The morning was chilly and the first rays of sunlight bathed Nimbusheim in a warm, golden light. The wafts of mist between the battlements, towers and flagpoles parted, with a few small clouds still clinging to the eaves here and there. Eva sat on the roof of her house, her favourite place to think. The strange map lay half-unfolded beside her. The lines of golden ink shimmered in the twilight, as if they wanted to urge her to set off immediately. But Greybeard’s warnings from the previous day still echoed in her head. ‘Dangers we both cannot imagine,’ he had said. But weren’t these dangers precisely what attracted her? A gust of wind made her hair flutter, and she carefully tucked the map into her jacket. No, she had to be honest with herself: her decision had long since been made. She would find the hidden island marked on the map – and with it the Heart of Heaven. ‘And maybe a clue as to where I came from?’ a quiet thought flashed through her mind. But her foster father had been right about one thing: she would not be able to manage the search alone. She needed help. And if there was anyone in all of Nimbusheim crazy enough to accompany her on such a journey, it was Nora.
Eva found her friend in her tower, which was just as eccentric on the outside as the inventorherself. She lived on the northern edge of the island, where the buildings were not built up to the steeply dropping edge as usual, but stood in small groups together, with small fields and a grove in between. There were also a few hills here, from which one had a good view of the Triplets: three small islands floating to the north of the capital, one of which bore the old ruin of Spur Castle, the second the Great Lighthouse of Nimbusheim, and on the third stood the temple where the inhabitants of the city held their weekly services.
Nora’s tower stood there like a crooked mushroom. It had been built on the trunk of an old oak tree and now stood at a slant in the air. It had dozens of smoking chimneys, not one window that resembled another, and scattered around the tower were gears, tools, and unfinished contraptions. If she didn’t know any better, Eva would have steered clear of this witch’s cottage. Inside, it looked just as chaotic. The rooms were comfortably furnished, but crammed with boxes, books and incomplete devices. Eva entered her friend’s kitchen, who seemed to be in the middle of an invention again. The dining table was covered with notes, plans, chemical test setups and metal parts, and somewhere in between, a small mechanical hummingbird tried to drink from a coffee cup.
‘You want what?’ Nora looked at her in disbelief, her safety goggles askew on her forehead. Her reddish-brown curls were sticking out in all directions as always, and Eva could see at least four pencils sticking out of her hair in various places. She was wearing dungarees whose original colour was no longer visible due to all the gear oil, and her blue mechanic’s shirt had been patched many times. ‘I need an airship,’ Eva declared emphatically. ‘And I need you.’ Nora shook her head. ‘Good heavens, do you know how dangerous these storm zones are? There are winds out there that tear even Leviathans apart. And you waltz in here with nothing more than a map and your socks and expect me to come with you?’
‘Exactly,’ said Eva, folding her arms. “I thought you were always looking for the next big adventure. And now it’s coming and you’re chickening out?” She knew exactly how to get her friend. Nora took off her goggles, threw them on the table, and grinned broadly. ’You’re lucky, Eva. I’ve got a project I’ve been working on for a long time. Now would be the time to test whether it would even fly. I just need the right pilot for it.’ “You have an airship?” “Not just any airship. Come with me.” Nora showed her the way out of her tower to the adjacent boathouse. Eva had never been here before; her friend didn’t like visitors to her “holy of holies,” and she respected that. She was all the more surprised when Nora pushed open the door and said with a theatrical gesture: ‘May I introduce Rex Ventorum! The King of the Wind!’
She was about to tease her friend for the inflated name, but when she saw the airship moored in front of them, it took Eva’s breath away. Its hull was made of dark polished wood, reinforced with struts of shiny copper. On the underside, massive sails of reinforced linen stretched along curved struts, acting like fins. Three masts rose into the sky, each with a set of sails that could be spread like giant wings. The rigging was a marvel of ropes, gears and hinges – clearly a mixture of traditional naval architecture and Nora’s mechanical ideas. Eva stepped closer and could see the intricate carvings that covered the entire ship – patterns of cloud swirls, star constellations and creatures from the Cloud Islands. She was speechless.
‘It looks good, doesn’t it?’ Nora proudly patted the hull. ’But Rex Ventorum is not just beautiful. The drive system in here is unique. I’ve installed a vortex core that can steer the ship independently of the currents. And the sails? Made entirely of starlight fibres. Not only do they glow at night – which is pretty cool – they’re also super light and tear-resistant. I’d say this is the fastest airship the Cloud Islands have ever seen.’
Eva held out her hand. Her fingertips tingled as they touched the smooth wood. ‘And you’re sure it’s… ready to fly?’ Nora scratched behind her ear. ‘Ready to fly? Not quite. But if we hurry, Rex could be ready in a day or two. You’re not nervous, are you?’ Eva laughed. ‘Nervous? No. I can’t wait.’