Airship Function

Airships (known by a wide variety of names from the more proper “aethercraft” to the slightly derogatory “crate”) are the primary means of transportation and shipping in the Sovereign Dominion of Cor Nova. By definition, an airship is an airfaring vessel powered by aether and gravity.

History
It is believed that airships were in use during the time of the Old World, preceding the reign of the first Sovereign Sylvanus. However, following the Scourge, the knowledge and technology needed to capture aether with any amount of efficiency was completely lost. During the 100s and 200s, there are records of a few small, crude vessels built by those sufficiently rich to capture the necessary amount of aether. However, when the first Marauders crossed the Shrouds in the early 300s, they brought with them the knowledge of an airfaring culture. Following the Marauder War, many Marauder shipwrights wound up settling in Misericordiae, where they began the process of teaching the crafts of aether-capture and ship-building to others. By the late 300s, the first commercially operating Cor Novan ships were constructed, and a great new chapter of Cor Novan history began.

Construction
Airships consist of three major systems.

1) The envelopes. These are essentially flexible bags which contain aether, giving the ship its lift. They are typically constructed of carefully stitched canvas that is treated with a variety of substances to make the material airtight. They are often filled with Stella Marian sea-sponges, which serves to stabilize the aether within the envelopes, preventing bulging and caving, and also slowing the rate at which aether escapes in the event of a tear. Envelopes are fitted with piping to accept aether from the ship-core below, and valves to allow it to escape. Ships may have any number of envelopes, from one to as many as six or seven.

2) The control surfaces. Also referred to as “ailerons” or “fins”, these are complex systems of canvas that extend along the vessel’s sides. They are used to stabilize and steer the vessel.

3) The hull. Also referred to as the “gondola” or the “decks”, this is the body of the ship, typically constructed of a hardy wood. In some areas, particularly in Panagiottis and regions where wood is scarce, the bones of airfaring creatures such as mordonocs are also used in hull construction. The hull may have any number of decks. It will also contain the “ship-core”, the mechanical center of the ship, through which the cables and stays that control the control surfaces and envelopes are routed to the helm.

Flying by "Breaths"
Airships move through the air without external propulsion. Instead, they make use of aether, gravity, and natural weather patterns. Generally, airship crews will release aether from pressurized casks into the envelopes. This will cause the ship to rise. At a certain altitude, the crew will cut off the supply of aether, then begin to slowly vent the aether from the envelopes. The ship, now losing lift, will begin to fall through the sky. The helmsman and crew, working in unison, position the control surfaces to take advantage of this motion, placing the ship in a long, shallow glide across the sky. Eventually, the ship will run out of altitude, and the envelopes will have to be filled again, starting the cycle over. Airmen often refer to these cycles as “breaths”, referring to the number of breaths it will take to get from one place to another. Competent airmen also make use of weather patterns, and the natural rising and falling of warm air, to minimize the amount of aether needed for a given trip.