The Flight Nobody Owes

Nera has followed her sister's departure as far as the ground allows. Above her, enormous feathers form shifting passages between inhabited ledges. One wrong step can leave her hanging over empty air, with no wings to carry her farther.

Irix, a traveler with grasping limbs and folded wings, can teach her how to support her own weight. Setha, a gifted flier, invites her into games she can barely reach. And the Seamkeeper, whose steady hands keep a living stretch of the world safe for its residents, offers assistance that may demand more than she is willing to give.

Lysa is somewhere above. But reaching her does not mean deciding what she should do next.

Nera learns through bruises, broken equipment, patient practice, and victories small enough that others might overlook them. As the great feather shifts, her choices begin to affect journeys beyond her own. Help can save a life without becoming a promise. An earned skill can open a passage without giving anyone authority over another person's destination.

Alongside Nera's journey, a later chronicle pieces together what its witnesses allowed to be recorded-and what those records cannot claim to know.

To find a way forward, Nera must become capable of taking it herself.