Distance Divided by Time: A Steampunk Tale

[PeregrineTook]

This is one in a series of "Distance Divided by Time" stories.  To find the link for the others, click here

In my time, there was a war going on.  Not a physical war, but a conflict in intellectual ideas.  On the one side, you had those who believed in a merging of scientific ideas with the supernatural.



They sought the elixir of life and were known as alchemists.



Opposing them, there were those who believed that the science alone was the only truth in the universe.



They believed machinery was the only real "magic" and they went by the name of tinkerers.



My father, William Clavell,



wanted me to follow in his footsteps as an alchemist. 
His archrival, Randall Landgraab,



was also recruiting me heavily.
Both made fantastic offers.  Given the wonderful opportunities each provided...I chose neither.
Instead, I joined her Majesty's Ariel Navy as a sky privateer.

[Eldridge]

That was a nice building, Pippin. I didn't know that you can build something like that. Humm... I just need to see more of this.

[saltpastillen]

Yay! I love the ship you made! I wanted to create a similar shot once in one of my stories and tried using the bistro from Barnacle Bay - with an epic fail as a result. Now I see what I should have done.

[MarianT]

Great ship, and I like the muted colors in your back-story. A Clavell and a Landgraab -- is it set in Sunset Valley?

[empow14]

Awesome ship! Really creative

[PeregrineTook]

That was a nice building, Pippin. I didn't know that you can build something like that. Humm... I just need to see more of this.

Yay! I love the ship you made! I wanted to create a similar shot once in one of my stories and tried using the bistro from Barnacle Bay - with an epic fail as a result. Now I see what I should have done.

Awesome ship! Really creative

Thanks, everyone.  I was pretty happy with the ship too.  The real challenge was trying to get shots where you couldn't really tell it was on the ground so it has the "air ship" feel.

Great ship, and I like the muted colors in your back-story. A Clavell and a Landgraab -- is it set in Sunset Valley?

Sunset Valley, indeed!  Yeah, the muted colors were a deliberate effort to create that feel like the movie version of Wizard of Oz so one world looks different from another.  Glad you liked it!

[RaiaDraconis]

Ooh, I am most definitely intrigued. It will be interesting to see how Sunset Valley looks in the past, and what our narrator will encounter in his travels. I will most definitely be reading!

[PeregrineTook]

Despite my utter lack of any sort of sky sailing knowledge, I became a helpful member of the crew. 



My knowledge of science and alchemy proved quite useful. 
I wasn't on the main deck maintaining sails



or fighting battles.



Rather, I worked as a technician and a navigator.



We had glorious adventures defending the mountain passes



But eventually, being away was too much to handle



because my beloved was awaiting me at home.

[Magz from Oz]

I just caught up with your story.  I'm hooked.  I love the ship!  Bookmarked!

[Eldridge]

The ship is really something XD

Ooooh...

And now I am curious about who the beloved one is!

[PeregrineTook]

Jennie Clavell:  my true love and only joy.  At last I was coming home to her.



She threw a grand ball to welcome me home.



You would have thought I was a war hero rather than just a rich man's son turned navigator,



but none of the festivities really mattered to me.  It was simply enough just to be near her again.



We spent glorious moments together, but I had other passions as well.
Having my father's wealth behind me and my own earnings, I was free to invest time in my own research.
While others pitted tinkering



against alchemy,



I found truth in both.  It seemed they combined to dictate the ebb and flow of all that existed within our world.



If I could harness those energies...

[shaunta]

Wow Pippin I love this its really awesome!!! I'm with everyone else on this that ship is great. So creative I'm bookmarking this so I can follow this story too!

[Eldridge]

I'm quite... familiar with those faces. Well, I just can't wait how the story will turned out to be.

[Swirl-Girl]

They're all so pale!
They're like, statue people! That's a lovely ball!

[PeregrineTook]

I was on the verge of my breakthrough when the visitor arrived:



Chester Landgraab.
It seems that my sweet Jennie, always the peacemaker, had invited him to a party at our home hoping that it might bring peace between our families.



Chester was an interesting fellow, to say the least.



Over a game of chess, he confided to me his passion for alchemy despite his father's abhorance for the practice.



It seemed that he had some ideas which were somewhat in line with my own, but could I really trust in this man?



Jennie distracted me from our game,



and Chester revealed his true nature while my back was turned.
I bid him farewell at the end of the evening and returned to my ultimate work...



the time machine.