An Innovation
The Hall of Together, in the Heartwood of
Fellalond is a critical piece of the elven kingdom's infrastructure. But it wasn't always that way. Two elven generations ago, prior to
the Cataclysm, the magical substance of the Hall of Together did not even exist.
Humans use the art of
wizardry, the discipline of embuing non-living things with magic, to perform their magic as they do not have a
Magei System and therefore lack native magic wielding capabilities. While this is generally considered a disadvantage, in some areas, this lack has led to inventions that would otherwise not exist. One of these innovations is the magical floating platforms that support the family castles of the elven lords. These platforms, invented by the human mages at the
University of the Arcane in
Magetown prior to the
Cataclysm are marvels of magical engineering. Early experiments were a mixed bag of catastrophic failures and wild success, but by the time the innovation and experimentation phase of development had passed, a reliable floating platform of modest size had been developed.
The original vision for these platforms were as transportation devices, providing smooth gentle rides over rough terrain for those with sufficient means to afford such luxury, but this marketplace was too small to generate much revenue. Instead, economic demand drove a move towards larger, cargo sized platforms, some larger than a house. From there, it was a short scaling step to the platform base that stabilizes and floats the elven magic castles.
Creates Missing Infrastructure
Of course, floating castles came with indisputable advantages. A castle that is floating is practically impenetrable, can be moved to safety when under attack, and cannot be reached by virtually any typical warfighting machinery. It can be repositioned to allow the inhabitants to enjoy perfect weather at all times, and the views are breathtaking.
It also has disavantages. While floating castles cannot be reached by your enemies, but it also cannot be reached by any common conveyances either. When the floating castle was first invented, it almost failed immediately as the infrastructure to support these large castles simply did not exist. Attempts to "land" the castles for re-supply were disasterously unsuccessful, so a "flying wagon" to supply them and bring people back and forth had to be developed.
The floating platforms that undergirded the floating castles seemed to be a good idea - and flying carriages were the original vision for the invention to begin with, so they were adapted to move both people and goods between the floating castles and Fellalond and other ports and trade centers. These are still in use for cargo today. However, the platforms also proved to be excessively dangerous as people seemed to be constitutionally unable to stay seated and strapped into a moving vehicle, even if it was thousands of feet above the ground.
Inspires More Innovation
The elven and human mages began to collaborate almost immediately on a magical transportation spell. The fruit of their labor is what is instantiated in the Hall of Together, and is replicated in similar halls in all floating castles and in the seats of power of most civilized countries today. The spell that was formulated allows movement of a limited mass and volume of people and items between the origin and the destination. The ritual circles are referred to as portals, although they are not technically portals at all in that while they allow passage between two points, they are not "open" at all (each movement is a separate spell), and they are configurable (the spell destination can be changed to any other known and connected ritual circle which constitutes a destination. The spell only works between two compatible ritual circles.
The Hall of Together is the most connected portal in Arrhynsia, mostly because it is one of the oldest portals, and elves prefer to avoid traveling on the ground through the
Echovad Forrest where monsters, giants, and the
Grekelski prey on unwary travelers. There are several additional portals located throughout
Fellalond which handle the bulk of day to day traffic while tHall of Together is now reserved for visiting dignataries and state occasions.
Traveling Elven Style
When the
Cataclysm occurred, all of the human mages and their writings and knowledge on the portals was lost, leaving the elven mages who collaborated in the development with sole possession and ownership of this knowledge. This has allowed certain elven families, specifically the Firelorkians and Lorwellians. These families have both made fortunes from this magic, the Firelorkians focused on building and providing portals to eager customers, while the Lorwellians have exploited the capability to build a enormous shipping and trade empire, and portal transport for casual users where people can purchase fare to use a portal to a given destination once (or for round trip).
Recent Developments
Recently, the underlying fabric of the weave which supports the magical infrastructure seems to be under attack. Creatures have been emerging from the portals and attacking operators and passengers alike severely curbing use of the system. In possibly, but not conclusively, connected events, the Trellian floating castles crashed to the ground killing fourty three people and destroying millions of gold in property. Travelers are advised to not travel via portal until the elven government has cleared the portals and resolved any residual safety concerns.
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