The Iron Wyvern is a large airship commanded by Kublai and his crew of Sky Pirates. You first see it docked in Skull Mountain when Oliver and his friends track down Kublai in order to restore Mornstar to its former glory. It has a Memory Stone unlike most towns and Smiley 'n' Surly's, a shop with some of the best weapons and armor in the game.
The ship itself is seen as a part of Skull Mountain, with a wooden bridge allowing access to the deck of the vessel to talk to Kublai. Upon the White Witch's attack on the three kingdoms, however, the ship takes off from its base in Skull Mountain and becomes its own location hovering over the eastern Summerlands, upon which the only way it can be accessed is through either Tengri or the Travel Spell.
Description[]
The Iron Wyvern bears resemblance to both a dragon and a pre-dreadnought battleship, being large enough to dwarf
Artwork of the Iron Wyvern along with an unused flying boat and the Philmobile.
the Red Dragon and heavily armed with several large-caliber cannons. The vessel's armament numbers to fourteen overall guns, twelve of which are mounted in six twin turrets divided into three on both the port and starboard sides of the deck. The final two are located directly below the bow of the airship and are much larger in size. The ship has three masts, with the two nearest the bow sporting crow's nests, while the one at the rear bears Kublai's pirate flag. The ship is colored purple, with the occasional spot of rust on its wyvern-themed armor due to age.
Story[]
The Iron Wyvern in Skull Mountain
The Iron Wyvern is first seen moored in Kublai's hideout in Skull Mountain when Oliver and his companions are tasked with tracking down the sky pirate because he stole the Map of the Stones that reveal the location of the three magical stones which give Mornstar its power. Upon entry into Skull Mountain, they explore the hideout and just as they attempt to board the dormant airship they're ambushed by Kublai and his crew thinking that they were there to steal some of the pirate's plunder. However, Kublai takes notice of the incomplete Mornstar at Oliver's side and allows the group aboard to hear them out. Oliver and his friends explain to the sky pirate that they need the map of the stones that he previously stole from Marcassin in order to restore Mornstar to its former glory and face Shadar. Resolving to test the quartet of their skills in battle, Kublai summons the Red Dragon to battle them on the deck of the ship. Once the boss is defeated, Kublai asks where Oliver got the wand, thinking it shouldn't exist anymore and ushers them into his cabin to show them the map.
The White Witch's Attack[]
With the devastation of all three kingdoms and their populations under the effects of Manna, Marcassin and Kublai put aside their differences and form an alliance to shelter refugees aboard the ship. Once Marcassin manages to rescue Oliver and the group from a recently transformed King Tom in Ding Dong Dell, he transports them to the Iron Wyvern, which is already airborne and hovering over the Summerlands. At some point, while the group is off in Motorville searching for Pea, a black crystal materializes onto the deck of the ship and Manna starts falling, transforming the crew into Wretches. Thankfully, Pea is brought back from Motorville and she uses her spell Sanctify to destroy the crystal onboard and revert the crew back to their old selves.
Assault on the Ivory Tower[]
When the White Witch reveals herself to be the culprit behind the events that affected all three kingdoms, Marcassin summons the rulers of all three kingdoms and urges them to band together in a war effort against her. From then on, an attack is planned, with the forces of Ding Dong Dell, Al Mamoon, and Hamelin combining their strength and technology in an attempt to lay siege to the floating palace. The Iron Wyvern is used as a flagship, with Al Mamoon's Cloud Sweeper squadron, Hamelin's Skysquealers, and the Wyvern's own artillery under King Tom being used to attack. Strangely, there was no sign of opposition coming from the Ivory Tower, and it's revealed that the structure is protected by a magical barrier similar to Shadar's Black Briar, thus none of the weapons used in the attack leave a scratch on the structure. The only option left is for Oliver and his companions to enter the Tower and deal with the White Witch directly...
The Iron Wyvern bears similarities to the warships seen in "Howl's Moving Castle", and the airships in "Castle in
One of the airborne Battleships seen in Howl's Moving Castle (Top) and Air Destroyer Goliath from Castle in the Sky (Bottom). The Iron Wyvern has features similar to both vessels.
the Sky", both of which are Studio Ghibli films.
The four sets of "wings" on the port and starboard sides of the vessel and the two massive cannons mounted on the bow of the ship are similar to the airborne Battleships seen in Howl's Moving Castle.
The six armored turrets and the set of propellors seen near the bridge and on the bowsprit and stern of the ship are similar to Air Destroyer Goliath, and the Tigermoth from "Castle in the Sky"
It's unclear on where the ship was created, but it's hypothesized that it was built in the city of Xanadu since Kublai had commanded it as part of the Xanaduvian Airborne Division under Queen Khulan.
Despite being an Airship, the Iron Wyvern is capable of being moored in shallow water, as it's seen docked in the river in Kublai's hideout on Skull Mountain.
