Time is not a straight line-it is an ocean. Twelve-year-old Leo Vance has a golden rule for surviving weekends at his grandfather's antique shop: never touch anything that hums. But when a mysterious brass instrument called the Chrono-Compass flares with violet light, Leo is ripped from London and dropped onto a marble balcony high above Aethelgard-a stunning, suspended empire of golden spires, colossal waterwheels, and frozen citizens.
Guided by Lyra, an apprentice guardian of the Sunward Spire, Leo learns the dark truth: a rogue alchemist named Vane ripped Aethelgard out of history three centuries ago. Now, with a solar eclipse looming, the empire is minutes away from dissolving into the void forever. Armed only with the spinning rings of the Chrono-Compass and a sharp mind, Leo must navigate clockwork cathedrals, battle terrifying shadow-constructs, and solve the riddle of time itself to restore the lost empire.
And that is only the beginning. When a ghost fleet rises from the Chrono-Sea to hunt down the remaining Relics of the Keepers, Leo and Lyra must embark on a high-stakes sky-voyage to protect history from being rewritten entirely.
Time is not a straight line-it is an ocean. Twelve-year-old Leo Vance has a golden rule for surviving weekends at his grandfather's antique shop: never touch anything that hums. But when a mysterious brass instrument called the Chrono-Compass flares with violet light, Leo is ripped from London and dropped onto a marble balcony high above Aethelgard-a stunning, suspended empire of golden spires, colossal waterwheels, and frozen citizens.
Guided by Lyra, an apprentice guardian of the Sunward Spire, Leo learns the dark truth: a rogue alchemist named Vane ripped Aethelgard out of history three centuries ago. Now, with a solar eclipse looming, the empire is minutes away from dissolving into the void forever. Armed only with the spinning rings of the Chrono-Compass and a sharp mind, Leo must navigate clockwork cathedrals, battle terrifying shadow-constructs, and solve the riddle of time itself to restore the lost empire.
And that is only the beginning. When a ghost fleet rises from the Chrono-Sea to hunt down the remaining Relics of the Keepers, Leo and Lyra must embark on a high-stakes sky-voyage to protect history from being rewritten entirely.