Skyriders

It is something many admire and romanticise but few really want to do. Terrible pay, dealing with the bizarre on the daily and a high chance of death...I don't know about you, but that sounds pretty amazing to me.

— Aemilia Windheart, Arcadian Skyrider

Change is the law in Aeteria, the broken world caught in an endless dance of earth and air. The Remnants of the old world are constantly moving in every direction, resulting in an ever-changing map. Skyriders, brave and insane in equal measure, try to chart this chaos.

Ancient Profession

by Tony Shen

Skyrider is an ancient profession, one that has been around for several thousand years by this point. Even before the advent of the Airship and Airplane, Aeteria's people attempted to cross the Cloud Ocean and reach other islands. Back then it was a lethal profession, even more so than it is today.
People set out to explore and connect the world, knowing full well that they would probably not return. For many islands they were the only connection to the outside world, travelling the currents in flimsy ballons and bridging endless chasms with rickety constructions. With the advent of large-scale airtravel in the Imperial Era, Skyriders became even more important:

Explorers

Exploration is still very much their main purpose. The world is constantly changing and maps need to be updated every few years. Remnant shifts have to be accounted for, newly emerging currents and hazard zones need to be uncovered before they claim lives. Danger always accompanies the Skyrider on their mission and countless names mark the lists of honor displayed in so many cities around the world.

Guides

A map is well and good but nearly useless without knowledge regarding the environment. Currents need to be navigated, storms avoided and all manner of other hazards kept in mind. Be it small trade vessel or great convoy, no nation will send their ships out without a Skyrider to guide them. Many nations maintain entire corps of them to ensure safe travel, but there exists a large community of free lancers.

Only the Bravest

Skyrider is perhaps the most dangerous profession in the world, beaten only by the miners working down at the border of the Infernal Layer. It requires utter dedication and endurance beyond what most people consider sane. To be a Skyrider means to survive out beyond the borders of civilization, to make due with nothing and to brave horrors of untold variety. Most don't survive their first five years. Few make it past ten. And only a handful manage to retire in peace.

Normal people don't become Skyriders. They lack the ambition and insanity. Because that's what it is in the end: madness. Madness born from curiosity, greed and a desire to push your own limits.

— Lance Thompson, Skyrider-General Kingdom of Norwich

Alternative Names

Gentlemen of the Air, Mayflies

Type

Intelligence Gathering

Other Associated professions

• Navigators

Related Locations

• Aeteria the Broken

Related Technologies

• Carrian Compass

Nancy Turner

Arguably the most famous Skyrider of all time, Nancy Turner was known to push even the maddening limits of her profession. In 1401 IE, she managed to cross all habitable layers of Aeteria's atmosphere in a single trip. Five years later, she broke another record, circumventing the world in a mere 80 days. Her final piece was supposed to be the greatest, a trip into the Void Layer itself. It was to be her last adventure. Her airship was caught up in one of the greatest storms Aeteria had ever seen, never to be seen again. With no indication as to her fate, she was pronounced dead in 1417 IE.

by Alexandre Chaudret