The Age of Steam

The Spires of Arlia is a fantasy series based on an earth like world similar to ours during the seventeenth century. As such, during this time on our world, major advancements in science and philosophy occured.

Before the seventeenth century, science was not a recognized discipline. Scientists during this period were considered to be natural philosophers.

In the Spires of Arlia, the world is entering a massive cultural movement spearheaded by the Divinity. Science of chemistry is starting to evolve from Alchemy. Rather than mortar and pestles, alembics, and retorts become the standard method of brewery.

Aside from chemical sciences, great innovations are seeing their intrusion into the world. In history, we recognize Giovanni Branca as the inventor of the steam powered turbine in 1629. The world as we know today has been forever changed by this particular invention, and the discovery of steam power began a radical change in industry.

Arlia itself is on the virge of changing from horse drawn power, and manual labor, to steam engines. The clockworks of arlia run on the gears and turbines similar to those discovered in the seventeenth century.

In the coming Lokken Crusades introduced late in Apostasy, and throughout Heresy, we will be introduced to a vibrant array of mechanical innovations. The below list will touch in detail on each engine that will be included in these books.

Steam Tank
The steam tank is a massive machine employed by the Ecclesian powers that rolls on massive studded wheels. It is largely a wagon encased in armor, that is not drawn by horse, but rather powered by a steam engine. As stated in all the books, Arlia has discovered gun powder, and as such, the Steam Tank utilizes a massive weaponry. This machine will have one large cannon as well as two smaller black powder guns.

Rather than steam tanks mentioned in other works as being massive engines of siege, the steam tanks in the Spires of Arlia are not a successful method of besieging cities, as they are unreliable, and too lumbering. Lokken itself is a vast desert, and the large wheels do not do well in the sands. Steam tanks in the spires of Arlia are a method of heavy transportation of Aegis. Rather than laying waste to walls, they are intended to allow the advancement of infantry without suffering heavy casualties.

Gyroscope
This device will be mentioned late in Heresy, and is employed by the armies of Lokken. Primarily it is a method of a last line of defense against a wave of infantry. This is a steam powered turbine that utilizes the kinetic energy of centrifugal force.

It is mentioned during the early history of the Byzantium empire that their armies employed a flame thrower to defend its seabased cities against ships. The gyroscope employs the same principles of a naptha based chemical forced through a jet by pressure. This pressure shall come from the heating of air inside a seperate tank inside the steam engine's boiler.

It is chemical principle that as air heats, it expands, releasing this pressure shall power the flame throwers. As the rotor spins, the gimbal shall also spin, the jets of the flame thrower are located on this gimbal. As it spins, it throws out a ring of liquid flame, which lays waste to advancing troops.

Dirigible
In the late seventeenth century, the first theory of airships came from an italian monk Francesco Lana de Terzi. In his concept, he utilized a vaccuum to displace air, rather than a lower density gas such as hydrogen or helium.

In the Spires of Arlia, Dirigibles were developed after the discovery of steam power. As they learned that hot air tends to rise rather than stay near ground level. Rather than a gas filled bladder, the Dirigible utilizes a Bladder filled with hot air, similar to a hot air balloon which saw its first untethered flight in the 18th century.

Arlia, has utilized its theories of hot air, and steam power to utilize the lifting capabilities of a bladder.

The Dirigible is essentially the same as a wooden Frigate which was widely employed in the seventeenth century by naval countries fighting for supremacy of earth's oceans. In Arlia, the sky is the ocean. We will be introduced to a wide array of warships, each with their own devices of seige and defenses. Several cannons are contained in the lower decks of the ship, and there are other dirigibles that employ early concepts of bombs. Largely these types of ships are rare in these books, as they employ minimal defense capabilities, and the rise of air supremacy has left them quite vulerable to attacks. However, later in Heresy, we shall see the rise of the ultimate dirigible, "Judgement." Largely it will be small floating city.

We will not be introduced to its capabilities until the third book, Ascendancy.

Ram
Throughout the bronze, dark, and middle ages, siege rams were a device utilized by armies with intent to conquer a city. In the Spires of Arlia, these devices are employed by Ecclesia, in order to conquer Lokken's capitol, Shatograd. These devices are similar to the steam tank, in that they are predominantly a large wagon powered by a steam engine. The ram itself is in application, a pneumatic ram.

In the late 17th century, German physicist Otto von Guericke, invented the air pump. In the Spires of Arlia, the ram is powered by an air pump, that utilizes a ram encased in a steel tube. The air pump, is powered by the steam turbine inside of the ram, sucking air and storing it into a tank. When the pressure in the tank is released, it shoots the ram outward with tremendous force.

In Heresy, it will be the cause of the collapse of gates of Veruna.

This will be updated periodically.