Technology of Baltia

Technology has developed rapidly within the past 400 years of history. Particularly on the southern continent, where innovation was necessary for survival on both the individual level and the national level, new and exciting inventions have been released in what most now feel is a non-stop cadence. Even the nation of Solaria, which has historically been slow to change and adapt, has found society revolutionized by the greatest of these inventions.

The spark that ignited this powder keg of invention can be attributed to two things: the Dryanni Chamber, and potensium. Though not all modern inventions utilize either, they formed the backbone of the first wave of innovation, and are considered to be fundamental to many operations of regular society.

Originally created by Arthur Dryanni, the legendary artificer who would eventually ascend to become the Maker, the Dryanni Chamber was the first device that was able to convert a source of solid fuel into malleable energy. First being engineered during the Cataclysm itself, little evidence remains of how they were actually used - some accounts suggest they were used as crude weapons, while others indicate it may have been used to craft early versions of airships. The lack of written records suggest that its use was either highly secretive, or of little consequence at the time.

Regardless of how it was deployed, the original Dryanni Chamber was a hollow metallic cylinder rounded on one end, the inside walls covered with arcane runes, with a door on the rounded side that could be opened to add fuel to the chamber. The runes inside would then convert the fuel into pure force, which would then be expelled through the cylinder toward the flat portion, which was open at the end. This force could then be used to propel objects, such as firing a projectile, or even to lift the object or individual the chamber was attached to.

The original devices created by Dryanni would be lost to time, but schematics of these devices would survive into the present day. Unearthed by Solarian archeologists during the Song of Reclamation, these preserved documents would be pored over by artificers and eventually lead to the resurgence of the device. However, the first devices born from this rediscovery proved useful only in niche applications, as the amount of coal necessary to power Dryanni Chambers made them impractical in many circumstances.

After the Cataclysm, a new substance was discovered - potensium. With a texture and consistency similar to tree sap, and a metallic silver coloration that made it appear very similar to pure mercury at first glance, potensium was first noticed in small quantities in the years following the Cataclysm. Accumulating naturally on underground rock in a manner remarkably similar to condensation, this substance initially found little use beyond the ornamental. Its most common use for nearly a thousand years was decorative, being used as accenting on decorative pieces and jewelry after being processed to increase its durability.

However, with the rediscovery of the Dryanni Chamber, the importance of potensium changed. Some enterprising artificers engineered modified Dryanni Chambers that accepted potensium as a fuel source. Much to their dismay, however, potensium proved to be similar to coal in terms of energy content, and thus subject to many of the same constraints initially.

It was only when one of the descendants of Arthur Dryanni himself, an artificer by the name of Lindsay ver Dryanni, decided to pursue potensium further did it become a viable fuel source. In a process that took several years to perfect, Linsay pioneered the steps to refining potensium into a more energy-dense substance. The end result was a far more solid fuel, resembling a sealed glass container of glittering mercury. Further improvements to the process would also standardize the shapes and size of refined potensium , with the substance typically taking on the form of cylindrical rods of varying (but standardized) sizes.

The efficiency of these fuel rods would allow the Dryanni Chamber to be used in far more applications than could previously be imagined.

The first major use of the Potensium Dryanni Chamber was in an attempt to improve the ability for individuals to travel. Since the cataclysm, most forms of travel still involved the use of work animals such as horses, with only the elite able to afford faster modes such as teleportation. The airship was actually the first form of transport explored by the enterprising artificers of Solaria, who sought a way to allow travel through the enormous Solarian continent that wasn't hampered by geographical constraints such as mountains. The fact that this appeared to be an initial purpose for the Dryanni Chamber helped to steer creative minds in this direction as well.

Early tests were successful, with the raw force generated by a Dryanni Chamber proving sufficient to generate lift. However, stability would be a recurring issue, with multiple Dryanni Chambers being required to improve it. It would take roughly 150 years for the airship to be perfected, as the various underlying technologies were discovered and refined, particularly those that would allow the easy control of separate chambers for stability. The final product, however, would unlock the Umbrian continent to exploration and colonization.

While the airship failed to get off the ground, other forms of transportation would be theorized and deployed to greater effect. The first of these would be the railroad, using a single chamber to apply force to a spinning mechanism that would then turn the wheels of the train. The automobile would follow sometime after, applying a similar concept to modernize the carriage. The railroad would prove to be far more popular within Solaria, as it was more affordable to the vast majority of its population, with only the elites of the nation investing in personal vehicles.

Another major application of the Dryanni Chamber was in the creation of a new weapon: firearms. The force generated by a Dryanni Chamber could be used to propel objects, and it did not take long for the more military-minded inventors of the world to see how that function could be utilized. This quickly led to the development of cannons, which were further miniaturized into handheld weapons. While Solaria would pioneer the technology, the lack of external threats meant the empire had little reason to adopt it. The nations of the Belt would be far quicker to use the technology in practical ways, with Umbria advancing the technology even further.

As refined potensium grew exponentially in importance, some enterprising artificers began to consider what other properties this wonderous substance had, and began to experiment.

Eventually, these experiments would pay off with the first of the “potensium materials”: perlcium, also known colloquially as warglass or mithril.

After heating raw potensium, it was found that the substance spread out and could be coaxed into forming a uniquely strong bond. In fact, the heated potensium would spread to such a significant extent that it would become translucent, resembling a paper-thin sheet of glass. Through a constant cycle of heating, shaping, and folding it was eventually found that it could be forged into solid objects such as weapons. Further, such weapons were as durable as steel, while being remarkably light.

The second material to be forged from potensium was gravidium, also known as adamantium. After seeing the success resulting from heating potensium, the opposite path was pursued, and attempts to freeze it dramatically ensued. Initially, r45t,kkl