Steam and Whiskers



In the heart of the sprawling steampunk city of Gearford, Lyra Cogspark was known as the best inventor this side of the Iron Spires — and the most unpredictable. With her emerald eyes gleaming like polished glass and her catlike ears twitching at every sound of hissing steam, she was always knee-deep in her next creation.
Today, her workshop buzzed with energy as gears spun, pistons thumped, and the scent of hot oil filled the air. A half-finished contraption — something between a pocket watch and a miniature reactor — sat before her. Lyra adjusted her goggles, the copper rims reflecting the golden glow of the workshop’s lamps.
She wasn’t just building a device. She was building a future — one where magic and machinery merged. Her tail swished as she tightened the final bolt, and the machine pulsed with a heartbeat of light.
“Finally,” she whispered, a grin spreading across her face. “The Chrono Engine… it works.”
But outside, the city’s gears were turning too — and soon, every inventor, thief, and noble in Gearford would be hunting for the woman who’d just invented time itself.