Henry Westcroft/The Northern Anchor

The Anchor of Koperdam: III

In-universe date: Era Nova, October, Year 4

Real-world date: 2026-09-18
Author: Henry Westcroft

The open expanse of the Brass Sea turned treacherous by midday, the mild northern breeze devolving into a violent, churning tempest as black clouds rolled in to suffocate the horizon. Heavy rain lashed across the surface of the water, and with each crashing wave, my small wooden rowboat was tossed like a dead leaf upon the tide.

My left hand - the polished brass housing and internal clockwork gears of my prosthetic - hummed with a sharp, steady rhythm against the damp chill, its mechanical tension the only reliable thing left in the storm. Blinded by the sheets of water and desperate to find safe shelter before my vessel splintered against the submerged shoals, I forced my oars through the heavy surf until a jagged silhouette pierced the gloom ahead.

Rising straight out of the dark water like a forgotten monolith, an ancient, storm-beaten stone fort loomed into view, its weathered battlements draped in ivy and its wooden drawbridge creaking in the gale. I guided my battered rowboat toward the crumbling stone stairway, stepping out onto the rough masonry to escape the fury of the storm.

As I took shelter within the damp, echoing chambers of the bastion, my analytical eye immediately swept past the ruin and began calculating its geometry. Positioned at a central maritime choke point in the northern waters, this crumbling outpost was far more than an accidental sanctuary; it was a strategically invaluable position waiting to be reclaimed.

Standing among the ancient stones with the tempest raging outside, I knew right then that this forgotten fortress would not be left to the tide - I would claim it in the name of the Technate, forging it into a permanent anchor of Koperdammer power across the sea.