Lilac Hibiscus - Shadows Over the Floating City

Elowen Rabadeen, once a skilled Elven archer turned sharpshooting gunslinger, now works as a detective in a world where magic and machinery intertwine. Her latest case drags her to Sundrift—a mysterious floating city concealed in the desert sands, revealed only at sunrise when the sandy mist parts like a curtain. The city’s mechanical streets hum with secrets, its brass and steam hiding corruption as deep as the desert below.
When a prominent Wolven diplomat vanishes amid whispers of kidnapping, Elowen is pulled into a web of intrigue stretching across time itself. The only clue left behind is a single Lilac Hibiscus flower—an ancient symbol tied to forgotten magic and time’s fragile threads.
Navigating Sundrift’s labyrinthine alleys and skybridges, Elowen allies with a motley crew: a human clockwork engineer with a haunted past, a Wolven informant who knows the city’s underbelly, and a mysterious Sylphshade Jasmerry bartender whose knowledge of time travel myths runs deep. Together, they unravel conspiracies that span centuries, where powerful factions manipulate time to bury systemic corruption.
As Elowen delves deeper, she confronts betrayal from unexpected quarters and unearths a love that could either anchor her or shatter her resolve. Time itself becomes an adversary, twisting reality and forcing her to question her own memories and loyalties.
Will Elowen’s faith and fierce willpower withstand the storm? Or will the shadows of Sundrift consume her, changing her forever?

The Gilded Dunes: This desert is massive, almost enough to span half of two countries, housing many forgotten places, and ruins of civilization. Perhaps a few oases here and there but this desert is an area of intrigue, filled with history, a history that time may have forgotten.
Brasswind Barrens: a barren desert dotted with technological structures made of brass, gold, and copper materials that jut out from the ground. This place could have been a battlefield, as some of the technology could represent fallen machines, or perhaps a city whose remains have been taken by sand and time.
The Sundrift Cavern Complex: the Sundered Cavern is a colossal underground cavern beneath the Gilded Expanse, vast enough to house the entire city of Sundrift, with its multiple walkways and stations. The cavern's natural rock formations are interspersed with ancient glowing crystals that provide eerie illuminations.
The Glasswalk Promenade: that a translucent crystal walkway suspended over a deep chasm within the cavern, connecting the heart to the artisan's quarter
The Ember Station: a district known for its forges and smithies, where molten metal glows like embers in the dim light
The Heart of Sundrift: the central city hub, bustling with markets, homes, and the main square where the community gathers

The Embercloack Syndicate and The Twilight Vanguard: hidden within this rebel group faction is a secret society unknown even to some of its individuals. What once was the rebel group that sought to overthrow oppression and led with no secrets is now keeping secrets from each other.