Chapter 6：Airship Graveyard
2137words
Norton's condition deteriorated in unpredictable waves. The crystal mark pulsed whenever his emotions intensified, triggering debilitating headaches that left him incapacitated for hours. Mary theorized this resulted from his incomplete transformation—a body caught between human and crystal states. "Without the Purification Spring on Everdusk Island, I can't halt the process," the memory mage admitted grimly. "Even then, the cost might be the erasure of all his human memories."
Leo's shattered arm mended with unnatural speed—too fast, Eileen noted with growing unease. While changing his bandages, she observed tiny points of blue light flowing beneath his skin, identical to the occasional flashes she'd glimpsed in his eyes. He steadfastly refused to discuss his experience in the Memory Mirror, instead spending nights meticulously cleaning and polishing his antique pistols with obsessive attention.
"We've arrived," Gordon announced from behind her, interrupting Eileen's troubled thoughts. He pointed toward a massive silhouette materializing through the cloud layer. "The Airship Graveyard."
A colossal island floated impossibly among the clouds, composed entirely of crashed aircraft from countless eras. Ancient wooden dirigibles entangled with sleek metal warships, creating a macabre yet mesmerizing monument to failed flight. The wreckage stretched for miles in every direction, suspended in perfect equilibrium.
At the graveyard's heart loomed a titanic airship the size of a small city, its enormous gas envelope emblazoned with the faded image of the World Tree.
"The Icarus," Gordon whispered with unexpected reverence. "The first enchanted vessel to attempt circumnavigation of our world."
The Starchaser began its descent, systems automatically scanning for a suitable landing zone. Eileen noticed new information materializing on the dashboard display—their target identified as the "Eternal Mainspring," key to the Mechanical Guardian's domain.
"The rules here are straightforward but critical," Gordon briefed them in the common area. "Touch nothing mechanical that appears functional, particularly timepieces. The graveyard's guardians respond violently to temporal theft."
Leo whistled low. "So we're pilfering again? Lovely pattern we're establishing."
"This time we're trading," Gordon corrected, retrieving an ornate box from the cargo hold. He opened it to reveal a star-shaped azure crystal. "The Memory Guardian's gift in exchange for the Mechanical Guardian's key."
Norton suddenly doubled over, clutching his head. "Voices… harmonizing…" His eyes flared brilliant blue. "Warning us… trust nothing…"
Mary pressed her crystal ball against Norton's forehead, murmuring incantations that gradually calmed his trembling. "His emerging crystal nature receives signals from the graveyard's mechanisms. We must proceed swiftly before the connection strengthens."
The Starchaser settled onto the weather-beaten deck of a mid-sized cargo vessel. As Eileen stepped outside, her senses were immediately assaulted by the sharp tang of oxidized metal and ancient lubricants. Wind whistled through the labyrinth of wreckage, creating haunting melodies reminiscent of pipe organs, punctuated by the occasional mechanical clicking of unseen gears.
Gordon led them toward the colossal Icarus, their path revealing increasingly unsettling sights—sections of wreckage undergoing spontaneous self-repair, rusted components detaching and replacing themselves without human intervention; copper automata performing operational duties in ghostly synchronization within abandoned cockpits; most disturbing were the countless timepieces hanging from every available surface, each displaying different hours, yet their second hands ticking in perfect unison.
"Time flows differently throughout this place," Mary explained in hushed tones. "Each vessel exists in its own temporal bubble."
They reached the massive entry hatch of the Icarus. Gordon carefully positioned the star crystal into an intricate gear-shaped depression beside the door. Metal groaned as the enormous portal swung inward, revealing absolute darkness beyond.
"Only invited entities may proceed," announced a voice that seemed composed of thousands of meshing gears. "Surrender all chronometric devices before entry."
After relinquishing their timepieces, they stepped into the oppressive darkness. Lights activated sequentially along their path, revealing not the expected control room but a vast library—except instead of books, every shelf, table and pedestal held timepieces.
Thousands of chronometric instruments from countless eras filled the space—primitive sundials shared space with what appeared to be futuristic atomic clocks. At the chamber's center stood a towering brass apparatus, its countless gears and levers in perpetual motion around a heart-shaped crystal that pulsed with hypnotic rhythm.
"Welcome, Children of Time." The mechanical voice resonated again as a semi-transparent figure materialized above the brass mechanism—an elderly man whose flowing beard consisted entirely of miniature interlocking gears. "I am the Timekeeper, voice of the Mechanical Guardian."
Gordon stepped forward with a formal bow. "We seek to exchange for the Eternal Mainspring."
The Timekeeper's projection drifted toward Norton, studying him with eyes of spinning clockwork. "Ah, a transitional existence." His incorporeal fingers brushed Norton's crystal mark, triggering cascading waves of blue light. "You carry significant intelligence. The Memory Guardian has altered established protocols."
"What protocols?" Eileen demanded, instantly alert.
"The Primordial Covenant." The Timekeeper gestured, conjuring a complex holographic display showing seven distinct figures surrounding a floating island. "We were created to guard the true paths to Everdusk Island, preventing unworthy entities from reaching its core. However, the Memory Guardian now believes… the appointed time has arrived."
The hologram shifted to an enlarged view of Everdusk Island's central structure. Eileen's breath caught—the building was identical to her mother's laboratory, down to the distinctive weather vane atop its eastern tower.
"Exchange terms have been modified," the Timekeeper announced dispassionately. "Surrender the crystal-blood hybrid, and the Eternal Mainspring shall be yours."
"Absolutely not!" Eileen moved protectively in front of Norton. Gordon and Leo instantly shifted to combat stances, weapons half-drawn, while Mary alone remained contemplative, studying the Timekeeper with analytical intensity.
"What purpose does the Memory Guardian have for him?" Mary asked carefully.
The Timekeeper's gear-teeth formed an approximation of a smile. "He is no ordinary hybrid. In a previous existence, he opened the Gate of Everdusk, before the Crystal Folk sealed his memories and banished him to mortal form. That seal now deteriorates rapidly."
Norton collapsed with an agonized cry. His skin transformed completely to translucent blue crystal, his hair crystallizing into delicate formations. Ghostly wings of pure energy unfurled from his shoulders. "I remember now…" his voice resonated with dual tones, human and otherworldly. "I chose oblivion… because what I witnessed was too terrible to bear…"
The Timekeeper nodded solemnly. "The Eternal Mainspring can temporarily stabilize his transitional state, but eventually he must return to the Memory Guardian's domain. This represents your sole path to acquiring subsequent keys."
Gordon's expression hardened with resolve. "We'll take the mainspring first, then address Norton's situation afterward."
The heart-shaped crystal at the mechanism's center suddenly split open with a sound like breaking glass, revealing an intricately engraved metal box. The Timekeeper extended it toward Gordon. "Exercise extreme caution—each winding extinguishes a parallel reality."
As they departed the main chamber, Norton appeared temporarily stabilized, though his gaze remained unnervingly alien. Eileen noticed Mary surreptitiously gathering crystal fragments that had fallen from Norton's transforming body, while Leo's attention remained fixed on the central mechanism, his expression impossible to decipher.
Approaching the Starchaser, they discovered an unwelcome reception—more than a dozen armed figures in military formation surrounded their vessel, each uniform bearing the Krister family crest. Lydia stood at their head, wielding a longsword that pulsed with ethereal light.
"My apologies," she said, her voice unnaturally formal. "Family obligations supersede travel companionship."
Gordon's laugh held no humor. "So that explains your convenient disappearance? Running to daddy with a full report?"
"Not entirely accurate." The authoritative voice came from behind the soldiers, who parted to reveal a middle-aged man bearing Lydia's aristocratic features. His elaborate crown-shaped hair ornament marked his station unmistakably—the Governor of the Eastern Federation himself. "Lady Krister merely executed my directives."
Leo's hand drifted casually toward his holster. "The Governor graces us with his presence? I'm positively giddy with honor."
"Surrender the Eternal Mainspring immediately," the Governor demanded, ignoring Leo's sarcasm. "It constitutes federal property."
Realization dawned on Eileen—Lydia's special invitation, her convenient disappearances, the perfect timing of this interception. The entire expedition had been an elaborate trap. She glanced at Gordon, who gave an almost imperceptible head shake, warning against rash action.
"I regret that's impossible," Gordon replied with calculated calm. "The mainspring is integral to the Starchaser's continued operation."
The Governor's smile never reached his eyes. "I'm intimately familiar with the Starchaser's secrets. After all, I commissioned its construction." He approached the carriage, running his fingers along the runic inscriptions adorning its door. "Did you truly believe such an advanced vehicle would lack administrative overrides?"
He snapped his fingers sharply. The Starchaser responded with an agonized metallic groan as every hatch and window sealed simultaneously. Through the glass, they could see the dashboard erupting with urgent crimson warnings.
"Now then." The Governor extended his hand imperiously. "The mainspring and the memory core you appropriated from Mirror Lake. Don't compel me to activate the self-destruction protocols."
Eileen glanced at her companions, reading their intentions. Leo's eyes held murderous resolve, Mary's crystal ball pulsed with gathering power, Kyle had shifted imperceptibly into his combat stance. But Gordon's expression gave her pause—he appeared almost… expectant?
The one-eyed man slowly withdrew the ornate metal box. "Are you certain you comprehend what you're doing, Governor?"
"Far better than you imagine," the Governor replied with supreme confidence. "Everdusk Island's power will unify the Eastern Federation, ending generations of pointless conflict between city-states."
The instant Gordon surrendered the box, Eileen felt the map fragment in her pocket flare with sudden heat. Simultaneously, Norton emitted an inhuman shriek as his body fully crystallized, launching himself toward the Governor with blinding speed. Chaos erupted instantly.
Leo's pistols roared in perfect synchronization, his shots precisely disabling weapons rather than killing soldiers. Mary's crystal ball unleashed swirling memory mist that left guards confused and disoriented. Kyle moved with preternatural speed, his blade's pommel finding pressure points that dropped opponents without bloodshed. Eileen sprinted toward the Starchaser, mentally reciting her mother's emergency override incantation.
The Governor retreated behind his protective formation, triumphantly raising the Eternal Mainspring overhead. "Fools! You comprehend nothing about Everdusk Island's true—"
His declaration terminated mid-sentence. Norton—now more energy than matter—had phased through the protective cordon, crystalline fingers plunging into the Governor's chest. Instead of blood and viscera, the Governor's form pixelated like a disrupted image, revealing intricate mechanical components beneath his "skin."
"An android?" Eileen gasped as the Governor's flesh-like covering peeled away in sections, revealing a sophisticated mechanical endoskeleton.
Gordon's laughter held genuine delight. "I knew it! The actual Governor was replaced three years ago!" He charged forward, his eyepatch falling away to reveal a sophisticated mechanical eye beneath. "Inform your master that the Guardians have awakened!"
The android's head rotated a full 180 degrees with hydraulic precision. "Final protocol phase initiated," it announced in a suddenly flat, mechanical tone. "The Everdusk Gate must be opened."
It exploded.
The concussive blast hurled everyone backward. Eileen slammed painfully against the Starchaser's hull, watching through blurred vision as the Eternal Mainspring arced through the air in a glittering parabola… directly into Lydia's outstretched hands. The noblewoman had materialized from nowhere.
Lydia's expression contained multitudes—grief, determination, rage, and something like hope. "Father… no, that mechanical impostor promised my brother's cure." She leveled her sword at the remaining soldiers. "But I never consented to world destruction."
She tossed the mainspring to Gordon in a single fluid motion, then sprinted toward the airship's edge. Before anyone could react, she had launched herself into the open sky. Eileen's horrified scream was swallowed by a massive explosion—the entire graveyard had begun to disintegrate, raining deadly debris in all directions.
"ABOARD NOW!" Gordon bellowed, activating his staff. The Starchaser responded instantly, hatches flying open.
They had barely scrambled inside when chain reactions of explosions consumed the airship graveyard. The Starchaser tumbled violently through the turbulence. Through a viewport, Eileen glimpsed Lydia's falling form being intercepted by a sleek silver vessel that had appeared from the clouds below.
In the distance, reality itself seemed to fracture. Through the widening rift, Eileen caught her first glimpse of Everdusk Island in its entirety—not the paradise of legend, but a foreboding landmass surrounded by perpetual energy storms.
"Course adjustment required," Norton announced, his voice now entirely inhuman. "Next destination: Blood Sand Canyon. The War Guardian awaits our arrival."
The dashboard reconfigured automatically, displaying their updated route. Two keys secured, five remaining to be collected.
Eileen stared at the slowly sealing rift in reality, a chilling realization settling over her: their selection had never been random. The Starchaser had deliberately chosen each of them for purposes far beyond their individual quests.
Most terrifying of all was the growing certainty that her mother had known everything from the very beginning.
