miirshroom's Clan

WORK THAT MY CLAN IS DOING IN SERVICE OF THE STORMCATCHER (ALL HAIL HIS MIGHTY FINS!)

Update (March, 2015): There was an epic off-screen battle with some unruly Longnecks (and a 3-headed Emperor) that ended with the clan's base in the Lightning Farm being torched. They decided to move back to the Canyon and expand on the base established at the bridge site. Super best friends with the local Harpies.

Update (Oct 6, 2014): The recent rise in Beastclan activity has prompted the miirshroom clan to migrate out of the Carrion Canyon and begin a new settlement at the location of their material stockpiles at a rock formation further inland on the south-east slope - at the edge of Lightning Farm territory. Negotiations with Harpy ambassadors are underway to assure the local population of the Harpy flock that continued bridge construction across the Carrion Canyon can only be to their benefit, as it will decrease the amount of traffic through their roosts by land-bound travelers trying to get from one side of the canyon to the next.

Current Clan Projects
Highland Scrub:
Constructing radio towers to keep the clan connected over long distances.
Sections of these towers are constructed on the ground and lifted into the air on a line by a duo of Imperials to be set in place while Faes and Skydancers perch on the existing sections and bolt them together. A Ridgeback on the ground connects and adjusts the guy wires holding the tower in place. The exact mechanism for generating sustainable power for the towers is a topic currently up for debate. At present, the radio towers supplied with power by the electrical charges ferried by the Spirals and their Battery Division. The towers tend to be dotted along the supply chains used to travel to neighbouring regions most heavily concentrated on the passage to the Sea of A Thousand Currents where supplies tasty fish may be found. All lightning flight members may use the transmission network, and dragons of other flights may be allowed to send their own messages for a fee (or they can just pirate the signal using their own frequency. Note that sabotaging the towers is frowned upon and infractors will be hunted down by the tower Guardians).

Carrion Canyon Project
Constructing launching stations for future bridge project.
The launching stations are the gateways for the future bridge, designed to keep the native wildlife from wandering across the canyon uninvited and to collect a toll from dragons of other flights who are just passing through. The design is heavily dependent on reinforced concrete using a cement derived from ash bought (or borrowed) from the neighbouring Ashfall Waste, and sand and gravels mined from the base of the canyon. Teams of Mirrors are sent out to ferry supplies from other regions while Ridgebacks and Tundras work in the Quarry. Slope stability analysis was conducted for the canyon wall, and a retaining system to prevent erosion and undermining of the foundations is currently under development by the clan Snappers and Pearlcatchers, and awaits the selection of a final bridge design before it will be implemented.

Future Clan Projects
Power generation stations: these stations are intended to service the calmer regions of the Highland Scrub. The merits of solar, wind and geothermal are the main topics up for debate. Nuclear power has also been proposed by dragons of Arcane heritage as a reliable and continuous power source with high output, but determined to be too excessive for current power needs.

Transmission towers: transporting power to the centres of clan activity. The towers are to be designed to withstand downbursts and shearing winds such as might be experienced during a strong storm or tornado conditions.

Bridge across the Carrion Canyon: allowing quick and convenient passage across the canyon for hatchlings and land-based dragons who cannot make the long flight. Asking clan members to submit their ideas for the bridge design produced a wide range of ideas including:
- an elegant Pratt truss design with a parabolic curve;
- a viaduct with towering slender columns in groups of threes and a trio of steel box girders for the spans;
- a narrow, simple suspension bridge strung on "two cables low enough to look over" and only wide enough for the smaller dragon breeds in single-file;
- a cable suspension bridge for which the deck beams are hung on vertical suspenders to a parabolic tension cable that runs between two tall compression towers at the canyon edges and terminates at anchoring points at such a distance that the towers are balanced and stable;
- a trestle bridge "built with the bones of our enemies and painted with their blood"; "a huge pile of ice and snow packed down with a nice stone pattern laid down as the footpath at the top";
- "Balloons! Balloons that fill with hot air and hold up a bunch of bamboo sticks lashed together so they all line up in a row!".

For future design challenges, entries will be screened for feasibility prior to presenting at clan meetings.


Lightning Lairs Discussion
Art Gallery Thread
Bonsai Adoptables Planning
Crystal tertiary Suggestion
Lightning Subspecies Hatchery
Bonsai Affiliates Thread