02 - Iron Kingdoms W.. - Captain Spud Is Amazing

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One), the oppressed people of western Immoren
felt emboldened to return to their scientific roots to
discover a means of freeing their lands. Their natural
scientific ingenuity propelled the Immorese into a
renaissance as magic became yet another technological
development among many.
Water and Wind
Long ago, power
was harvested
primarily through
human energy—slave
energy to be precise.
Before the Orgoth
invasion, slavery
was actually on the
decline as waterpower
was becoming more
important. The rate
of expansion of
waterpower in the form of water mills was spectacular
during the Thousand Cities Era, and the mills became
a crucial source of energy and revenue. By the 1100s
BR, thousands of water mills dotted Immoren. The
main advocates of waterpower were Morrowan monks
who are credited with being the first millwrights to
bring waterpower to the community.
Independent landowners erected mills by the
hundreds along streams and rivers, and entire
communities soon formed around them, making the
mill owners quite wealthy. Indeed, the Three Towers
Bridge in Corvis is a fantastic example of a massive mill
bridge in a major city. Seven enormous waterwheels,
fitted under its arches in the month of Solesh in 207
AR, reap numerous benefits from the wide Dragon’s
Tongue River for the city. Some of the ‘bourgs in
Corvis have running water as a result.
Water mills crush grain, corn, olives, and other
comestibles. Some accounts of an innovative Rynnish
merchant family claim they introduced the first paper
mills at Ashton Brook Mill in the early to mid 800s
BR, mechanizing a product manufactured by hand
and foot for centuries. Though the Orgoth arrived
shortly thereafter, it appears that some Rhulfolk built
on the concept and introduced mechanisms to enable
mills to forge iron. This major innovation drastically
reshaped the future of the Iron Kingdoms.
In the valleys east of the Black River, water flows
less frequently if at all, so engineers adapted the water
mill concept to harness wind power by replacing the
waterwheel with sails with amazing results. Windmills
rapidly spread and flourished in regions lacking
fast-flowing streams. In Khador today windmills are
increasingly popular, for unlike water mills they
continued to operate during the bitterly cold winters.
I was never much for all of this dodgy mechstuff until my brother Rorgun
talked me in to relocating to Five Fingers. That trip down the Dragon’s
Tongue was one of the most relaxing journeys I’ve had in a long time—at
least once we off-loaded those troublesome adventurers. It really was a
shame about the ‘jack. I’m sure it would’ve been a great help once we got
to Five Fingers, but we all make sacrifices.
Steam Power
The introduction of the steam engine
revolutionized western Immorese industry by
providing power to areas lacking viable wind or water
resources. In the 740s BR, a Khadoran named Drago
Salvoro built the first viable steam engine. Little did this
engineer know his invention would become the motive
force that would change the face of western Immoren
forever, or that people would still know his name well
over a millennium later. Though used primarily for
mining, early steam technology spread rapidly until the
Orgoth occupation stalled its use for centuries. The very
same basic principles of Salvoro’s invention, however,
would be utilized some centuries later in a successful
rebellion effort (“The First Steam Engines” below).
the first steam engines
—Gunner Wadock, Cygnaran tradesman
drago salvoro’s first steam engine Was very simple. it Was
little more than a boiler With angled steam vents evenly
spaCed around it and a Central axle running through it.
When heat Was applied to the boiler, steam Was forCed out of
the vents and Caused the entire Contraption to rotate about
its axis. this prototype Was aWkWard, Weak, and horribly
ineffiCient, but it Was enough to demonstrate that steam
Could be harnessed to provide motive forCe.
the reCiproCating piston Was the breakthrough that made
the steam engine viable. in this improved design, the boiler
remained stationary and steam Was vented into a Cylinder
to push a piston. When the piston reaChed full extension,
World Guide 55