Blaze Cart

You would make a cart ride against the wind and without horses by lighting a bon-fire below it? I have no time for such nonsense.

— Elam Vaskim, Council of Colleges member'

Blaze Carts are a magical invention which allows a driver to move around at a relative fast speed without the use of horses. It uses the elemental power of Ember Falls as a propulsion to move the vehicle. In Elven lands and especially in Mervidel there is a large amount of these Falls which allowed them to develop these carts.

History

Before

Before the invention of the blaze carts the only means of fast transport over land where either by horse or by means of teleportation. Because teleportation was expensive even for the magically inclined Elves the horse was the main way to move around.
This changed around 915 AE when many Elves in Mervidel sought for more ways to use their abundance of Ember Falls. They were already used in weapons to a degree but never tested on vehicles.

Evolution

When the Ember Falls were used to create blaze carts they were not used that frequently. At that time it was mainly a gimmick used by the elite to show off that they were affluent enough to waste magical resources. Eventually, however, it became more common place to own a blaze cart, especially in the larger cities.
Its use for freight transporation and travel between settlements remained limited until a hovering variant was made. This required a larger amount of Ember Falls but made the Elven supply lines very efficient.
Recently the blaze carts were introduced in warfare but although they had their uses as a subsitution for cavalry they still proved most effective to maintain supply lines.

Powered by fire

To power the blaze carts the Elves use several Ember Falls, a type of Falls that is heavily mined near Mervidel. These Ember Crystals are known for their elemental Fire Magic. The magic that it can be used for can range from smoke creation to all kinds of fiery effects. In the case of the blaze carts it is used to create hot air which pushes the vehicle forward. For the hovering variant the same hot air is used to push the cart upwards.
Depending on the power needed more Ember Falls could be used. For very fast carts or to transport heavy loads the hot air often becomes actual fire and smoke.

The Blaze Cart

Properties

Max Speed

14 km/h

Weapons

Fire blaster when used in warfare

Inventor

Lianderik Selemana

Types

Regular, rapid, freight

Lenght

5 m (regular), 20m (freight)

Size

4-8 passengers

Types

Because the blaze carts exist for quite some time already several variants have been created since the initial invention.

Regular

The most basic form of the blaze cart has not changed that much since the first versions. It consists of a often round carriage in which the passengers sit at opposing sides. The sides often have wings to stabilise the vehicle. The front of the cart is made of glass and windows are sometimes present at the sides. This allows passengers to have a better view during the ride.
The driver sits in the middle of the frontal window and steers the cart. More advanced carts can drive themselves by having a bound elemental as the driver.

Rapid

The rapid variant of the blaze cart is built for speed. Almost all of these carts are more aerodynamic and have a set a wings that is closer to the body of the cart. Due to the power needed in these carts more ember crystals need to be used. The result of this is the trail of fire and smoke whenever a rapid blaze cart passes by.

Freight

The freight variant is a larger kind of cart and can be up to 20m in lenght. The cargo is placed along the long body of the cart and is kept in place by the high sides. When the freight is moved over long distances off less maintained roads the hovering variant is more frequently used.
Because hovering for such a large vehicle requires a good amount of power a large amount of ember crystals is used. The result of this is also that smoke often rises from the underside of the cart. Additional magical protection is used to keep the smoke away from the driver but the ones walking behind it are not so lucky.

by kefkejaco with midjourney

by Chris Rhoads

Fire Protection

Due to the large amount of heat and sometimes even fire that is produced by the elemental crystals in the cart, some protection is needed. For this reason every exhaust for the heat is made of good heat resistant metal. The same metal is used at all areas that come come in contact with the heat. For the rest of the vehicle lighter materials are used.

Weapons

When a blaze cart is used for war several types of weaponary were tried. At first the tried to use them as regular cavalry by adding blades to the front and sides of the vehicle. This did not prove to be the most efficient use and soon a switch to other weaponary was made. The most common current form is a type of fire cannon that is used to set fire to the front lines in the hopes of creating a breakthrough.

Further Reading