Cloudhopper

Cloudhoppers are vehicles similar to boats that use a combination of hot air and magic runes to fly through the sky. They were created originally by the dwarf Kiara Brassfinger and the gnome Vilo Tamaritar to ease trade in their native region, allowing the crew of the 'Hopper' to avoid bandits, troublesome territories and land monsters, although the ship is exposed to aerial dangers. The invention got its name from one of the prototype tests. The ship gained a good elevation, but when tried to advance forward some systems started to turn off and on rather quickly making the ship look like it was giving little jumps in the air. Luckily the crew of that prototype returned to earth safely.

Design

The hull of the hopper resembles a nordling raidship, a really common type of boat in the area the creators of the hopper come from. The hull is also adapted to better move into aerial spaces rather than water. Strong ropes fortified with steel threads connect the hull with the air balloon, this being built by a tightly knit special fabric and supported by steel bands to keep the form of the balloon.
The air balloon is filled with hot air using a fire powered by oil, sometimes from plants, but mostly from animal fat, and magical runes that conjure fire and air energy. The air runes are also used during landing to slow the descent speed and ease the maneuvers to the crew.
The ship can have different sizes depending on the size of the cargo and crew members, with more variations starting to appear. Modificactions can be done to the ships, making it more fast or resistant using the right magical runes or special materials. It is also normal that non certified models add ballistas or nimintite cannons to have better attack and defense.

Models

With the invention of the Cloudhopper, many nations and group look to acquire them or create their own. These are the models of cloudhopper known at the moment:

• Alto Cargo Transport Cloudhopper Model 2. Light, Medium, Large. The second version of the classic hopper.
• Cirrus Fast Movement Cloudhopper. A hopper designed for fast travel, small cargo and crew capacity.
• C-Stratus Reinforced Cloudhopper. A hopper designed to be able to travel during rain and snow storms sacrificing speed and manoeuvrability.
• Cumulus Passenger Cloudhopper. This model is design mainly for entertainment porpouses.
• Nimbus Defense Ship Cloudhopper. A new model still in prototype with greater defenses and weaponry, created to be used as an escort for important cargo ships.
• Godray Imperial Skycharriot. Prototype of imperial design expected to be used in war.
• Drakkenbane Dragon Hunting Airship. Another prototype, this by the Goldheart dwarven clan. The main purpose and functionality of this model is dragon hunting as the name indicates.

More variations have appeared over the years, but none standardized as many of them come from stolen designs and are used by criminals.