Ornithopter 1

The young woman returned to Penregon with promises of support for Tocasia and an order for light sailcloth, and the brothers returned to their work. Mishra had rebuilt the ornithopter's framework, but the nature of the tail assembly defied him. Almost by unspoken agreement, Urza took over the reconstruction of the glider, discovering what wires went where and how they would function in flight. It was Urza who discovered that the sail-like wings had to be ribbed with thin shoots of candlewood in order to maintain their form in flight. For his part Mishra confirmed that by bringing slender bows of snapped wing ribs back from the dig along with strands of frayed wire. Urza saw that the wire was better for controlling the shape of the wings than mere rope, and another order was placed with Bly. The two young men spent hours together poring over the design, trying to determine how the tail assembly would function.

In all it took eight months for the ornithopter to be rebuilt. The key was the box of wires and disks that served as the craft's engine. Urza, Mishra, and even Tocasia did not know exactly how the small engine could power the large ornithopter; they only knew that it did. Urza used the small, weak crystal that had belonged to the su-chi to power the device.

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The Brother's War, Chapter 2