Eschalot

The Eschalot is an airship used as a form of transportation in Bravely Default. It serves as the heroes' early form of transportation.

Use
Early on, the Eschalot serves as the main form of transportation between the regions. It is capable of flight, due to its skystone; however, its speed and altitude are limited. The ship can land near beaches or docks, but only if the sea in that area is clear. Its current location will be marked on the player's map by a small green flag. After reaching a certain point in the plot, the Eschalot loses its flight capabilities, though it maintains the ability to sail through the oceans. After obtaining Grandship, the Eschalot ceases to be the main form of transportation. However, when over water, the Eschalot can be deployed into the seas, so long as they are not rotted.

Story
The Eschalot was developed by workers in Eternia under the supervision of Alternis Dim. Alternis would be charged with early sailing tests, to determine its readiness, before handing it over to the Eternian Sky Knights for their use. The Sky Knights would use the Eschalot for their operations in Caldisla, but a lack of proper landing sites limited its docking to two sites: a small lake in the southwestern portion of the continent and Lontano Villa, by means of force.

The Eschalot would serve as the site of a fight between the vestal of wind, Agnès Oblige, and her allies and Argent Heinkel, the leader of the Sky Knights. Heinkel took the ship into the air, and before dying, assumed that Agnès's group was doomed because they couldn't fly the airship. However, one of Agnès's allies, the amnesiac Ringabel discovered that he knew how to fly the ship, and managed to steer it to safety.

Agnès and her allies would take the ship for their own uses, using it to travel over the seas to Ancheim, parking it in the only section of ocean that was safe to land in. After awakening the Wind Crystal, they returned to the ship, only to find Alternis Dim there. He would smash the airship's skystone in an attempt to strand the group.

The group would make their way to the next crystal by land. After awakening the Water Crystal, the seas cleared. Thus the Eschalot was able to serve as their way across the seas to the next crystal in Eisenberg. However, the group would be at a standstill when they needed to travel to the final crystal, as Eternia was blocked off by various plateaus and mountain ranges. After sometime, they would revive Grandship as an airship. The Eschalot was stored within Grandship, to be deployed when necessary, as by this time, the heroes had grown attached to it.