Overview

The world is on the brink of war. Armed conflicts are breaking out across the continents of Diminea and Luufreillen like a bloody disease, and it's only a matter of time before the danger spreads south. Everyone is preparing for a fight, and when the name of the game is innovation, lumia technology is the only way to stay ahead.Weapons, airships, even a new autonomous satellite surveillance system runs on processed lumia, a light-fiber material that has only just recently been honed as a resource. Unfortunately, the Greivelle Alliance has so regulated the lumia trade that the only way for the private sector to legally obtain large quantities is also the most dangerous.

It's called star-cropping - and in the last ten years it has become the world's most elite extreme sport.

  




The only places where lumia naturally exists in large enough concentrations to mine are the Monuments - eight huge lumia storms that have been raging since the formation of the continents. Here the lumia can become so dense that it's visible to the naked eye as star-bursts or luminescent fiber. The storms used to be nothing more than natural history sites, guarded by towering fortresses charged with maintaining air safety and protecting whatever may be hidden in the storms. However, these fortresses have now been modified to accommodate the lumia trade. They're massive air stations catering to third-party airship ventures, containing docks for airships, lodging for their pilots, and lumia processing facilities to make the substance safe for long-distance shipping.

Star-croppers fly right into the storms and attempt to capture lumia bursts in rotating turbines that temporarily freeze lumia and make it safe to transport back to the processing facility. A single burst of medium size can fetch an average of $40,000.00 - but unfortunately it's not as simple as flying in a grabbing one.

Pilots face the treacherous storm conditions: they have to keep moving at high speeds to prevent toxic lumia build-up, ships have to be heavily fortified to withstand a constant bombardment of particles, pilots must avoid explosions caused by overcharged lumia bursts, violent lumia-saturated creatures lurk in the cloud swells, and without close monitoring airships have been known to collide due to extremely low visibility in the storm. Less than 30% of cropping missions actually yield lumia.

Camilla Rosen's family has been in charge of the Triskan Monument for generations - it's a post granted by none other than the royal family of Loteara itself. However, seven years ago her parents disappeared during a rescue mission in the storm, and because she has refused to have them declared legally dead, control of the Efferis Fortress has not been passed on to her. Instead, control lies with the Sterling family, which the Rosens have a treaty with, until she turns twenty-one.

Conlan Sterling, sole son to the Sterling Main Estate, cares for Camilla like a sister and speaks on her behalf. He's also the Efferis's main airship pilot for their personal fleet, on his way to becoming a living legend in the star-cropping circuit. With a history in both piloting and public defense in the name of the Crown, he's universally regarded as a force to be reckoned with.

Unfortunately, while extremely wealthy, the Sterling family's money is in real estate and titles, not weapons and airships. When conditions in the Triska Monument become increasingly dangerous the Sterling-Rosen right to the fortress is called into question by Adrienne Veralis, a Syrelian heiress whose family believes they are more capable of maintaining safety. Adrienne claims to only seek control of the Efferis Fortress until Camilla comes of age - but it's clear from the start that she intends to make it very difficult for the Rosen family to ever come to power again. And because the Veralis family has made a valid argument, the Lotearan government has no choice but to send an investigator to evaluate the Efferis's current security capabilities.

Will Camilla and Conlan be able to pull in enough resources to maintain control of the fortress? Or will the secrets of the Triskan Monument - and the true motivations of Adrienne Veralis - be more than what conventional battle tactics can overcome?