In the time of the daemon King Mathias, this was known as the Imperial Air Armada. Since the rebellion though, and Falyar Tar`en's rise to power, a few changes have been made.

The Armada is a demonstration of Khir Khira's tendency to lean towards technology to aid their society. The average airship is composed of 75% technology, and 25% magic.

Airships

An airship is a ship of the air. They bear a hull, similar to a conventional ship, and are held aloft by large gas filled blimps, with enchantments laid upon them. There is an engine, set on a deck of its own, connected to several large propellers at the rear, used for forward propulsion, and smaller props at the side, used for steering. Usually, these ships have enchantments on the engine, which serves as fuel (self recharging), but on more primitive ships, steam or coal power is used. Most ships come equipped with cannons, or ballistae. A few even have a sort of magical cannon. Sometimes, a battering ram is mounted on the front of the ship. Firebombs are a trait common to all ships; ordinance to be dropped on foes from payload bays. These bombs explode on impact, dousing the target area in a sticky, burning, liquid fire. This destroys structures, actually melts people and animals, and is a generally feared weapon.

Ship Classes

1. Scout Ship: Small, quick ships used in scouting, or for hit and fade attacks. These usually carry a maximum of 4 cannons.

2. Destroyer: A modified version of the scout, these have heavier armor, and almost the same speed and maneuvering capabilities. This class is unique in the fact that each ship bears a magi cannon on the bow, in addition to its normal max. cannon complement of 4.

3. Battleship: Large, armored ships, the primary combat ship of the armada. 5 cannons line each broadside for a max. cannon complement of 10.

4. Command Ship: A massive war machine, one of these is easily 3 times the size of a battleship. It bears 10 cannons on each broadside, for a total of 20, and is equipped with 2 large ballistae on the bow. These usually have Drake bays, and a complement of around 20 Drakes. A huge crushing battering ram is found at the bow. While these ships have very high speeds, they are generally sluggish in maneuverability, but their strong armor more than compensates for that. It has 3 blimps overhead; 2 smaller ones, adjoined to 1 larger.

5. Modified Command Ship: Only one of these is in known existence, the Crimson Storm, modified by Zareth Talkusan. It is the fastest, and almost most maneuverable ship in the fleet. It is flagship of the Armada, and Falyar Tar`en's pride and joy. Not only modified for speed and agility, Zareth has modified the cannons for faster firing rate, and the mage Overon added a powerful Magi Cannon to the bow, and protective shielding of a magical nature. It carries a complement of 20 Drakes.

6. Super Airship: This class of airship is rare, although there are a few in existence, one being 'Falyar's Wrath'. These are absolutely huge, easily twice the size of a command ship. Heavily armed and armored, they hold cannons on many decks. Falyar's Wrath houses 40 cannons; 20 on either broadside, stacked in rows of 10. They come equipped with 6 ballistae; 2 at the front, 2 near the back, and 2 mounted near the center, to port and starboard. The Drake complement of the airship is 30. Though large, these battle platforms are very slow and sluggish.

7. Custom Airship: These come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, ranging from mostly magical, to completely non-magical. These are mostly civilian, or pirate owned ships.

8. Viper's Strike: This airship, a custom build, was modified from an average merchant vessel. Sev Arien's father gave it to him as an inheritence, and he's modified it ever since. Smaller than a scout ship, the ship is versatile, maneuverable, and fast. It is also powerful, equipped with two magi cannons to either broadside. And the layout of the controls/systems is set up in such a way that he needs to hire no crew.

9. Drake: These ships are small winged flying machines, carrying 3 crew; 1 pilot , and 2 passengers in the back. They use a magical engine with a 15 minute self rechargeable charge. Primarily used for scouting, these small, 50% tech/magic ships possess speed and agility unmatched by all ships but the Goblin Skreamer. Falyar Tar`en loves Drake piloting, being well skilled himself. Now, with some changes that have been implemented, Drakes have been used for other purposes. They played a key role in the Elementian Rebellion, Ashley Traid and Zareth Talkusan having converted them into a sort of remotely guided mech killer missile. After the rebellion on Elementia, Falyar realized their potential for other uses. They can now be fitted with small payloads of canister bombs, similar to the ones used by Falyar in melee combat, to adapt to certain missions. On search and rescue missions, for instance, they can be equipped with smoke bombs, for marking areas. They can be equipped with fire bombs or high explosive bombs on quick hit and fade attacks. They can provide air support for ground troops and incapacitate enemy soldiers through the use of sleep or pepper bombs. The top speed of a normal Drake is 500 mp/h. Various enchantments laid on the ship create interior gravity and stabilization, making it appear to the pilot that they remain level no matter what direction they face. They also are capable of hovering in one place for short periods of time through the use of a 'flight bubble', created by the engine. The prop and bubble can't be operated at the same time. The flight bubble drains the engine's charge at twice the normal rate. After the charge is depleted, it takes about an hour to recharge itself. To launch the Drake from an airship: All airships equipped with Drake bays come with proper launch facilities. While they can take off using only the flight bubble, this causes unneeded drain on the engine. First, the landing gears on the Drake remain locked to the floor of the bay. The bay door opens before it. The propellor at the rear of the craft is throttled up to full. Then the latch, holding it to the floor is released. A magical charge shoots through the floor, shoving it forwards, aiding the prop. It takes off. Landing requires use of the flight bubble.

10. Goblin Skreamer: This is a small 1 manned, almost purely magical goblin attack craft, extensively used in the war. While the airships of the goblins were flimsy, these Skreamers posed a true threat to Khir Khiran forces. Basically the equivalent of a supersonic jet, these come equipped with twin rapid fireball launchers. Many a ship was lost to being swarmed by these ships. A few of these have been captured by Khir Khiran forces, and are being studied by the Circle, perhaps to be reproduced at a later time; refined for human use.
 

Organization of the Armada

The Armada is large, and like all military groups, broken down into ranks. The badge of rank is always found on the right shoulder of the uniform.

1. Supreme Air Commander: Takes orders directly from the king, and holds command over the entire Armada; all the fleets. Falyar Tar`en was, and still is, Supreme Air Commander of the Armada, even though he is also king, now. The symbol of rank for the Supreme Air Commander is four golden stars. ****

2. Air Commander: Each Air Commander commands both a ship of their own, and a fleet of airships, usually composed of no more than 12 ships. Each fleet has their own squadron name. Ex: The Vengeful Dragons is the name of Falyar Tar`en's personal fleet. The symbol of rank is three golden stars. ***

3. High Captain: High Captains within a fleet are the personal advisors, and often close friends, of the Air Commander. Other than that, and perhaps other duties, they function as Captains when it comes to the fleet. The symbol of rank is two wedges and a silver star. <<*

4. Captain: Each captain has control over his or her own ship, but follows the orders of High Captains, and Air Commanders. They symbol of rank is three wedges. <<<

5. 1st Lieutenant: Often there is only one aboard a ship, who acts as 1st mate and assists the captain through advising, and maintaining control. They symbol of rank is two wedges. <<

6. 2nd Lieutenant: They issue specific orders to crewmen directly under their command. Most often grouped into sections: deck, engine room, mess hall, etc. The symbol of rank is a single wedge. <

7. Crewmember: The basic worker of the ships, the Armada would be lost without them. They man the cannons, maintain the engine, and swab the decks. They fight hand to hand, when ships pull up broadside. Their badge of rank is a single gold bar. |

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