‘Eva!’ The relief on her friends‘ faces felt good, even though the air pirate dragged her rather roughly from her hiding place. She held a cutlass to her throat and growled, “I’ve no patience for your prattling anymore.” ‘Indeed, that should speed things up,’ Leander replied, snatching the Orbis from Finn’s hand. “Now then, witness how I change the world!’
‘Leander, stop!” Eva called out, while the Black Mara fixed her with a firm grip. ’You don’t know what you’re doing!’ Leander smirked complacently and held the shimmering Orbis Arcanum up to his eyes. ‘Oh, but I do know what I’m doing, my dear. I will be the first ruler of the Cloud Islands to subjugate the heart instead of serving it.’ ‘Subjugate?’ Nora cried. ‘You’ll blow it up when you manipulate it! The magnetosphere will collapse and all the islands will crash!’ “Nonsense!” Leander countered. ’The device won’t destroy the core – it will tame it and direct it towards me. You’ll see!’
Without warning, Finn suddenly lunged forward and rammed the nobleman with a powerful blow to the chest. Leander staggered and the Orbis fell out of his hand. It slid across the ground and came to rest right at the edge of the crater. A moment of silence followed, during which all eyes were fixed on the shimmering artefact. ‘You fool!’ hissed Leander. He jumped towards the Orbis and picked it up. ‘Well then, we shall change the world without preliminary talk!’ he shouted, took a swing and hurled the device into the crater.
It was as if the world stood still for a moment. The Heart of Heaven pulsated mightily, its hum filling the air. As the orb touched its surface, a bright flash erupted from the core, causing all those present to stagger back. The heart of the sky began to flicker irregularly, as if it were struggling with the new energy. The vibrant colours abruptly changed from bright gold to a painfully bright white, then to an ominous dark red. A deafening roar filled the crater. Leander laughed triumphantly, but the grin quickly gave way to an expression of confusion. The Orbis Arcanum had not synchronised with the heart as expected. Instead, the core was now spewing out uncontrolled energy – blue lightning bolts flashed through the cauldron, leaving deep marks in the rock. ‘No!’ Leander screamed. ‘This shouldn’t be happening!’ An impulse hit him and flung him to the ground, while Mara was suddenly pulled forwards towards the crater by an invisible force. Startled, Eva watched as her metal prosthesis was suddenly pulled by the magnetic force of the heart. Only at the last second did one of her sailors grab her by the leg and prevent the worst from happening, but it took several strong men to stop her from being pulled any further. The other pirates had long since left her side and taken cover behind the rocks.
Eva, Nora and Finn found themselves behind the same rock. ‘That idiot!’ Finn shouted against the storm. ‘What has he done?’ ‘I think he destabilised the heart,’ Eva shouted back. ‘We have to reverse it somehow!‘ The core began to rotate faster, and the roar grew louder. “Oh no, what’s happening now?” Nora cried. “We’re running out of time!’
Then Eva’s gaze fell on her hands and a memory shot through her mind. ”You probably didn’t come here in a storm boat?’ Tharion Falstaff, the fat castellan of Stormspire, had said. ‘If the surface of your ship is exposed and the electricity is not shielding it, you could be charging a battery with your bare hands for days after the crossing.’ “A piece of the storm remains with you,” Eva whispered. Finn and Nora looked at her. “What’s going on?” Nora asked, trying hard to drown out the noise. “The heart needs a strong energy impulse,” Eva called out. ‘The storm zones, remember? I still have their energy in me. If I jump into the crater…’ But she didn’t get any further. Nora had slapped her on the back of the head. “Come on, give me your sock!’
‘What?” Eva looked at her in disbelief. ’If we need something that was in the storm zones, it might as well be your sock, stupid!’ She pulled the second stocking, which she never wore on her foot, out of her jacket pocket. Nora snatched it out of her hand, jumped up and fought her way closer against the storm that was coming from the core. Eva saw her take a wide swing and throw the wool stocking into the cauldron. Then she made a desperate leap back to safety.
The heart reacted immediately. A huge, dazzling flash of lightning lit up the room and the thunderous roar increased. The energy of the storm zones combined with that of the core and a new protective field emerged in an explosion of light and colour. Eva and Finn ducked, only to see Leander in the next moment, blinded and furious, who had pulled himself up. ‘That wasn’t the plan!’ he shouted. ‘The heart, I have to…’ He staggered to the edge of the crater, but another powerful bolt of lightning knocked him off balance and he fell in.
‘Come on, move!’ Eva shouted. All around her, chaos reigned: pirates fled in all directions, sparks rained down from the sky, and a surging wave of energy made the walls vibrate ominously. The ground shook beneath their feet, as if the volcano had decided to become active again at that very moment. The Black Mara’s pirate ship swayed slightly, but its lopsided sails rose out of the billowing mist like a last glimmer of hope.
‘Get up on the ship, quickly!’ Eva’s voice cut through the charged hum in the air. Finn and Nora didn’t hesitate for a second. They stumbled forward, struggling to find purchase on the uneven rock as the radiation from the core became increasingly intense. Flashes of pure energy tore through the air, repeatedly blinding them momentarily. Finn grabbed one of the lowered ropes and pulled himself up with his last ounce of strength, while Nora followed him, her hair flying. ‘Come on, Eva!’ she shouted as soon as her friend had rolled onto the deck. ‘Get us out of here before we’re roasted!’
Just as they reached cruising altitude, it happened: the heart of the sky erupted in a glowing explosion of golden light. The newly activated barrier cut through the air like a semi-transparent veil that slowly solidified, and they saw the thermal storms raging below them again, which they had already seen when they landed on the island. Now out of reach, they paused for a moment and stared back at the core, which began to pulsate in a new, stable rhythm. The barrier had closed – and the heart of the sky was protected again. ‘That was absolutely amazing, Nora!’ Eva exclaimed, and her friend beamed. ‘One self-sacrifice per day is enough,’ she giggled. “Exactly,” Finn agreed and nudged Nora. “Jump, now!” he imitated Eva, and the inventor giggled: “I have to sacrifice myself, because I am Eva Mathilda No-Stocking, the chosen one!” “Shut up,” Eva laughed and hugged her friends.
Outside, the snow fell in thick, glittering flakes, covering the roofs of Nimbusheim like a soft coat. The city, usually lively and full of voices, was quieter than usual on this Christmas Eve – only the crunching of footsteps and the muffled singing of Christmas carols echoed through the snowy streets.
In Greybeard’s kitchen, a cosy fire flickered in the fireplace, while the old captain poured a pot of wind tea. ‘This is the last of my best batch,’ he grumbled contentedly, pouring the steaming liquid into the cups on the table. Eva stood at the window and looked out into the cold, clear night. The stars seemed brighter than usual and a feeling of peace flooded through her that she hadn’t felt in a long time. ‘It’s so nice to spend Christmas here,’ she said, ‘even though on our adventure it sometimes seemed to me that we would never find our way home again.’ ‘Sometimes the wind just takes us back to where we belong,’ the old captain replied, as he added a generous dash of thunderstorm mead to his tea as usual.
Finn was the first to enter. His waterproof coat glistened with the melted snowflakes and his boots left little puddles on the floorboards. A cloud of cold air accompanied him into the warm kitchen. ‘The drive of our storm sailor was frozen,’ he said, rubbing his hands and taking off his coat. ‘But I still made it in time.’ ‘Oh yes – and that’s saying something,’ teased Eva, as she pressed a steaming mug of tea into his hand. “Punctuality is not really your style.” “Actually, I’m usually much too early now,” Finn replied with a wry grin. ’It probably has something to do with the fact that I can read the currents better than ever before.’
‘Oh, come on,’ said Nora, who entered at that moment, her cheeks red with cold. With her, a wisp of snow blew in and melted on the warm wooden floor. She took off her cap, causing her hair to stand on end like a wild, chestnut-brown cloud. ’Don’t be modest, Finn. Since your encounter with the heart, you’re practically a walking compass.’
‘And what have you brought this time?’ asked Greybeard with a twinkle in his eye, pointing to the small box she was carrying under her arm. “A surprise for you, old tinkerer,” said Nora mysteriously, placing the box on the table with a confident thud. ‘I’m working on the prototype for the second Rex Ventorum – and this is the power cell for the new drive. Ta-da!’ With a theatrical gesture, she opened the lid and a soft, blue glow filled the room. The box hummed slightly and the glow cast dancing shadows on the walls. ’It’s based on the magnetosphere. If it works, the airship will fly cleaner, faster and more efficiently than ever before.‘ “I definitely have to see that,” Greybeard murmured, pushing his glasses up on his nose and fishing for the box to take a closer look. “A second Rex?” asked Eva, her eyes widening in amazement. ‘Of course,’ Nora said proudly. ‘The first one was a masterpiece, but the second will be a legend. And yes, of course you can fly it in. Even though it was you who murdered Rex I.’
‘So,‘ Finn finally began, after they had all taken a seat and the pleasant warmth of the fire reddened their faces, “how does it feel to guard the heart of heaven, Eva – or should I address you as ”Grand Master’ now?’ He made an exaggerated bow that made Eva laugh. ‘At the moment, I’m more of an instructor for all our new recruits,’ she explained. “The Conclave urgently needs fresh blood – and I make sure that they not only bring courage but also brains.” “And is there any news about your parents?” Nora asked, shamelessly shoving three cookies into her mouth at once.
Eva put down her cup and leaned back a little. Her eyes glistened in the firelight. ‘Two months ago, we found a defective flight recorder at the order’s headquarters that belonged to my mother. Airis is in the process of repairing it so that we can read it. But I’m optimistic that we’ll find something – and if not, we’ll just keep looking.’ ‘Sounds like you,’ said Nora, her voice gentle. ‘Always forward, always a mission.’
‘We should drink to that, then,’ said Finn with a rare but honest smile. Eva nodded and raised her cup. ‘To us. To the Rex. And to all the adventures that lie ahead of us.’
Dear reader, if you have made it this far, you have my sincere gratitude. Patience is no longer a matter of course in our days, and yet you have bravely lived through the ups and downs of this story. I hope it has not only given you some exciting hours, but perhaps even something to think about.
From Eva, you can learn bravery and persistence in facing challenges, even when the ground is shaking beneath you. From Nora, you can take inventiveness – the ability to find a solution even in the greatest chaos. And from Finn, well, from Finn you learn what true friendship means, if you only have the courage to embrace it.
At this point, I still owe you a small explanation, by the way: you might wonder why you have never heard of this story before. Why no other author has ever told it or sung songs about it. The answer lies, as so often, in the hidden. I owe this story only to the navigator Finn – a taciturn contemporary, as you know by now, who for some inexplicable reason has placed his trust in me. He told me about Eva, about Nora, about the Rex Ventorum and, of course, about the Heart of Heaven. The people of the Cloud Islands live their lives, fly through squalls, repair sails and trade, without realising that they are only still floating in the clouds thanks to a single crew and a captain who is willing to make sacrifices. That’s what makes Finn not just a storyteller, but a true hero – because anyone who experiences the greatest adventure in the world and carries it with them silently deserves the utmost respect.
In the end, I have only one wish: if you ever have the opportunity to visit the Cloud Islands, don’t hesitate. Whether you open the door to a crooked pub like the ‚Merry Helmsman‘ or stroll through the alleys of Nimbusheim, whether you listen to the raging storms at Stormspire or stroll through the floating gardens of Heaven’s Rest, the beauty of this world will take your breath away. And who knows, maybe you’ll discover a pattern somewhere that reminds you of Eva. Perhaps on a map, an old instrument, or something as unspectacular as a sock.
Until then, I hope tailwinds accompany you on all your travels!