Chapter I: Icebreaker Aurora III

16 Degrees, Greenlandia Sea, Afternoon.

Claire Elford, 12th February 1894, Icebreaker Aurora;

"It's, it's broken... do we have a spare?"

"On the other side of the ship yea, but first we'd have to find it there too and thats if it works as well." We stand there in silence, minds clicking in motion.

"We got one more option." He scruffles his beard walking to one of his many workstations, with equipment foreign in design to me.

"If we can get an alchemist in the room, they'd be able to repair the orb with the equipment here I'd bet." I jump back to my feet, readying myself for another marathon.

"Where's the nearest one?" I hand him over the remains of the orb transmission device.

"There's a young fella, Oswald, iconic white hair, you can't miss him. Without a doubt he's in his room, it's E02, betcha a ducat he's in there reading something boring." I rush out of the room, ignoring the last remark.

"Be careful, don't hurt ya self!"

I confront the maze of corridors. My lungs pumping like coal heating up steam. Finally reaching a select corridor indicating section "E". Thank Irene his room is right here. Before I could even knock the door swung open.

"Is everything alright? I could hear you from a mile away!" John wasn't wrong about the iron walls, they really are just for show. He looked like what Herald had described, with the iconic white hair tied up in a bun.

"There's an emergency, Mr Oswald, we need you to repair the orb transmission device, we've got no time to waste." My breath shrouds in and out, barely maintaining myself upright.

"Go... to the telegraph room." Without any hesitation, he nods and runs in the direction I came from. I slide down the wall, only to be met with instant regret as my back sticks to my turtle neck sweater. Finally landing on the ground, I take a moment to relax.

He should be there soon hopefully. I clear the sweat from my forehead and attempt to climb back up to my feet as another wave follows through. At a slower rate, I make my way back. Following the familiar path I took, I managed to get there sooner than I expected, the rustling of the walls, and the constant bellowing of it ringing around me. Valiantly attempting to keep itself in shape.

"How is it looking?" I enter noticing that the room was now populated with a dozen people, with some familiar faces.

"All in all it's back in operation, but that'll likely be its last use." Oswald was holding onto the device, still tinkering with it at one of Herald's workstations. From what I can see it was in one piece at least but the glow it had was dimmer than before.

He placed the orb at Herald's desk clearing out a space for it.

"All done." Herald flickered back into reality, scurrying straight to it, with hands around the orb the catalyst finally glowed.

"This is Herald speaking from Hub A telegraph station, we have urgent news of a hurricane, hurricane Hiemalia. Official reports from Blossom-Fall's Outpost verify that the storm is in our vicinity. We have a hazel signal warning, I repeat, a hazel signal warning!" The others stare in silence, awaiting in never-ending anticipation. I didn't quite know what a hazel signal warning meant, but I'd assumed it was code for an emergency.

"This is the captain speaking, Sir Artir, we have received your news and will act accordingly." Everybody stumbled as the ship thrusted forward.

"Hyper boosters have been activated." Herald said as he released the built-up tension from all of us. Soon afterwards, a transmission echoes throughout the ship.

"Everyone this is a hazel signal warning, any employees please escort passengers back to their quarters immediately. These are your captain's orders." The lights continue dancing above us as the rocking of the ship continued to worsen. Finally winning over as they stay alight. Immediately the rest of us take action, not letting another second go by.

"Everyone please enter your quarters," John, who up until now I realised was here began escorting the people out of the telegraph room.

I swiftly walked passed the crowd and dashed over to my quarter, losing my breath once again, I need to work out more honestly... Finally entering inside, I task myself to organize all my notes inside my briefcase.

"Incoming wave, brace for impact!" The instant I heard, my hands shuffled over to grab onto something, anything, eyes closed sharply. As though a set of children had barged in on a set of instruments and begun playing, the room fell into absolute chaos. The sound of furniture tossing and turning everywhere, I tightened my grip further, eyes still remaining closed. Finally, it stopped. I repositioned myself whilst I still could, the adrenaline still running its course. I gather the remaining items in my briefcase along with the telegraph prior and popped them into the safe that had fallen out of my cabinet. Is Sophie alright? She's likely still at the bridge; if only there was a way for me to get to her... Maybe I could reach her from the deck?

Despite the stupidity of the idea I still decided to take the chance. I rush out, heading upstairs towards the deck. Once finding a hatch, I open it, only to be met with a gust of wind howling towards me; echoing what's to come. Bullets of rain thrust down from the darkened abyss above. It felt heavy. The scene was horrifyingly breathtaking. The winds mimic the waves, elegantly battling in the sky, only for their fates to be sealed, by the eye of the storm.

"Everyone off the deck, it is too dangerous!" I see John escorting additional passengers who, like me still thought it was a good idea to still be on deck. His once brown-styled hair now drooped down towards his face.

"Inc..... ...e, .race ..r im..ct!" The howling winds fog the transmission. Although by the sounds of it, it couldn't be anything good.

"John, watch out!" I shout in fury, but the winds dampen my voice. I close my eyes, attaching myself to the nearest iron bar. The ship was clutched by a vigorous wave, protruding the ship's rear upwards, consuming nearly whole. I held on for dear life. Mocking, the winds seep out the screams of horror.

"John!" I screamed in vain. But by the luck of Irene, the ship countered and reeled back towards some sense of stability amongst the sea of waves.

"Get down!" John grabbed my arm, tugging me back under, he was completely drenched, hands dampening my sweater. I clicked back to myself, one thought in my mind.

"There are people still up there!" I shout in horror as he lets go.

"They're fine Claire, one of them managed to teleport us all back in." He turned back, only for me to see the remainder of the individuals standing there shivering and damp, as they wet the floor.

"The hyper boosters will launch soon. Everyone go to your quarters and hold tight, we should be heading out of the storm." He ordered the rest of us, leading us away from the hatch. I hope Sophie's alright, that wave must have been a lot worse up there... She's fine, I'm sure of it. This is Sophie we're talking about here. She'd invent a way for us to make us fly away from the storm if she could. I couldn't help but humour myself at that thought. Before I knew it I was back in my quarters, which looked in worse condition than before.

"Brace for impact, the hyper boosters are ready to operate! May Irene show us out of the dark and into the light!" I found myself holding onto the iron door's hatch. Hopefully, the sound is the only bad thing about the door. The whole room quivers once more, as an unterraly vibration ignites from the back side of the ship, growing louder and louder until... The sudden turbulence ends. Another transmission interferes with the sudden silence.

"Thanks to the hyper boosters we were able to escape the storm successfully. We'll continue our journey to Dovaria as scheduled. All individuals please stay in your quarters for the time being. May Irene be with you." The transmission cuts off sharply, I take a long glance at the state of my room. Wish I kept that cleaning catalyst with me. Hopefully, Sophie still has it with her... I'm sure she's fine, she was with the captain after all. Right? Right. Finally, I had the chance to process it all. The idea that the hurricane managed to accelerate more than originally predicted is uncanny. It can only mean one thing.

Hurricane Hiemalia was just the beginning, a glimpse of what may come. The job of a meteorologist, to figure out the mysteries that cause the weather around us.

7 Degrees, Greenlandia Sea, Evening.

Sophie Astonian Martly 12th February 1894, aboard the Icebreaker Aurora;

The sky was clear, a comforting sight to see.

"Aren't you cold Sophie? I'm f-freezing." Claire's cheeks and nose were rosy red, even with a coat, sweater, and not to mention gloves too.

"I'm quite alright Claire, we should get back inside. You might catch a cold otherwise." I let go of the rail, peering one last time at the starry sky, the moon shining brightest out of them all; bringing forth the cold warmth of the light to us.

"I can stay a while longer Sophie, d-don't worry about me." I take a quick glance at her, she awkwardly smiles as she rubs her arms. I couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of her.

"No, it's quite fine Claire, let's get a move on now shall we?" If only I could do it, there's no harm in it, is there? I rest my arms on her shoulders, as Claire almost jumps out of her skin.

"Is everything alright, Sophie?" I give her a light smile, finally letting go.

"Why of course Claire, why wouldn't it be?" I make my way first, and Claire soon after catches up to me on the side as we make our way out of the deck.

"If you say so, I actually feel warmer already." Her cheeks and nose had calmed like the tranquil sea around us.