Premium Post: The BATTLE FOR THE WASTELANDS Villainous Flagship

Some discussion of a steampunk tyrant's personal dirigible, including why it doesn't burn so easily

In my steampunk military fantasy Battle for the Wastelands series, the tyrant Grendel — a Scandinavian warlord who has conquered almost all of a post-apocalyptic secondary world — travels in a personal dirigible named the Nicor, Old Norse for a water-monster. When we first see this airship, we mostly see its fancy fixings. Grendel’s cabin features a heavy wooden desk, an insane luxury given how weight would be at a premium. It even has an attached bathroom — the infamous German airship Hindenburg only had public bathrooms and showers. Grendel spared no expense for his own comfort and that of whomever is traveling with him — when we first meet him, he’s brought along his youngest concubine Jessamine Keith on a state visit.

However, in the second main-sequence book Serpent Sword, we see it fight. It’s offscreen for most of the climactic battle, but when it does appear, it takes a full broadside artillery barrage from another airship, takes out said airship, eats another broadside, and keeps on coming.

Want to know why it doesn’t just go up like the Hindenburg right away? Purchase this post individually on my Patreon or get a premium Substack subscription. The latter is only $7 per month or $80 per year.