Whirlwind Lance Through the Endless Sky.

Sheilk walked down the road towards the Airship Dock. The sun was shining, the west wind was blowing, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. This was the day of departure, and she couldn't have asked for a better one.
She knew Rannen would be at the ship. He was there when she left the night before, and he had probably stayed there overnight. The man had been waiting for this day his entire life, at this point there was no way he'd leave the ship.
She turned the corner past the Marksman's Guild, and her breath caught in her throat as she saw the ship. There it was, gleaming in the morning sun, the Whirlwind Lance. It was finally done construction.
The Whirlwind Lance had been an old battleship years ago. Back in the aftermath of the war with Zael Talen, the first Magic Emperor had commissioned dozens of them to be built. Some had seen use in combat, but for the most part they had been unneeded.
That was hundreds of years ago. The fact that any of those ships had survived was a testament to the skill of the people who had made them. Newer airships were sleeker and more efficient, and the magic used to keep them afloat was a lot different now.
Rannen had gotten the ship for next to nothing. It had been a museum piece, but nobody had been interested in it. So they were going to scrap it. Rannen happened to come by at the right time.
After he got the ship, Rannen had taken it out for a fly. He crashed it, of course, causing no small amout of property damage. Only after that did he look for someone to teach him how to fly, and that's where Sheilk came in.
Sheilk had been a pilot for years. She had learned to fly airships almost before she could walk, at least that's what she liked to tell people. It was second nature to her, and there was nobody who could stand as her equal, least of all Rannen. The man was a hopeless mess when it came to flying. But there was something about him that had caught her. His drive, his vision, his dream- whatever you wanted to call it, he had something that no other person had.
And it was infectious. In a short time he had her captivated with what he wanted to do, and she wasn't the only one. Builders, designers, Mages, crew members, there was no shortage of people who wanted to be part of it. Work on re-purposing the ship had gone on right away, with Rannen at the center of it.
Although he had no talent for flying a ship, he had ideas that were radically different for designing them. Sheilk had quickly learned that while she had started flying early, he had started learning early about every single detail for building them.
The Whirlwind Lance was something unique. Many of Rannen's ideas were being put into play, and in theory it would be a fantastic airship. From the shape of the Etheren shards above to the magic engrained in the wood and everything in between, this ship was designed to fly like nothing else could.
Sheilk walked up the path slowly. The construction rigging was finally off and the ship could be seen for what it was. The purple tint of the Etheren shards caught the sun and shone brilliantly. Sheilk wiped a tear from her eye. He had done it, he had really done it. The sky was theirs.
She hopped up the ramp. The ship was already bustling with crew members, some of whom had gotten up earlier than her, some of whom she could tell had been there all night with Rannen.
A nod, a quick hello, a wave, she knew the crew by now. They had been working on the ship together for the past two years. She climbed the stairs to the stern where she knew he would be waiting. Sure enough, he was standing and leaning against a rail.
Rannen had a smile on his face that looked like it would never come off. This was the day that he had been planning on for his whole life.
"You know," he said as she walked up, "I saw Detair when I was a child."
Sheilk had heard this story a hundred times. But today, she knew, it was important for him to tell it without her interrupting. "Yes?" she said.
"I saw Detair," Rannen continued, "flying over the fields miles away. I was so awestruck by it!" He waited a second for her to say something, then kept talking when she was silent. "I mean, it's a flying city. More than a city, a gigantic flying..."
"Island," Sheilk said. Somehow he always forgot that.
"Yes! Exactly. It's so big, so massive, but it stays in the air. I used to think that if I could just get to that flying city, I'd be content with life."
Sheilk smiled. "We're docked in Detair now," she said.
Rannen laughed. "I was wrong! I did need more. And I found more. In order to reach Detair, I studied airships. I talked to everyone I could, I learned everything that anyone would teach, I read every book.
"Eventually I got here. I hitched a ride on a trading ship. I helped out around the docks, I got jobs here and there, I worked to make my way in the airship business."
"Yet your ideas weren't accepted," Sheilk said.
"Oh no!" Rannen laughed again. "My ideas were too different. Too unsafe. Too experimental. It was only after I got the Whirlwind Lance and made some of my modifications that people started to see what was possible."
Sheilk patted him on the back. "It's not just that," she said, "it's also your dream. You never told anyone your dream until I came along."
Rannen looked out into the sky. "Yes. My dream! This world has been explored. It has been mapped out. But there are so many other worlds, so many other maps to fill!" He gestured at the deck, with all the crew working. "These are my brothers and sisters in exploration! The bravest of the brave, the ones who find Laenost to be too small for them!"
Sheilk laughed. "If they're your brothers and sisters, what does that make me?"
"What indeed?" Rannen leaned in close to her. He brought his face up to hers, just inches apart-
Sheilk smiled and flicked his nose. "Not today," she said.
He rubbed his nose and glared at her, but his smile didn't fade. "I'll get that kiss someday," he said.
"Like I said the first time you asked- once you can pilot a ship without me having to save it from crashing, you'll get it."
Rannen dashed to the steering wheel. "Let's see if today is the day, then!" he shouted. He looked down at his crew. "Is everyone ready to find a new world?!" he roared.
The crew cheered. Rannen's hand flew to the console and he pulled the lever to engage the Etheren shards. Sheilk jumped over and knocked him to the side.
"Is everyone ready for a proper pilot to take the helm?" she shouted. The crew cheered even louder. She adjusted the dials and flipped a few switches. "Shardsmen, get to your posts! Aeromantic monitors, get ready! All hands stand by for liftoff!"
Rannen stood by her side. As the captain it was his duty to command the crew, but he didn't mind her doing it. The crew loved her just as much as they loved him, and she certainly knew what she was doing.
He watched the crew move. He felt the airship shudder and sway under his feet. There had been countless practice runs before this, the movement of the ship didn't phase him in the least anymore. By now it felt more like it was a part of him.
The ship rose above the Airship Dock slowly. Rannen felt like it was a child taking its first steps, his child. He was incredibly proud of it.
"It's really happening..." Sheilk breathed.
Rannen's smile widened. "Of course it is," he said. "We're on our way. Pilot, take us up!"
"Yes, sir!" Sheilk said.
The Airship Dock sank below the sides of the ship. The rest of Detair followed as the Whirlwind Lance left the flying city. The movement of the ship was by far the best and smoothest that any of the crew had ever felt, and it came as a shock to most of them when they saw how far they had gotten already.
The sky was theirs. The open, endless sky. Sheilk looked over at Rannen. He had his face in his hands and was shaking.
"Er- hey, are you alright?" she asked.
Rannen didn't answer. He took a deep breath. "WE DID IT!" he shouted, swinging his arms wide. The crew cheered.
Sheilk chuckled. There really never was a need to be concerned for him.
"Pilot?" Rannen said.
"Yes, sir!"
"Prepare to leave Laenost."
"Of course. Do you have a destination?" Sheirk knew where he wanted to go. It had been a dream for each of them.
"I think," Rannen said, "that I'd like to say 'hi' to the Aeruthians. Set a course for the True Sky!"