23

The city convulses, then separates into hundreds of independent ships, each with its own decks and cabs, revealing a modular caravan that can assemble into a temporary town. Many vessels peel away on orders Nomad can’t understand; some scatter seeds across the ground to exploit the world’s Invested sunlight and daily, rapid harvests.

Nomad’s ship joins a cluster that descends to muddy ground. Larger ships stack and lock into a multi-tiered ring, forming an arena. The glowing-eyed leader takes a balcony seat as railings rise and control cabs unfold, signaling a planned spectacle rather than an emergency.

Guards clamp golden bracers—like those worn by the ember people—onto Nomad’s forearms and throw him into foul, waterlogged mud. Officials in white coats herd about thirty ragged prisoners into the ring. Unarmed and stumbling, they face three armed ember enforcers as containerlike ships drop metal crates to create obstacles. The hunters charge to the crowd’s cheers.

Nomad scrambles onto a tall crate to appear the hardest target, but a silver-streaked ember woman with a machete pursues him specifically. Observing the leader’s interest and prior hostility, Nomad concludes this is a public execution meant to erase the prestige he gained by escaping the sun. He dives to a lower crate, feigns a desperate search in the mud, then manifests Aux as a crowbar to deflect the machete—choosing not to strike back as the confrontation begins.