Trade Routes of the Aetherium

“The Lifelines Between Islands”

“Without the trade routes, we’re not settlements—we’re isolated rocks drifting toward starvation. The airships that fly these paths aren’t just merchants. They’re the threads holding civilization together.”
—Factor Marlena Swift, Sky-Guild

Overview

In the shattered Aetherium, trade routes are civilization’s circulatory system. Islands cannot be self-sufficient—some produce food but lack manufactured goods, others have industry but need raw materials, all require information and connection to survive. Airships flying established routes carry cargo, passengers, news, and hope between isolated settlements.

The Sky-Guild controls most major routes, setting schedules, negotiating tariffs, and maintaining the infrastructure that keeps trade flowing. Independent merchants operate on minor routes or undercut Guild prices (risking Guild retaliation). The Black Sky Cartel runs illegal routes through dangerous regions, smuggling contraband and avoiding tariffs.

Trade routes are defined by distance, travel time, danger level, and economic importance. Some are well-traveled highways with multiple ships daily. Others are frontier paths flown weekly or monthly. All are vulnerable to Aether-Storms, Rot-Beast attacks, pirates, and the slow drift of islands that changes distances over years.

Major Trade Routes

1. The Eos-Ironhold Run

Route: Skyport Eos ↔︎ Ironhold

Distance: 150km

Travel Time: - Fast ship: 3 days - Standard cargo: 5 days - Slow freighter: 7 days

Frequency: Daily (multiple ships)

Cargo Flow: - To Ironhold: Food (grain, vegetables, meat), luxury goods, raw materials - To Eos: Manufactured goods (tools, weapons, machinery), processed metals, Guild products

Control: Sky-Guild (monopoly, heavily regulated)

Danger Level: Low - Well-patrolled - Clear navigation - Rare pirate activity - Rot-clouds increasing (southern drift)

Economic Importance: Critical - Eos depends on Ironhold manufacturing - Ironhold depends on Eos food - Largest trade volume in Aetherium - Guild’s primary revenue source

Waypoints: - Skyport Eos (start) - Midpoint Rest (small waystation, 75km) - Ironhold (end)

2. The Farming Circuit

Route: Windmere Farms → Thornvale → Skyport Eos → Ironhold → back to Windmere

Total Distance: ~400km (complete loop)

Travel Time: 15 days (complete circuit)

Frequency: Weekly departures (rotating ships)

Cargo Flow: - From Farms: Grain, vegetables, fruit, livestock, dairy - To Farms: Tools, seeds, manufactured goods, luxury items (limited)

Control: Sky-Guild (regulated) + Independent farmers (some ships)

Danger Level: Moderate - Rot-Beast attacks on farms (increasing) - Southern sections near Murk - Weather generally stable - Pirates rare (low-value cargo)

Economic Importance: Critical - Feeds 80% of Bright Reaches population - Failure = mass starvation within months - Vulnerable (farms under threat)

Route Segments: 1. Windmere → Thornvale: 30km, 1 day 2. Thornvale → Eos: 45km, 1 day 3. Eos → Ironhold: 150km, 5 days 4. Ironhold → Windmere: 175km, 6 days 5. Collection time at each stop: 2 days total

3. The Frontier Loop

Route: Skyport Eos → Stormwatch → Outer settlements → back to Eos

Total Distance: ~600km (variable)

Travel Time: 15 days (complete loop)

Frequency: Monthly (few ships brave it)

Cargo Flow: - Outbound: Essential supplies, tools, medicine, news - Return: Raw materials, exotic goods, refugees, reports

Control: Independent merchants (Guild presence minimal)

Danger Level: High - Howling Expanse storms - Unmapped hazards - Pirate activity - Rot-Beast encounters - Island drift (routes change)

Economic Importance: Moderate - Connects frontier settlements - Low volume but high value (exotic goods) - Information flow critical - Refugee transport

Key Stops: - Skyport Eos (hub) - Stormwatch (waystation, weather reports) - Various outer settlements (10-15 small islands) - Return to Eos

4. The Spire Route

Route: Skyport Eos ↔︎ Glimmering Spire

Distance: 80km

Travel Time: 2 days (standard)

Frequency: Weekly (declining)

Cargo Flow: - To Spire: Food, supplies, research materials, desperate scholars - From Spire: Alchemical goods, research findings, refugees fleeing Rot

Control: Independent (Guild avoids due to Rot risk)

Danger Level: Moderate to High - Rot corruption increasing - Rot-Beast activity - Spire itself dangerous - Navigation hazards (corrupted islands nearby)

Economic Importance: Low (declining) - Once important (alchemical goods) - Now mostly humanitarian (supplies to remaining residents) - Scholarly interest (research) - Refugee extraction

Status: Declining - Fewer ships willing to risk it - Spire population dropping - May cease within years

5. The Murk Run

Route: Murky Chasm ↔︎ The Underbelly ↔︎ black market connections

Distance: Variable (secret routes)

Travel Time: Variable (depends on cargo, secrecy needs)

Frequency: Constant (but hidden)

Cargo Flow: - Illegal Goods: Rot-Shards, weapons, contraband, stolen goods - Smuggling: Tax evasion, forbidden items, fugitives - Information: Blackmail material, secrets, intelligence

Control: Black Sky Cartel (absolute monopoly)

Danger Level: Extreme - Deep Murk (heavy Rot) - Rot-Beast swarms - Cartel security (lethal to outsiders) - Guild enforcement (if caught) - Navigation deliberately obscured

Economic Importance: Significant (underground economy) - Billions in illegal trade (estimated) - Undermines Guild tariffs - Supplies black markets across Aetherium - Cartel’s power base

Secrecy: Absolute - Routes change constantly - Blindfold protocols - False trails - Lethal consequences for betrayal

Distance Matrix

Travel Times from Skyport Eos

Notes: - Times assume standard cargo ship (not fast courier or slow freighter) - Weather delays not included - Danger level affects reliability, not necessarily time - Some routes avoided entirely regardless of distance

Trade Infrastructure

Sky-Guild Control

Monopoly Routes: - Eos-Ironhold Run (complete control) - Farming Circuit (majority control) - Most major settlements

Methods: - Tariffs and fees - Ship licensing - Route scheduling - Waystation control - Enforcement (Guild ships, hired security)

Revenue: - 40% from tariffs - 30% from shipping fees - 20% from licensing - 10% from waystation services

Power: Economic dominance through trade control

Independent Merchants

Operations: - Minor routes (Guild doesn’t bother) - Undercut Guild prices (risky) - Frontier routes (too dangerous for Guild) - Specialized cargo (Guild won’t carry)

Challenges: - Guild pressure (economic, sometimes violent) - No waystation access - Higher risk (no Guild protection) - Lower profit margins

Survival: Niche markets, speed, personal relationships

Black Sky Cartel

Operations: - Illegal routes (complete monopoly) - Smuggling (contraband, fugitives, tax evasion) - Black market supply chain

Advantages: - No regulations - Higher profit margins - Willing to take extreme risks - Violence as business tool

Competition: Eliminates rivals (lethally)

Threats to Trade

Natural Hazards

Aether-Storms: - Unpredictable (despite Stormwatch warnings) - Can destroy ships - Force route changes - Delay shipments

Island Drift: - Islands move slowly (meters per year) - Routes must adapt - Old maps become obsolete - Navigation challenges

Rot-Clouds: - Spreading from Murk - Obscure visibility - Infect crews - Force route abandonment

Hostile Actors

Pirates: - Rare but dangerous - Target high-value cargo - Mostly in frontier regions - Guild hunts them (when profitable)

Rot-Beasts: - Increasing attacks - Especially near Murk - Can destroy ships - Unpredictable

Cartel: - Eliminates competition - Sabotages Guild (sometimes) - Controls illegal routes - Dangerous to cross

Economic Threats

Guild Monopoly: - High tariffs - Route restrictions - Squeezes independents - Political control through economic power

Route Failure: - If major route fails (Farming Circuit), mass starvation - Single point of failure - Vulnerable to disruption

Rot Spread: - Consuming islands - Forcing route changes - Reducing habitable area - Long-term existential threat

Economic Impact

By Route

Eos-Ironhold Run: - 50% of total Aetherium trade volume - Critical for both settlements - Guild’s primary revenue - Failure = economic collapse

Farming Circuit: - 30% of trade volume (by weight) - Critical for food security - Vulnerable (farms under threat) - Failure = mass starvation

Frontier Loop: - 5% of trade volume - High value per unit (exotic goods) - Information critical - Refugee transport

Spire Route: - 2% of trade volume (declining) - Mostly humanitarian - May cease soon

Murk Run: - Unknown (illegal, untracked) - Estimated 10-15% of legitimate trade volume - Undermines Guild revenue - Supplies black markets

Total Trade Volume

Estimated Annual: - Legitimate: 500,000 tons of cargo - Illegal: 50,000-75,000 tons (estimated) - Value: Billions in trade currency

Employment: - 5,000+ airship crew - 2,000+ dock workers - 1,000+ Guild administrators - Thousands in supporting industries

Criticality: - Without trade, settlements die within months - Food, tools, medicine all depend on routes - Information flow critical for coordination - Refugee transport increasingly important

Future Threats

Rot Expansion

Impact: - Farming Circuit threatened (southern drift) - Spire Route likely to close - Murk Run expanding (ironically benefits Cartel) - Long-term: all routes threatened

Timeline: - Spire Route: 5-10 years - Farming Circuit: 20-30 years - Eos-Ironhold: 50+ years (probably)

Political Instability

Eos-Ironhold Tensions: - If war breaks out, main route disrupted - Economic catastrophe - Both sides suffer

Guild Expansion: - Increasing control - Higher tariffs - Political power through economic dominance - Resistance growing

Resource Depletion

Fuel: - Airships need fuel - Sources limited - Prices rising - Long-term sustainability question

Ships: - Shipbuilding requires resources - Maintenance critical - Fleet aging - Replacement rate insufficient

Quest Hooks

1. The Escort: Protect valuable cargo on dangerous route
2. The Pirate: Hunt pirates threatening trade route
3. The Route: Discover new route (shorter? Safer? Secret?)
4. The Sabotage: Someone disrupting trade (who? Why?)
5. The Blockade: Route closed (political? Natural?), find alternative
6. The Smuggling: Hired by Cartel (moral dilemma)
7. The Inspection: Guild suspects smuggling (are they right?)
8. The Rescue: Ship lost on route (find survivors)
9. The Monopoly: Help independents break Guild control
10. The Closure: Major route failing (Rot, politics), prevent or manage

Related Topics

• Sky-Guild
• Black Sky Cartel
• Skyport Eos
• Ironhold
• Airships
• Currency & Trade

“The routes are everything. Control the routes, control the Aetherium. The Sky-Guild knows this. The Cartel knows this. Even the settlements know this. That’s why every political decision, every economic policy, every military strategy ultimately comes down to one question: who controls the trade routes?”
—Guild-Master Elara Song

“I’ve flown the Eos-Ironhold Run 200 times. Same route, same stops, same cargo. It’s boring. It’s safe. It’s predictable. And that’s exactly why it’s the most important route in the Aetherium. Civilization runs on boring, safe, and predictable. Adventure is for fools and the desperate.”
—Veteran cargo pilot

“The Murk Run? I’ve heard of it. Everyone’s heard of it. But no one talks about it. Because talking about it means you know too much. And knowing too much about Cartel routes is a good way to disappear.”
—Dock worker, Skyport Eos