmaster. The task of operating the shield system falls to the Harbourmaster if the Guard Captain/Head of Security isn't present or the position isn't part of the skyport in question. The Master of Communications is permitted to alert the Harbourmaster of possible incoming threats which would necessitate the use of the defense system.
The shield can be engaged for a number of reasons, ranging from monster attacks, sky-piracy operations, storms, monsoons, dangerously high winds or heavy hail. While shields are engaged, no ship can pass through, making departures and arrivals virtually impossible. Exceptions are made in cases or large shipments or special cases, where shields may be lowered temporarily. This is a rare occurance as exposing the structure of the skyport to excessive force (like that of heavy attacks or high winds) may damage it.
If lowering the shields is impossible but a ship needs to dock, the Master of Communications may request the Harbourmaster to allow them to use a spell scroll of Yrneha's Veilway, if they have any on hand. This is considered an additional, optional service and is generally priced at around 750 gold pieces.
History
The first skyports were built in tandem with the first two skyships in the year 1497 (roA), being the Azure Leviathan and the Emerald Leviathan. The construction of the skyports was crucial to showcase the full functionality and possibility of skyship travel and transport. Both ports were designed by the same team in charge of the two Leviathans.
Though port A'lave was closed after only 15 years of being in operation, Port Remica, located in northern Sobago, still remains in use today. The former port A'lave was later replaced by port Doccum
Initially, skyports were built to house Leviathan-sized skyships. However, as smaller ships started being built and as they became much more common than their older counterparts, skyports expanded (either laterally or vertically) to accomodate a larger number of lower-class skyships. This is reflected in the current day, where some older, leviathan-sized docks have been decomissioned and replaced with smaller ones.
What might your character know?
Skyports are mostly found in the country of , so characters who aren't citizens of Gnaritia may not even be aware of their existence. For those born and/or raised in Gnaritia, skyports are large structures that house skyships when they aren't in use. Depending on your character's upbringing, seeing a skyport may elicit very different emotions - perhaps they may see the structure as an awe-inspiring feat of engineering, an eyesore on the landscape, or they may feel like it's a sign of Gnaritia's over-industrialisation.
Management Positions
Harbourmaster: Handles most of the operations at the skyport, the one responsible for enforcing the skyport's regulations. Oversees the different services provided by the skyport, ensures that things run as smoothly as possible.
Head of Security / Guard Captain: In charge of security. Answers to the Harbourmaster.
Master of Communications: Person who communicates with incoming/outgoing ships. Files and discusses flight plans with other skyports.
Services
Shipwright: Repairs damage on ships, replaces faulty myore.
Dock-pilot: A specialised, experienced pilot tasked with docking incoming ships.
Dock-workers: Personnel whose job is mainly onloading and offloading of cargo.
Refueling team: Pesonnel that replenishes the arcane charge in myore in the skyport.
Fuel-rats: A derogative term referring to a mobile subsection of the refueling team, able to fly to ships outside of the skyport in order to provide refueling.
Alternative Names
Skydocks, Airdocks
Type
Transportation hub