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He who increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow. This article contains spoilers, meaning it has information and facts concerning Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple. If you do not want to know about these events, it is recommended to read on with caution, or not at all. |
The Celestial Chariot
The Celestial Chariot was a prototype hot air balloon built by the Zhang Wei Union's engineer Yun Pyeong-Gyu in 1725, with the assistance of Xialun Qing.[1] It predated the Montgolfière, the first recorded hot air balloon, by several decades.[2]
History[]
Celestial Chariot Mk. 1[]
- "This black liquid is petroleum, also known as inextinguishable fire. It has the power to make flames burn with even greater intensity! And when air is heated by the flames in a lantern-like structure... The heat causes the balloon to soar into the air."
- ―Yun explaining the functionality of the balloon, 1725.[src]-[m]
Built using the same concept as a sky lantern, the Celestial Chariot differed from later iterations of hot air balloons in that it was fueled by Greek fire, a near-inextinguishable substance which allowed it to remain in the air for longer periods of time. However, this also came with an increased risk, as if the Greek fire were to somehow spill, it could not be put out with water or other regular means, endangering the life of the pilot.[1]
Xialun Qing inside the balloon
The original Celestial Chariot's first—and only—flight occurred in 1725, when the members of the Zhang Wei Union became trapped on Monkey Island while en route to Cebu, after being attacked by a group of native resistance fighters led by Rajah. With Rajah's men using mortars against their ship, the Fenghuang, the Union members were unable to pinpoint the locations of the enemy encampments without exposing their own location, leaving them at an impasse.[3]
It was at that moment that Xialun Qing realized the Celestial Chariot could be used to survey the island from above and showed the invention to her fellow Union members. After Yun Pyeong-Gyu explained that the pilot would need to be an extremely light person so the balloon could support their weight, Qing volunteered herself and took flight in the Celestial Chariot. She then marked the locations of all enemy encampments and sent the map back to the Fenghuang, allowing its crew to fire on the rebel strongholds using their own mortars.[1]
However, while the Celestial Chariot was in the sky, a sudden gust of wind caused the Greek fire inside the balloon to spill. As the aircraft became engulfed in flames,[1] Qing parachuted out of the balloon and landed safely on Monkey Island. Her fellow Union members, having witnessed the Celestial Chariot's destruction, initially assumed the worst, but Shimazu Saito was able to confirm that Qing had survived and landed on the island, prompting the crew to go looking for her.[4]
Celestial Chariot Mk. 2[]
The Celestial Chariot Mk. 2
The second iteration of the hot air balloon, dubbed the "Celestial Chariot Mk. 2" by Yun, was built at some point after the Union's departure from Monkey Island and prior to their arrival in Cebu. Learning from the failure of the first Celestial Chariot, Yun installed the burner above the balloon's basket and reinforced its frame for structural integrity, allowing the balloon to carry up to three people at once. Despite these improvements, however, Yun did not have the time to install a steering mechanism.[5]
The Celestial Chariot Mk. 2 was used by the Union to infiltrate Fort San Pedro, which had been occupied by Rajah's resistance, in order to retrieve a crescent amulet – a Piece of Eden – and a sea log containing clues to the locations of two other artifacts. Edward Kenway and Shimazu Saito volunteered to board the balloon, with a reluctant John Young joining them, and the trio flew above the fort, allowing them to survey it.[5]
After Edward and Saito dropped several anchors to keep the Celestial Chariot in place, they used them as ziplines to descend to the ground and went to look for Rajah. Meanwhile, John remained inside the balloon to provide cover fire, using his musket to take out several of Rajah's men.[6] However, the rebels soon began cutting the Celestial Chariot's anchors while John eventually ran out of ammunition.[7]
Once only one achor remained, John decided to lower the balloon's flames in the hopes he would be able to make a safe landing. However, this caused the Celestial Chariot to suddenly begin falling out of the sky.[8] Fortunately, John was able to increase the flames and prevent a potentially fatal crash, just as Edward and Saito returned to the balloon with the crescent amulet.[9] The Celestial Chariot subsequently landed in the water, allowing Edward, Saito and John to be picked up by the Fenghuang and escape Cebu.[10]
Celestial Chariot Mk. 3[]
The Celestial Chariot Mk. 3 in flight
Following the death of Xialun Qing in the Sultanate of Sulu,[11] Yun immediately began work on the Celestial Chariot Mk. 3, in part as a means to distract himself from his mourning.[12] The balloon was finished in time for the Fenghuang's arrival in Yangon, Burma, where the crew hoped to retrieve another Piece of Eden housed in the Shwedagon Pagoda.[13]
After smuggling the Celestial Chariot's dismantled components into the city, Yun assembled them, allowing Edward and Saito to use the balloon to fly over Yangon. From there, the pair used gliders built by Yun to approach the pagoda, before deploying their parachutes to land safely on its roof.[13] This ultimately allowed Edward and Saito to infiltrate the pagoda and take the Piece of Eden, after which they escaped Yangon with the help of several Buddhist monks.[14]
Gallery[]
Appearances[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 60
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Unity – Database: Montgolfier Flight
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 59
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 61
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 68
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 69
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 70
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 72
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 73
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 74
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 91
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 93
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 97
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 102