Solaril’s Tear of Exploding

Solaril’s Tear of Exploding (often shortened to Solaril’s Tears and nicknamed Tear Bombs by humans) is an armor piercing aerial bomb primarily used by the Umrinor Cordiale and its allies. Solaril’s Tears were developed during the War of the Dawn to counter the threat posed by the steel ships of the Voskgardian Navy. Large and heavy, these bombs are designed to be dropped from the air, either by large dragons or with dwarven airships. 

Forged of enchanted runic aurasteel and filled with an explosive mix of aurite and a TNT equivalent, these mystical bombs were designed to pierce the thick armor of human ships. As such they require specialized mages to utilize. Solaril’s Tears are dropped from the air, typically from around 4000 to 6100 meters. 

In order to achieve better accuracy, the bombs are typically guided by dragons during their fall and released just before impact in a technique now known as “dive bombing”. Dwarves sometimes use gliders to achieve the same effect, with a few even being used in suicide attacks. 

Developed in secret by the Tassendreli Professor Elred Solaril, these bombs were produced in collaboration between the Tassendrel Empire and the Guildhold of Degergan. These bombs would be used throughout the War of the Dawn to damage, and sometimes even sink Voskgardian ships. 

While not a perfect countermeasure, they were prone to missing or being shot down before reaching the target, they were nevertheless an essential component of the Umrinor Cordiale’s arsenal. Post war they continued to be produced and exported to Elderkin states abroad. 

Solaril’s Tears are teardrop shaped explosives made of a single piece of forged aurasteel. The aurasteel is 15 cm (6 in) thick at the nose and 7cm (3 in) at the tail. The center of the bomb is filled with 100kg (215lb) of TNT equivalent mixed with aurite. In addition dwarven runic magic is carved into the side of the bomb in order to enhance the power of the explosion. 

Solaril’s Tears are very heavy weighing in at 958 kg (2112 lb). Dwarven airships are capable of lifting several of these bombs unassisted in their bomb bays. However in order for dragons to help lift this immense mass, an additional methods were needed. 5 meter (17ft) long canisters filled with liftwood gas attached to the sides of the bomb, lessening the weight for the dragons to carry. Furthermore anti-weight spells were added to these canisters to help further manage the weight to a reasonable level. 

To drop these bombs dragons must fly to altitudes between 4000 to 6100 meters (13,000 to 20,000 ft respectively). Once over the target the dragons dive towards the surface at a steep 40 to 80 degree angle, pulling in their wings to achieve speeds up to 386 km/h (240 mph). Once guided towards the target the bombs are released before impact and require a rapid pull up for the dragon and its rider to survive. 

This technique can be done with gliders launched from dwarven airships, but it’s much rarer due to the inability of the glider to return to the airship. In desperation there have even been reports of glider pilots steering their craft into the decks of human ships as suicide weapons. More commonly thought Solaril’s Tears are dropped in large clusters from bomb bays located on the underside of these airships.

During the opening years of the War of the Dawn, the revolutionary ships used by the Voskgardians rendered the navies of Tassendrel and its allies hopelessly obsolete. In particular the thick metal armor of the Voskgardian ships proved nigh invulnerable to traditional Elderkin weaponry and the range of the Voskgardian guns made getting into range in the first place a challenge. 

As a result the navies of the Umrinor Cordiale suffered catastrophic losses that very nearly cost them the war. In response the nations of the Cordiale began a secret weapons development program, code named “Project Thunderfish” to develop any kind of countermeasures against this potent technology. Many designs would be drafted and tested, and many more failed before viable designs were produced. 

One person brought in as part of Project Thunderfish was a brilliant Tassendreli physicist named Elred Solaril. A professor at the University of Marim, Elred Solaril was present during the Siege of Marim. While attempting to evacuate the city he personally witnessed Voskgardian ships bombarding the city with impunity. Solaril's wife and son would be killed during the battle. 

Professor Solaril worked tirelessly to formulate a way to penetrate the armor of modern ships. Using his mathematical knowledge he devised a way to use the weight of a sufficiently strong bomb to pierce the deck of these ships. When Tassendrel couldn’t produce the materials required to get the bomb to work, Solaril traveled to the Guildhold of Degergan and enlisted the help of the expert dwarven craftsmen and weapons designers. 

Eventually a prototype was produced that combined the best of elven magic and dwarven runic technology. Nicknamed Solaril's Tears of Exploding by the engineers, the design was eventually selected for use in the field. After the first trials proved successful more of these weapons would be mass produced in a collaboration between Tassendrel and Degergan.

The initial rollout of Solaril’s Tears proved to be capable of damaging, or in certain conditions, outright sinking Voskgardian ships. This initially caught the Voskgardians by surprise, but further attacks were less successful once anti-air weapons and fighter aircraft were used to defend ships. 

Solaril’s tears of exploding would continue to see use throughout the remainder of the war. While the Voskgardian Navy was never truly defeated, Solaril’s Tears proved invaluable in preventing their complete dominance of the sea. After the war the Solaril’s Tears would continue to be produced by the various states of the Umrinor Cordiale. 

Many bombs of this type would be sold to fellow Elderkin countries in and outside of West Ciradon in order to defend against human navies. In recent years the design has seen even further refinement and has begun to be replaced by newer models of armor piercing aerial bombs.