RAIDS

High in the clouds, the Gold Mother—a ruthless half-woman, half-hovering machine—commands her massive floating pirate base, the Storm Engine. The vessel ambushes and swallows a giant cargo ship whole. Her gold-leathered steampunk pirates swarm the ship, strip it of its valuable cargo, tear it apart for parts, and lock the terrified crew in holding cells. Later, on the Storm Engine’s weighing platform, hundreds of pirates line up to trade their loot for rations and “Muti” drink. The Gold Mother rewards honest finds but brutally disintegrates a pirate who tries to cheat her with a fake gold bar. When the next nervous pirate presents a bag of glowing Blue Akline Crystals, she immediately recognizes their significance. She cancels the weighings, orders the ship to change course for the West Desert, and rewards the finder generously. She then deploys a swarm of cute, brass steampunk robots to fly ahead and locate the mysterious “crystal man” in the desert caves. Just as the giant ship powers up, the Weather Man spots something terrifying on his instruments: a Shadow Cloud—a legendary black storm long dismissed as a sailor’s myth. The Gold Mother looks through her telescope and sees the massive, pitch-black cloud racing toward them. She screams for evasive action. The Storm Engine banks hard and disappears into the clouds, fleeing for its life as the shadow closes in.