Gliders

They flattened my wheat with their absurd bird contraption. The wing of the thing snapped on my scarecrow! I'd try and get money from 'em, but I expect they'll lose anything they had just trying to get the damn thing back where they came from!

— Rori Halarand, Telziado farmer

Gliders are a form of airborne travel, involving the use of stiff wings and elemental magic to control speed and direction. While ideas for manmade flight have existed across Tiyu Amara for centuries, current advances in the technology have been centred in the Republic of Skarhu, particularly spearheaded by Basti Niralan.

History

Flightless creatures, such as humans and elves, have long been fascinated by the idea of independent flight. While those who live on the continent of Thurásin have been able to satisfy their desire to fly through the 'taming' of dragons, those on Abravost have necessarily had to make do with more mechanical means.
Throughout recorded history, many have tried to achieve flight, often by attaching wings to their arms and backs and making use of wind magic to improve elevation. These have been minimally successful depending on the individual's skill as a mage and engineer, with many reports of would-be aviators falling from roofs and crashing into trees shortly after take off.
The recent history of gliders has been defined by one inventor, Basti Niralan, and her workshop in Nimishoil. An accomplished mage in her own right, Basti began experimenting with gliders in the late 390s AC, taking advantage of the hills around her home to serve as launches. The majority of her early prototypes were unmanned and simply thrown from a running start to see whether they would glide or crash, but in 406 AC she attempted her first manned flight in a glider, in which she successfully flew for 30 metres.
With this success under her belt, she recruited a handful of mages and engineers to her workshop, allowing them to better test aerodynamics and consider the greater potentials of manned flight. Developments included the ability to, with at least two people and good timing, launch the glider from a standing start directly into the air, and allowing multiple people to be present on the glider at the same time.
After many years, and as the gliders became more reliable under skilled pilots trained personally by Basti, a new goal materialised - create gliders capable of crossing the Shattered Strait which separated Skarhu from the rest of Abravost. This hastened improvements to pilot comfort and structural stability, as such a flight was estimated to take a minimum of two full days. Prior to any strait-crossing attempts, new 4-man gliders were tested on inland trips, with successful flights made as far south as the River Lahda.
Two failed attempts to cross the strait were made in 419 and 421, with both attempts ending in the presumed deaths of all pilots and the loss of the glider, and with the causes unknown. Each loss was a significant setback to the workshop, requiring the hiring and training of new pilots. It was not until 424 that a third, successful attempt was made, with the 3-man crew crash landing in the farmland of Rori Halarand in western Telziad.
With the knowledge that the crash landing of this successful flight was avoidable, and with the pilots surviving to detail their trip and how they navigated the harsh winds and volcanic smoke of the Shattered Strait, talks are ongoing for more flights to be made in the coming months, as well as the possible establishing of a workshop in Telziad to allow to maintenance of arriving gliders.

Basti Niralan

A former windworker for the Skarhan Navy, Basti is considered an expert on the properties of wind on sails, and has chosen to apply this talent towards wings.
Though famed as the inventor of the modern slate of gliders, Basti herself has said she was merely the 'idea generator', running much of her imaginative thoughts by her close companion, Siimeyu Jálhelsote. Siimeyu, lacking magic themself, relied on Basti's skill to test the veracity of their constructions.
Despite Basti's insistence that Siimeyu get credit, it is likely that Basti will continue to be renowned as the mother of aviation in Abravost, following Siimeyu's untimely death in 415 AC in a glider crash.

Fireworks by davidgarry

Potential

Many people are waiting with bated breath to see what Basti's workshop produces next, and thoughts run wild with possibility. Given current size constraints, it is unlikely passenger or significant cargo carrying is in the immediate future of the glider, but carrying a single passenger or small important cargo is entirely possible.
Some have suggested, once its long distance capabilities are proven and reliable, that gliders be used as mail carriers, connecting distant corners of the republic such as the Yulemta and Wenz Islands to the mainland. The potential for quick political communications between countries has also been floated, and given the state of things in Abravost is a use that may be put into practice sooner rather than later.