A heavy, resonant roar reverberated across the sky. It was the sound of Skyborne City's main engine, powered entirely by the curio known as the Eternal Gear. Its force had been funneled into four vast alchemical furnaces that pumped energy not only into the city's primary engines but into every other system and mechanism besides.0

Its colossal base, like an inverted mountain suspended in the heavens, shifted its very structure. From deep within, a great ring of metal unfurled outward, encircling the entire foundation. From this armored band extended ranks of cannon barrels. Runic formations were lit up, weaving a lattice of luminous sigils that coalesced into a defensive shield.0

Countless alchemical constructs swarmed about the airborne fortress. The alchemical legions had been awakened almost in full. Save for a small reserve garrison within the city, tasked with repair and emergency response, the rest had taken to the skies, entering full patrol formations, ready to unleash their devastating firepower in an instant...0