Grand Stream

The Grand Stream is a fictional air current in the 2003 anime Last Exile. The Grand Stream is a continually rushing 120-knot(140 mph!) storm that circles the center of the hour-glass shaped planet of Prester. The torrential storm always rages in the high altitudes of the skies of both Anatoray and Disith and is thought all but impassible - even giant capital ships must follow paths of relatively calm air current. If even a skilled pilot attempts to go into the torrents he has a great risk of getting lost, crashing, or being destroyed by the large hulking form of Exile. Throughout the series, most believe attempting the crossing in a Vanship to be tantamount to suicide.

History of the Grand Stream

The Grand Stream was created when EXILE arrived on Prester. When the passengers disembarked to begin their new lives, Exile traveled to the bottleneck and sealed itself in a cocoon, thus creating the Grand Stream. The Guild had the power to control the weather on Prester and kept the peace for hundreds of years. 10 years before the anime takes place, Delphine Eraclea went mad with power and purged all members of the other noble Guild Houses. However, she failed to realize that without a 'key' to Exile, the weather controller would fail. But, she didn't care about that - all that mattered to her was that she was now the new Maestro. The weather started to fail, and Disith started to freeze while Anatoray stared to heat up.

When the Disith first crossed the Stream by following flocks of birds, they discovered that though Anatoray was plagued by drought it was at least habitable, unlike their glacial home. However, the Anatoray did not understand the Disith plight and declared war on Disith. When a sect of the Anatoray government reconsidered, they sent a peace proposal to the Disith via the most skilled Vanship courier teams of the time; Hamilcar Valca with his navigator, George Head, and Alex Row with his navigator(and fiance) Euris.

Delphine would claim that an Anatoray-Disith alliance would threaten the Guild's ability to administrate Prester's resources. However, her attitude was more that of malicious pettiness - she seemed thrilled by the possibility of open warfare. Whatever the reason, she personally intercepted the message in a Guild ship. Valca and Head were flung from their calm path directly into Exile. Euris was blown from the rear cockpit of her Vanship, and without a navigator Alex had no choice but to return to Anatoray - but not before he realized that Delphine was personally responsible and swore vengeance.

As the message never arrived on Disith, the war continued - under Guild supervision. Delphine escalated the conflict by giving both sides giant Claudia engines that enabled them to build ships far larger than they could alone. And she watched raptly as the two sides slaughtered each other under a code of "chivalry" that she could change at any time.

Eventually, she grew bored with the war and moved on to other obsessions. Ten years after she intercepted the peace proposal, Disith was on the verge of collapse, and they made a desperate move. They attacked an Anatoray fleet weakened by a supervised battle with a fleet many times its size, and the Guild did not interfere. This is where Last Exile begins.

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