An Idea

The discovery of the seven light elements made it possible for the building of flying ships ranging from small one man crafts to one carrying a thousand men. These ships looked similar to the ships of old to some degree. They were made of smooth, polished wood, with hulls and decks, but did not have the sails and masts to catch the wind. Instead steam power was used to spin large propellers behind the ships to push them forward. For the small one man crafts, a small steam engine was used and the pilot could fuel the small boiler with coal while lying prone on the narrow deck, behind a small glass windshield.

The seven light elements were sealed in two black boxes with in the hull of the crafts. The larger the ship, the larger the boxes. These light elements made the ships lighter then air to make the ships lift into the air, or a bit heavier to have them gently sink to the ground. Now man could fly over the rugged and at times untamed and violent world. The lands were savage at times, ranging from dense jungles to deserts, fertal grasslands to swamps. It was said that a long time ago it was different, but much had changed and much knowledge had been lost during and after what was known as the great upheval.

It was now 1000 AU (After Upheval) and man kind was just getting back on its feet. The Land of Eurdora had several city states that were constantly at war with one or another city state. Mostly over land and water. Each city state had large tracks of land. Some were situated on grassy plains, others in jungles, while others were in the mountains of the east and west. Not much had been explored beyond the coastal waters of the large continent. For giant beasts lay beneath the waters that could easily sink ships and devour their crews. What lay beyond had been mystery and now they had the means to explore further with out being eaten.

In the middle of the continent was a vast desert that held the ruins of ancient cities. Most were half buried by the shifting sand and were home at times to wandering clans of strange creatures. They stood seven feet tall, had a deep green hairless skin. Their ears were pointed and they had two large tusks or teeth that jutted up from their lower row of teeth. They were fierce warriors, cruel and some said knew no love. Like the humans they wore light leather armor and armed themselves with swords, spears, bows and arrows. But they did not use science to build things as the humans did. Anything they had they had stolen from the humans in raids on villages and small towns on the fringes of the desert or by attacking caravans that crossed the desert to trade with other city states. They did not have steam powered machines nor the new air ships. They rode large lizard like creatures that were never completely tame. The savageness of their masters kept them in line most of the time. These creatures were known as Lazors and their masters were called the Taurs.

Jareth had taken a one man flyer from his city of Korth and had been flying across the desert to the city of Amarom, which was in good standing with his city. He was flying high over one of the ruined cities when his little craft suddenly developed problems. It happened now and then, the black boxes containing the seven Light Elements would crack open letting the elements out and therefore causing the craft to lose it's lightness. The technology was new. Had only been inplace for a couple of years. Those that created the boxes were working on the problem but for Jareth it was not good timing. He was in the middle of the desert a long way from anyone friendly. The little one many flyer decended rappidly and it took all of his skill to manuver it so he did not crash head long into a wall. The flyer came down hard on one of the sand filled streets and slid side ways and ended up coming to a stop just shy of a building.

Jareth cursed under his breath as he unstrapped himself from the deck and stood up. Opening a compartment in the deck he withdrew a pack that contained food and water. Emergency supplies. He looked around and decided to find a tall building to take a look around and see what he could see. Most of the buildings of the ruins were still intact except for windows that now had long been broken. The wind whistled through the open windows. The city from what Jareth could see must have been a marvelous one. It had tall cylindrical buildings that once had bridges high above the ground for people to walk on to go from one building to another. The bright colors of the paint had faded and been sand blasted by the desert sand, but here and there murals still existed to attest to the artistic nature of the people that had lived there. Once on top of one of the buildings Jareth saw something he did not want to see. A long caravan of Taurs was heading for the ruined city. He watched as they neared and then entered the city. But something else caught his eye. Being towed along was a two man flyer that looked as if it was undamaged, and being pulled along behind one of the great lizard animals was a beautiful woman with long black hair, dressed scantily as most humans were due to the warm climate.