Ghyll:Kites d'Jeaux

The incredible Kites d'Jeaux of Iganefta-on-the-Sea are both an engineering marvel and a source of tasty snacks. Originally constructed in order to aid with research about the colors of clouds by Prof. "Mizo" Mononoke (b. -181EC d. -115EC). Mononoke came to Iganefta-on-the-Sea in about -140EC. He set a complex of tents and fielding huts on the shores of d'Jeaux Beach and was soon after seen collecting burnflies and other flying creatures along the rocky shore.

The exact method of construction and structural support are a complete mystery. No records of engineering or even materials invoices have been found from Mononoke's time in any of the archives of Bute University or in any of his personal files. Only a few villagers were present in Iganefta-on-the-Sea at the time, and none of them (as far as is known) recorded any information about the construction of the Kites. Summer visitors simply left Iganefta-on-the-Sea late in -131 EC, and when they returned the following summer, there were 16 (see footnotes) Kites around d'Jeaux Beach.

The kites range from 4 to 8 kunanits in height, as has been determined by triangulation. An attempt at direct measurment by Gonmolfier in -91 EC lead to the death of three ground assistants as his measuring rods collapsed and fell upon them.

Access to the Kites d'Jeaux is precarious, as the spindly structures have neither ramps nor scuttleways. In order to reach the platform at the top, the daring ceilonaut is forced to affix lighter-than-air gasbags to his carpace and be drawn upwards. Only a few very brave adventurers have ever dared this, and even fewer have successfully reached the top.

Due to the juxtaposition of these structures at the seashore, a dynamic specialty environment has developed on the underside of the Kites d'Jeaux, and is populated with special plants found nowhere else. Constant, rich winds which blow across the Shallow Gulf and then collide with the undersides of the Kites. This creates a unique, combined marine/ceilistic environment, in which plants that normally grow underwater instead grow in the air. The crispy vornalts which fall from the Kites are actually ourge pods. (This was conclusively demonstrated by Dr. Buddy-Mortimer Antwal at Bute University in -54 EC.) Because they are not soaked in seawater, the flavorful nature of the vornalt avoids the slimy character of uncooked (or cooked, for that matter) ourge.

Although Bute University has granted more than three dozen doctorates over the last 130 years for atmospheric researches to students who claim to be using the Kites, the dissertations of these scientists are notoriously thin. Several contain no research data whatsoever. Only two of these students actually reached the platforms of the Kites d'Jeaux (though another eight or nine died in the attempt). Perhaps it is significant that a full dozen of these doctorates were awarded to the spouses of faculty members. While Bute University is undoubtedly the greatest learning institution in Ghyll, this one aspect of their program shows that even the greatest among us have some faults that we need to remedy.

Citations: Iganefta-on-the-Sea, scuttleways, vornalt.

--Brother Arfrus 16:18, 5 Aug 2005 (EDT)

Footnotes

The well known lumogram of the vista of the Kites d'Jeaux by Belsperg was not created until 30 years or so after their construction. Some of the kites (including one that was supposedly almost 10 kunanits tall) were lost in the first few years after their original appearance.

Originally, there were 16 Kites. Two of them collapsed into Marty that first summer. Another collapsed the following winter (presumably, as it was not there the following year). Two more were lost in -112 EC. The remaining eleven Kites d'Jeaux have withstood the years and the elements in their present configuration since then.