An exhilarating work of speculative fiction that enthralls readers from the very first page. The author skillfully crafts a frozen dystopian world, where the remnants of humanity are confined to the Pyre, their only refuge against the frigid landsca...
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THE OLD BETTY
SOMEWHERE IN THE BARRENS, WINTER 430PT
AGE OF INDUSTRY
Chapter 3
There is a train cart with red velvet carpet, silver pearl walls, and gold vines that climb upwards towards the ceiling. The ceiling of the train cart is tall, eight feet high. And painted on it, the Wanderlands map in its entirety. The outskirts are barren, worn and from the years. Madame E purchased this Captain's Quarters half a decade ago. It belonged to a Captain Pioneer of the Steel Curtain. It was one of the last trains of the free world that Port City that, upon execution of the crew, was dismantled and sold to all registered Captains of legally owned trains. One thousand gold coins was the starting bid. And by the end of it, Madame E had purchased it for five thousand, along with her best mercenary for hire, who shortly thereafter wound up dead.
But to Madame E, it was worth every heave and haw and sigh and frustration from her lead navigator when she purchased the cabin, in debt no less.
Despite Velheim's visible tone of displeasure when I bought it. And while in most cases I can agree. A Captain must never skimp out on reinforcing the belly of their train, nor go to the cheapest labor for major and minor repairs in our cabins. High quality repairs and patches are worth their weight in gold. However, one thing is also clear. A Captain must always know where she is in the frozen hell. And knowing your location is priceless. And as a navigator, Conductor Velheim knew it too.
Madame E sucks on a cigarette in the near nude, wearing only the metal sailboat necklace around her neck as she digs herself deeper into the layers of wolf pelts and Wanderling fur. To her left, a bowl of orange suckers, one wet and placed on top of the wrapper. Her eyes gaze at the faded map on the ceiling. Her toes grip the soft fur of the ravaged beast as she inhales on her cigarette and exhales. The details of the map, despite how many times she looks over it, still touch her soul. Her eyes fall to Freelanders Port in the east, stamped on the map with two large overbearing walls surrounding a multi-layered cliff as it opens up like a W, exposing its rear to the weathered sea. And in the center of the W, an open concrete space where trains used to be built for the Wanderers to conquer the Passage.
But that open platform and vision are long gone. And in its place, Port City Authority and a magnificent structure that overlooks the world. Rumor has it the Authority melted and hunted down every single train of the Old World to build the structure. However, with the Black Duster still out there, one knows that too is false. Despite this... the power of the Authority is there. And its stamp and impact have been left off this beautiful map.
Map of how the Wanderlands should be.
Madame E follows the guided paths from Freelanders Port, like veins that plunge outwards in all directions. Some paths travel to the northeast, beyond a dozen unimportant townships, until they hit the heart of the feeder towns. Like Pilgrim. Built into the corner of a cliff side, its defenses are impenetrable.
