Ghyll:TransAvian
TransAvian is an extremely profitable rapid-delivery company wholly owned by Godfroi Hasawithe. By domesticating the horks of the Evesque Valley to transport important documents (especially commercial ones), the company is one of the forces which in this modern age tie together the whole of Ghyll in a web of rapid communication.
TransAvian was founded in -50 EC by Baron James Horkmanifester, who took his title from the hork birds, which he was the first to domesticate. Hasawithe's holding company Gweddill Fluffett bought the horks, the trademarked name, and the goodwill in -11 EC for an undisclosed sum, thought to be in excess of 100,000 Quezloos.
In the years since, Hasawithe has franchised the company's operations to a variety of independent carriers. Hasawithe assigns routes and takes a percentage of the profits (how much presumably depends on the profitability of the specific route). Most carriers seem to be satisfied with these terms, though there are always a small number of malcontents, who generally wind up trying to set themselves up as fully independent operators. Without the rights to the highly trusted TransAvian name, however, their operations quickly fail.
Because of the physical limitations on hork flight, nothing that weighs more than a coconut (approximately 188 gyup) can be transported. On the other hand, horks have no natural enemies, and their homing instinct is quite reliable. They fly at about 30 lele an hour when fully loaded, far and away the fastest form of transportation on Ghyll.
Citations: Baron James Horkmanifester, Godfroi Hasawithe, hork.
--John Cowan 20:24, 1 Mar 2005 (EST)
100,000 Quezloos? Horkmanifester wished it were so. Even with the raging inflation of the period, I'd scratch a couple of noughts off that figure. It would never have been more than a token sum considering the state of TransAvian's balance sheet. What's more, the old fool was so concerned with his reputation that he added a non-disclosure clause to the contract of sale, and spent twice the proceeds ensuring that the press reported the grossly exaggerated price. --Larj Zyquon 12:33 AM, 25 May 2005 (GMT+8)
