Excerpts from "The War of the Quadruple Alliance - Warefare of a new Era" Written by Scholar Hathli the

Spotter of Sastasha on the usage of Airships

The way in which the City States of Ex Nido and Volholl conducted their warfare against the Occidian
Empire differed greatly in their manner. The Aarakocra of Ex Nido had taken a much more direct
approach, conducting raids and attacks against Occidian fortifications and supply columns. Due to the
nature of the mountainous terrain the Occidians moved in against the Dwarves of the Mol Holds, the
Aarakocra used their Airships as mobile platforms from which to launch their attacks. During the early
stages of the War, the Airships were utilized to rain magical destruction upon the cities of the Occidians.
However the Occidians quickly countered these efforts through the use of Stakkerian tipped Ballistae,
that threatened the Airships magical runes keeping them afloat. One Airship was known to be taken
down in this manner, however the Aarakocra set the ship on fire to prevent capture by the Occidians.
After these measures, Ex Nido restricted their attacks to Night Time Raids, which the Occidians
attempted to counter by ordering all torches out on all settlements after dark.

Indeed, the usage of Stakkerian Metal, though did not entirely remove the great advantage of Airships,
mitigated their complete effectiveness. A well placed Stakkerian Ballistae Bolt could threaten an Airship
that cost orders of magnitude greater if the captains flew too low, or were not careful enough.

Volholl worked closely with the besieged forces of Agata, and took on different strategies to combat the
Occidians. Airships from Volholl attacked Occidian Vessels in concert with Merfolk undersea attacks, in
which the Occidians were helpless to defend from. Volholl was able to keep constant tabs on
approaching Occidian Armies headed towards Agata, and conducted fast raids to straggling units. With
the Zymerians warned, they could mobilize their forces quickly to meet new threats. Here a key
advantage of Airships revealed itself - with the Stakkerian Metal able to prevent augeries from Merfolk
Spellcasters, the Airships able to spot forces from afar proved invaluable knowledge. Mid battle on the
Planes, the Airships were able to deploy reserve forces quickly, forcing the Occidians to constantly be
wary of outflanking attacks.