Skycrews
Big, loud, and friendly.
"And we stood there on the deck the clouds all around us. Not a sound in the sky. With a woosh, Riggs was gone. The attacker carried the clouds behind it and as it cleared we saw six, no, seven, of the scariest birds you've ever seen. Talons like scythes. Beaks bigger than a man twice my size. And wings as big as sails. You would think we we're a gonner but the captain had a plan."
The Biggest and Boastiest Bunch
Skysailors are known for many things. Some are explorers and a few of them are heroes and cultural icons - most are not. Most of them are people who do a job moving things - goods, animals, people, and messages from place to place. They are all just people but no one would say they are like everyone else. Somehow they are louder and tend to be the center of attention while they spin tall tales of their voyages. The profession gives them incredible muscles and the perhaps dangerous amounts of alcohol they consume gives them some weight. Onboard a skyship, communication can be the difference between life and death, so they shout across the ship to each other. Their limited time off-ship leaves them eager to interact with people they haven't just spent an entire season cooped up with and they make friends quickly.When Two Crews Meet
"They say, and its true, I've seen it, that when two skycrews meet the river will run with alcohol and the winds will sing. Well, it isn't entirely true but you know what I mean."Skycrews may be individual small groups of people but they all understand each other and when they meet - especially when they meet onshore - there is bound to be a celebration. They drink, sing, and tell tales - often in different languages - but always have a merry time. These chance encounters - made more common by the profession - have contributed to the fairly uniform traditions among the crews of different cultures and nationalities.
Skycrews in Society
As people who travel long and far, skycrews are a bit of an oddity in many places, especially those without a skyport. Even in most places with one, they are often only seen a few times each year. People love to crowd around and listen to what they have to say and will often pay for their drinks if the stories keep coming - an arrangement the sailors have no problem with.Stub Article
This article is just a stub for now and will be expanded upon later.Old Article
This article was written in the past and does not meet my current standards for any number of article quality, layout, or content.In-Progress Article
This article is being worked on, perhaps not at this very moment, but it is being worked on.Tics and Taboos
Despite hailing from many different nations - and in the case of some, entirely different sky continents - skycrews have a lot in common. The entire tradition of skysailing is only just over sixtyfive years old but they have created many quirks that have transcended barriers of language and distance and culture to find homes on almost every skyship. Every time a box is loaded onto a ship it must first be slapped and every time one is offloaded it must be kicked. The slap is for good luck and the kick is to remind the box of the dirt it will soon be reunited with. It is considered very bad luck to set sail without having a drink first but it is also considered very bad luck to bring a drink onto the ship - except for loading the alcohol stores of course. Telling a boring story is said to invite an interesting one when they next take flight. Interesting flights are almost always deadly ones. Not every person on a ship has a beautiful voice but they all must sing. Not participating in a chanty is a dangerous thing to do. Losing a crew member is a detriment to the ship, so it is dangerous to the entire crew."In other words, they are big, noisy, and overly-friendly."
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