Phileas Fogg

393 AC - They say he runs like clockwork, but his craft doesn't exactly scream dependability – a wicker basket, buffeted by the winds, with an old bit of fabric keeping it suspended in the air? When the Axiom summon him, he appears in his methodical, almost mechanical, form. But as for us… When we call on him, it's the adventurer who answers. The one who doesn't care about borders, who goes beyond established limits. He smiles at me with an air of defiance while checking his pocket watch as impatiently as the White Rabbit. Well then, best not to keep those Leviathans waiting. Punctuality has its virtues too, especially when you're on your way to a battlefield. I return his look, responding to his tacit challenge.

I climb into the basket without a word, as the gentleman gives me a low bow to welcome me. As for Kaizaimon, he moves closer and clings to me. There's actually no need for all three of us to be so close. The burner suddenly hisses as Fogg heats the air above us, and the balloon leaves solid ground. The journey is 6 minutes and 24 seconds, he says, as if I care how long it takes. From up high, I see the rest of the fyrds gathering. We're bound to be the first to arrive. That is, unless some twist of fate gets the better of this walking metronome. I look up at the Mandjet, hanging there in the vast skies.

Phileas Fogg is an archetypal 19th century English gentleman and the protagonist of Jules Verne's novel "Around the World in Eighty Days". Accompanied by his valet, Jean Passepartout, and the young Indian woman Aouda, he tries to circumnavigate the world in 80 days to win a bet, on which he has staked his fortune. The adventure is a mix of travel writing and scientific facts arising from the new modes of transport that emerged during the Industrial Revolution.

BASIRA