When the dirt decides to move upward, not even the gods in the clouds can build a ceiling strong enough to stop it.The heavy floor of the lead iron barge groaned under the massive, weightless momentum of the reversed gravity well. Cold, wet mist whipped past our faces as forty heavy transport vessels, packed shoulder to shoulder with eight thousand Vanguard gladiators, shot upward through the gray cloud sea like iron arrowheads fired from the abyss. The sulfurous stink of the pit was rapidly giving way to the crisp, thin air of the high sky, but the silence on the open deck was terrifyingly absolute."Check your pressure valves, men!" the vanguard sergeant bellowed from the forward railing, his voice cutting clean through the rushing wind. "When we clear this cloud layer, we hit the Star of Aethel-Gard's outer defensive ring! Keep those pavises locked!""The draft on this reversed gravity line is holding steady, Commander!" Princess Lin said, her silver hair flying wildly in the free

A fortress floating in the mid-atmosphere is only impressive until you realize its foundation is made of fragile copper pipes and hot air.The heavy outer doors of the mid-sky outpost yielded with a deafening, metallic screech as my left gauntlet sheared through their central lock bar. Dense, white steam rushed out into the thin atmosphere, carrying the acrid stench of scorched slate and burnt oil. Behind the shattered threshold lay the main parade deck of Citadel One, a massive ring of polished white marble and brass plating suspended directly between the cloud sea and the deep blue void above."Form up on the threshold!" the sergeant shouted, his voice echoing through the vaulted marble hall as his iron-clad shoulder smashed an imperial crossbowman back into the wall pillars. "Clear the primary firing lanes before their ballistas reload!""The orbital battery on the high terrace is rotating toward our secondary barges, Commander!" Princess Lin called out, her purple

You do not truly know how heavy an iron pike is until you spend twenty years carrying a silver serving tray.The vast, steam-filled staging deck beneath the sovereign heat exchanger hummed with chaotic energy. Four thousand freshly freed domestic workers stood in ragged, uneven rows across the brass floor plates, their thin shoulders trembling under the sudden weight of nine-foot Vanguard pikes. The glowing purple tips of the weapons cast long, dancing shadows across their soot-stained faces and hollow cheeks."Keep your grip firm on the shaft!" the vanguard sergeant roared, pacing down the main aisle while slamming his gauntlet against a young rigger's shoulder. "Do not hold it like a broomstick, boy! You lock your rear elbow into your hip bone and let your legs absorb the strike!""It feels like it wants to tip me into the floor, sergeant!" the young rigger shouted back, his thin arms quivering as he tried to keep the glowing weapon horizontal. "The tip is three tim

When you poison the air a bird needs to fly, you do not have to shoot it down; you just let gravity do the work for you.The broad wooden steering deck of the captured white flagship shuddered violently under our boots as we surged straight into the upper atmospheric jet streams. High above the cloud sea, where the atmosphere thinned into a dark, frozen violet, forty remaining imperial skyships were sweeping down from the Star of Aethel-Gard's high defense ring. Their sleek, silver-sailed hulls were light and fast, catching the violent high-altitude gales with wide canvas arrays, encircling our heavy iron vessels like a pack of starving hunting hawks."They are closing the circle, Commander!" Kael called out from the brass steering wheel, his lean hands locked around the copper spokes as he fought the roaring crosswinds. "Those silver skyships don't use steam engines! They ride the high jet streams on thermal canvas! They can outmaneuver our iron barges twice over!""

When you stand at the roof of the world, you realize the sky was never blue; it was only waiting for someone dark enough to claim it.The massive wooden prow of the Star of Aethel-Gard's lead flagship cut through the thin, upper air like an iron plow through wet soil. Two miles above the cloud sea, where the atmosphere usually turned into a bitter, icy void, the air was warm, thick, and suffocatingly dark. A dense, swirling shroud of jet-black obsidian fog, fed directly by the sovereign core in my dark chest plate, had spread out across the entire planetary stratosphere, turning the harsh glare of the midday sun into a dim, violent purple twilight."Commander, the lower atmospheric pressure gauges are completely off the scale!" Kael shouted, leaning over the forward railing of the ship's brass promenade while his knuckles gripped his slate wrench. "The black mist has locked into the planetary jet streams! It is wrapping around the western continent as we speak!""Is t