Interlude CCCXCIX: On Wings of Steel
On Wings of Steel
Twenty-First Day of the Eighth Month 293 AC
Velwen had not really known what to expect when the Dragon had said she was to meet his 'rune-carver'. Why does a man who can turn into a dragon, entomb his enemies in amber, conjure horses from thin air, and travel across hundreds of leagues in a moment need someone else to do his magic for him? Then the boy had said in passing that they were lovers and it made some sort of sense again, as much as anything did in this hold teeming with people like an overturned ant hill.
When she actually met this Lya that vague guess flew away like a leaf on the wind. Oh she was beautiful enough, but it was a thing of the otherworldly, bright and bold as the sun at midday. For a moment she was breathless as though in the presence of a bounty stone under the full moon, only instead of lifeless rock this was...
"Hello, you must be Velwen," she said cheerfully, her words perfectly understandable though with enough of an accent that it was clear she had learned the tongue rather than using sorcery to speak it. The realization as much as the open smile below those star-bright eyes helped Velwen get her bearings back.
"That I am, here to look and to teach." The older woman shook her head ruefully. "Though I'm not sure I have anything to teach you."
"Of course you have things to teach me," Lya said, motioning for her to follow along. "This all used to be an overgrown pirate's den, and every improvement, every idea had to start with learning from somewhere. Bring them all together and you have Sorcerer's Deep, and everything in Sorcerer's Deep beside."
The thought felt alien to Velwen in a way the strange shapes and glittering magics of the city did not. She weighed it in her mind, tested it as one might probe a sore tooth with one's tongue. If new ways of doing things thought on wind and wave brought the wealth and prosperity she could see everywhere around her, then how much had her people lost as they scrambled year after year just to keep hold of the past, or at the best of times find it anew?
"...just in time for the Wyvern's test flight. We only have those at night so no unfriendly eyes know we have them until the time comes." The sorceress had been speaking all the while.
Wyvern? Velwen wondered aloud. What would they need a lesser dragon for?
***
The Wyvern, she discovered, was not any sort of beast, unless all the magic poured into the metal and glass behemoth had given it a life of its own. It looked a little like a great steel bird with the man inside standing behind the clear glass 'eye' directing it with a touchof glittering crystals here and there. No... more like a cross between an arrow and a boat, Velwen concluded as she watched the thing float up into the air light as a feather. Like a fine arrow it was crafted to cut through the air, and like a boat was meant to carry a man about, though luckily for him the 'pilot' inside didn't have to row his way around.
Wyvern Project Complete
Wyvern Class Anti-Grav Fighter
Hull Weight: 25 tons of steel
AG-Engine: 30 tons of mercury
Armor: 1 inch - Hardness 17, 30 HP
Armaments:
- 2x Advanced Launcher with double feed (800 ft range, CL 10, Abundant Ammo Hopper with steel bolts 4d6 20/x2, Ammo Hopper of Holding with alchemical ammo up to 10 lbs per shot)
- up to 230 kg / 500 lbs of bombs
Flight Speed: 80 feet / turn at perfect maneuverability in hover flight; top speed is extremely high, though limited by the resilience of the fuselage, especially when under-water
Cost
- AG-Engine: 5,500 IM (Permanent Gravity Effect and Mercury Treatment)
- Flight Controls: 1,000 IM (2x Permanent Mage Hand)
- Pilot Controls: 1,000 IM
- Armaments (excluding ammo): 4,900 IM
- Communication Equipment: 600 IM
Total: 6,500 IM rituals, 6,500 IM crafting; 13,000 IM total
Note: Time wise, this should go a lot faster then the price implies, as the AG-Engine and the Flight Controls are purely ritual work. Only the pilot controls and armaments should require regular crafting time, though in return, the other parts can't get discounts from Feats.
Description
The body of the fighter is a roughly ellipsoid main body of 1.5 meters in diameter and with a length of 6 meters. At the front sits a hardened, conic glass cupola that contains the cockpit, thus allowing the pilot a good view of everything around him. The body furthermore contains the armaments and the bomb bay. In front of it, two large, swept wings are placed. They do not generate noticeable lift, but are capable of being slightly angled to aid steering. It has a wingspan of nearly 10 meters and the wings increase the full length of the fighter to 9m, though the wings can be folded in, thus allowing the fighter to fit into a regular cargo bay of larger vessels. Due to being a AG-Vessel, it can hover on the spot, though due to having only one engine, keeping the fighter stable and doing precision maneuvers under these circumstances isn't easy. It's generally easier to hover stably with decently strong winds, but otherwise a short runway for starts and landing is preferable. These and the elevators on the wings are controlled remotely by the pilot through a Mage Hand effect. Due to its armor thickness and being completely sealed, the craft can travel and fight underwater, though the limited air supply of the default model means that this can't be done for prolonged durations.
Potential Upgrades
Planar Adaption (1,200 IM): The armor is enchanted to better withstand damage and resist the effects of planar traits. The armor is improved to Hardness 23 and 60 HP.
Glamered (270 IM): The armor can dynamically adjust it's appearance to better blend in with the surroundings.
Plane-Shift (3,500 IM): The fighter becomes able to travel to other planes without the assistance of a carrier craft.
Air Supply System (725 IM): By installing a dedicated air supply system, the craft becomes able to remain submerged or in hostile planes indefinitely.
Visual Enhancement (425 IM): Enchants the cockpit to allow the pilot to see through fire, smoke, snow, clouds, fog and similar, natural effects.
Advanced Flight Controls (250 IM): Grants the pilot +5 to all Piloting checks.
Cost of all upgrades: 6,370 IM
Hull Weight: 25 tons of steel
AG-Engine: 30 tons of mercury
Armor: 1 inch - Hardness 17, 30 HP
Armaments:
- 2x Advanced Launcher with double feed (800 ft range, CL 10, Abundant Ammo Hopper with steel bolts 4d6 20/x2, Ammo Hopper of Holding with alchemical ammo up to 10 lbs per shot)
- up to 230 kg / 500 lbs of bombs
Flight Speed: 80 feet / turn at perfect maneuverability in hover flight; top speed is extremely high, though limited by the resilience of the fuselage, especially when under-water
Cost
- AG-Engine: 5,500 IM (Permanent Gravity Effect and Mercury Treatment)
- Flight Controls: 1,000 IM (2x Permanent Mage Hand)
- Pilot Controls: 1,000 IM
- Armaments (excluding ammo): 4,900 IM
- Communication Equipment: 600 IM
Total: 6,500 IM rituals, 6,500 IM crafting; 13,000 IM total
Note: Time wise, this should go a lot faster then the price implies, as the AG-Engine and the Flight Controls are purely ritual work. Only the pilot controls and armaments should require regular crafting time, though in return, the other parts can't get discounts from Feats.
Description
The body of the fighter is a roughly ellipsoid main body of 1.5 meters in diameter and with a length of 6 meters. At the front sits a hardened, conic glass cupola that contains the cockpit, thus allowing the pilot a good view of everything around him. The body furthermore contains the armaments and the bomb bay. In front of it, two large, swept wings are placed. They do not generate noticeable lift, but are capable of being slightly angled to aid steering. It has a wingspan of nearly 10 meters and the wings increase the full length of the fighter to 9m, though the wings can be folded in, thus allowing the fighter to fit into a regular cargo bay of larger vessels. Due to being a AG-Vessel, it can hover on the spot, though due to having only one engine, keeping the fighter stable and doing precision maneuvers under these circumstances isn't easy. It's generally easier to hover stably with decently strong winds, but otherwise a short runway for starts and landing is preferable. These and the elevators on the wings are controlled remotely by the pilot through a Mage Hand effect. Due to its armor thickness and being completely sealed, the craft can travel and fight underwater, though the limited air supply of the default model means that this can't be done for prolonged durations.
Potential Upgrades
Planar Adaption (1,200 IM): The armor is enchanted to better withstand damage and resist the effects of planar traits. The armor is improved to Hardness 23 and 60 HP.
Glamered (270 IM): The armor can dynamically adjust it's appearance to better blend in with the surroundings.
Plane-Shift (3,500 IM): The fighter becomes able to travel to other planes without the assistance of a carrier craft.
Air Supply System (725 IM): By installing a dedicated air supply system, the craft becomes able to remain submerged or in hostile planes indefinitely.
Visual Enhancement (425 IM): Enchants the cockpit to allow the pilot to see through fire, smoke, snow, clouds, fog and similar, natural effects.
Advanced Flight Controls (250 IM): Grants the pilot +5 to all Piloting checks.
Cost of all upgrades: 6,370 IM
"In some ways this is proof of concept for larger flying ships I would like to build," the young sorceress explained as the Wyvern continued its graceful ascent. "But if we were going to craft something like that it would only make sense to do it with a purpose all of its own, try to give it as many edges as we can over other flying things whether they be the ships that ply the Spheres of Being or flesh-and-blood fliers like griffins or hippogriffs..."
"What of dragons?" Velwen asked, eyes still fixed on the winged boat, but her thoughts turned to the great ice dragons the Others were said to ride, enough to 'darken the light of day' some tales told.
"Dragons are entirely unfair," Lya said playfully, likely thinking of the one who shared her bed instead. Velwen had heard those sorts of 'complaints' often enough from youngsters in love talking about their lovers. It was good that the Dragon King had such a wife to help him along.
"But we manage just the same..."At these words a sharp keening sound split the air, the Wyvern was shooting arrows at the ground, steel arrows as long as spears, heavy and swift enough to shatter granite boulders.
The fear that had settled in Velwen's gut when the Dragon had openly said that the Long Night was coming again loosened a little bit more. Though Night may be inevitable, so would the Dawn. In the silence of her heart she vowed to be a part of it, to teach and to learn.
OOC: The reason I included the specifications here too is because due to the nature of the PoV character I could not go into the magi-tech details.
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