For centuries the Cinder Spires have safeguarded humanity. Within their halls, aristocratic houses rule, developing scientific marvels and building fleets of airships for defense and trade. Now the Spires hover on the brink of open war. Captain Francis Madison Grimm of the AMS Predator has seen firsthand the devastation that could soon engulf everything he holds dear. The guns of the great airship fleets that control the skies between the last bastions of humanity will soon speak in anger, and Spire Albion stands alone against the overwhelming might of Spire Aurora’s Armada and its new secret weapon—one capable of destroying the populations of entire Spires. A trading summit at Spire Olympia provides an opportunity for the Spirearch, Lord Albion, to secure alliances that will shape the outcomes of the war.