Although Mantrin can boast many wonders of technology and magic, it was the Mantrin technomagical ships that were the finest flower of their skill and ingenuity—vessels that filled neighbors, both near and far, with equal measures of wonder and dread.
As explained elsewhere, technomagic is a unique Mantrin invention that combines animagic and mechania into a discipline whose creations possess a certain organic elegance. Unlike the often malodorous and noisy products of pure mechania (which, for example, infest Yller), Mantrin machines are silent and graceful, inspired in their function by the “inventions” of nature and capable of both autonomous operation and telepathic connection to their owner or pilot.
Mantrin ships represent the absolute zenith of technomagical art: they can sail at any depth beneath the sea, traverse the surface, soar through the air, and even travel through interstellar space. The crew inside is protected against all external influences; the ship is capable of self-purifying its air and water and can produce food in limited quantities, allowing for life on board for many weeks without resupply. The ship possesses its own artificial consciousness, communicating telepathically with its designated captain and projecting a perfect, detailed image of its surroundings directly into the captain’s mind during the voyage. The vessel is forged from Mantrin steel, which is resistant to most weapons, extreme temperatures, and corrosive agents. It generates several magical shields across a range of energy spectra, and its multipurpose tentacles can investigate, collect samples, communicate, or engage the enemy in combat.
The story of how this marvel of Mantrin skill came to be is remarkable: In the depths of Kira Samudran (the sea surrounding Vaktar and Mantrin) lives a race of intelligent beings whom the Mantrins call the Salasites. The Salasites are an ancient race, far older than any human lineage. Eons ago, they discovered that the murmur heard from the interior of every seashell is actually the distant, muffled voice of a mysterious deity, constantly reciting a single long, beautiful, and complex mantra.
The Salasites wished to hear this mantra clearly and found that the larger the shell, the better they could hear it—and the deeper beneath the surface they descended, the louder the recitation became. Their entire culture focused on hearing and understanding this hymn. Since they were related to humans neither in form nor nature, they did not advance through tools or culture, but through their own physical evolution; via selective self-breeding over thousands of years, they evolved into giant ammonites whose spiral shells served as immense receivers for the divine mantra.
The legend says that after long listening and deciphering, they finally understood that the mysterious deity was reciting the Mantra of Gravity, which causes all things to be pulled toward the center of the earth. They decided to live deep beneath the waves and dance to the rhythm of that mantra. After many centuries, during their undersea explorations, the Mages of Vaktar came into contact with these ammonite beings. Because the Mages had not yet developed their later pride and were sensitive listeners and cautious seekers of knowledge, they learned the essence of Salasite culture and wisdom.
Subsequently, the Mages began crafting giant metal shells and deciphering the voice caught within them. Unlike the ammonites, the Mages were instrumentally oriented; they eventually decoded the hymn and, using technomagic, constructed ship cores consisting of shells and artificial beings who recite the Mantra of Gravity in reverse, thus canceling its influence on the immediate surroundings. This is the origin of the ships’ ability to levitate.
It is said that although the Mages eventually misused the mantra for power and to build a war fleet, they were initially sincerely fascinated. For centuries, they held the knowledge of the Salasites in awe and respect, and the Mantra of Gravity was an object of cult worship for them. It was in honor of this mantra that they named the larger of their islands Mantrin.
