In the Rusted Wastes, where the ghosts of a forgotten civilization whisper on the wind, humanity clings to survival through a network of ancient phonographs called etheric resonators. These hissing, steam-powered relics are lifelines, carrying fragmented messages across the desolate landscape. Liora Quayle, a young reel-reader haunted by a past she never lived, listens to these ghostly voices, translating their cryptic narratives etched onto fragile wax cylinders.
But one day, a voice unlike any other breaks through the static—a voice from the future. It speaks of a looming war, a conflict that will pit humanity against the Iron Choir, a fanatical cult worshipping the very machines that sustain them. Clad in scavenged metal, they believe flesh is weakness and seek ascension through mechanical integration. And the prophecy names Liora as the key, the harbinger of either salvation or ruin.
Now hunted by the Iron Choir, Liora must flee her isolated outpost. Her path converges with Elias Torv, a disillusioned Choir deserter seeking redemption for past atrocities, and Vox, a sentient reel machine with uncanny knowledge of the resonator network. Together, they form an unlikely alliance, bound by a shared destiny and the urgent need to decipher the prophecy before the Iron Choir bends the resonators to their destructive will.
Their journey across the ravaged landscape becomes a desperate race against time. They navigate crumbling cities, desolate plains, and encounter desperate survivors, all while pursued by the Choir's relentless automaton enforcers. Liora discovers the resonators are not merely communication tools, but instruments of temporal manipulation, capable of rewriting history—or unleashing catastrophic consequences. As the Iron Choir closes in, Liora faces an impossible choice: harness the resonators’ power and reshape the timeline, risking an even darker future, or accept the seemingly inevitable collapse of humanity's last fragile hope. The whispers of the past have become terrifying premonitions, and the fate of the Rusted Wastes rests on the spinning reels of a forgotten age.
