We own the skies[]
An artists rendition of a airship,
Since the beginning of time, man has wanted to fly... Now we can.
POD[]
Airships are invented in the Middle Ages.
Timeline[]
887: After Abbas Ibn Firnas', a inventor in Muslim Spain, death, designs for airships are found.
Around 899: The first airship is built in Spain however it does not work.
963: The design of the first successful airship (which is similar to a hot air balloon), The Valhalla, is made in Norway.
974: The Valhalla is made in Norway.
Around March 974: The Valhalla takes it's first flight.
980s - 1200s: Airships are built in Europe which is now known as the 'Sky Race'. Coal mining becomes very essential to power the ships. Essentially, medieval coal factories are built sending fumes into the atmosphere. The Empires of Europe invade and expand their territory. A plan to send signals is made called the 'Bonfire Plan' which is when a village sees a unknown airship, they light a bonfire to warn other villages.
1038: Britain overthrows their monarchy as the monarchy and parliament are destroying villages to do with the airships. No one actually knows why they were destroying the villages. They impose another monarchy called the New Blood. The first new king is King Henry I (a different one from OTL)
1060s: Europeans go into Asia. This starts several alliances and Asian powers get airships.
1124: Holy Roman Empire declares war on Kingdom of France for resources starting the Franco-Roman War. This would start the First World War.
1127: As the Franco-Roman war fights, all of the other known empires put (most) of their previous alliances to the side to form new ones. This forms two groups, The Holy Powers (lead by the Holy Roman Empire) and The Free Allies (led by France).
Around 16th December 1129: The 'Night of the Bonfires'. Kingdom of England (part of The Free Allies) declares war on Kingdom of Bulgaria (part of The Holy Powers). The sight of airships over Bulgaria is remembered when the world changed forever. This is marked as the official beginning of World War I.
1130-1164: The First World rages on for 34 years. Many nations fall in this time. Poland collapses when it gets invaded by the Holy Roman Empire. Leon-Castile invades/annex its surrounding areas becoming the Kingdom of Leon-Castile (OTL Spain). In 1164, the Holy Roman Empire falls and so does the Holy Alliance.
1170s: England annexes Scotland.
Around 1183: England invades Ireland. They surrender as England has the world's best airship fleet. The Kingdom of England is named to Kingdom of Britannia.
Around 1200: France helps to unify Castile, Portugal, Leon, Navarra and Aragon into the Kingdom of Spain. They open borders with Muslim Spain to improve relation. Muslim Spain wants to ally with Spain however the empire that runs it, Almohad Empire, disagrees.
1210s: Kingdom of Britannia declares war on Almohad Spain. Using the Britannian airfleet, they start a successful invasion of the Almohad Empire. France and Spain declares war on the Almohad Empire. In 1217, Almohad Empire collapses. The Muslim Spain ally with Spain.
1230s: In Asia, the firework is created.
1240s: Norwegians and Swedes venture into the deeper parts of OTL Russia. They form the nation of New Scandinavia. The European Empires spread their influence to Asia. This creates a mutual relationship between Asia and European powers.
1250s: As the Novgorod Republic became weaker after the Holy Powers lost, New Scandinavia invades and conquers it.
1250s-1260s: A new type of airship is created (similar to the image at the top of the article) as most airships before this were a mix between hot air balloons and zeppelins. These airships are almost better in every field however they use much more fuel then the previous models.
1300s: As the Ottoman Empire starts rising, it is crushed by other world powers like Britannia.
An artists impression of what the Native Tranarians described
1314: A Britannian exploration team of hot air balloons attempt to make their way over the ocean to Asia instead of going over Europe. They discover North Tranare (OTL North America). When they landed, they met Native Americans who described the balloons as a 'casket being pulled along by clouds'. This would inspire a style of art and, much later, a religion.
1314-1400s: The Old World Empires colonise North Tranare and Middle Tranare.
1400s-1500s: The Old World Empires colonise South Tranare, destabilising any South Tranaren Empires.