The second of the two technologies that are credited with bringing the whole of Kelbonnar under the rule of the
Empire of Turelion, Elemental Cores have enormous potential and have been used to do things that would not have been though possible before.
At their most basic level, Elemental Cores are magically reinforced vessels in which an
Elemental has been bound, which has been designed to both enable the elemental to survive within and to enable the elementals power to be siphoned out of the core to act as a power source.
The four core types of Elementals; Air, Earth, Fire and Water, alongside the various, but much rarer sub-types, such as ice, magma, lightning etc., can once bound in an Elemental Core be used in a variety of ways, from the more basic; using a water Elemental Core to provide a near endless supply of fresh drinking water for a town, to the more complex; such as rigging up both air and fire Elemental Cores within a
Firewing, to provide the necessary lift and propulsion to make the craft fly.
Access & Availability:
Despite their many uses, Elemental Cores remain an uncommon item, and very expensive item that most of the population of Kelbonnar will only have come across in a communal setting, such as water Elemental Core providing drinking water at a public fountain.
The reason for this is threefold: the physical shell of an Elemental Core is very difficult to manufacture and can only be done so with the aid of magic;
Elementals themselves are not common creatures and have always been a rare sighting near settlements, even more so now that they are preyed upon for their potential; it is incredibly difficult and dangerous to capture and bind even a young or weak Elemental, and only highly experienced people are able to do so.
In addition, like
Blackpowder Weaponry, only those who have been granted a special license to do so are technically allowed to build or sell and Elemental Core, but some do occasionally turn up on the black market, mostly having been stolen or salvaged from abandoned settlements or wrecks.
As a result, Elemental cores, or items and machines that use them tend to only be found in civic or military projects, or in the possession of wealthy individuals, who can afford to splash their cash on more frivolous possessions, a house illuminated by fire cores, their own private fountain powered by a water core, or their own personnel
Firewing for example.
Complexity:
The creation of Elemental Cores is a time consuming process that requires high quality materials, assembly and infusion, all before an Elemental can be captured and stored in the core for use.
First of all the physical body of the core itself must be produced. It is generally constructed out of high quality steel, that is made into thick reinforced cylinder or hexagon shape. Cores will often be fitted with small viewing ports fashioned out of reinforced glass so that the Elemental inside can be observed and checked. The lid of the core will be specially fashioned so that it can be attached to whichever device it will be intended for use with, and this will vary depending on the core’s eventual purpose. As Elemental Cores are expensive, luxury items, their physical bodies are often elaborated with decoration in other metals, usually gold, silver or bronze.
Once the construction is complete the physical body of the core is infused with magical energy by a skilled spell caster. The bound spells are meant to further reinforce the structure, ensure that an Elemental can be compressed from its unbound size to fit the size of the core, keep the elemental alive, and ensure that it can carry out its intended function.
The actual construction of a core can take years depending on its size or purpose, and only after it has been completed can it be taken out into the field and carried with the hunters who have been tasked with finding and filling the core with the required Elemental. The fact that the cores are large and heavy complicates this final step greatly, and it is not unknown for cores to be broken before an Elemental has been found to bind into it.
Despite the care that is put into their construction, once a core has had an Elemental bound into it, they are incredibly fragile. If the core breaks completely, or its integrity compromised, or if the imbued magic is tampered with, there can be dire consequences. Broken or damaged cores can explode unleashing a surge of destructive energy related to its elemental type, destroying the elemental in the process and anything around it; or the elemental can escape from a damaged core, generally with equally dire consequences, as most elementals will look to take revenge for their incarceration and exploitation.
Utility:
Each type of Elemental Core can have a variety of uses, some of the most common of which are noted below and sorted by the type of elemental bound within:
Air:
Provide a constant supply of wind power to the sails of ships, windmills and the like; provide lift to the wings of
Firewings.
Earth:
Are built into the foundations of important buildings or defences to give extra reinforcement to the structure;
Fire:
Heat forges; give a perpetual source of flames for fires, cooking hearths etc.; provide light; provide propulsion in
Firewings.
Ice:
Used to bring the ambient temperature in rooms down, often applied to create refrigerated rooms for the storage and preservation of perishable goods.
Water:
Provide constant portable water supplies; provide water for irrigation systems, water features and moats; provide a constant source of power for buildings that use waterwheels to power internal machinery.
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