The Amethyst Wreck | Part 1

The wind had been dragging things across the plains all morning.

It came in long, mournful ribbons, combing through the violet grass until every blade leaned the same way. Torn leaves, feathers, paper scraps, and glittering purple dust blew low over the ground, tumbling toward the edge of the chasm where the land simply ended.

Beyond that edge, chunks of earth floated in the open air.

Some were no larger than stepping stones. Others were wide enough to hold whole groves of wind-bent trees. Their undersides glittered with amethyst veins, and the sunlight passing through the gems painted everything below in faint lavender. It was beautiful, a marvel, an impossibility in some places but not in the Chronoscape. 

Levi stood near the edge of one of the plains, arms tucked close, salmon-colored mane fluttering hard against his neck. His tail curled anxiously around one leg while Nox rested in his usual place: wrapped cozily around Levi’s shoulders, his dark green body looped like a living scarf and his small horned head settled on Levi’s right shoulder.

Nox blinked his teal eyes at the floating landscape ahead. His forked pink tongue flicked once into the wind.

“I know,” Levi murmured, even though Nox had not said anything. “It’s… very high.”

Behind them, Tucker lowered his huge green body into the grass so the wind would not catch under his wings. He was so large that his shadow covered Levi, Nox, and most of Speedy at once. The flower marking on his side shifted as he breathed. He watched the chasm with a soft, worried expression, as if the gap might fix itself.

Speedy, meanwhile, was not worried.

Speedy was crouched near the chasm edge with her raptor-built body low and her blue eyes bright. The wind pulled at the pale crest on her head and sent her tentacle mane writhing behind her like a nest of excited snakes. She chittered sharply, then hopped in place, claws digging into the soil.

Cyborg stood beside her, compact and low to the ground. His artificial head tilted downward toward the chasm. He had no eyes to narrow, no expression to read, but somehow his attention was clearly fixed on the object far below.

A wreck. A rather big one at that.

It had been wedged into the side of the chasm for who knew how long. A broken artificial structure, half airship and half theatre stage, caught between stone shelves and amethyst growths. Ragged curtains spilled from one cracked wall and snapped wildly in the wind. Brass beams poked out like ribs. Purple banners, faded and torn, streamed from its sides.

Every so often, something inside it clinked.

Speedy heard the sound every time.

She made a low, hungry growl.

“No stealing from cursed wrecks,” Levi said quickly, his voice as authoritative as he could muster.

Speedy snapped her head toward him, her eyes narrowed and she chuttered in protest.

“I know we don’t know it’s cursed.” Levi swallowed. “But it looks like the sort of thing that would be.”

Another gust rushed up from the chasm, carrying the smell of old metal, dust, and rain. A flock of dark birds rose from one floating island and scattered across the lavender sky. Their wings flashed purple in the amethyst light.

Tucker made a soft rumbling sound and lowered his head near Levi.

Levi touched his snout. “We’re just salvaging. Carefully. Looking for anything useful. Not… getting launched into a chasm.”

At that, Cyborg creaked.

Everyone looked at him.

The bright yellow artificial wings on his back gave a tiny, alarming whine.

Levi’s ears flattened. “Especially not you.”

Cyborg continued staring into the chasm.

The plan was simple, but was anything truly simple with Speedy in the mix?

Tucker would stay anchored on the plain, using his size and strength to keep them safe. Speedy would climb down first, because she was fast, sure-footed, and far too excited to be stopped. Nox would help guide loose stones and make safe footholds with earth magic if needed. Cyborg would stay by Tucker, close enough that Tucker could block him if his artificial wings started clicking too much, and close enough to inspect anything strange once it was brought back up.

Nobody said the word “treasure” too loudly, because Speedy was already vibrating.

The descent began with Tucker bracing himself near the chasm edge. Nox unwound from Levi’s shoulders just enough to lower his head and look down. His thorned crest ruffled in the wind. The earth beneath their feet shifted gently at his urging, forming a sturdy lip and a few jutting shelves below.

Speedy gave one delighted chutter and dropped.

Levi squeaked.

She did not fall. She bounded from stone to stone, claws scraping, tail cutting through the air for balance. Her tentacle mane grabbed at roots and outcroppings as she moved, sometimes pulling her sideways, sometimes holding small bits of shiny debris she snatched on the way down.

“Speedy!” Levi called. “We are not here for every shiny thing!”

Speedy’s only answer was an offended chirr.

Cyborg stood beside Tucker at the top of the chasm, his artificial head angled downward. He did not move after Speedy. He only stared into the drop, silent except for the faint creak of his mechanical limbs.

The bright yellow artificial wings on his back gave a tiny, alarming whine.

Tucker gently placed one massive forefoot in front of him.

Cyborg stopped before he had even properly started.

“No launching,” Levi called up from the first ledge, trying very hard not to sound as nervous as he felt.

Cyborg stared.

Tucker looked apologetic, but he did not move his foot.

From below came a crash, followed by Speedy’s triumphant chittering.

Levi covered his face. “She found something.”

Nox slipped down from Levi’s shoulders, moving with smooth serpentine confidence. Though he was tiny compared to the others, the chasm did not seem to frighten him the same way it frightened Levi. He flowed along the stone shelves, and the rock responded gently beneath him. A loose section steadied before it could crumble. A narrow ledge widened just enough for Levi’s feet.

Levi climbed after him, trembling but careful. Tucker watched every movement from above, braced solidly at the chasm edge with Cyborg still beside him.

By the time Levi reached the wreck entrance, Speedy had already made a pile.

It was not a neat pile.

It included bent gears, a cracked silver mask, three curtain tassels, a handful of amethyst chips, two brass handles, a broken bird ornament, a purple glass bead the size of Levi’s thumb, and one suspiciously fancy spoon.

Speedy stood over it proudly, chest puffed.

Levi blinked. “You found… stage junk.”

Speedy growled.

“Useful stage junk,” Levi corrected quickly.

The wreck’s interior was stranger than he expected. It had once been a flying theatre, or something close to it. Rows of seats clung to the slanted floor. A collapsed stage sagged at the far end, its painted backdrop torn open to reveal old storage spaces behind it. Amethyst crystals had grown through the walls, casting purple light across everything. Feathers were scattered everywhere, likely from birds nesting in the rafters.

The wind moved through the broken structure like breath through a flute.

Cyborg did not come down until Tucker decided the ledges were steady enough.

Even then, Tucker watched him closely. Cyborg climbed with slow, stiff care, artificial limbs clicking against stone. His wings gave one soft whine halfway down, and Tucker’s head immediately lowered over the edge with a warning rumble.

Cyborg froze.

The wings quieted.

Only then did he continue.

Behind the stage, they found the old salvage lift.

It was tucked into a recessed part of the wreck, half-buried beneath torn velvet straps, cracked boards, and chains that had fallen loose from the ceiling. The lift itself looked like it had once been used to raise props or treasure chests up onto the stage. Now it sat crooked and still, its brass frame dulled by dust, one side crushed inward where the wreck had struck the chasm wall.

Levi peered at it from a careful distance. “That looks… less dangerous than I expected.”

Speedy immediately darted forward.

“Less dangerous does not mean safe!”

Speedy ignored him, crouching low beside the lift. Her short tentacles wriggled through the loose scraps close around her shoulders, picking through small objects within reach. One found a broken bead. Another nudged aside a curtain tassel. A third tucked a shiny button close against her mane for safekeeping.

Levi sighed. “Of course you found the button.”

Cyborg stepped closer, artificial limbs clicking against the tilted floor. His eyeless head angled toward the lift’s crushed side. Something inside the wreck shifted with a faint hollow tick, but it was only a loose chain tapping against metal in the wind.

Tucker however could not fit inside the wreck, but his huge head appeared at the entrance, blocking some of the light. And he seemed perfectly fine with this. He rumbled softly, more curious than alarmed.