Beneath a sky of dying phosphorescent clouds, the clockwork city of Aethel clings to life. Its gears grind, powered by the ethereal light harvested from bioluminescent creatures, captured and refined through alchemically engineered gelignite lenses. But the sky is thinning, the creatures dwindling, and darkness threatens to consume all.
Captain Imril Kest, a seasoned light hunter aboard the airship *Seraphina*, knows the weight of her city’s survival rests on her shoulders...
Beneath a sky of dying phosphorescent clouds, the clockwork city of Aethel clings to life. Its gears grind, powered by the ethereal light harvested from bioluminescent creatures, captured and refined through alchemically engineered gelignite lenses. But the sky is thinning, the creatures dwindling, and darkness threatens to consume all.
Captain Imril Kest, a seasoned light hunter aboard the airship *Seraphina*, knows the weight of her city’s survival rests on her shoulders. But one fateful night, her crew unearths a creature of pure, pulsating radiance – the Luminary. Its capture promises salvation, but ignites a catastrophic chain reaction. The sky darkens, and creatures of pure shadow, the Umbra, are drawn to the Luminary’s brilliance.
Suddenly, Imril is thrust into a desperate fight for survival. Rival hunters, blinded by avarice, and the ruthless Aetherium Corporation, led by the merciless Lawrence Adams, close in, determined to seize the Luminary’s power. Imril and her crew – the gruff engineer Leonard Munoz and his optimistic niece, the young alchemist Melinda – are caught in a web of deceit and betrayal, pursued by both human and otherworldly predators.
As the sky descends into chaos, the Luminary reveals its true nature: its light is inextricably linked to the sky’s delicate ecosystem, and its capture has unleashed an unstoppable ecological collapse. Imril faces an agonizing choice: unleash the Luminary and save the sky, condemning her city to darkness, or harness its power, dooming the heavens but offering Aethel a fleeting chance at survival.
Torn between loyalty and a growing understanding of the sky’s fragile balance, Imril navigates a treacherous landscape of escalating stakes. With Melinda captured by the Aetherium and Leonard driven to desperate sabotage, Imril must orchestrate a daring plan. In the heart of a maelstrom of shadow and light, she will make a choice that will irrevocably alter the fate of Aethel and the sky above. A choice that will force them all to confront the true darkness within themselves and embrace a future shrouded in uncertainty.
