Skyships of Argos

Less than a century ago it was believed that there was no way for humans to fly, in fact the very thought itself was close to being heretical. Since its infancy, manned flight has come a long way. Today every town in the North worth its salt has a skyport, and there's hardly a single kingdom in Eria without its own air-navy. Though surface ships and ox-and-horse still dominate the mercantile world, wealthy passengers and luxury goods are being shipped with skyships to an increasing extent every year.

Brave new world

Before the War of Enlightenemnt the Duchy of Diemed, located in the Traen valley east of Wezell, was one of the most prosperous in the Empire. When a powerful plague demon was deployed by the Alliance of the Deep this was changed forever. The plague that struck the area turned people into walking dead  whose soul focus was to consume living flesh. Today the region is simply known as the Redlands, a wild and terrifying place where the material and the ethereal meet - it is considered to be a Verge. Spirits and lost souls dwell in the ruins and the living does wisely to be cautious.

The Golden Ass

As you turn the corner you see her. 46 feet from stem to stern, made of promise and freedom. Sure, she'll need some loving - she's been grounded for too long and birds have nested in her rigging, poor girl. Still, she looks solid and has nice lines. Even better, once you sign the banknotes she'll be all yours. As you take in the sight of her where she sits gilded by the evening sun, you can't help but grin as you mutter to yourself, "she'll be shitting gold soon enough."

The Goudende Ezel is a first generation commercial skytrader, also known as a Wezelender. The ship was built in YE 1013 by Anker & Jahnsen of Zaarbrugge. It has a keel of depleted oak and a hull of bronze birch over witchwood ribs, making it extremely light while keeping the cost down. Buoyancy is delivered by three balloons - the ones currently fitted are patched and somewhat worn, but made of Umbral silk.

Cargo capacity is 15 tonnes and the ship takes a crew of twelve. Current armament is two Bansl & Galan sparrowguns, extremely light long-range cannons, but there are ports for eight. It has never fallen out of the sky and has has had but one previous owner. It has been well cared for and only sailed between Marburg and Wezell.

Cost: ●●●●●

Storyteller's note: Today's bonus post describes the skyship recently bought by our new heroes. granted, play has not officially started, but there's been plenty of chatter in our Facebook-group. Congratulations gentlemen, you've bought yourself a boat.

A breed unto themselves

Ever since the War of Enlightenment the world has been changing. Sometimes the changes have been sudden and sometimes they've been subtle. Sometimes, as is the case with the emergence of the umbrians, the changes have been gradual and disturbing. It first started on the Redlands borders, where some newborns displayed non-human features such as horns and strange eyes. Giving birth to an umbrian often proved fatal to the mother as the horns or other inhuman features tore into her flesh. At this point is was believed that the children were in fact changelings, i.e. that the real child had been stolen by spirits and replaced by one of their own. Research into the topic soon revealed that this was not the case. They were in fact both human and spirit. Nevertheless, many such children have been, and still are, killed at birth or put out in to woods to die.

It is believed that the human soul and the spirit merge while the foetus is still in the womb, likely as the soul is drawn towards its future vessel and while it is still unattached. Some scholars believe that it is actually a matter of two ephemeral entities inhabiting the same corpus, but there is no proof for this theory. On the contrary, tests appear to support the claim that the two form different aspects of the same whole, both equally dependent on the physical body. This discovery has led the Enlightened Council to classify Umbrian as a new and distinct genus related to mankind, and in YE 1033 they were afforded the same charter rights as all other mythicals.

A definitive presence of force

The construct-world of Corregidor is the capital of the Commonwealth of Man. It is, and not without justification, held to be the centre of the multiverse by millions spread across several worlds. Corregidor itself is ruled by a Queen, but nothing is decided without having consulted the calculations of the God Machine that occupies the world's core. Beneath the monarch, a class of Captains of Industry govern the 314 wards of what is essentially one massive city.

Just as Corregidor is the centre, Argos is accepted as being the First World - the one from whence all of mankind sprang - and during the Second Argonian War the Commonwealth again fought the Ordo Ultima Thule, that age old enemy. For some reason, humans born outside of Argos cannot achieve Arcane Enlightenment and so the people of the Commonwealth have turned to science and technology instead.

Destiny manifest

With the death of Dr. Mörbius, the Ordo Ultima Thule lost its leader through seven centuries. The heavy casualties sustained during the Repatriation War also left it changed. The new leadership, a tribunal of senior officers referred to as the Triarchy, decided to abandon the Mörbian doctrine of descendental hegemony in favour of a policy of colonisation, production, and procreation. Several locations had already been surveyed, and of these the Axefjord area provided the best premises for an archcolony: an abundance of minerals, rich fisheries, an unsophisticated native population, and strong natural defences.

Return to Argos

The Great War, the one they call the War of Enlightenment, ended a generation ago. They say we won. I guess they're right. I mean, we're still here, right? Don't get me wrong, I'm not ungrateful, and I certainly don't think the other side should have won. From what I hear, the whole rotten outhouse would have come down around our ears had that happened. And this New World of ours sure has its advantages. Skyships for one.