Shards and Ships

    Below are a few snippets of information about the very critical functionality of how ships fly. I encourage a warm drink for it's a longer read:

Excerpt from archivist Lloyding’s shard research and notes:

    “While the nature of the shards is entirely unnatural, their influence on the natural world cannot be denied and their effect on transportation, namely Shard Ships (S.S. in short hand), has been revolutionary. 

Even the most pre-cataclysm educated have struggled with adapting prior technology and designs to current conditions. Lighter than air dirigibles seems like a natural fit, but history has shown that the massive fabric and tiny capacity make for a poor investment. Combined with hostile creatures, falling stones and stronger winds than previously designed for, it becomes a terrible solution.

   Heavier-than-air vehicles seem also to be unusable outside of short and specific roles. Gliders and chutes must be large and light, stretching the capabilities of materials without advanced plastics and polymers. Updrafts and winds can provide all the needed force to keep a craft aloft, and they fare well when flying into the wind. However, they are expensive to build, fragile, and unable to be repaired in flight. Their cargo capacity is also severely limited in comparison to shard ships. 

Powered heavier-than-air flight is a memory all share. But without petroleum products and manufacturing industries, the power of such engines is barely passable. Even during the height of the Empire, few reliable heavier-than-air vehicles ever took flight- and of those that did, none completed flights of great distances. The famous race of the S.S. Express against the aircraft Zypher is often quoted as the last gasp of attempts at long-distance travel by heavier-than-air machines. When the Zypher did reach its destination, it was half an hour behind the S.S. Express and cost nearly ten times as much to fly- nevermind the cost of carving an airfield out of a populated island. It then crashed upon landing after the fuel ran out, killing all aboard and setting alight the cargo as well as part of the town.

So the Shard Ship has evolved to fill the need for long-range, reliable transportation. They are durable and able to withstand batterings of both storms and creatures. While they can be damaged by attack or natural event, it is rare to penetrate both the outer hull and inner structure to damage the shards itself. Severely crippled Shard Ships have been known to be able to limp back to port.

Shard Ships also have a large advantage over other craft as the shard carried allows attuned crew members to revivify after falling to their death, dying in combat, or various accidents which seem to be all too common. Without a shard- and the water needed to keep it active- such events lead to a ship with too few crew to operate effectively.

Lastly, the Shard Ship is superior to all other current forms of transportation due to a far greater capacity for cargo- be it supplies, goods, or weapons.

    With all these factors the Shard Ship will remain the mainstay of transportation for the foreseeable future.”

Excerpt from “Voyage of the Galaxy Singer”

    …a whistle pierced the gale as the rain punished the newly recruited. They stood at attention just outside the captain's cabin as the second mate’s stare inspected each one. The second mate’s stare only lingered for a moment before he turned and began to recite a speech as if from muscle memory. 

“While man cannot fly, a hull containing a shard submerged in water can. . The earliest shard ships were little more than tubs attached to wood planks. But now we are not just subjects of wind and weather. We have mastered the breeze and cut against the gale. Islands once unreachable now are a simple sail away. This was not done by luck, but by taking advantage of the amazing properties of these crystal shards. So listen up and you may make an aeronaut yet.

There are two parts of a shard ship that makes it more than a pile of wood and metal. The shard core and the sails. Though your swabbies may climb the sails till your hands bleed, without the core functioning and powerful, you’d drift aimlessly. And those down working the core- never forget the sails are an art form and its masters keep you moving.”

The second mate looked away then, to the captain, barely a silhouette against the gusting storm’s barrage. The captain seemed impossible, leaning on the fore-sails rigging, unbothered by pelting drops nor howl of the storm. With some uncaught signal the recruits were led down below, into the dim but warm and dry hold of the ship. 

Past the cannons and bunks. The noise increased as they passed the steam room and the lighting turned from the glow of fire into the unearthly blue glow of the ship's crystal shard, shining through the glass window of the rounded metal cylinder. Tubes for pumping water, a small hatch, dials, and gears made it a fearsomely complex beast as it churned and glowed. 

The second mate put a weathered hand on the smooth metal of the core and addressed the recruits.

“The core of any shard ship is the crystal shard. Shards in a ship’s core tend to be larger in mass than you may expect. A shard this size would keep an island many times larger than this ship afloat. . However, a ship that size would be unable to be sailed due to the massive water load.  So a more reasonable sized water container is wrapped around the shard. The cleaner and cooler, but still not frozen, the water, the better the shard works. But using the crystal shard to sail a ship, or revivify you sorry sots, heats the water up and water is needed for so many other functions it's not always easy to keep it clear and efficient. 

The second function of a ship’s core is to spin the crystal rapidly. This is called a Theophilus device- named for Regina Theophilus who found that a rapidly spinning shard creates a pole of force, much like the centerboard or keel of an ocean going ship. Without a functional Theophilus device you'd float wherever the wind took you. There have been many ways the ship’s core has been powered. In the beginning of the empire, decks of slaves would be kept pumping day and night. Now, a few deckhands have to manage a steam engine. Most ships have auxiliary wind or man-driven devices when the steam runs out. There's even been a few ships that force small shards close together to create heat and electricity, but you'll need to talk to an old Imperial scholar to hear how that works.”

    A conflicted flash of nostalgia and regret crossed the face of the second mate. A hint of grit entered his voice as he continued. 

“With the shard keeping the ship afloat, and the Theophilus device keeping it from being blown by the wind, the ship moves with her sails. A good crew will keep an eye on the clouds, the creatures, and the instruments to catch the wind at an angle, forcing it to push the ship in the desired direction. Over the many years that have passed, we have added ropes and pulleys, gears, and reels that help a ship capture every last breath of wind to send you soaring. But that doesn't mean the captain can simply turn the wheel and go. A crew of trained sailors have to maneuver and position the sails for every change in the wind. With the addition of side-sails and down-sails we can even take advantage of vertical drafts.

I love this diagram and will be using it to describe ships

The shape of a ship can vary wildly. Old imperial ships were mostly boxes. Flat sides for maximum space and rectangular layouts. You'll still see these in the biggest and juiciest cargo ships. But don't let their lack of agility and pace fool you. These hulks carry quite a lot of crew and are well-armed to defend themselves. Then you have some more exotic ships like the racers around the Nexus archipelagos. Those are barely more than a core with a sail strapped on!”

Leading the cadets back up the stairs, the second mate seemed to slide his hand along the rails and supports like an old lover. His voice took on a warmer tone too, and a spring entered his step as they climbed back towards the top deck- and the relentless storm.

 

“The Galaxy Singer can trace her design to interceptors who hunted pirates back before the fall of the empire. Sleek like a racer, and tough like a sun whale. The curved belly makes her maneuver on a snap! The strong central keel means less weight to support the sails. Just look to the birds and the fish if you want to see fast and agile fliers. Narrow at the front, a wide curving belly, then curving to the back where a large rudder sits.”

They stopped for a moment, the sound of the crew and the wind just beyond the hatch as the second mate gave one last look back on the fresh faces below him. With a knowing grin and cruel glint in his eyes, he announced,

 

“Even a great ship like the Galaxy Singer is all dependent on you and your crew. The mightiest ship in the old empire was brought low with the skill of the crew under a fabled pirate queen Lela. So I'll be whipping you into shape, come thunder or lightning….”