Crystal Conveyance System

Moving people and goods over the land and sea is not an ideal option for the Elementine with all of the dangers involved. Instead they have developed the Crystal Conveyance System (CCS A large network of Prismem tubes that no longer contain any magma. These prismem tubes have been cleared out all throughout Oabos, and new tubes were grown and cleared to link them as needed.

While travel on foot within the prismem tubes is possible, it is not recommended. The conveyance system has specially designed crafts to rapidly move through the tunnels and reach far off destinations very quickly. If you were traveling on foot when one of the crafts moved through your tunnel, there would be no time or method for escape. More than a few groups have unwisely tried hiking through the network and been killed when a CCS craft blasted through. The number of travelers lost to this fate are hard to track, due to there not being much left once the craft is gone. The instances are often counted by the cleaning jobs needed after the CCS craft reaches its destination.

by Kydra_Hunter using MidjourneyAI

Tunnel Network

While the network of prismem tunnels spans the entirety of the planet, there are few entrances and stops. Sections near deep oceans or giant aquifers are often inaccessible with this network. Other sections of the world have many tunnels and frequent travel points.

One of the most important travel points of the CCS is Nighthold. The mountains surrounding Nighthold are treacherous and extremely cold, making the CCS the safest way in our out for anyone other than an Eldyr.

Another key travel point is at the far end of the canyon forest at the tip of the Windblade Peninsula. This entrance to the CCS is key because the route it connects to runs under the Southern Seas and directly to the outskirts of Nighthold. Due to the tactical significance of this entrance, it is kept secret and heavily guarded. The forest at its entrance is grown and shaped to be deadly to careless travelers, and element beasts are encouraged to roam in the area. At the other end of the traversal, the exit is within a fortress, built to keep enemies within and destroy them from all sides.

CCS Craft

The crafts designed for travel in the CCS are long sleek pods, with stiff fins that protrude at intervals along the pods and twist like a wound ribbon as they extend to the back of the pod and beyond. The fins are shaped in such a way as to guide the craft through the center of the tunnel and catch the strong winds that blast steadily from behind.

The material the crafts are made with generate a magnetic field when dragged along the prismem. As the craft gains speed, this magnetic field becomes strong enough to suspend the craft in the center of the tunnel rather than dragging along the walls. Since this suspension is caused by magnetic pressure from the tunnel walls, the craft also moves with the directional changes of the tunnels. When designed, none of the tunnels are left with bends that are too sharp for the CCS crafts to move with. Tighter tunnels with more bends can only accomodate the smaller CCS crafts.

Propulsion for the craft is handled through use of the amplification process of the prismem. CCS Couriers all have strong affinity for wind in their Soul Map and use this to control the craft. They create a push of air in the tunnel behind the craft and let it build up power. As the wind forms into a powerful vortex behind the craft, the courier will nudge the vortex forward to shift it into a very powerful wind tunnel. The fins on the craft catch this wind and are pushed forward.

The CCS crafts can reach increadible speeds in a well designed tunnel. At each stopping point, there a dense cavern of water. The water is amplified much like the wind was in its initial vortex causing it to be very difficult to move through. While the fins cut into the water easily, the twisting shape quickly causes drag and brings the craft to a stop. Once the craft has fully stopped, elementine with strong water affinity open a section of the cavern for on- and off-loading before pushing the craft out to the next tunnel the courier needs.