One of the lost marvels of Vaelandris, the fleets of wingships which travelled
the skies were a wonder to behold. Crafted of weavetimbers and Aetherforged
metals, these enormous vessels were held aloft by some mechanism of Old Magic,
presumably adapted by the Vaelandrii from Artifacts left behind by the Ancients.
Capable of traversing both the water and the winds, they resembled ordinary
seafaring craft only superficially, with sails and masts like any other ship.
But they also possessed rearward fins and, set on either side of the hull, were
massive canvas wings, able to be extended or folded on a whim.

Wingships were a rare and magical sight, navigating across continents and
occasionally visiting settlements to trade. Although the people of Vaelandris
were entirely self-sufficient, their massive floating island providing enough
space to produce most anything they might need, they nevertheless felt a need to
maintain a connection to the world below.

Apart from the personal wind-gliders of the mountain sentinels and the limited
levitation sigils created by enterprising mages, travel through the air was
thought an impossibility. There were no devices or crafts capable of true
flight, except the wingships. Nothing else could withstand the weavewinds that
streamed through the skies of Aelandris. It was as if the sky belonged to the
Vaelandrii, and to them alone the high weavewinds answered.

When the Blight came, only a few wingships near Deepmountain answered the
Groundfolks' desperate calls for help; Vaelandris and its fleets largely ignored
the cataclysm happening below. However, when the Blight finally consumed most of
the world beneath them, the Old Magic suddenly failed and the wingships began to
fall from the skies. And Vaelandris itself abruptly changed its drifting course,
abandoning its fallen fleets, to head toward Altheria. Only a few of the
magnificent flying vessels made it to the Last Bastion, and none survived
without crashing. Most lie now in splinters beyond the Barrier, though a few
wrecks remain just outside the city walls and even within the citadel itself,
broken upon the ruins.

See also:
vaelandris, vaelandrii, deepmountain, ancients, artifacts, magic

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