Eldgrimm

In the floating city of Brasshaven, where airships rule the skies and steam-powered robots serve coffee, 17-year-old Finn Gearwright is just trying to survive high school at Machina Academy. He’s not a genius inventor like his father, nor a prodigy duelist like his rival, but he does have one thing—dumb luck.

Gears, Girls, and Total Chaos

Finn, Zephyria, and Vespera plummeted toward the lower district at terminal velocity.

Vespera: "AT LEAST IT'LL BE EXCITING!"

As the cobblestone streets raced toward them, Finn frantically searched for a way out.

"Think, think—OH!" His eyes locked onto a passing airship docked nearby. A ship with a MASSIVE cargo net.

Zephyria twisted midair. "That's **the dumbest plan I've ever heard—"

Vespera grabbed both of them and flung herself toward the ship.

The three crashed into the cargo net, bouncing wildly. Finn's head smacked into a crate of exotic fruit, Zephyria ended up tangled upside-down, and Vespera landed gracefully like a smug cat.

Finn groaned. "Ow… I think I broke my everything."

Zephyria, still hanging upside-down, glared at him. "You broke your everything?! I'm the one whose spine is in a pretzel knot!"

Vespera stretched. "Well, that was fun! Let's do it again."

Zephyria growled. "I swear on my family's honor, I will murder you both."

Before Finn could plead for his life, a gruff voice cut through the air.

"OY! WHO THE GEAR-GREASE ARE YOU LOT?!"

Standing at the edge of the cargo hold was a large, bearded man with an eye-patch and a mechanical arm—clearly the captain of the airship.

Behind him? A crew of burly, rough-looking air smugglers, all armed to the teeth.

Vespera tilted her head. "Oh. We landed on a smuggler ship? Neat."

The captain cracked his knuckles. "Looks like we got some stowaways."

Zephyria groaned. "Of course we did."

Finn forced a shaky smile. "H-hey! M-maybe we can talk this out—"

The captain pulled out a massive, steam-powered blunderbuss.

The Crash Landing (or How Finn Somehow Didn’t Die)