The word 'skycraft' is the English language translation of the widely used calque for vessels of the air. Skycraft were traditionally gliding and self-venting vessels made from exotic woods and fabrics, originally found in the valleys of the Jaggudorns. According to legends of the Sky Tribes, the god Amirulliam taught them how to make these first skycraft which they used at great peril to herd gontha and to migrate to nearby alpine valleys. Scholars believe skycraft were first invented in the sixth or fifth century before Salmakhamer. The technology of skycraft has had a dynamic influence on the history of the Pallathantic Region and the whole world of Asdar, and, after Esoteric Arts, makes Asdar unique from the history and experience of Earth. In the past two hundred years, skycraft has come to include titancraft skyships.

Early skycraft and indeed skycraft well into the first millennium after Salmakhamer were essentially gliding vessels with self-venting properties created by magical enhancements and the use of exotic substances. Unlike light aircraft on Earth, these skycraft were not capable of great ranges and could not bear heavy loads. A voyage in a skycraft over a great distance was necessarily a succession of many hops, requiring agreeable winds and great skill and endurance in both pilot and passengers. It was not possible to bring heavy loads, so voyagers would need to live off the land for sustenance. For great loads, the vessel was necessarily huge and many-winged which made it less maneuverable and susceptible to damage from swift or changing drafts. Such great craft were costly and required expert handlers. Thus, they were the purview of rulers and wealthy land-owners. The Sky Tribes, that is, the Gwenyan peoples of the High Shadevan Plateau who adopted the technology, first used skycraft for the transportation of people and light items, warfare, and most of all, for the herding of Gontha, the flying cattle of the eastern Jaggudorns which before the introduction of skycraft were impossible to domesticate. The domestication and exploitation of the gontha is inextricably woven with the history of early skycraft and was equally responsible for the strength and power of the Sky Tribes in the first and second millennia after Salmakhamer.

The use of skycraft spread throughout the world, although the Jaggudornish tribes prided themselves in their excellence with the technology and their use of the cheaply available gontha wool to weave skysails. In the first millennium, the introduction of fleeglesilk made skycraft with stronger, more durable wings that were additionally lighter. The effect was to increase the range of skycraft and thus the reach of the Sky Tribes. Yophenthea controlled the Pallathantic Sea and thus the supply of fleeglesilk, but was too hide-bound to adapt the skycraft in its military. The conflict between the Yophenthean Empire and the Sky Tribes culminated in the Third Sack of Yophénthë.

Chronology of Skycraft

Main article: Chronology of Skycraft

List of Types of Skycraft (Non-Titancraft)

Galthala, great gliding craft from Dewyddair
Windcatcher, small glider for distance and maneuvrability
Kharrhu-Visha: metal-framed skycraft, ca 2510, not fitted with titancraft
Zerruka, modern, metal-framed skycraft fitted with titancraft rotary engines

List of Construction Materials (Non-Titancraft)

Cembar Tree wood
Fleeglesilk
Glanffwood, a fantastically rare wood from floating forests
Skybeast (Gontha Wool, Bagoose wool)
Metal-framed Skycraft
Tursinkdoo

List of Hazards of Skyflight

wind, especially sharp or sudden drafts
lightning
hostile parties (enemy or pirate skycraft, dragons, other flying creatures)
wind-borne particles (rain, snow, sand, ice)
thin air due to elevation

Skycraft

Contents

Chronology of Skycraft

List of Types of Skycraft (Non-Titancraft)

List of Construction Materials (Non-Titancraft)

List of Hazards of Skyflight

See Also

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