Equipment of Eden I: Arsenal

“I can assure you ma’am, I prayed and watched the stars more than any astrologer during the creation of this item. All the proper procedures were definitely followed. I lit incense as I worked the steel, I mixed the solutions only beneath the Alchemist’s Constellation, I sang the prayers of artificer each day, I spoke with a steel spirit who examined my work and deemed it suitable, and I received the ninefold blessings.”

“Good then! So it is safe to use?”

“Well, no. Probably not very safe, no.”

“The army of Andaliel shall commission a thousand.”

Ever since the first alchemist found that certain oils and solutions, when combined, could cause an explosion that could (and did) take the hands off the wrists, Adelians have begun to increasingly apply magic to the creation of weapons. While the valiant swords and brutal maces remain deadly weapons in the hands of powerful martial artists, for the common people, it is easier to pull a trigger. The dream of the militaries world over is to arm every soldier with both a shot weapon and a blade. This dream has yet to be realized, and the majority of soldiers must still make due with crossbows, swords and pikes, though many at least carry a grenade and a shotwand. Due to the complex process of creating these weapons, most are in the realm of the specialist. The Adelian military “support crew,” “rifleman,” “grenadier,” or several other positions are designed with this in mind. If your entire army cannot have shot weapons, you want the 1/4 of it that does have some to be the best trained among your number. In this article we’ll examine some of the arsenal the Adelians have developed, as well as the many problems with their creation.

The biggest problem, and one which must be stated separately, is superstition. The Adelians see religion in all things. After coming into contact with the Angels, Adelians have realized that artifice taken too far is dangerous. With the fear that a simple shotwand could become a ravening monster if allowed (a fear that is entirely unwarranted but nonetheless well expressed by nearly every Adelian), artifice has become an impenetrable process of sanctification and prayer that nonetheless manages to put out very incredible results.

Shotwand: The simple shotwand is the most common firearm in Adel. A one-handed grip handle, a trigger, a hammer, a chamber and a barrel, parts wood and parts metal, covered in runes, cooled in holy waters, lubricated with sacred oils. A small catch on its side, when pulled, opens the chamber to admit a cartridge, loaded from the side. The cartridge is filled with a volatile solution. When the hammer strikes it, the cartridge erupts from the barrel, propelled by the bursting fluid, and strikes a target with some force. It can be had for the low low price of 200 or so copper turtles, which is to say, for a very not-low price. The shotwand is also the safest weapon, for its small cartridges do not tempt fate as much. Shot weapons are noisy and have some recoil, but the latter isn’t a problem for Shotwands.

Shotstaff: A two-handed, longer shotwand, and a common two-handed firearm. Like a shotwand, it fires cartridges in much the same manner. However, the larger cartridge of a shotstaff is more prone to mishaps, which may remove fingers from the wielder’s hands. It boasts much more power than a shotwand and better range. Reloading is a bit more cumbersome as the weapon is always held two-handed to fire, and it uses the same reloading system as a shotwand. It is also large enough that a bayonet can be attached for versatility. All of the armies of the world have adopted the shotstaff as a weapon of major importance, and among any 10 soldiers, at least 2 or 3 will have a shotstaff in hand. Most mishaps with Shotstaffs extend from not at least muttering the proper war hymns during the reloading process, so all shooters learn these obeisances by heart. A new kind of shotstaff which self-loads and fires continuously from a small feed-magazine is making the rounds. It has been adopted in small numbers in Vedaria, and is a prototype in Andaliel.

Flamespike: A two-handed, rectangular, boxy weapon made typically of cheap ores, with a round nozzle end. It is filled with heat stones, a common sedimentary rock in Adel that burns in contact with certain elements. Mere touch is enough to set off heat stones, so a flame spike is essentially a container of heat stones and catalyst solution. The trigger releases solution and lights the heatstones, shooting fire out of the nozzle. It is a dangerous weapon to carry around, and is, more than a weapon, really a way to dispose of things that have set off Adelian’s religious superstitions, like corpses (might rise as undead), strange weaponry of the Sorians and High Elves and other Adelian enemies (spirits only know what bad karma they hold), and gadgetry of the Pre-World (burn it first, examine later).

Hand Cannon: A portable steel cannon that fires fist-sized cannonballs. A cartridge with volatile solutions is placed within the barrel of the weapon, and then a cannonball is loaded. As with all Adelian Shot Weapons, the design allows for the side of the cannon to open, admit ammunition, and then close. The hand cannon catch serves as a lock to keep the chamber closed, otherwise the powerful cartridge of a hand cannon might harm the user. A lever on the outside serves as a trigger and strikes the cartridge, creating an explosion inside the cannon that propels the cannonball. The whole procedure is tedious but very cheap. Cannonballs can be recovered and cause horrifying injury. It is the premier portable siege weapon, particularly because it can be set up and fired by one person.

Larger cannons are used as defensive weapons and in sea vessels and flying ships. Larger cannons are also attached to Prism Floats to create mobile shooting platforms.

Arrowlance: One of the simplest magic techniques known to the Adelians is generating a pushing force through Kinesis magic. Crafty artifice allows for a weapon that functions by using this force on projectiles. The Arrowlance is in essence a magic railgun. A two-handed weapon (though there are some rarer, smaller variants for officers), with the aesthetic of a steel crossbow minus the draws and string, the arrowlance has a u-shaped barrel and chamber. A bolt is placed within it, and the weapon launches the bolt at deadly speed using kinetic force. The Arrowlance must either be wielded by someone with an aura tempered by training in magic, or it must be charged by a wizard with some skill in artifice prior to use. Each charge holds for about 20 shots. The arrowlance is rare to see in use by common soldiers, and is most often wielded by Sargasso’s Seraphim, who’s training allows them to employ the weapon quite naturally. It is difficult to craft and having both ammunition and energy consumption at once make it less popular than shotwands and staves. However, it is much more silent and has little to no recoil. The arrowlance is thought a holy weapon. It is a common weapon to graft unto battle golems, given that the golems aren’t terribly abundant and require mages anyway, so they should have the best weaponry available.

Heavy Arrowlance: A much more popular alternative (relatively speaking) to the arrowlance, the heavy arrowlance is a portable ballista. A pair of soldiers can ferry and set up the weapon and use it to fire from a position. A Heavy Arrowlance uses up so much energy that it is necessary for an artificer to be part of the crew, to charge the arrowlance after every few shots. Each shot, however, boasts incredible power. Reloading takes some time and the efforts of both members of the shooting crew, so each shot must count. Some innovations have led to Heavy Arrowlances on wheels or on wagons. These still require two people to operate, including one artificer, but can be positioned more easily.

All arrowlance weapons have a slow and staggeringly obtuse crafting process. The Adelians believe that this weapon is one of the more dangerous weapons to its user. Since the arrow is loaded into an open-topped u-shape and propelled by the magic along the walls of the u-shape, it is possible for it to fire backwards at its wielder, or so the Adelians believe. They have failed to create designs that close the back and top without compromising the flow of kinetic energy along the runes imprinted along the weapon. So they keep the traditional u-shape design, but go through a lengthy process of sanctification. No two artificers go through the same ordeals to make sure their weapons are spiritually sound, but most of them involve a staggered creation process over many months, as stars shift across the sky, weather patterns change, and the artificer’s morning tea gives strange omens. However it is done, at the end of the process the weapon is believed spiritually sound and holy.

Grenades: Adelians have found all manner of alchemical solutions, combining dusts, extracts and oils from various flora, fauna and minerals to produce various effects. There are grenades that produce a harmless but blinding flash, grenades that create a cloud of smoke, and grenades that burn or temporarily freeze targets. There are grenades that explode in quite a volatile fashion. Grenades are the common ancestry of most Adelian fire weapons. From them, the cartridges for shot weapons and to propel cannon weapons were derived. Early grenades were extremely volatile, but newer ones rarely explode in the grenadier’s belt. Grenades can be made faster and cheaper than shotstaves can and provide a way to give melee wielders on the battlefield a little boost in a pinch.

Small Launcher: A launcher is a skeletal steel frame with a handle and trigger and a sturdy sling. It is a two-handed weapon used to throw grenades. A grenade is too volatile to be launched using a kinetic weapon like an arrowlance – once that much force is exerted unto it, it will explode at a dangerously short range. But a traditional sling, mounted on a framework that makes for easier, farther and stronger shooting, can launch grenades safely. The Small Launcher allows for the elastic sling to be pulled back farther than can be done with a hand slingshot, and kept locked in place. The trigger releases the sling. The small launcher is a grenadier’s best friend, easy to maintain and use. An under-mounted grenade launcher for the shotstaff and arrowlance is also available in small numbers for elite units who need more versatile weapons.

Heavy Launcher: The typical grenade is hand-held, but larger, more potent missiles exist. For these, the Heavy Launcher is employed. Like a Heavy Arrowlance, it requires a small crew to move and operate. One grenadier acts as a loader, while the other keeps the weapon steady and aims it. A single person can operate it, but at much lesser efficacy.

Dragonstrikes: A long metal bolt filled with explosive cartridges, it is a heavy ordinance that can be fired from a Heavy Arrowlance to very long distances. It is hard to produce and precious, and no Adelian commander calls a fire mission lightly. The Heavy Arrowlance is set up in the safety of the battlefield’s edge and loaded with a Dragonstrike bolt. A Fire Mission is ordered by the infantry commander and relayed to a Fire Team by a battlefield Monitor mage (a mage skilled in long-distance telepathy and divination) accompanying the infantry commander. The Monitor signals the Fire Team and projects for them the area to which the bolt will be aimed for. The Dragonstrike creates a series of explosions as the various cartridges inside it erupt along a large area. It is imprecise, but covering an area in flames and bursts of force and clouds of smoke does not need to be a precise act. A Dragonstrike missile has somewhat of a disadvantage against fortifications – it takes more missiles to crack a thick stone wall than anyone wants to commit to the task. It is cheaper to siege a fort with regular cannons or try to infiltrate it or attack it from above than it is to launch two or three dragonstrikes at a wall and obliterate it.

A much more expensive but effective type of Fire Team is the Flying Ordinance Team, which uses a Heavy Launcher loaded on a Prism Float to deliver dragonstrikes from overhead. They are somewhat more accurate, but are more difficult to hide on the battlefield. Even a good shotstaff shot could cut one of the cables connecting the floating engine to the platform carrying the weapon, and destroy the very expensive equipment.

Innovation in Adel is rather slow. While the weapons above have become mostly accepted, any new weapons, even those based on the above, would be subject to a lot of skepticism. A common reply to an artificer’s unveiling of new gadgetry is “Did you pray before making that thing? How much?” with a tone of surprise and indignation. It has taken hundreds of years for Adelian weapons to reach the limited level of profileration they currently enjoy. It will take, perhaps, thousands upon thousands more years for the Adelians to reach a “modern” standard on weaponry, and it would take a radical cultural shift. While the Adelians and their world remains as it is, the tools of warfare will remain as they are.