Retrograde

In this sequel to The Wrath of Fate, the Airship Ophelia lists, burnt and broken, in a tropical sea. Her crew has been scattered across the face of a ruined world, or lost in time, and now it is my job to pick up the pieces. What’s to become of my wife and children, whom I left in the aerial city of Isla Aether? This was one of the last of the free cities, held aloft over a world given back to the beasts. I fear this city will be a target now that the Emperor’s life, and mercy, is at an end. What would become of Kristina if she was taken back to a life of servitude in the walled cities? What would become of the children if they were left wandering alone in wastelands filled with nomadic tribes and prehistoric predators? What is to become of young Lilith Tess, who jumped ship in the 1930’s only to be lost in time? I saw her again, here at the end of days, and she was a queen. What journey did she take that led her to this fate? And perhaps least important of all, what is to become of me and the last of our crew? I stand here on the deck of this ship that has held me through all my misguided attempts to make the world a better place. This ship, and her captain and crew, are beaten. Do I have the strength to pull everything together again? Do I still have the strength to get this ship flying? What other choice do I have?