This is an empire of sky ships and floating cities. It is a world where the Mysteries hold sway. Students of Law, War, Thought, and Wind try to tame these secrets. Those who can, enter and enjoy the privileges of those living above. Those who can’t, remain in squalor in the Fells. It is a world where ghosts prey on the minds of the weak and the vulnerable.
Where even children are signed away through a deed of servitude. This is a world ruled by the Fitzempress family. A world that is about to change forever.
The estate of Brant Fitzroy, one of the empire’s nobles, who served faithfully in the Ministry of War before turning his studies to the Mysteries of the Wind. In his study are glass vials, various metals, and implements of research as he seeks to unravel the greatest Mysteries of all.
The capital of the empire and seat of power for the Fitzempress family. It floats about the masses living in the City below, a series of manors built on crags of rock which hover over the buildings and tenements below. Its shadow falls over the City night and day and is reached by the various sky ships that ferry up and down.
The home of the wealthiest family in the empire, the Lawtons. Its splendor is beyond the imagination. Lord Lawton rules his business dealings with uncanny success. There is never a speculation that he cannot win. His wife, Lady Corinne, rules the fashions of the day. To be invited there is a sign of great favor. To be shunned is to be forgotten.
The largest population center of the empire, a teeming mass of factories, landing yards, tenements, and narrow alleys. It contains the orchestras, galleries, and businesses that make the machine of government work. Those who live there have gotten used to the smell.
This is the place that no one can escape from. The ugly tenements where street gangs rule the night and officers of Law fear to tread during the day. It is rampant with disease and filth and where parents trade their childrens’ lives for coin and drink.
These are the experts of the Mysteries of Law. Their contracts (or deeds) can bind a person in servitude for their entire life. The prisons are full of those who have crossed them.
Of all the Mysteries, the most difficult to learn are the Mysteries of the Wind. These are the alchemists, the surgeons, the ones who learn the properties of things and the anatomies of beasts and men.
These are special soldiers in the Ministry of War, the sharpshooters who ride in various sky ships and can hit targets from far away with their arquebuses.
These are those chosen to run the manors that float on the air. They serve families for generations and run the household, protect the family, and preserve the traditions of the past. They are the most trusted individuals in the house. And sometimes the most dangerous to cross.
When someone masters the Mysteries of Thought, they can become a vicar. They live in the clouds as well as serve those in the tenements. They bring peace after war and plead for honesty and civility in society.
The common people do not understand how the magic of their society works. Such knowledge is hidden from the ordinary and taught at special schools throughout the empire. It is referred to as the Mysteries. How can a cleft mountain support a manor in the sky? It’s a Mystery. There are the Mysteries of Law, War, Thought, and the Wind.
The Mysteries provide water for people to drink. They have created industries that make linen for people to wear, music that gets transported to the high echelons of society, and empower sky ships like sleek zephyrs or massive hurricanes to jet through the skies delivering messages, goods, or soldiers.
Only the wealthy and the privileged are allowed to learn the Mysteries. It was not always so. Things have changed over the centuries that the Fitzempress family has been in power. But it will take a force even stronger than the Mysteries to make change possible again.
A young woman living in the Fells in an orphanage of sorts. She dreams of riding in the clouds and visiting places. Anything to escape the ghosts in the tenements.
Vice-Admiral Brant Fitzroy is known to be a man of integrity. He never schemes with the latest speculations and is often called upon by the community when the magistrate is gone.
The mistress of Pavenham Sky. With a word or a glance, she can shun someone from society. The rules of decorum must be upheld. And someone has to make the rules.
Sera’s father. He’s got his eye on the throne. Unlike his brothers, who are heavily in debt, he’s managed his affairs circumspectly. His ambition is great. But so is his daughter’s.
The only daughter of Richard Fitzempress, one of the heirs of the throne. The emperor, her grandfather, can choose anyone from his bloodline to rule after him. Even her.
someone authorized to practice the Law
a musket-like weapon that shoots balls at a distance without the use of gunpowder; officers in the Ministry of War cannot be shot by them
a race of beings from another world that can float when holding their breath
a mineral that his highly flammable and used for heating in the tenements
those who operate outside the Law and steal from sky ships
a musical instrument similar to a piano in our world
the silver mines of the Fitzroy family and the source of their income
a special soldier in the Ministry of War; a sharpshooter
the largest industrial enter in the norther parts; has a reputation for crime and disease
a floating manor in the northern part of the land; owned by Brant Fitzroy and his family
a floating manor near Fog Willows, though much smaller
household position entrusted with the care of children before they leave to study the Mysteries at one of the various schools
a hangar for sky ships
the largest type of sky ship, reserved primarily for the military and large shipping concerns
person entrusted to manage a household; may act for the master of the house
places designed for passengers to board and exit sky ships
the magical force that controls the universe; study of it is divided into four different schools of discipline: Law, War, Thought, and the Wind.
the floating manor of the Lawtons; an exclusive place to be approached only by invitation
a form of magical gravity that levitates manors and sky ships
co-rules with the emperor and can overrule decisions, if warranted; a check and balance on the power of the sovereign. Led by the Prime Minister who the sovereign appoints.
