Kite ships are a type of seafaring vessel used by many peoples of the Wounds, especially amongst the Keleta-Ru and Fanakara. Though fundamentally similar in design to the typical outrigger canoes used across the region, these ships differ in their method of propulsion, abandoning sails in favor of multiple large kites that can be deployed to pull the vessel across the waves.
Though remarkably fast in experienced hands, kite ships do have a number of disadvantages. They can be very difficult to control, especially in high winds or in stormy weather, requiring the expertise of very skilled seafarers to not be entirely at the mercy of the winds. As a result they are not in everyday use, as they are simply impractical for most. Still, messengers, adventurers, and others who need to cross the Na-Gaesa Ocean do use them, as they are almost unmatched in speed amongst ocean-going vessels.
Kite ships were first developed by Rasharekan inventors in the late ninth millennium for the purpose of rapidly ferrying their temple-minders between far-away islands. In the centuries since these initial designs have since been adopted and improved upon by various other peoples.