Member-only story
The Last Clockmaker
Time is but the road
Jasper Tully was a clockmaker in a town where time had become irrelevant. The city of Durwich lay in ruins, choked by war, its skies dark with the soot of burning buildings. Clocks stood frozen in shop windows, their hands stilled by the weight of the past. The war — no one could recall when it began, only that it had always been.
Jasper had long since given up repairing clocks for the townsfolk. They had no use for time anymore, only survival. But one night, beneath his cluttered workbench, he found something peculiar: an old brass pocket watch, its face cracked, yet the gears inside still hummed with a strange, unearthly rhythm.
Curious, he pried open the casing, revealing an inscription:
“Time is but the road, not the traveler.”
Before he could think, the watch’s hands began to spin wildly, a sudden, brilliant light engulfing him. The air warped, the walls of his shop trembled, and Jasper felt himself yanked through time.
When he opened his eyes, he was no longer in Durwich.
The Future: A World of Light
Jasper stood amidst shimmering towers of silver and glass, their surfaces reflecting the sky, now clear and blue. Strange carriages soared through the air, untethered by wheels…
