The bluish light of mana tubes faintly illuminated the oxidized copper walls. Lyall Osyth placed his hand on the railing of the abandoned observatory, feeling beneath his fingers the distant vibration of the Mother-Plants. Behind him, Elara Finch walked in silence, her Solis stone beating softly against her chest. They had climbed for hours through the scaffolding of the Hanging Gardens, fleeing Vane's patrols, only to end up here this forgotten outpost perched atop the Canopy.
"Someone's here," Elara whispered.
Lyall instinctively activated his Teral stone. Heaviness thickened around his fists. He stepped into the shadows, where dust-covered star charts still glowed with an artificial gleam.
A figure emerged from the darkness. A young man with a hard face, wearing the light armor of a Sentinel. In his hand, a strange object an hourglass of black crystal whose sand floated in reverse.
"Don't move," Lyall ordered.
"I could say the same," the man replied in a calm but tense voice. "I'm Elias. Former Sentinel. And you must be the smith the rumors talk about."
"Rumors also say not to trust Sentinels," Elara interjected, her hand on her dagger's hilt.
A second shadow stirred. A young woman stepped out from behind a glass pillar. Her skin was traced with black veins, her eyes a nearly liquid violet. From her slender fingers flowed a smoke that was anything but natural.
"Her name is Lyra," Elias said, gesturing toward her. "And she's the reason you're still alive."
"Nice introduction," Lyra rasped. "We don't have time for niceties. Vane knows we're here. He's sent his best hunters."
Elara pulled out her Solis stone. The golden multi-faceted gem began to glow, projecting mental images into her mind. She closed her eyes for a second, then opened them, her gaze darker.
"She's telling the truth. I can sense their intent… at least a dozen, maybe more. But there's something else. You, Elias… you've seen the future. You know what's coming."
Elias didn't flinch. He raised the Keystone.
"This is the key to everything. The Hourglass of Awakening. Kaelen – my mentor – discovered that mana doesn't come from the earth, but from the stars. The Mother-Plants are antennae. And Vane wants to hijack that flow to become a god."
Lyall felt his Teral vibrate with anger.
"Kaelen? Where is he?"
"A prisoner," Lyra replied. "On a fortress-airship, the Tomb of Ether. Vane is using him as a temporal battery to stabilize the Pressure Heart."
Elara put away her stone. Her face was pale.
"If Vane succeeds, the Empire becomes nothing but a stepping stone. But to stop him, we need Kaelen. Only he knows the exact location of the true Heart."
A heavy silence settled. The star charts cast their cold light over their tense faces. Lyall looked at Elara, then Elias, then Lyra. Four strangers bound by fear and necessity.
"We don't have a choice," he said finally. "We're going to save Kaelen. Together."
"Together," Elias repeated with bitter irony. "That's a word that's killed a lot of Sentinels."
"Maybe," Lyall replied, activating his Teral. "But this time, we're not just soldiers. I'm the Anchor. Elara is the Eye. You, Elias, are Time. And you, Lyra… you are the Void."
Lyra laughed a cold sound.
"The Void doesn't help anyone. It devours."
"Then learn to guide it," Elara shot back. "Or we all die."
Elias placed the Keystone on a stone table. He traced the outline of the prison-airship in the dust.
"The Tomb of Ether patrols above the Iron Desert. It's protected by a stasis field powered by… Kaelen himself. To get in, we need a guide. Someone who knows the codes."
"And where do we find that guide?" Lyall asked.
The answer came from elsewhere. A muffled explosion shook the outpost. Shouts, down in the gardens. Then the sound of light footsteps, too fast, like a dancer on embers.
Elias closed his eyes, his precognition activating.
"He's already here."
A black silhouette burst through the glass entrance in a whirlwind of light. The Waltzer landed without a sound, his miniature aerostats crackling on his shoulders. He was wounded a dark burn on his side but his eyes burned with feverish determination.
"I didn't come to fight," he said, breathless.
"Why should we trust you?" Lyall spat, Teral ready to strike.
The Waltzer pulled up his tunic. Around his neck, a black metal collar set with a Khaos stone blinked with an unhealthy glow.
"Because Vane has my daughter. And this collar will explode if I don't bring him your head. But I'd rather die than obey him any longer."
Elara stepped closer, her Solis humming. She studied the Waltzer for a long minute, then nodded.
"He's not lying. The fear for his daughter is genuine. So is his hatred of Vane."
"Then tell us where Kaelen is," Elias demanded.
"I can guide you," the Waltzer replied. "I know the codes. The weaknesses. But in exchange, you protect my daughter. She's hidden in the undercity of Thalassa."
Lyall glanced at Elara. She nodded.
"Deal."
The Waltzer gave them the coordinates of the Tomb of Ether. Minutes were slipping away. Vane's guards were closing in.
"We have to go now," Lyra said, her shadows already stretching toward the exit.
As they prepared to leave, Elara placed her hand on Lyall's shoulder.
"If we fail," she said quietly, "remember that you're not just a smith. You're the one who chose to carry the burden."
"I didn't choose it," Lyall replied. "It fell on me."
"That's what all burdens do. But only the brave pick them up."
He held her hand for a moment, then let go.
"Let's go save Kaelen."
They plunged into the darkness, leaving the star outpost behind to descend toward hell. Behind them, the star charts went out one by one, like eyes closing on a dream too vast.