Airships in Anhara

Development

Pioneered by Henri de Gusmao in his groundbreaking work, Fundamentals of Airship Design, in 355AM, this is one of the newest technologies being developed within the known world. Henri de Gusmao, tapping into the fundamental powers of Anharans, discovered it was possible to imbue a wind crystal with air and use it to power airships. While the exact specifics of this process are a closely guarded state secret, the high concentration of air required to be placed within these translucent blue-green crystals requires the intense concentration of many members of the College of Vestrial Priestesses to work.

"Deep below the caverns around the Vestrial Tower, we found a strange, translucent, crystal of a blue-green hue. Attempts were made to penetrate the deepest levels of the cave, but nameless things make perilous noise at those depths." - Henri de Gusmao, Fundamentals of Airship Design

The Vestrial Priestesses are one of the few groups to still practice the ancient arts of their forefathers, though the lack of general knowledge in this realm is largely due to their secretiveness. Regardless, it was only thanks to Henri de Gusmao's intense lobbying that the High Priestess allowed him access to their archives for research, and the use of her priestesses for experimentation with the crystals. The combination of de Gusmao's determination, a young High Priestess, and the discovery of a large cache of wind crystals under the Coquet Heights, which has allowed for this rapid technological growth, has proved to be incredibly lucky for the nation.
The first of de Gusmao's airship designs was just that, a small fishing ship with a number of crystals in the center. These crystals put the patronage of Mistra and Vestria, wind and weather goddesses, to practice, and generated winds behind the sails of the vessel to propel it forward, like any boat. However, this experiment was short-lived, as de Gusmao had failed to consider an effective steering method, and had to bail before the craft struck a hillside, and the crystals were destroyed.

"We alighted upon the heights of the Rostrum's spire, in Meridia, scraping the ship along its top. The crew and I were thoroughly shook up, but the ship managed to survive intact, and to be honest, I was too giddy to really remember any fear." - Fundamentals of Airship Design

The following year, the length of time it took the priestesses to fill five new crystals, Henri de Gusmao took back to the skies. This time using a larger ship, a military vessel, which was disassembled and carried to a mountaintop in the Coquet Heights, he and a small crew drifted out into the skies above Anhara. Using the ship's rudder and sails, now large enough to have an effect upon steering unlike in the fishing vessel, de Gusmao successfully flew to the capital city of Meridia. There, he landed atop the bellows of The Debate Hall, midway through a session of The Rostrum, much to the amazement of the attendant politicians. Thus the first successful flight of an airship was completed.

Future

The Rostrum quickly showered honors upon the inventor, and began the construction of airship docks atop every bellows in the nation. They also ordered the construction of five experimental airships of varying designs to be constructed by the end of 361AM, the current year. These are to include a small airship for scouting, a large vessel equipped with weapons of some description, one for moving cargo, a fourth for transporting people, and a fifth for domestic use. However, the small amount of crystals currently known, as well as the time it takes the Vestrial Priestesses to imbue them, has necessitated the Rostrum choosing only the military and scout models for further construction. While the possibilities of this new technology offers Anhara unparalleled international power, the military focus of the government seems to limit the applications in the near future.