For Beyond the Waves: ancient technology from the last war between the Haunted Empire and the Island States.

I. Ekranoplan wrecks

The airspace above the Archipelago is haunted. The Empire’s flyers would dive when they hit the Archipelago airspace, or curve in unpredicted trajectories. For decades the imperial scientists attempted to map that volume of air with its many loci and vortices and tunnels, but Sigma/Omega ratios could suddenly peak and vehicles would return decrepit, pilots bags of dust. Flying over the islands was too much of a risk even for a behemoth like the Empire who could throw steel and flesh and bone at any problem.

The ekranoplans were vast surface wing craft, much larger than any of the vehicles in service around the various island states. They were designed for carrying cargo, weapons and troops rapidly over long stretches of flat water for exploration or conquest.

Abandoned ekranoplan hulls can be found along the western shore of the land and on some islands.

1d12	Ekranoplan wreck points of interest
1	Wreck completely overgrown inside and out with several well preserved bodies inside
2	Coded military orders
3	A luxury fitted stateroom with Imperial memorabilia
4	1d4 active torpedoes of unknown payload
5	Several cubic meters of ancient computer
6	Disdended corpses and signs of bungled emergency egress
7	Maps of western ocean with expedition diaries
8	Leviathan tissue samples
9	Armoury with 1d3 lightning cannisters and other hand weapons
10	Neuronic interrogation equipment
11	Banks of cell samples, seeds and mature plants which have overwhelmed the vehicle interior
12	Human squatters who are either (1-2) inferior and afraid, (3-4) well-matched and hostile or (5-6) contaminated and infectious

II. Acoustic Mirrors

The obsolescense of aircraft that resulted in the ekranoplan in turn rendered radioetheric detection useless as the flyers were too low to resolve against the surface.

Sound mirrors were developed and many examples were installed on the shores of the eastern-most islands.

1d10	Acoustic mirror points of interest
1	Sound has attracted unusual animals or birds
2	Sheltering human settlement who have decorated the mirror
3	Mirror receives broadcast from somewhere out in the sea
4	Tribe bases religious observations, calendars and rituals around seasonal ambient sound from the mirror
5	Mirror contains a bunker underneath with telegraph room which is receiving a signal from somewhere
6	Mirror reflects leviathan song
7	Mirror has been damaged and tilts at an impractical upward angle, but is receiving transmission
8	Mirror has been broken down, moved and reconstructed to serve an unintended purpose
9	Local gravitational or spacetime distortion
10	Several imitation mirrors have been built up in the same area, and sing to one another

III. Targe hulls

Targe (“shield” or “border”) hulls are chains of either mobile floating or permanently anchored armoured platforms designed to interrupt assaults from ekranoplan vessels with poor manouverability and altitude control. Frequently installed close to sound mirrors.

1d10	Targe hull points of interest
1	Hull has been taken over by vast numbers of sea birds
2	Gigantic cannon, broken away from mounting and cannot be aimed
3	Remnants of a brutal skirmish; bones, damaged equipment, rusted firearms and cutlasses
4	Series of sophisticated signal towers line up with island mirror installations
5	Multiple stored drums of unknown chemical agent, some leaking into sea
6	Platforms severely damaged in collision, submerged ekranoplan wreck
7	Fishing settlement in former fortress with extended raft village anchored to fixed hardpoints
8	Suspended railroad connects network of artificial platforms strung between natural sea mounts and islets
9	Pirate hideout with livery
10	Bedrock collapsed under foundation revealing underwater natural structure

Image Credits and more images

Acoustic mirror by Paul Glazzard shared under CC BY-SA 2.0

Red sands forts by Russs shared under CC BY-SA 3.0

Ekranoplan art:

• Overgrown wreck by HeiBK201
• Heavy GEV by Al Crutchley