Elara Finch's refuge was a perfect dichotomy. The ground floor was the rusty chaos of the old clockwork shop; the upper floor, accessed by a still-functional pneumatic lift, was a secret apartment, surprisingly quiet and tidy. The walls were lined with ancient maps of the Aerostatic Empire, marked with strange Heart of the World symbols.
Lyall hadn't slept. He held the engraved brass Piston, the only link between the world he knew and the one Elara was trying to explain.
"You read the Néxium through metal. That is your strength, but also your weakness," Elara explained, dressed in simple black work trousers and a faded ivory blouse, her hair pulled back. "Néxium is the world's soul; it's in the air, in the rock, in thought. If you only understand it through the violence of the hammer, you will never see the subtle cracks in Vane's plan."
She stood before a series of tiny glass tubes connected to a simple brass valve. "The Veiled Ones Order does not use pressure. It uses suggestion."
Elara placed her hand near the valve without touching it. Lyall felt the Néxium's presence as an unpleasant hum.
"Imagine Néxium as a river of pure pressure," Elara murmured. "Vane wants to build a dam with excessive dynamite. You, Lyall, force the river through your metal. I simply ask it to change direction."
She closed her eyes. The tension in the room rose, but without violence. The Néxium did not scream; it whispered. Lyall watched the needles on the glass pressure gauges, untouched, rise slightly, then fall perfectly, obeying Elara's will.
Lyall, the Smith, was fascinated. "But how... That is remote pressure manipulation."
"It is discipline, not magic," Elara corrected. "Metal amplifies, but air obeys intention. While Vane's men search the forge for a fugitive smith, I will make you a complete Synchronizer."
The training was exhausting. Lyall learned to focus not on the heat of the Néxium in the brass, but on its coolness in the air. He practiced making simple brass tools hover on a cushion of subtle pressure.
Between exercises, Elara gave him maps and names.
"Vane isn't worried about your gift, Lyall. He's worried about your testimony. He is protected by the Archonte and by alliances within the Cartographer's League."
Elara pointed to a territory on the map, the Domain of Cinders. "My House, the Finches, was ruined by his exploitation tactics. That area is the Empire's vital source. If his Mother-Pump works as you've seen, exhaustion will be total in six months."
"Why doesn't the Archonte stop him?" Lyall asked.
Elara offered a bitter, world-weary smile worthy of a disgraced Countess. "The Nexium yields many Stators for the Archonte. And Vane is skilled in political suggestion. He makes the Court believe he is building a machine for eternal stability."
She showed him the Magnate's plans: Vane was scheduled to publicly inaugurate his Nexium Extractor at a grand court ceremony, in full view of everyone.
"Our objective is simple," Elara said, her gaze hardening. "You must go to the Domain of Cinders. You must obtain irrefutable proof of the machine's structural discordance. But first, you must prove you are not a criminal."
Elara left for the Aethelburg Exchange, leaving Lyall alone for the first time. He practiced Nexium meditation, finding unexpected quietude in the relative silence.
When she returned, she wore the militarized elegance of high society.
"It is done. I used my last contacts and... a little Order persuasion." She handed him a sheaf of documents. "Your status as a fugitive worker is erased. I proved that Balton of the Guild was corrupted by a payment in low-grade Pistons. You are no longer a traitor, but a witness."
Lyall felt the huge political weight lifted from his shoulders. "And now?"
"Now, we travel," Elara said. She placed a brass case on the table. Inside rested a travel gauntlet: a masterpiece of leather and fine mechanics, more discreet and sensitive than his forging ones.
"Vane's agents will think you are still in Aethelburg. We leave within the hour, via the pneumatic cargo train. Destination: the Domain of Cinders. It is time to get your hands on the machine that almost cost you your life."