The Firebird

This article is about the airship. For the huntable creature, see firebird.

The Firebird is a traveling airship that regularly travels between and lands in various realms across Elanthia. The vessel was introduced in 2015 as a traveling merchant ship and a place to battle Spirit Beasts. It was grounded for several periods of time in different towns, either for repairs, upgrades, or simply extended docking.

The ship itself is owned by the Turamzzyrian Empire and its captain is Brashton Rainsbourne. It houses Talondown Arena, a venue for battling Spirit Beasts. Talondown Arena can be accessed directly from within the Firebird when aboard the ship. Alternatively, direct access to just the Talondown Arena portion of the airship is available via portals in each major town and city. The exit passage noted on the Firebird map to access Talondown Arena will lead back to the originating town portal if you did not enter from the Firebird itself.

The Firebird now operates on an automated schedule, landing in a given town for about 2-3 hours before departing to the next. It will take any passengers aboard with it when it departs. The ship will send three monsterbold signals before it takes off, and transport spells and society abilities can be used to escape should the ship embark with passengers aboard. The departure messaging includes the name of the next destination. Departure messaging is only visible on the main three decks of the Firebird; it is not present in Talondown Arena, even if accessing the Arena via the airship. Flight between towns only takes a few minutes.

Once an elven wreck, the Firebird has since been restored by Brashton and Turamzzyrian engineers utilizing human technology and the benefit of plinite. At this point, it is seen as mostly a mercenary vessel.

Appearance

The Firebird is positioned pointing "south" in game. The front of the airship is at the bottom of the map depicting it, and the rear is at the top of the map. Portside is on the map's right, and starboard is on the map's left. This is true for all decks.

a gleaming fireleaf airship

The hull of the airship is adorned in red brass and gold leaf, and ambient light flickers off of the filigree metal like tiny sparks of flame.  A massive phoenix figurehead stares defiantly out from the prow over a windowed lounge at the ship's fore.  Sharp tongues of fire are etched into the hull around a gangway in the starboard hull.

Locations

The Firebird makes landfall at the following locations. Access is via a worn redwood gangplank. Once landed, the Firebird will remain at that location for about 2-3 hours before departing to the next destination.

Town	Location	Room #	Lich #	Shattered #
Icemule Trace	One east of South Gate *		#3055
Kraken's Fall	Kraken's Fall, Logging Colony by the ramps	u12101001	#18260
Kharam Dzu	Silver and Sapphire	u3002021	#1865
Pinefar	One south, one southeast of Pinefar Preserve neighborhood *		#2771
River's Rest	River's Rest, River Road by the drawbridge	u2101001	#10840
Solhaven	Solhaven, Falcon's Nest outside private property	u4902041	#1536
Ta'Illistim	At the junction of Whistler's Pass & Sylvarrend *		#46
Ta'Vaalor	West end of Shimaraern Var, outside the locksmith shop *		#3502
Wehnimer's Landing	Wehnimer's, Exterior east of North Gate	u9003	#411
Sea of Fire	Kanchoco Cave side of the ramp *		#25144

Note: Locations marked with * have not been reconfirmed in the years since the Firebird was rebuilt.

History

Before its debut as the Firebird, the airship originally was named the Finch. Brashton had helped design the ship, but it was not considered seemly for a Knight to either work on or captain an airship. That changed when it was brought into service to battle Elithain Cross during Cross Into Shadows. The Finch went down, and both ship and Brashton were presumed gone. The Empire promoted him posthumously to Knight of the Empire for his valiant efforts. As it turned out, neither ship nor Brashton were lost, and the Finch rose again, renamed the Firebird.

Rebuilt and repurposed as a merchant craft by its wayward captain, the Firebird now offers merchant services to various towns and cities across Elanthia, docking in them regularly before traveling to its next destination. It flies under agreement with the Empire as an envoy to encourage trade and friendlier relations with its neighbors. Its opening in March 2015 included several shops aboard as well as the fusion shaman. However, the fusion shaman's cabin was closed within weeks of its opening due to a bug, and it has not reopened. The fusion shaman has since been moved to a different venue.

The Firebird has made occasional appearances in storylines, in particular those ones necessitating travel over longer distances. First Orrisian and then later Brashton have been noted as captains of the vessel. In 2015, the Firebird transported Alusius and Adyra in the events leading to the eventual opening of the Elemental Confluence. While Orrisian captained the ship, he housed the Book of Ur aboard it, stolen from the Sand Snakes of Bir Mahallah. It is unknown if Orrisian or the Book of Ur are still aboard the Firebird today.

With the start of Witchful Thinking in 2019, the Firebird was damaged. Having landed just outside of Icemule Trace, it remained grounded for several years due to the harsh weather conditions that kept it from flying. Its original power source, an elven veniom crystal, had broken, and the ship now relied on propeller power to fly - which the cold climate made nearly impossible due to icing. Brashton sought a way to rebuild and refit the ship, eventually petitioning Emperor Aurmont himself and ultimately obtaining a writ to do so.

While still undergoing repairs and improvements during this period, the Firebird was sabotaged by Arnabas during The Uncertain Times in mid-2021. With the aid of adventurers and Mayor Talliver Dabbings of Icemule Trace, sufficient supplies were gathered to help fully repair the vessel and also improve it for flight in colder regions. The gnomish inventors Hauptwhistle and Fiddlestix were also employed, and they used gnomish ingenuity to improve the airship's design. One of the key items needed in its repair this time was plinite to serve as a new core to power it. Paidreg Venquinor, who in a former "life" was the Provost of Solhaven, was enlisted to help with fitting plinite into the vessel due to his expertise in the field. Since doing so, Paidreg has remained aboard the airship as a longterm guest, allowing him to further distance himself from the Paidreg of the past.

The Firebird began its return to service in early 2022 as it supported exploration of the icy frontier north of Icemule Trace. Part of its recent repairs included retrofitting her for colder weather, and while while the Firebird no longer needs a ship's wheel to steer due to its new design and power source, it remained in place as a nod to the airship's origins. Exploratory trips to the colder north included initial flights above the Hinterwilds, leading to the new area's opening. Later that year, the Firebird helped carry a delegation from Icemule Trace to Ta'Vaalor during The Winter War, heralding the ship's formal return to service traveling between cities and towns.

The ship now moves too swiftly for most storms and has remained fully operational since returning to the skies in December 2022. While its plinite core remains strong, it does slowly deplete over time. Brashton has remarked that a single core can last for years. Paidreg has also loaned additional plinite to Brashton, an arrangement that seems to benefit them both.

Shops

Main article: Category:Firebird shops

Shop Name	Realm	Type	Inventory Sold	Shop Specialty
Covenants Kept		shop	clerical supplies	holy symbols
Marks of the Beast		shop	specialty	Spirit Beasts
Sold Souls		shop	specialty	Spirit Beasts
Talondown Arena Cashier		shop	specialty	Spirit Beasts

See Also

• Talondown Arena
• Spirit Beasts
• Saved posts