Windway

The **WIndway** was a means of transport in Inecuria that transferred passengers and goods using wheeled multi-carriage trains running on rails. It was essentially identical in principle to modern rail transport, except that the trains were pulled along not by locomotives, but were pushed along by catching magically generated wind in large sails.

The establishment of the first windway network is generally credited to Consort-Emperor Eron, the husband of Empress Rixa I, though - in characteristic humility - he always insisted that he was not the inventor, but was merely putting the ideas of others into practice. The windway is a clear evolution of the wind-wagons previously used by the army of Emperor Athdus III, and was almost certainly also inspired by the older wagonways of Onshi, which ran alongside the roads leading to the city and were known to substantially improve the reliability and efficiency of wagons delivering goods, as well as relieving the traffic situation by clearly separating wagons from pedestrians and riders.

The windway was initially a purely military project, established by the state to overcome the logistical challenges faced by the new military bases established under the reign of Rixa and Eron; it enabled military forces to remain permanently stationed in an area without wiping out the local food supplies, as food could be delivered from much further away, significantly spreading out the burden that the armies imposed on the peasantry. However, within a few decades civilian windways were also being constructed, and windways eventually came to link all the major cities of the continent. This laid the basis for later modern rail transport, and was a major factor as to why the Nesarian Empire developed railways much faster than any other country and has continued to favour them as a primary means of transit to this day.

It was also quickly realised that windways were instrumental in communication, and they formed the foundation of a continent-wide postal service. The windways were instrumental in not only allowing the Emperor to convey orders and communicate with subordinates, but were necessary for the Imperial Government to simply know what was going on at all over the colossal expanse of the Empire. Many historians have speculated that Imperial rule would have eventually fragmented and disintegrated if not for the windways enabling the swift transmission of information, people and goods.

## Development

The very first windway networks were made of wood, using wagons with wooden wheels running on wooden rails. Consort-Emperor Eron knew from the beginning that metal rails and wheels would be superior due to the much lower rolling friction, but such a project would be immensely expensive, and the Nesarian aristocracy - which would ultimately be footing most of the bill - strongly resisted against investing so much into an unproven system. The wooden windways were therefore not intended as permanent, but were rather prototypes to prove that the concept would work - though Eron was keen to remind all onlookers that a wooden windway would be less efficient than one using iron rails and wheels.

Eron's dreams were ultimately saved by the Smithmasters of Bhoravasa, a uniquely large and far-reaching "super-guild" consisting of all the smithing guilds of Bhoravasa, which had - in most respects - taken control of Bhoravasa during the chaos of the Absurd Calamity. Eron was on friendly terms with the leaders of the Smithmasters as they had cooperated during the Imperial intervention in the crisis, and the guild agreed to take on half of the cost of a new iron windway network in Chalparna on the condition that Bhoravasi metals and smiths would be used. The network took several years to prove itself, but aristocrats across the continent took note and were forced to admit how effective windways were at hauling large volumes of goods over land; there was subsequently little further complaint about the cost of constructing windways.

In the reign of Rixa and Eron, the iron wheels of windway wagons were merely wooden wheels with an iron surface attached to the rim (since the goal was to take advantage of the lower rolling friction rather than the integrity of the material), but these would come to be replaced by solid iron wheels as economies of scale reduced the cost of metal manufacturing - which was itself made possible by the cheap transport the windways offered. Though more expensive, these wheels were able to bear much heavier loads and were far less prone to encountering issues when crossing junctions, improving the reliability and efficiency of the network. By the turn of the 10th century AD, steel had largely replaced the iron in both the wheels and rails.

## Societal Impacts

Just as the implementation of wind-wagons had elevated air mages in Nesarian society, the establishment of the windway substantially elevated the status of air mages all across the continent. A similar role already existed for air mages at sea, where they were generally employed as "windmakers" to create artificial wind for ships, but the windways opened up more opportunities for air mages - particularly those who did not live near the sea or major rivers - and put them in higher demand, greatly inflating their wages and improving their standard of living. Although being a windmaker for a train was highly tedious work - especially for the Elfkin, who are notoriously susceptible to boredom - few air mages complained about the monotony when they were some of the highest-paid citizens on the continent.

The Harpies were the most affected by the introduction of the windways; their homeland of Eske Karaa is generally poor in resources and the Harpy nation had no real specialisation or competitive edge - aside from their famous Golden Olives - that let them improve their economic status. However, they did have their air magic - the one kind of magic that Harpies could use. They increasingly found work as maritime windmakers following their integration into the Nesarian Empire, but it was the windways that truly enriched and elevated Eske Karaa. Within just a few months of the windways opening for business, Harpies could be found all over the continent working the sails; whilst some permanently moved away from their native lands, the majority sent the money they earnt back home, rapidly eradicating the reputation of Eske Karaa as an impoverished backwater.