"A flame-borne air-ship as immense as any sea-faring craft, capable of laying waste to entire legions."
- —Description of a Kongming Sky-junk from Total War: Warhammer III.
"See! Up there, the Sky-Junks. Wonders of the Celestial Army, from the workshops of Nan-Gau. Now we shall claim the skies!"
- —A soldier of the Northern Provinces as quoted in Total War: Warhammer III.[2]
Kongming Sky Lantern and Kongming Sky-junk concept art created for Warhammer: The Old World. The Sky-junk is on the right.
A Kongming Sky-junk is a medium airship used by the Grand Imperial Army of Grand Cathay to provide air support to Cathayan ground forces.[1]
Kongming Sky Lantern and Kongming Sky-junk concept art created for Total War: Warhammer III. The Sky-junk is on the right.
An invention of Shi-Hong, the northwestern Cathayan city of Nan-Gau's Master War-Artificer, the Kongming Sky-junk is a wonder of the Celestial Army. As large as a ship of the Jade Fleet, it is suspended in the air by a series of Sky Lanterns, its armoured cradle able to turn aside arrows and bullets as its crew rain ranged death down upon the enemies of the Celestial Empire.[1]
These great, skyborne vessels can be seen defending the borders of Grand Cathay, but are also used beyond the Great Bastion, where armadas of the Dragon Emperor's sky ships have laid waste to entire Chaos Marauder tribes.[1]
Notable Kongming Sky JUnks[]
- Wind of Heaven - Shi-hong, also called the "Blind Master," is the greatest of the Artificers of Grand Cathay and is one of the Nine Lords of Nan-Gau, the capital city of the Northern Provinces. Despite his lack of sight, Shi-hong has a vast collection of unique weapons and explosives -- which he often distributes to the Nan-Gau units he commands. He is also the creator of the Kongming Sky-junk, and when he must travel from Nan-Gau he often rides to battle in his own personal war balloon called the Wind of Heaven -- a graceful creation boasting experimental weapons and unique ordinance.
Trivia[]
Kongming (孔明, Kǒngmíng) was the courtesy name for the famed Chinese general and strategist Zhuge Liang during the Three Kingdoms period, used during his later years to show respect. He was the namesake of a hot air balloon or lantern used in ancient China to send messages across the air, as in legend he was considered its inventor.
Sources[]
- 1: Warhammer Community - Read the Official Background for Total War: Warhammer III's Most Deadly Units.
- 2: Total War: Warhammer III (PC Game)
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