Skyship

Skyships, also called airships, are massive airships held afloat by large enchanted crystals known as brumestones.

Description
Skyships typically resemble ocean faring ships held aloft by three or more brumestones. Along the deck it is inscribed with arcane runes that adjust its buoyancy and control the direction of skyships. Silver Sun has a set of controls to send arcane signals through these runes and influence the brumestone: little rods and handles that change the pitch and yaw, regulators to lift, descent, turn left or right, as wells as a separate controls to specifically cause a "catastrophic descent" or a "dangerous ascent".

Skyships have sails atop their deck to catch wind flying in a forward motion, and often some manner of sail protrud from the sides of the hull to act as wings and provide additional lift. Some skyships are seaworthy in case an emergency landing in the water is necessary.

Skyships typically require a crew of around six to ten to function, and can carry up to an additional thirty passengers. In addition, skyships can carry up to ten tons in cargo. Skyships are faster than ocean-bound ships, capable of flying at ten miles per hour. This expediency and the cost of construction and maintenance of the skyship makes them quite expensive, costing 100,000 gold to purchase outright, 2 gold per mile for each passenger, and 1 gold per 100 pounds of cargo per mile to ship.

Skyships fly at approximately the same height as birds can reach, or slightly higher for limited periods. The stronger winds at higher altitudes make maintaining course problematic, since the sails require gentler weather. For this reason, skyships try to avoid storms, and some have fallen or vanished in bad weather.

History
The first skyships following the Divergence were developed on the continent of Marquet, with the creation and enchantment of brumestones being a closely guarded secret of the Alsfarin Union. While they sell skyships to foreign business, the Alsfarin Union has long held the monopoly on the creation and maintenance of their skyships.

There are very few skyship ports (or skyports) in the world. By the year 836 PD, skyship ports could be found in only five cities across all of Exandria: Ank'Harel in Marquet; Vasselheim in Issylra; Emon and Whitestone in Tal'Dorei; and Port Damali in Wildemount. Because of this, few skyships deviate from trade routes between these cities. Seven years later, there was at least one more skyship port on Marquet, in Jrusar.

King Bertrand Dwendal has long opposed the creation of a skyship port within the Dwendalian Empire, much to the chagrin of Emissary Lord Zeddan Graf. However, during the War of Ash and Light, Hupperdook began making their own small skyships for war to fight against the Kryn Dynasty. These skyships' method of flight remains unknown, though potentially they use brumestones salvaged from the ruins of Draconia or Aeor.

Skyship route times

 * Travel by skyship from Emon to Vasselheim, with little cargo, usually takes six or seven days. A normal ship would have taken two-and-a-half weeks.
 * At maximum speed, an airship is expected to be able to travel from Ank'Harel to the Isle of Glintshore in the Hespet Archipelago in two or three days, depending on weather. It took five hours to reach the Bay of Gifts. With Keyleth controlling the weather the next morning, the ship completed the trip in less than 24 hours.
 * A voyage from Jrusar to Bassuras was expected to take four to five days. To go from Bassuras to Yios would take an additional three days.
 * It takes six days to travel via a skyship from Gelvan to Bassuras.

Known skyships
As of 811 PD, around six skyships were in operation. Two were known to Vox Machina: the Deera, which they sailed on, and the Vusin, which they saw at the Indala Skyport in Ank'Harel.

By 843 PD skyships were much more common. Lord Ariks Eshteross owned one, the Silver Sun, which he used for trade and commerce, and was easily able to charter a second from someone else to run a personal errand. Bells Hells saw a massive skyship the size of a galleon named the Stormkeeper at the skyport in Jrusar when they were leaving for Bassuras. When they returned, they saw another skyship there named the Herald's Breath.