Skatars (Ss-ka-tars)
Summary
Combining the function of shoes and ankle/shin straps, skatars are a specific kind of equipment found principally within Sa-kemet, especially the Sa-kemet Tribes. Specialized crysium is built into the soles of the skatars, fulfilling an extremely specific form of enchantment. Although the technique is a closely guarded secret, the end result is fairly simple to understand. Skatars reduce friction contact between the soles and the ground based on how the user manipulates them with mana. When sufficiently charged, the skatars remove nearly all friction, allowing the wielder to 'skate' with impunity across the ground. The original tribe to invent them, the Ahdarqi, are famous for their usage, and the other tribes within the heartlands followed suit. Skatars work best upon sands and generally flat, unobstructed grounds. It is not that they easily break if the user hits rocks or anything, but rather the user will probably face plant or suffer serious damage from having their skate interrupted. For those who have to trudge across the roiling sand dunes of Sa-kemet, the skatar became priceless in its value. Proficient skatar users can eventually surf across the sands, using the downward slopes of dunes to then launch themselves up the other end. The speeds, and launch heights, they can reach are truly fearsome, and perhaps the fastest in all of the deserts. As weight does affect the user dramatically, lighter equipment loads and smaller tribes people use the skatars the best. Heavier weights are possible, but the amount of crysium and mana needed to propel them becomes prohibitive. As a consequence, scouts, roaming warriors, and other highly mobile professions make best use of the skatars. The heartland tribes changed practically over night to accommodate these people, as their value in guiding caravans or people safely became irreplaceable. Moreso, they could find new locations for the tribe to migrate to with minimal risk, and even faster response times than ever before. Combat proved trickier, as with no real way to 'slow down' mid-air, skatar users would smash themselves against animals. If their flight trajectory got messed up, they also ran the risk of splattering across the ground as well. Skatars spread slowly throughout Sa-kemet at large, since many of them were simply knock offs of the core idea. The Ahdarqi originals are highly coveted pieces, as they chiefly keep hold of the secret method to craft a proper skatar. Despite that, the copied skatars are still just as functional in the role, if lacking for the truly astounding feats Ahdarqi warriors can achieve. Hammu Tibern, Vizier of the Shining Legion, infamously used skatars during his time as a bandit. Many cities, having their fair share of sloped or curved surfaces, practically became his personal training grounds as the guards tried to apprehend him. While Atenkhet knew of skatars, it wasn't until him that they started to seriously utilize them as well–also because a lot of thieves started using them too.Significance
While the hunting and combat aspects of skatars are self-evident, it would be their speeding of travel that truly created a revolution. Faster, more agile, and usually far safer couriers, scouts, and messengers could skate across Sa-kemet, bearing all sorts of tides with them. Knowledge, social bonds, and much more spread with alarming speed. Eventually, the courier job far outstripped the warrior one for skatar users. Even to modern day, reliable skatar couriers form the backbone of communication for Sa-kemet.
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