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Acounts and reports of the Sandmaw, a marvel of desert technology, dot the journals of many who have visited Farahdeen. With their huge sails, carrying loads of passengers and their goods across the deserts of Farahdeen, traveling just the same as boats do on water, it is little wonder that outsiders are stunned by such craft. The way this travel takes place is thanks to reinforced and powerful skids that withstand miles of sand scraping and scratching against them as they travel while mighty dragon-wing shaped sails catch the powerful desert winds of the continent.
| Sandmaw | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Technology | |
| Invented by | Sariyd |
| Used by | Songaskia and Qadir |
| Rarity | Common |
History
Sandmaws are pieces of technology partly left over by the Sariyd Empire as before the Great Storm, Sandmaws were used by the Sariyd elite for what amounted to pleasure voyages through the sparse, mild deserts of Farahdeen, with the machines being powered by mechanics to allow them to work. With time, these craft became rarer, as the Qadir more commonly took to the air for their transportation. However, after the birth of the Songaskia, such vessels became key to survival, and the Desert-Drakken rapidly adapted the ruined contraptions to operate without the machines that once did the work. Additionally, the Qadir themselves largely abandoned the design, and so Sandmaws became known as a "invention" of the Songaskian Masaya by the wider world. Ultimately, the Songaskians designed the Sandmaw as it is commonly seen in the modern day, crafting it to look like a Dragon moving low across the desert from a distance, with their dragon-wing shaped sails to the ornate dragon heads carved on the front of the ships. Recent conflict has seen many Sandmaws either destroyed or held in reserve, the terrain for their use often not a factor in recent conflicts that have plagued the Songaskian Masaya. Additionally, the Qadir have sought to take back the Sandmaw, striping it of it's draconic decorations and design features to instead reflect their design style as well as convey them across the arid areas of Aloria. These original designs are rarer than the Songaskian ones, but are gaining ground in popularity as years of advancement in technology by the Qadir have allowed their Sandmaws to be sleeker, and more efficient than those of their ancestors.
Procurement/Construction
Each Songaskian Sandmaw is constructed by skilled craftsmen and weavers, using wood sourced from northern Farahdeen or bought off-continent. The Qadir, meanwhile, use complex metalwork inlaid on their hulls to reduce the need for replacement boards, while also gaining these materials largely from external sources. They largely use machine-operated facilities to build their Sandmaws.
Characteristics
Physical Characteristics
Sandmaws can be broken into three main sections, the body, the sails and the skids. The body consists of where the passengers or cargo is located during travel and where the main deck of the ship is located. The sails are designed to catch the strong winds while the skids are intended to minimize the contact between the wood and the hot desert sand. Additionally, Sandmaws can be divided into four basic types, based on size and generally undertaken tasks. The Qadir only make use of the smaller classes of the craft, and have their own names which are unfortunately eclipsed by those given by the Songaskia.
- Bammoo Maw: Also known as the Cargo or Lugging Maw, the Bammoo Maw is a large, basic cargo and passenger ship, with a crew cabin able to house up to seven people and two to three passenger cabins to accommodate up to six people for longer trips across Farahdeen. The vessel has a larger sail with multiple smaller sails to help with smoother traveling, and is generally considered the widest of the Maws.
- Taama Maw: Also known as the Travel Maw, the Taama Maw is smaller than the Supply Maw, with enough space for one or two people and a bit of cargo. It has just one mainsail positioned where the user could easily reach it while traveling thanks to this focus on a small compliment
- Kele Maw: Known in Common as Battle Maws, these vessels are large enough to carry heavy loads of war material alongside enough space for a crew of up to twenty. Up to two Nog’cadan Maws can be housed on the vessel as well as a crude form of life raft or for tactical reasons. There are also two small platforms for Songaskian Mages to position themselves for ranged combat efforts.
- Nog’cadan Maw: Nog’cadan Maws are the smallest of all Sandmaws and are built to be the lightest and quickest as a result. They can carry a single person, limited supplies and are mainly used in seasonal sporting events or for quick single person travel. This method is also the most physically taxing, as the individual needs to be standing the entire time to operate the craft.
Application
A Sandmaw is pushed by catching the heated winds that race across and up from the sun baked sands of Farahdeen in their sails, thus propelling the Sandmaw forward, along its skids. The skids of the Sandmaw are designed to minimize contact between the hot sand in Farahdeen and the hull of the ship, as their oblong shape and smooth hardened wood decreases the friction between the wood and the sand as well, allowing for a smooth trip.
Effects
Sandmaws allow their operators to travel over longer distances in a shorter amount of time, avoiding the stops and rests of normal animals used by the Songaskia. These ships have also opened up many trade routes between the Songaskian cities of Farahdeen, traversing some of the more hostile, deep deserts, thus allowing the flow of essential goods throughout the landmass. For the Qadir meanwhile, they serve a similar purpose, of travel, but they also serve as a deeper cultural connection to the Sariyd of the past.
Trivia
- Songaskians hold racing events during the windy seasons, taking their smallest Sandmaws to special locations in the Farahdeen deserts for these crowd gathering events.
- Toymakers make smaller versions of the Sandmaws for children and ornate models for collectors, sometimes with moveable parts as well for extra complexity.
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