The Journal of Dr. Aurelian Vale — The Black Flag in the Clouds

I awoke to the sting of salt upon my lips and the roar of engines above the waves.

At first, I thought it the echo of some fever dream — a mirage conjured by exhaustion and despair.

But when I opened my eyes, I saw it: a massive shadow gliding across the morning sun.

A zeppelin. Black as oil. Etched with the mark of the skull and the gear.

They called themselves The Airship Pirates.

My rescuers — or so I thought.

They dragged me aboard like driftwood, their boots heavy with rust and soot.

For a time, I believed Providence had intervened.

But hope, I have learned, often disguises itself as another form of terror.

Their captain — a towering man with glasses of brass and a voice of thunder — demanded to know my name, my trade, and what treasures I carried.

When they realized I was the same “Doctor Vale” spoken of in industrial legend — inventor, biologist, pacifist, fool — they laughed.

They took my instruments, my notes, even my watch… but spared my life.

“Brains are rarer than gold,” said the captain. “And twice as dangerous.”

Days passed. I was kept below deck, among the hum of engines and the rattle of chains.

They called me professor, sometimes mockingly, sometimes not.

And when the ship broke down amid a thunderstorm, it was my hands they turned to.

Metal speaks a language I understand — and so, by fixing their broken machine, I bought my freedom… or at least, a semblance of it.

Now I sit in the captain’s quarters, the smell of gunpowder and ozone heavy in the air.

He asks for my counsel — about flight, navigation, creatures of the sky.

Perhaps he sees in me not a prisoner, but a map to something greater.

Perhaps he intends to use me as a compass toward ruin.

Still, a part of me cannot help but admire them — the Pirates.

They are chaos unbound, the very opposite of the mechanical tyranny I fled.

Maybe that is why I am here.

Maybe the clockwork gods are not yet done with me.

Outside, the engines roar again.

The black flag rises.

And I — once a man of peace — now sail under it...

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No céu voam livres

Piratas do ar

Em zeppelins negros

Prontos pra lutar

Nuvens de fumaça

Escuridão no céu

Canhões e espadas

Tapa olho e chapéus

Piratas do ar

Sinta a dor

Roubam e destroem

Terror e vapor

Tempestades enfrentam

Nunca vão parar

Reis da altitude

Ninguém vai escapar

Olhos de águia

Navegam com precisão

Saem do horizonte

Sombras na escuridão

Piratas do ar

Sinta a dor

Roubam e destroem

Terror e Vapor!

Entre chamas e fumaça,

Eles dançam sobre o mar,

Sem bandeira, sem nação,

Vivem livres — a voar!

Piratas do ar — sem perdão!

Canhões rugindo - ouça a explosão!

Do alto vêm - destino fatal —

Terror metálico - céu infernal!

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PT-BR / ENG.

Piratas do Ar / Airship Pirates

No céu voam livres (In the sky, they fly free) Piratas do ar (Airship pirates sail the breeze) Em zeppelins negros (In black zeppelins) Prontos pra lutar (Ready to fight)

Nuvens de fumaça (Clouds of smoke) Escuridão no céu (Darkness in the sky) Canhões e espadas (Cannons and swords) Tapa-olho e chapéus (Eyepatch and hats)

Piratas do ar (Airship pirates) Sinta a dor (Feel the pain) Roubam e destroem (They steal and destroy) Terror e vapor (Terror and Steam!)

Tempestades enfrentam (They face the storms) Nunca vão parar (They will never stop) Reis da altitude (Kings of the altitude) Ninguém vai escapar (No one will escape)

Olhos de águia (Eagle eyes) Navegam com precisão (They navigate with precision) Saem do horizonte (Emerge from the horizon) Sombras na escuridão (Shadows in the dark)

Piratas do ar (Airship pirates) Sinta a dor (Feel the pain) Roubam e destroem (They steal and destroy) Terror e Vapor! (Terror and Steam!)

Entre chamas e fumaça, (Between flames and smoke,) Eles dançam sobre o mar, (They dance above the sea,) Sem bandeira, sem nação, (No flag, no nation,) Vivem livres — a voar! (They live free — flying high!)

Piratas do ar — sem perdão! (Airship pirates — no mercy shown!) Canhões rugindo - ouça a explosão! (Cannons roaring - hear the explosion!) Do alto vêm - destino fatal — (From above they come - fatal destiny —) Terror metálico - céu infernal! (Metallic terror - hellish sky!)

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