The club held its first meeting in a dusty old wooden workshop dedicated to metal-aspect ethermancy. In addition to Quinn, Seth, and the two Heritors, three other students showed up. Seth had decided upon a specific time to stop waiting and start the club. When the belfries announced the hour, Quinn took one last look at the empty courtyard outside before closing the workshop door.


    "Welcome to the Aviation Club!" he began. "To get started, how about we all introduce ourselves? Who are you? Where are you from? And why are you here? Brother, would you like to go first?"


    "Certainly. My name is Seth, and I''m the world famous Flying Man! I was born in eastern Lyn. I''m here because I want to fly through the sky and show off my skills to the ladies."


    Claire Aden giggled. She whispered in Kiera''s ear, "he''s cute," and it was not a very good whisper because everyone heard it.


    "My name is Quinn. I was also born in eastern Lyn. I am here because I want to be a part of a new tradition, one which will live on longer than myself."


    "I''m Kiera Blaine, also known as Kiera the Mender. I''m a Heritor. My father is King Sullivan of Cloudsea. I am here because this club seems very dangerous and I am a skilled healer."


    "I''m Claire Aden! My family owns this school. I''m here because Kiera is here, and she''s my mentor."


    The first of the three students was a dandy wearing a white suit and holding a huge square painter''s bag. His olive skin and long, straight black hair betrayed a bloodline originating in Zairo. There was a vibrant rose pinned to his lapel.


    "My name is Vince," the man said. "I am from Blue Grotto, the capital of Zairo. I am the son of a merchant, and I love painting birds. I am here to help out, in case my skill at painting, or my knowledge of birds, might be of use to the club."


    The second student was a hulking bodybuilder, even bigger and more muscular than Seth. He had pale skin, a freckled face, and blood red hair.


    "My name is Bjorn," he said. "I''m a mathematician from Vjiskald. I''m here because I want to learn, or perhaps invent, the mathematics required for flying machines."


    "We''ll be happy to have you!" Quinn said.


    The last student was a tall woman with skin that was so black and so shiny that Quinn mistook her for a walking obsidian sculpture. Her hair was the color of sunset, glowing gold and red. Quinn found it somewhat alarming that she had shining gold scales on her cheeks and on her forehead, inhuman features which framed red-gold eyes.


    "My name is Irene," the strange woman said. "I am an apprentice Sea Mother among my people. I am here to learn more about the strange boats that sail through the fog."


    "Oh!" Kiera exclaimed. "Are you related to the witch Diana?"


    "I am," Irene said. "My tribe is descended from the Gold Dragons. Of all the whelp tribes, mine is the most pure. We live at sea, away from the corruption of human blood. Diana is called Guardian of the Sea, the greatest of the Sea Mothers."The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Kiera nodded. "I met her once."


    "Yeah!" Claire agreed. "At the top of, um... that spire. Not long ago. She looked a lot like you!"


    "I find that unlikely," Irene said defensively. "Diana would never travel so far inland as to visit Spire Lyn. Her own spire is very far away. How did you get there?"


    "She sailed to the Eight Color Monastery!" Kiera said.


    "For my sister''s graduation," Claire added.


    "She stood before the Elder Saint at the top of Spire Annatiki," Kiera explained.


    "It is possible," Irene admitted. "Forgive me, great Heritors. I am not of a station to question you thus. Please, forgive me."


    "Think nothing of it," Kiera said gently. "Mister Vince, would you be so kind as to show me and my companion an example of your paintings?"


    "It would be my pleasure, Princess," Vince said with a practiced bow.


    He unsealed his black painter''s bag and set the first canvas on display on a nearby table. All seven members of the club arrayed themselves around the table to regard the painting. It was solid white, unpainted along the edges, with an extraordinarily detailed portrayal of a common seagull in flight, banking to one side.


    "You are quite skilled," Kiera said.


    "I am most proud of this painting," Vince said. "I studied the way the birds turn for hours and hours before I painted this. Look at the very tips of the wings."


    He pointed to the low wing.


    "See how the very tip is twisted up? And on the high wing, the tip is twisted down. The gulls always twist their wings this way when they are turning."


    "Are you saying this is how our flying machine should turn?" Quinn asked.


    "Your boat will need a rudder," Irene said. "All boats use a rudder to turn."


    "Birds don''t have rudders," Vince said.


    "Let''s take things one at a time," Seth said in a confident, commanding voice. "I will be the one flying the craft after all, unless any of you volunteer?"


    He glanced around at the other club members, and even Quinn could see that nobody was interested.


    "I thought so," Seth continued. "If I am going to be risking my neck up there, then I will be the one that decides which problems need to be solved and in what order. Right now, we have the problem of turning. There are two possibilities. Either we turn like this bird does, by twisting the wings, or we turn like a boat does, with a rudder. Quinn, please write this down. It will be the second problem we attempt to solve."


    "I will take notes," Kiera offered. Quinn nodded.


    "This discussion is fascinating," Bjorn said. "My mind is reeling with mathematical possibilities. Please, continue, Mister Seth. What is our first problem?"


    Quinn produced his copied kite schematic and set it on the table beside the canvas.


    "This was the kite I was using back in the circus," Seth said. "It had a fatal flaw. Sometimes the apex of the kite would inexplicably dive into the ground. When that happened in practice, I ended up with a few bruises. However, if we are going to make something that flies much higher, this problem must be understood and solved immediately."


    Irene nodded sagely. "Boats do not dive into the sea like whales."


    "Your kite does not have a tail," Vince observed. "Birds have tails. Maybe you should try adding a tail?"


    "Whales also have tails," Irene added. "But fish have fins. Strange."


    "I have an idea," Vince said. "I think the Aviation Club should go on a field trip to see some actual birds. Not just paintings. I know a place nearby, in the mountains to the south of White Chasm. You can only get there by hiking through the caves, and you need to get permission from the Aden family guards."


    "I won''t need permission," Claire Aden said.


    "Indeed!" Vince agreed. "There are a wide variety of birds that visit my favorite ledge. Some of them soar slowly and lazily, some of them flap their wings furiously, and some of them dive in long arcs. I think that we can learn a lot by observing nature''s fliers."


    "I could use a good hike," Seth said.


    "If anyone twists an ankle or blows out a knee, I''ll be there," Kiera said.


    "I would like to see these sky fishes for myself," Irene said.


    "I will disconfirm my hypothesis against live samples," Bjorn said. "For science."


    "I will inform the soldiers in the caves," Claire said.


    "Then it''s settled," Quinn said. "The second meeting of the Aviation Club will be a field trip!"