1. ADVENT: INITIATIVE I:

(Captain Luther Meade) "Alright ya puffs. All hands to the deck. Prepare for landing. This is a wretched city of ignorant Ionians and unfamiliar alleyways. The smog blocks even the purest light in these parts. The locals don’t take kindly to our people around here. Gentlemen—welcome to Ionia, home of the hypocrite, the bureaucrat, and the blind prophet!"


2. AGE OF THE SMOKESTACKS

Behold—a bold new horizon
Untold—the fate of the land
Find gold—in each day passing
Brick and mortar—everlasting
When the clockwork spins on the cog
Avenue is obscured in a fog
Traveling above the feet
Horse-drawn carriage obsolete

Gaze into the grey…

In the Age of the Smokestacks
The future is afoot
Belch forth ingenuity
The skies are filled with soot
Watch as the skies go grey
Do not abandon faith
We cannot let our wasted days
Haunt us like a wraith

Strike true—the shock realization
The new—stands now at your door
A view—outlook is higher
Steel and iron—forged in fire


3. THEY'RE FIRING UPON US!

Marsnall Gibbons: “They’re firing upon us!”
Captain Luther Meade: “Damage report?!”
Commander Flannegan: “Gondola integrity is stable, but O’Brian’s got his hands full.”
Captain Luther Meade: “Flannegan, ready the Blunderbuss! O’Brian?!”
Mechanic James O’Brian: “Port engines are gone, along with the coolant system.”
Duncan Batchworth III: “I’m sure on your new *salaries* you could buy PLENTY of time.”
Mechanic James O’Brian: “Actually, we can’t release any Hydrogen to descend due to multiple fires.”
Duncan Batchworth III: “Wh—what does that mean?”
Mechanic James O’Brian: “I’d give us about, uuuh, 3 minutes of flying around in circles before we explode.”
Captain Luther Meade: “Batchworth! Don’t you have some delivering to do?”


4. ÆTHER FLARE

His love for the turbine knows no bounds
He keeps the rotation
With pride kept in line by the Skipper’s eye
He’s a gruff airship captain
An old-world man of his word, the first-mate
He preaches true brotherhood

Embarking on high
Woooah-oh-oh
Subscribers look to the sky
Woooah-oh-oh
Unbreakable hull
Woooah-oh-oh
What can go wrong?
Success is our song!

The delivery is wasted
The Azimuth will not be sent
We’ve blistered the pages
The dirigible’s power is spent
“ALL HANDS ON DECK!”
Skipper’s voice bellows out
“We’re going to wreck!”
“BRACE FOR IMPACT—DOUSE THE FLAMES!

We cry out but breathing is obscured
By smoke in the cabin
We pray and hope for a passing nightmare
But the waking won’t happen
Pressure and the altitude drop
The signal’s not on deaf ears

CASUALTY – a dozen crew
AGONY – as fire spews
DENIAL – onlookers stare
SURVIVAL – discharge the flare

Arriving with the utmost urgency, the Rekelarians respond to
the blinding skyline. Risking life and limb, they channel the
water supply to extinguish the once proud Initiative.

ÆTHER FLARE


5. WE'LL COMMANDEER AN AIRSHIP

Captain Luther Meade: “Let us make haste. We go undetected. Flannegan—suggestions?”
Commander Flannegan: “We’ll commandeer an airship.”
Mechanic James O’Brian: “I can man any controls. It’s up to you to find a port.”
Commander Flannegan: “And we’ll need a crew.”
Duncan Batchworth III: “Hmm. Father’s Enforcers black-bagged all who opposed him. Most are held there—just beyond the sewers. There will be HEAVY resistance.”
Captain Luther Meade: “It’s time we rendezvous with our… acquaintance.”
Commander Flannegan: “Constantine. That Ionian blackguard would sell a cannon to a Rekelarian whore.”
Captain Luther Meade: “Gentlemen—we shall address this wretched city under the blanket of night.”



6. JOURNEYMAN

Doesn’t need any warrant
The whole countryside plagued by a lone tyrant
The skyscrapers are his vassals
We released his grip hiding from the hassles

We found promise at the grand ascent
To the mighty capital to which we were sent
Mass of newspapers dropped to defame
Alone in the alleyways we take the blame

An airship before us, a jailhouse nearby
With political prisoners, we’ll take to the sky
Our thirty new friends join us to flee
Still the alarms sound, guards flooding the street

As we fight our way up to the ship
We've taken up arms in order to commandeer it
Finding cover wherever we can
Blockades have risen with turrets manned
Flanking attempts come from Ionian forces
We’re far outnumbered but our recourse is
Our will is stronger than their manpower
Future schoolbooks will asperse our finest hour


7. RISE OF THE RUINED NATION

You’ve come upon a crater
A place where vultures soar
Blackened buildings touch red skies
Tell stories of our war

The concrete lay before you
Like ancient days of Rome
Disfigured by exposure
This place that we call home

We come out of the ashes
In the rubble we abide
Forged within a mushroom cloud
We’ve learned our sense of pride

We will rise the ruined nation
Write it on the walls
Find beauty in the devastation
Civilization falls
Yes, we are the ruined nation
Raise your fists up high
Rekelar, the ruined nation
Join us now or die

Skew the double helix
Bask in genetic waste
Rust and radiation
Fill up our mutant space
As morbid figures intertwine
They’re engines of creation
Decrepit soldiers multiply
Born into annihilation

The battlefield is seen through the iron-sight monocle
The Rekelarian soldier is its pupil
As the horns beckon onslaught, he adds the color of Ionian blood to his palette
And the canvas is clear

Are you with us?

We’re building something new here
A strong automaton
Working ‘round each hour
With scientific bonds
Thirty men of valor
Unrelenting will
Ionia will crumble
Too many they have killed


8. A BROTHER’S BETRAYAL

Benjamin Batchworth: “Father!”
Duncan Batchworth II: “Can’t you see I’m busy, Benjamin? What do you want?”
Benjamin Batchworth: “I took care of our problem.”
Duncan Batchworth II: “Our problem? Now, just now what problem were we having?”
Benjamin Batchworth: “Duncan! It seems he is trying to besmirch the family name, and commit treason against the great nation of Ionia!”
Duncan Batchworth II: “Now, hold on, now… I know
Duncan’s a little rebellious, but he isn’t a traitor. He just does what he thinks is best.”
Benjamin Batchworth: “I *know* what’s best.”
Duncan Batchworth II: “You put that gun away, Benjamin.”
Benjamin Batchworth: “You are not fit to run the Azimuth.”
Duncan Batchworth II: “Benjamin! Put the gun away!”
Benjamin Batchworth: “And you’re not fit to be the face of this family… … … BANG.”