Some newfangled contraptions: the spindly Sun-Walker, Pellet Lanterns, and the Silver Sight

I've been rolling up some strange newfangled contraptions, and I thought you might find some of them interesting.

The Sun-Walker

An enormous mechanical creation up high on spindly legs, the Sun-Walker is made mostly of brass.  Glass lenses concentrate sunlight onto fine metal spindles and vanes, causing them to bend and flex, moving the Walker inexorably forwards.  Its legs are articulated to lift high with each step, allowing the Walker to slowly traverse some of the most rugged terrain.

The inventor has tried to market the device, but it has only been ridiculed in the local press.  It's hard to control, but the inventor is confident that it can be improved.

Kinda like this, but with more sunlight and less smoke.  (ebalint96)

Pellet Lanterns

A safer, longer-lasting lantern has been invented.  A single pellet can keep it glowing for an hour, it doesn't warm up, and it won't ignite explosive gases down in the mines.

The lantern is a small glass globe (inside a protective wire cage) with a geared mechanism attached to one end.  You stick in a pellet and turn the crank; the pellet is crushed to a fine powder that glows with a bright bluish light inside the glass.

The lanterns themselves aren't that expensive, and you can buy a hundred pellets for just a shilling.  Or at least, you could.  Trouble is, there's a legal battle going on over who owns the imperial license to manufacture the pellets.

Imagine a cross between a pepper grinder and one of these old lanterns.  (Garrett Wade)

The Silver Sight

The Sight is a colossal telescopic device, mounted on a track so it can swivel and aim in any direction.  A massive clockwork mechanism causes it to rotate as needed, powered by weights hanging from chains below the main platform.

Inside the Sight are many colored glass lenses, complicated prisms, and silver reflectors.  It collects not light, but some other form of ray that can bend over the horizon.  Looking through the eyepiece, you can see the grey, indistinct forms of people hundreds of miles away.

Not that you'll ever get to look through the Sight yourself.  Its existence is a closely-guarded state secret, an intelligence-gathering device belonging to the Viceroy, who uses it to extend imperial power (or rather, her own power) across the Northern Lands.

A bit like this, but much bigger. (David Wenzel)