Born Hero by S A Shaffer

Author:S A Shaffer [Shaffer, S.A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781074025434
Published: 2019-06-04T22:00:00+00:00

THE MAW

In the far northern corner of Alönia, where the dunelands of House Floyd met the foothills of the Rorand Mountains, lay the Maw, the mouth of Northern Desert. Miles and miles of sand and dust covered the vast, unnegotiable plain. It was said that by the time the clouds passed over the Alönian lands, they had no rain left for the desert. Truthfully the ocean winds and the high mountains held the clouds back. Not a drop of their life-bringing vapor ever touched the barren lands of the north. No airship had ever crossed the sands, though many had tried. Rumor had it that the desert went on forever or until the land dropped away into empty space. However, it wasn’t the heat, or the aridness, or the vast size of the desert that created fear in the hearts of all who knew it. The desert drove men mad. Any airship crew that sailed the sandy seas too long never returned the same. Their minds broke in that lifeless place. Some believed ghosts roamed the sands and possessed any who ventured there. Though, more reasonable minds knew it was a combination of heat, thirst, and overexposure to sunlight.

For these reasons and more, the Northern Desert presented a perfect hideout for Outlanders, criminals, and outcasts from the civilized sections of the Fertile Plains. Criminal overlords divided up the different sections of the sands into their own little kingdoms, harassing the borderlands and snatching up shipping vessels. At least that was what it had been like half a decade ago. There hadn’t been an Outlander attack for cycles now. Military intelligence believed the overlords had killed each other off in a great war over territory. While the Outlanders were seemingly gone, the thrill of visiting the Maw and gazing into the hostile territory still drew a good many tourists.

That same thrill had induced Johnson to invite Blythe and his aides to join him for lunch on his yacht, The Reverie. The little party met on the docks of the Capital Airship Landings at 9:00 a.m. The sun made a rare appearance, shining like a beacon through the parting clouds, an occurrence that Johnson believed a good omen—however, not nearly as good of an omen as Johnson’s airship. David gasped as the rotund man led him, Mercy, and Mr. Blythe toward the most beautiful airship at the Landings. Mrs. Blythe had opted not to come, recent events being what they were.

“That’s a Sunbeam,” David said to Mercy as they approached.

She looked radiant in her red sailing dress, with her hair in a ponytail beneath a captain’s hat. David noticed some tights poking out from under her ruffling dress. Clearly she took precautions this time in anticipation of the wind.

“Is that supposed to mean something?” Mercy asked, head cocked with a half smile.

“Rather! That’s one of the most expensive airships you can buy,” David said, but he had a hard time rolling his eyes at such a beautiful face. It came off more like a spasm.

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