Re: Festival of Journeys - In the Air
As the sun continues to brighten the sky, golden rays glittering from beneath the edge of the floating city, more ships begin to arrive in the vicinity, landing on private platforms reserved ahead of time for expected guests.
Given the theme of the Festival, every Festival goer with the means arrives with their best airship to show off the strength of their local industry, their connections with such industry, or their bank account. Or, in some cases, all three. The result is awe-inspiring to all but the most jaded viewer, as near every honored guest flies in luxury, style and aerodynamic grace. Sunlight gleams off sleek frames of moonsilver and orichalcum, articulated wings of jade in every color of the rainbow, starmetal antennae that reach for the heavens. Those with less funds make up for it by painting and decorating their older or slower model ships with bright Festival colors and the finest of natural materials gleaned from forests, mines, or the deep sea.
The airships come from all directions of Creation, particularly the East and certain regions of the North, where Anthegenia's allies are strongest. Most of the major Eastern cities are represented: Deheleshen, gateway to the East; Denandsor, the fabulous city of artisans; Sperimin, with which Anthegenia shares a healthy rivalry; and Hollow, not to be left out, on a cornucopia ship exhibiting the finest crops from the East's ubiquitous RPCs. From Dragon King-ruled Rathess comes a ship grown organically from a tree that has gradually been coaxed to fly; from Sal-Maneth, a vessel that represents a precarious, artistic balance, far from practical but amazing to behold.
From the North, where hydraulic energy powers some of the most productive factory-cathedrals of Creation, airships from the finest shipyards soar the morning skies. Concentrating on aesthetic combined with efficiency, these ships are among the lightest and fastest in the aerial panoply, assembled in Avalle and Salk Fields and Fellara, from materials gathered in Diamond Hills and the Opal Crag Mountains. A ship from Sezakan, capital of the people of the air, sports an avian-winged design that may have inspired Anthegenia's own winged ships, and from Sepporil comes an excellent airboat overflowing with flowers, herbs and grains.
The South and West directions may be less represented, but far from unnoticeable. The rulers of High Nyunda, Virtuous Jacinth and Joyous Agile Bat, have arrived personally to greet their sister city, in a floating vessel powered by the heat of an elemental of flame coaxed from the Fire Mountains. From Luthe in the West comes the Zenith Queen Amayana, in a gorgeous airship of moonsilver, black jade and artful whorls of lapis and nacre. Chiaroscuro's ship is constructed entirely of artifact glass that - when struck by the light - glitters with every color of the sunset, and An-Teng attempts to outdo both Hollow and Sepporil with its own organic design teeming with flowering vines and crafted of the finest tropical woods.
And there are still more to come...