It seems the fire didn't destroy everything after all; as I was making my way down the dirt trail leading away from the cabin I tripped over a slightly scorched cigar box containing a positive treasure trove. Besides a few coins and a strange looking key there are a few press clippings. I can't read most of them; they seem to be in at least two different languages that I no longer recognise - if I ever did.
One, though - a more recent clipping guessing by the colour of the paper - I could read.
The headline: Enemy Fleet Strikes Cathedral!
I've stuck the clipping in on the next page.
Reported by Emma Norrell
The Western city of Cathedral now lays in ruins of its former glory after an airborne attack by an unknown hostile force late last night.
The Holy City, the only without a standing Navy as per Circular doctrine, was protected only by Cathedral's Ambaric Coil and a small ground force who fought valiantly against overwhelming odds.
Approximately one third of the enemy fleet of about twenty-five ships were struck down by the joint efforts of the defenders manned at street level and withing the Coil.
The aerostats were of an unknown design and filled with an inflammable substance that seemed prone to ignition on contact with the Ambaric strike and the defenders' explosive shells and in bitter irony their burning wrecks caused equal damage as that of the bombs they dropped on the city.
A charred skeleton of one of the downed aerostats indicates they are half the size of a RAN Dreadnought class attack ship, and share similarities to those ships used by the Pirates of the Red Skies.
The Royal Aerostatical Navy Nightterror Battalion was diverted from its patrol of the Ys and attacked the remainder of the enemy's units who, outclassed by the RAN, retreated to the Ys where they were lost in heavy fog.
At time of print estimated casualties were tallied at 45,000 Voters and an estimated loss of 2 million Crowns. *
It is still not known if Arch-Prior Peake has survived the attack and the Church has yet to comment. **
*Final figures were reduced to 19,871 Voters Killed or Seriously Injured
and 5 Million Crowns of damage to private properties.
** The Church later issued a statement indicating Arch-Prior Peake
was among the injured and remains in critical condition at Saint Barbarus Hospital.
And lastly a photo, of a young boy and girl, smiling and waving at the dark chamber. I think the boy might have been me. The girl I don't know... or at least... I'm not sure. When I look at her I can almost remember, almost pluck the memory of her from the fog of my mind. Almost but not quite...
This has given me more questions than answers, but at least I now have a purpose. I need to go to this city, to Cathedral, and see if anyone there knows who the girl in the picture is; maybe even someone who can tell me who I am?
It's a long shot, but what have I got to lose?
