1 Year 8 Months Ago

“I do not like this, Balthasar,” I stole a glance at the aging soldier beside me. My father’s right hand man in many aspects. He grunted as we peered out over the bow of the ship, at the Stormveil painted against the horizon. We were close enough now that I could feel the vibration in the deck beneath my feet; a terrifying reminder of the looming death just over the mountain.

“If you fear death, then perhaps you should have stayed home, little Lord,” Commander Balthasar Hammond said it almost mockingly. I grunted.

“My father would not have me miss it,” I laughed. “Even if I should come home in a sack.”

“Stephen always did go to extremes, but a righteous man he is,” Balthasar said. I cringed at hearing my father’s first name; it was a familiarity that I had never been afforded. “In truth, such as it is, the Mah’Kur are responsible for this ridiculousness. Had they accepted your father’s offer-”

“The Mah’Kur have suffered no Axian to cross the Stormveil in thirty years,” I cut him off quite rudely. “There should have been no expectation that they would have opened the gates for us. He is my father, but he assumes too much sometimes.”

“This is true,” The hulk of a man said, grunting and scratching his chin. “His authority carries him far within the realm of Axock but where it concerns the Mah’Kur, well.”

The memory was still fresh in my mind, that day my father and I had rode our airship into the sprawling city of Hybra. We stood inside the great hall, before the faceless figures draped in velvet cloth and listened to their verdict.

“In the face of the atrocities committed in the Lavoric name, the Mockreet will not permit you to pass.”

I don’t know which one of them had said it; I couldn’t even be sure that there had been a physical voice. Their words seemed to be an echo of the mind, weighted with authority, unshakable. What were the Mah’Kur? How had they created the Stormveil seemingly overnight? Some said they were gods, but I wished I could subscribe to a more scientific explanation - if there was one.

“Are we certain we can do this?” I asked apprehensively as the Stormveil came further into view. Ahead of us, a mountain range rose miles from the ground, the Stormveil stretching out over the summit like an elemental blanket. I could see the torrent of snow, dust, and rock billowing out from the base of the storm, eroding the ancient mountain bit by bit. Lightning flashed and thunder clapped as a celestial warning, a thunderous chorus of impending doom directed at all who may dare to approach.

“My Lord, Master Lavoric!” A soldier in Lavoric black rushed to the bow of the ship, saluting both of us before standing at attention. “We have deployed crawlers, but in my opinion, sir, they cannot withstand the storm!”

“Balthasar?” I looked to the Commander who shook his head. “Topographical reports put the summit at the highest point of the Stormveil, my Lord. Lower air pressure, but the mountain provides cover. We will have a better chance here than in an open field.”

“I agree,” I nodded, turning to the soldier. “Your name, soldier?”

“Fartham Rowan, my Lord!” He said loudly.

I turned about and spotted another guard standing just before the hatch to the lower deck and beckoned for him to join me.

“Soldier!” I shouted to the new man. “This is Corporal Fartham Rowan! He has failed in the execution of his duties! Give him to the storm, give the order that his family is to be summarily executed!”

“Yes, my lord!” The soldier acknowledged.

“But…but my Lord!” Corporal Rowan said in a panicked tone. “We will not survive!”

“No, Corporal!” I shouted. “You will not survive. Thank you for your service to the realm, such as it was, you are no longer needed!”

“A bit extreme, my Lord?” Balthasar said as the stunned soldier was led away.

“There is no room for doubt in my Father’s campaign,” I said with resolution. “He would have done the same in my place.”

“By and by,” Balthasar agreed. “The crawlers will provide a shield as we move further into the mountain, their armor should maintain as we pass through.”

“How much time do we have?”

“An hour, give or take, after we cross the event horizon,” Balthasar stood pointedly at the bow of the ship and defiantly raised his leg resting his foot against the railing as he leaned forward, squinting at the Stormveil three miles away.

“My Lord?” The soldier asked as he returned.

“Give them the order to move, tell the crawlers to deploy their shields. Today we enter the Stormveil.”

Over the bow of the airship, a translucent purple field rose from the crawlers three hundred feet below. The field enveloped us and the roaring wind grew to a dull him. Balthasar placed his cap back on his head and stood straight, still glaring in defience as we edged closer to the storm.

“We cross between the peaks,” Balthasar said. “You can see them, there, masked by the storm but the outline is clear enough. The Stormveil is perhaps a mile deep, if reports are correct.”

“Yes,” I agreed. “ If the crawlers can maintain their shield for long enough.”

“They’ll need repairs on the other side,” He told me. “Elsewise we find ourselves trapped on the other side of the world.”

“And I should like to see the capital again, for certain,” I added.

“As would I, my boy,” He agreed. “Come, let us steer this thing into oblivion as the Gods intended.”

We turned from the bow and crossed the deck, past stationed soldiers and workers alike. A narrow metal stair let us ascend to the flight deck where a broad console of lights, switches, dials and gauges awaited us just behind the gunmetal gray spoked wheel. The deck was closed in by four flex-steel windows, each one built of transparent braided titanium and seven inches thick. Still, even that wouldn’t have have withheld the full force of the storm had we chosen to go without the aid of the crawlers and their enveloping shield.

“Commander on deck!” A soldier shouted, and a shuffle of feet accompanied as each soldier assumed the attention of position.

“Sir!” The skipper said. “Pressure is nominal, our course is clear!”

“Stand aside, Skipper,” I said loudly. “The wheel is mine.”

“Yes sir!” He stepped aside without saluting, as was the custom indoors.

“Tell the crawlers to increase speed to two-thirds,” I told the skipper. He looked at me with an expression of concern.

“We maintain a better shield concentration if we move at one third,” He said. “If we lose integrity-”

“Take this man below and have him flogged,” I snapped to a nearby guard.

“Commander Hammond?” I turned to Balthasar who nodded and stepped forward to pick up the the talky.

“This is airship Jovannivas to Crawler Lead!” His raspy but authoritative voice boomed through the flight deck. “Increase speed to two thirds!”

“Yes Commander!” A voice crackled from the other end. “Message recieved, two thirds, aye! Over!”

I reached beside the wheel and clutched the steel lever, pressing it forward to increase speed. The engines roared behind us, the deck rumbled blow as steam pulsed through brass and lead pipes.

“The Mah’Kur truly believe they are gods,” I laughed. “Today we shall show them, that if there is a God in this wretched world, he sits not on the throne of Hybra, but stands behind the wheel of a steel behemoth! The greatest technology in all of Fadraiye! Today, Balthasar, we are Gods!”

“Mind yourself, young Lord,” Balthasar warned. “Arrogance besets failure.”

“Do you doubt our mission, Balthasar?” I looked away from the wheel and regarded him harshly.

“Would you have me flogged as well, My Lord?” Balthasar raised an eyebrow.

“Of course not, Balthasar!” I laughed. “You are among my oldest friends!”

“My Lord,” He said. “Such an ass as you are, I believe I am your only friend.”

“Status of the fleet?” I called out. A communications officer reported that the other three airships were still in tow and intact, protected by their respective crawlers.

The flight was far slower than I would have liked. An hour or more in, I traded off with Balthasar and walked to the bow once again, standing before the Stormveil as we approached the twin peaks. I glance back and up to Balthasar who nodded to me from behind the glass; I nodded back and then turned the Stormveil to notice that something wasn’t quite right.

We were close now, but I could see small black dots moving away from the storm. I squinted and shook my head, then squinted again.

“Spyglass!” I called out. A brown tube with gold trim made its way to my hand within seconds. I extended the spyglass and peered through it; the dots were most definitely there, and I recognized them. Small airships, skiffs with no flight deck, each one loaded with six of the creatures that I’d known so well. They had no name to my knowledge, but they guarded the throne room at Hybra, and I’d seen them throughout the streets. Six feet tall, inverse legs, razor blades growing from their knees, their elbows, and wrists. Tall and limber, killing machines to the core. I counted the skiffs, one, two, three, four, eight of them, each carrying six of these creatures. I dropped the spyglass and turned to Bathasar - he’d already spotted them.

“Guns forward men!” I shouted. “We are being boarded!”

It started with gunfire; shots fired from aircraft overhead -single man crafts, each one faster and more advanced than anything we had in Axock. I growled as the shells slammed into the shield, sending surges of white through the pink energy field. It rippled like water, each shot damaging the integrity. How had they found us? It was too late to turn back; we were far closer to the Stormveil than we were to the base of the mountain. Up ahead, lightning flashed from within the storm, illuminating more of the skiffs as they broke the event horizon and charged toward us at breakneck speed. The skiffs stopped just before the shield, matching our speed in reverse and waiting as the fighters bombarded the shield. The deck broke into panic, some of them men ran aimlessly while others stood still. There was little to be done; we couldn’t fire the cannons with the shield up, and we couldn’t lower the shield without succumbing to the force of the Stormveil.

We were close now; we’d been in flight for at least two hours and the veil was closer than ever. I could see the jet black particulates ripping through the air a mere hundred feet away; and before me, the might of the storm raged, reaching to the heavens and reaching out for us as if we were prey. The bow of the ship would breach the wall before the shields fell, and I wondered if they could continued to give chase within the storm.

I turned and gave a glance to Balthasar who looked back at me with a stony expression on his face. I looked to the shield; the creatures were tensing, as if thery were preparing to jump. They watched us like hungry predators ready to pounce at any moment. If we didn’t breach the Stormveil, there would be little we could do. Still, we approached it steadily. Yes, we were going to make it.

Then, one of the fighters buzzed past our shield, down below. My eyes widened as I heard the sound of cannon fire.

“They are targeting the crawlers!” I screamed, waving my arms to Balthasar. Did he realize? I broke into a full run, my feet slamming against the deck as I dodged a loose cargo crate, jumped over a dismanted canon, skidded around the side of the wall and hurtled forward onto the narrow stair. The steps rattled in response as I tore up the side of the building, making hasted to the flight deck. I stumbled and fell, colliding with one of the steps and falling backward, my head slamming against a riser. I coughed and forced myself to my feet; the stair was slick with my own blood. I made another effort to climb, this time making it partway with unheard screams of warning tearing my vocal chords as I breathlessly tried to reach the top.

Then it happened. The shield dissipated alongside the horrifying sound of a crawler detonating as a shell tore through it. I gasped, pointlessly wrapping my arms about the rail, expecting the worst, but it never came. No wind, no turbulance. Nothing. I turned and looked at the Stormveil; it was there, mere feet from the bow of the airship, but it emitted no elemental force.

“What?” I said in disbelief as I stood. My awe did not last long, as the creatures lept from the skiffs, taloned feet slamming into the deck as the creature nearest to me let out a primal roar, slashing the air with its jagged wrist blades. I screamed and fell back as a second one closed in; I barely managed to roll out of the way as its talon slammed into the deck, leaving a dent in the shape of its foot. Then, suddenly, the first creature screamed as a blade ripped through its chest, and Balthasar blasted it from behind with his pistol. The creature fell to the ground beside me as Balthasar took on the next one, dodging the wrist blade but taking a swipe as it brough up a knee blade, slicing him across the leg. He took the blow without flinching, swiping the creature’s arm away with his sword and taking the pistol to its chest.

“Run, my Lord!” He shouted in my direction. “You are not suited for this manner of combat!”

In that moment I realized just how useless I was. I’d been trained in swordplay, but what use was it here? I jumped to my feet and rushed up the stairs, leaving Balthasar alone in the fray as several soldiers rushed up the bow and stern of the ship, rifles at the ready. As I mounted the flight deck, I rushed up another set of stairs, hopping onto the roof where I beheld the rest of the fleet - the other four airships. Two had lost their shields, the others were faltering. I gasped as a shell burst through the deck of the Aeter XIV, sending debries and shrapnel flying through the air as the deck of the Omni was assaulted by the creatures. I could hear the screams as the crew was shreded and torn limb from limb, their bodies tossed over the side as their sister ship crashed into the mountain below. The Aeter exploded into a ball of orange fire, debris shot upward for miles, leaving the sky a smoky orange as the other two ships lost their shields and came under fire.

“No,” I whispered. I wasn’t going to die here. I wasn’t, I couldn’t. I was the Lord Micah Lavoric, heir to the throne of Axock - I did not die like this. Ahead of me, one of the creatures roared and I turned as it leaped upward, toward the flight deck. Behind me, a shell shattered the deck as the creature chased me, pursued by a torrent of fire and shrapnel. The ship was coming apart around us, debris filled the air, and the flight deck erupted into a ball of flame as I dived of the edge, plummeting downward toward the bow of the ship that was now beginning to sink. I slammed into the deck, the wind knocked out of me as I collided with the body of a fallen soldier. Balthasar, were was he? No time to worry. I stood and stared into the Stormveil as the ship burned around me. Explosions rocked the deck, my footing faltered and heat scorched my skin as I realized there was only one choice. I took off running, across the flight deck, one foot after the other until I reached the railing. And then I jumped into the Stormveil.