Tightline

The Tightline, sometimes grimly referred to as the Deadline, was the precarious aerial battlefield of The Boil War, where Flotforts—massive, gree-powered floating fortresses—and Dirigibles formed a tenuous, interconnected network above The Boil's volatile waters. This shifting frontline consisted of chains, cables, and rope tethering Flotforts into semi-stable positions, creating a place of constant tension—physically, from the taut cables straining under weight and enemy fire, and emotionally, from the unrelenting threat of attack or environmental disaster. Battles focused on isolating and dismantling sections of the Tightline, severing tethers to send enemy Flotforts drifting into danger or crashing into The Boil below. Dirigibles hovered overhead, acting as artillery platforms or troop transports, while soldiers engaged in brutal close-quarters combat during desperate boarding actions.

The soldiers’ nickname, “Deadline,” captured the grim reality of serving on the Tightline, where survival often felt like a cruel gamble against overwhelming odds. Today, the wreckage of the Tightline drifts as haunting reminders of the Boil War, a spectral chain of ruined Flotforts and debris stretching across The Boil’s fiery expanse.