Article Written: 4 January 1451
One of the most noteworthy engineers during the period of the Practical Industrial Revolution was Sir John Dane (901-946) of the Edoran Kingdom. Dane was known for his invention of the hot-air balloon and the Enhanced Flying War Machine.
Enhanced Flying War Machine: Structure
John Dane's Enhanced Flying War Machine of the mid tenth century was an improved model of his hot-air balloon and consisted of an open Navigation Deck just below the lifting chamber, a closed small Command Deck on the next level down, and a closed Cannon Deck below that. The Command and Cannon Decks were each ten feet in height and ten feet in length and width. Meanwhile, the open Navigation Deck had a ten-foot clearance between the floor and the lifting chamber.
In the center of the Navigation Deck stood a special contraption known as a Kettle, which was filled with boiling water heated by greycoal. The interior of the Command Deck consisted of a cushioned chair and small desk, at which would sit the Captain. This room had four windows, one on each of the four sides of the structure. The Cannon Deck, meanwhile, had an opening in the front of the balloon for the shaft of the cannon, which was a special lightweight contraption that shot out special paper-made shells that exploded on targets upon impact. The balloon was occupied by a total of six people. The Navigation Deck was occupied by two people: one who steered the balloon with yoke that operated appendages made of tents that shifted and directed the balloon in the desired direction, and one who operated the Kettle. The One who operated the yoke was also the one who communicated with the Captain what he observed both in the sky and on the battlefield. The Command Deck was occupied by the Captain as well as the Balloon Spellcrafter, the latter of whom operated spellcrafting defenses against ammunition shots at the balloon. On the Cannon Deck, one person was responsible for packing and loading the ammunition into the special cannon while the second person operated the target scope and the lever that fired the shots.
Political Context
In the 930s the prospering Edoran Kingdom under King Patrick was under constant attack by pirates, but was able to defend itself with a new type of weapon: the bullet-rifle. Divisions of naval and army forces under the Edoran banner who were armed with both traditional cannons and bullet-rifles were able to keep the pirates at bay.
Life in the small military states of Malbec and Ecnidivelc, however, was not as prosperous. With the two nations being targets for pirates as well, the ensuing economic hardships led the people to take desperate measures. King Dram of Malbec and King Marren of Ecnedivelc secretly dispatched bandits to sneak over the border into the Edoran Kingdom, where they would attack and kill Edoran travellers, and then plunder their vans for goods and valuables. Between 936 and 937, Edoran forces scouted bandit camps and attacked with troops armed with bullet-rifles. However, a group of bandits who survived one of these attacks fled back to King Marren of Ecnedivelc with the bullet-rifle idea. In May 937, King Marren and King Dram met and chartered the construction of mills to produce large numbers of bullet-rifles and, for each Kingdom, build an army of 2000 soldiers trained on such weapons.
An unknown traitor from the Kingdom of Malbec sent an alarming message of this to King Patrick, who, between 938 and 943, chartered for the construction of mills to produce an even larger quantity of rifles and increase the size of the Edoran military. Queen Mary of the United Kingdom of Daylram and Norm, alarmed with the growth of Edoran forces, signed an alliance with Malbec and Ecnedivelc, and chartered for the mass-production of John Dane's first hot-air balloons.
Proposition
In June 944, in response to an assassination attempt on King Patrick, the Edoran Kingdom invaded Malbec and Ecnedivelc. In September 944, Queen Mary of Daylram and Norm responded with the advance into Edoran territory to the North. Leading this invasion was John Dane commanding a large fleet of high-flying hot air balloons, which helped to advance Queen Mary's forces ten miles North of the original border and precipitated the Battle of Mount Eston. By 5 September, Queen Mary's forces began to show victorious, but in the week that followed, the Edoran Kingdom rolled out new cannons capable of shooting high enough to down John Dane's balloons. Much of Dane's fleet was destroyed while the rest of Queen Mary's forces sustained heavy losses, forcing them to officially retreat on 23 September.
Queen Mary died on 24 September 944 and was replaced by King Peter, who disliked John Dane for his ties to distant relatives in the Edoran Kingdom, despite Dane's avowed alienation from them. Dane, meanwhile, cited the failures of his first hot-air balloon design and enhanced it into his previously-discussed Flying War Machine. However, King Peter's grudge against Dane clouded any chance of Dane's new proposition ever coming to fulfillment, with such rejection being further justified by the heavy costs of having to implement spellfire defenses and the new shell-cannon.
Disgruntled by this, John Dane left in December of that year, and joined his distant relatives in the Edoran Kingdom, re-establishing diplomacy with them and high-ranking Edoran leadership in the process.
Success and Victory
John Dane proposed his Flying War Machine idea to Edoran Parliament, who immediately approved of the budgetary investment. King Patrick solidified such approval by signing, ordering, and chartering the mass production of a fleet of these new machines. Again, Dane was made the Head Commander of such a fleet, only now under the Edoran banner. And on 1 September 945, Dane and his Fleet led a colossal Edoran frontal assault upon the United Kingdom of Daylram and Norm, wiping out enemy forces with ease before coming to a stand on 13 September at Fort Norm, thus beginning the Battle of Fort Norm.
This battle proved one of the most violent battles in Remikran history, for the Edorans showed no mercy. Rumored was a notorious defender of Fort Norm known as "the Slugger," who shot cannons mercilessly back against Dane's Fleet. The Fleet suffered significant losses from this, but this new Fleet was much greater in number. Furthermore, with collaborative strategy, the Edorans were able to blockade supply lines feeding ammunition to Fort Norm, as Fort supplies began to run low. When such ammunition ran dry, bladesmen took a last stand in defense of Fort Norm while the Edorans charged through holes in its heavily-damaged wall. This happened on the morning of 15 September, and before long, news broke that King Peter and his royal family fled the Fort and went into hiding. This prompted an immediate surrender of Fort Norm to the Edorans, who raised their banner over the newly-conquered structure.
Downfall
John Dane became a distinguished figure after the victorious war and earned knighthood from the Edoran Kingdom. However, that was overshadowed by his reputation as a "mad showman," as he continued to fly around the Edoran countryside, both old and conquered, to show off his new Flying War Machine through "firing demonstrations." He initially had landed himself in trouble with town ordinances with his near-nuisance, but after gaining compromises and charters with such local jurisdictions, and even King Patrick, himself, he continued his tour on a planned schedule. Sadly, on 17 October 946, during one of these demonstrations, one of his ammunition stores exploded in mid-flight and destroyed his Flying Machine, killing him and all aboard.