Elemental Engine

Elemental engines are the loadstone technology that powers the machines of the Fractured Skies. Created by harnessing the power of Source Crystals and Echo Quartz. 
Clever artificers can use multiple elemental engines to achieve multiple effects, creating advanced technologies of elemental energy.

Utility

Elemental engines have different abilities depending on the Source Crystal chunk that they have inside of it, the complexity of the engine, and the Magitech Circuits connecting the engine to the object it's powering. 
Earth attuned engines generally manipulate solid matter, create magnetic fields, and can produce small to moderate amounts of dirt and stone out. Fire attuned engines can produce bursts of fire, increase speed, and generate heat and light. Air attuned engines allow for levitation, electricity, and can produce strong winds. Water attuned engines create geysers of water, cool things, and dampen magical energy form other elements (particularly fire).
Air, fire, and water engines are used to power Sky Ships and Zephyr Chariots, while earth attuned engines are used to power Land Riders. Each of the engine types, however, sees a wide variety of uses in more advanced societies (all the way from heating interiors to powering public transportation).

Manufacturing

While anyone with sufficient technical acumen can construct an elemental engine, most elemental engines are constructed in factories on the major islands, such as Skyhome, Molten Heart, Paradise, and Dovin Prime. 
On smaller islands, individual inventors and artificers build and repair individual elemental engines.

Inventor(s)

The first elemental engine was invented by Robin Freeboot, the creator of Sky Ships. In the hundreds of years since their invention, however, dozens of engineers and artificers have iterated and improved upon Freeboot's original design.

Access & Availability

Elemental engines can be purchased on nearly every civilized island, particularly those who trade regularly with the major powers of the Skies. The are generally purchasable at hardware stores, inventors shops, or available for special order. On more major, industrial islands such as Skyhome, they can be purchased directly from large scale manufacturers.

Complexity

Elemental engines have increased in complexity over time, particularly after the advent of Magitech Circuits . In the beginning, elemental engines were bulky, simplistic, and could do little more than cause a single effect on a single object (it was a feat of engineering to construct the A1 Sparrow with only a single large air elemental engine), but most Sky Ships constructed in the last few decades have multiple smaller elemental engines to accomplish different effects.