The Chart Four island chains
THE CHART
ISLE 01 / 04
BRASSWIND STEPPE
Golden plateaus where the wind never sleeps and every kite carries a message.
- Altitude
- 2,000–3,500 FT
- Climate
- Dry, with steady westerlies
- Danger
- Ports
- 3
What you’ll find
- Kite-line relay posts
- Spare brass mill parts
- Wind charts drawn by shepherds
ISLE 02 / 04
LANTERN SHOALS
A floating market lit by a thousand paper lamps, tied together with rope and rumor.
- Altitude
- 3,500–4,800 FT
- Climate
- Warm, windless evenings
- Danger
- Ports
- 7
What you’ll find
- Lamp oil and trade goods
- Rope-bridge maps
- Rumors of the Gyre
ISLE 03 / 04
CINDER REEF
Coral cliffs that glow like coals at sundown, and hide what pirates left behind.
- Altitude
- 4,800–6,200 FT
- Climate
- Hot updrafts, sudden gusts
- Danger
- Ports
- 1
What you’ll find
- Ember coral
- Lost cargo crates
- A pirate’s buried cache
ISLE 04 / 04
THE QUIET GYRE
A calm spiral in the cloud sea, with one lighthouse still burning at its eye.
- Altitude
- 6,200–9,000 FT
- Climate
- Dead calm at the eye, shear at the rim
- Danger
- Ports
- 1
What you’ll find
- The last lighthouse
- Logbooks of lost ships
- Silence
HOW THE WIND WORKS
- 01
Wind bands
The sky is layered like a cake. Each band of wind blows a different way, and climbing or sinking a few hundred feet is how you change course for free.
- 02
Sail trim
Trim the canvas to the band you are in. A tight sail climbs, a loose one runs fast. Wren marks the best trim on the chart as you learn it.
- 03
Landing below the clouds
Every island has a calm side. Drop under the cloud line on the lee and the ship settles on its own, as long as Tobin kept the gas cells patched.