Welcome everyone. Recently we discussed many topics related to magic, especially in the early ages. Today we will move to a topic significantly closer to the modern era, and talk about an important advancement in technology, and its aftermath that made regions of Aedilër closer to each other than ever before. Welcome to the Fourth Era, times like none before…
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Cerbane, year 94 of Era IV
The first century of the Fourth Era was full of important events – good and bad ones equally. On the positive side, Sha Gaten Rakte’s journey provided final proof of Hukë being a sphere, and his achievements led to significant development of geography and the creation of the first accurate world map. The most negative episode was Aedo Gimëryeo’s activity in the South, which led to an outburst of discrimination in the Sapiarchate and forced hundreds of thousands into exile. That is, however, not the lecture’s topic.
At the time, the population of the continent was already quite high, and with it increased production of various goods, and with it the demand for transport. Shipping was becoming the bottleneck in many sectors, and more remote regions experienced shortages of less essential goods, such as tools and alcohol. In the middle of the first century, several scholars started to look for solutions. The research brought several breakthroughs over the span of the next decades.
The first of them was the magic stator. It was previously thought that magic is inherently bound to humans and it is impossible to preserve its effect in any way. With the use of advanced contraptions and a fair amount of catalytic crystals, the members of the Institute of Cerbane managed to create a mechanism that could be powered with magic and would keep the energy for a long time, allowing for its progressive discharge.
In the year 94, a team led by Taren Ganfal showed to the world an advancement based on the magic stator – the engine. It was a revolutionary device – not only did it not require any animal or man to power it constantly, but also could run for an extended time using its initial charge, operated by a single person, and at a variable speed. Using the invention, the engineers quickly created a cart that could move by itself, and only required a man to control its speed and direction.
The new machine quickly found a use in transport, as it did not suffer from fatigue and could transport substantially larger quantities of goods than any animals. Initially, it was limited by its charge, and those who wanted to use it over longer distances had to find creative solutions – the most notable being taking a mage on the journey and allowing him to recharge the vehicle in villages, with help from the villagers. By the beginning of the second century, some villages had already begun offering the service commercially, and a few even hired mages to remove the need for transporting one in every convoy. A hundred years later, recharge stations were common along all routes, and in some cases new settlements were created around them.
The first decade of the second century brought another interesting and important technology. The emperor and the mayor of Cerbane jointly embraced the idea of creating a more permanent and efficient connection between major cities. The nearby Orte’s Hold, former capital of the Orte Rebellion, was chosen as the first destination. The construction started in the year 104 and the route was opened 7 years later. It was a novel design – a perfectly flat paved road with a toothed indent in the middle that allowed vehicles to keep the right direction and propel themselves forward, reducing the role of the driver to the minimum. The cost of creating such routes was substantially more expensive than usual roads, but in the centuries to follow, they were built between most cities of Aedilër.
We will explore the topic of technology on other occasions. For now, thank you.
Aedilër 