Gahkthun of the Golden Lightning

Steam engines reshaped the nineteenth century and left the skies grey and the oceans black by 1908. In the harbour city of Marseille, a colossal artificial island serves as both fortress and academy, home to thousands of young students under the thumb of a tyrannical Governing Council. The man who arrives in spring and announces his intention to overthrow that Council introduces himself simply: Nikola Tesla, seventy-two years old, transfer student. His promise to save every last one of those cursed young people with his own hands sets the Bell of Gahkthun ringing from the heights of Château d'If—a peal heralding that the hour of deliverance is at hand.