A Chunk of Fantasy 2.04 – Emerus, the flying city [Location]

“I always liked this part…”
Imperial City-Pilot Commander Shamus, just before Emerus takes off.

Emerus is considered to be the shining jewel in the Imperial Engineer empire. Although not the largest or most fortified settlement – that honour lies with the capital – Emerus is a marvel to behold as it lies overhead. For you see, Emerus is a flying city. Built towards the end of the last mage war, when reports of those that worshipped the Fallen One possessed a flying city of their own, the Imperial Engineers were at first unbelieving, then afraid, then they saw it as a challenge or a goal.

Within a few months, the first proof of concept had been made. several sites were chosen, the area around the test site prepared, the small settlement cleared of the population and the drive units activated. The eye-witnesses report that after the location had stopped shaking, the area pulled itself from the ground, the supports only just holding it together.. Then, disaster struck when the last tether broke and the village craft shot into the air at such a high-speed it broke up, causing massive damage to the local environment. Test after test failed, something going wrong each time. The IEs were about to give up on the project when a radical concept, for engineers, was put forward. Not long ago the concept of using magic to enhance technology was developed. Having nothing to lose, the head of the project agreed and was astounded by the success of the first launch of the then village-craft of Emerus.

Emerus proved to be very successful. Their original plan was to have the village be semi-permanently flying, only landing in large lakes or other such bodies when required. The stability from the arcane enhancements allowed the village to land virtually anywhere there was room, although those inside the village would describe the sensation of lift and landing as “one of the weirdest things ever experienced”. The enhancements from the arcane core, along with the Imperial Engines were theorised to have an incredible amount of potential. So much so that after a few years of Emerus successfully moving and flying around the countryside, plans were put forth to expand and see how big they could make it.

Within a decade, Emerus had grown from a small village to a medium-sized city, without losing any speed or manoeuvrability. Walls were added, weapons mounts placed, small plots of land added. The only reason why it has not been expanded further is that it would be bigger than the Imperial Engineers capital city if this happened. So instead they improved it in other ways. Military academy added, the walls improved even more. Apart from the fact it can fly and moved, Emerus is a large, well stocked and well-defended city.

Many attempts have been made by other nations to duplicate the combining of arcane forces and technology that allows the city-ship to fly, but all have failed. Rumours suggest it is something about the core, the most heavily guarded location in Emerus that only the Chief Pilot or Lord Engineer can access. Because of this failure to duplicate the result, many attempts have been made to capture Emerus and all have failed, with each attempt, any security holes or oversights are fixed. Because of the semi-independent nature of Emerus, some of its citizens are talking about declaring independence, a rumour that troubles the High-Engineer King greatly.

This week’s Chunk of Fantasy concept was suggested by Emerald Samurai.