Emboldened by his success thus far, he headed straight for the storm. Neither Jazen nor Blue questioned him. Jack reached the squall, and within minutes the sun was gone. Despite the hour, the sky turned black as night. Between the heavy rains and even heavier fog, Jack couldn’t see anything. Still, he followed his heart. It had taken him this far. He just hoped it wouldn’t take him to the bottom of the sea.
The fog was thick like smoke from a fire. After sailing completely blind for a few minutes, Jack spun the wheel to his left on instinct alone and just barely dodged a series ofhuge rocks jutting out from the ocean floor, large enough to scuttle the ship in an instant. Before he could even appreciate how close he had just come to death, something told him to jerk the wheel in the opposite direction, and he did. He followed that impulse, just missing a shipwrecked boat that was dashed upon more jagged rocks. There was danger all around as Jack weaved through countless near-misses in the fog, fighting the storm with nothing more than gut feelings and intuition.
If Jazen and Blue were scared, they weren’t showing it. Their faces betrayed neither fear nor encouragement. This was all on Jack, and he steeled himself for what lay ahead. Throwing common sense out the window, he refused to change course. He was close. He could feel it. The storm raged against the Vision as lightning crashed and waves rained down upon the deck. Hurricane winds rocked the boat as Jack sailed on blindly through the mist. Forward!. he thought. To the heart of the storm! To the edge of the impossible! To the shores of the Imagine Nation!
To clear skies?
Without warning, Jack cleared the mist, leaving the storm completely behind. The water turned dead calm.With the setting sun nearly gone from the sky, the Imagine Nation came into view.
It was an astonishing, impossible sight.
The island floated in midair over the center of a ring of waterfalls, a thousand feet in diameter, opening up like a giant hole in the ocean. The falls ran to the bottom of the sea, and the roar of the rushing water was tremendous. Cities, towns, and villages were scattered across the island’s lush green face. Countless airships bustled about in the skies overhead as well as on the rocky bottom below. A giant, translucent mountain with a razor-sharp peak and a wide base hovered behind the island like a crystal shard dangling in the sky.
As the last rays of the setting sun shone through, the crystal mountain became a prism that bent the sun’s light in every direction, casting an image more beautiful than any rainbow Jack had ever seen. The massive, unstoppable waterfalls that surrounded the island roared with all the sound and fury of the seven seas. They called out to Jack, telling him that from this day forward, his life would be an extraordinary adventure.
Jack had found his way. He belonged. It was everyorphan’s dream. All the answers to his questions, everything he ever hoped for, was waiting on the island. Twelve years after he was born, his life was finally beginning. He didn’t have the words to express what he was feeling. Jazen had only two, but they were the right ones:
“Welcome home,” he said.
CHAPTER
4
Empire City
Once Jack had had a moment or two to fully appreciate the mind-boggling view that was the Imagine Nation, it sunk in very quickly that he was headed straight for the world’s biggest waterfalls. Unless someone plotted a new course in the next few minutes, it wouldn’t be the only thing to sink very quickly.
“Permission to take the helm, Captain?” Blue asked.
“Permission granted!” Jack said, immensely relieved.
Blue stepped into Jack’s place at the wheel of theship, and Jazen reached out his hand. “Fine work, Jack!” Jazen said, giving Jack a vigorous handshake. “That was impressive. Very impressive!”
“You mean it?” Jack asked.
“Are you kidding? You went straight through the heart of a white squall! Are
The fog was thick like smoke from a fire. After sailing completely blind for a few minutes, Jack spun the wheel to his left on instinct alone and just barely dodged a series ofhuge rocks jutting out from the ocean floor, large enough to scuttle the ship in an instant. Before he could even appreciate how close he had just come to death, something told him to jerk the wheel in the opposite direction, and he did. He followed that impulse, just missing a shipwrecked boat that was dashed upon more jagged rocks. There was danger all around as Jack weaved through countless near-misses in the fog, fighting the storm with nothing more than gut feelings and intuition.
If Jazen and Blue were scared, they weren’t showing it. Their faces betrayed neither fear nor encouragement. This was all on Jack, and he steeled himself for what lay ahead. Throwing common sense out the window, he refused to change course. He was close. He could feel it. The storm raged against the Vision as lightning crashed and waves rained down upon the deck. Hurricane winds rocked the boat as Jack sailed on blindly through the mist. Forward!. he thought. To the heart of the storm! To the edge of the impossible! To the shores of the Imagine Nation!
To clear skies?
Without warning, Jack cleared the mist, leaving the storm completely behind. The water turned dead calm.With the setting sun nearly gone from the sky, the Imagine Nation came into view.
It was an astonishing, impossible sight.
The island floated in midair over the center of a ring of waterfalls, a thousand feet in diameter, opening up like a giant hole in the ocean. The falls ran to the bottom of the sea, and the roar of the rushing water was tremendous. Cities, towns, and villages were scattered across the island’s lush green face. Countless airships bustled about in the skies overhead as well as on the rocky bottom below. A giant, translucent mountain with a razor-sharp peak and a wide base hovered behind the island like a crystal shard dangling in the sky.
As the last rays of the setting sun shone through, the crystal mountain became a prism that bent the sun’s light in every direction, casting an image more beautiful than any rainbow Jack had ever seen. The massive, unstoppable waterfalls that surrounded the island roared with all the sound and fury of the seven seas. They called out to Jack, telling him that from this day forward, his life would be an extraordinary adventure.
Jack had found his way. He belonged. It was everyorphan’s dream. All the answers to his questions, everything he ever hoped for, was waiting on the island. Twelve years after he was born, his life was finally beginning. He didn’t have the words to express what he was feeling. Jazen had only two, but they were the right ones:
“Welcome home,” he said.
CHAPTER
4
Empire City
Once Jack had had a moment or two to fully appreciate the mind-boggling view that was the Imagine Nation, it sunk in very quickly that he was headed straight for the world’s biggest waterfalls. Unless someone plotted a new course in the next few minutes, it wouldn’t be the only thing to sink very quickly.
“Permission to take the helm, Captain?” Blue asked.
“Permission granted!” Jack said, immensely relieved.
Blue stepped into Jack’s place at the wheel of theship, and Jazen reached out his hand. “Fine work, Jack!” Jazen said, giving Jack a vigorous handshake. “That was impressive. Very impressive!”
“You mean it?” Jack asked.
“Are you kidding? You went straight through the heart of a white squall! Are
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