Isolde's living ships changed the alliance's reach overnight.
The deep green and pale coral hulls moved through the shifting sea with a speed and certainty no bone-and-glass or ash-grey vessel could match. Within days the first joint operation was planned and launched. The target was a chain of drifting islands known as the Teeth — a broken line of high stone and thin soil that moved slowly along one of the outer currents, rich in a rare crystal that stabilised large-scale formations better than anything the Bone City currently produced.
The core circle travelled on Isolde's flagship. Lady Sable sent a supporting contingent. Lian and Mei contributed a Twin Petal survey team. Rhea brought a small Ashen Court detachment. The crossing took less than a day. Where ordinary ships would have fought the currents for three, the living hulls simply read the water and went.
