Sky-crown Starfruit Tree

In the depths of Hartshome Forest lies the sacred grove Taur na Cair. Here the elves grow the Telperion Skyships that give them dominance over the sky and the space between Erathia and its moons. Only members of Thaya's Vindicators and the nobility of the Kingdom of Amredhel may visit.

The elves grow their ships from a variety of plants using botanical artifice mixed with elven magic. Their largest ships, dreadnaughts known as Sky-Crowns, come from the Ilmarendi Elenpel, the Sky-crown Starseed.

These immense bromeliads each bear one fruit, the Ilmarendi a titanic 300 ft. tall mass brimming with primal magical energy. In nature, it takes a millenium to grow to maturity. If left unharvested, the ripe sky-crown explodes launching its starseed into space in search of a new world to take root on.

Harvesting the Starseed

Before the Yávë Ilmarendion Elpelaldo ripens in cosmic fire and destroys the sacred grove, the elves work diligently to tame its power. Through a combination of ancient druidic topiary and modern maharlitech they accelerate to ripen in a mere century. They mold the living fruit into a vessel capable of flight and ready to fight.

They cultivate it to follow the ancient blueprint of an elven sky-crown, the shape of a butterfly. The starseed forms the body with crystalline wings grafted onto it. The decks, portholes, and interiors are grown into place without cutting into the living tissue of the sky-crown fruit.

The elven craftsmen and artisans nurture a small ecosystem on the ship that will support the crew and the starseed itself. They introduce symbiotic epiphytes, ferns, and plants that produce edible fruits. Honey bees, baku, and cats are invited to dwell on the living ship.

Sky-Crown Dreadnaughts

The Sky-Crown Dreadnaughts form the backbone of the Thayan Armada. The Armada reportedly has a dozen Sky-Crowns, but they lack the personnel to fly all of them at once.

Six of them, with accompanying fleets, patrol between the Shattered Moon, the Southwest Canton of the Kirinal Concordance Zone, and the elven kingdoms. The other six abide in Taur na Cair and Lokorn, waiting for enough Entulesse elves to be born to crew them.

Interstellar Past & Future

The elves gave up an empire in the stars before the Age of Mortals even began. They rode the starseeds back to Erathia and gave up their starfaring ways. They returned to their homeworld and allowed the Ilmarendion Elpelaldo to go dormant. They harvested the great seeds before they could ripen and announce their presence to the stars.

Some say they came home to hide. But from what?