Chapter 1

The year is 1908. Sergei Prokudin-Gorsky, a gentleman scientist (and a pioneer of photography) receives a dangerous mission from the Russian Imperial government. He is tasked with finding a powerful artefact, Clepsydra of the White Castle. The quest takes him deep into the deserts of Central Asia, agents of the Japanese Emperor Mutsuhito following close behind. Prokudin-Gorsky finds the relic. There’s a problem, though: he needs to be home by Saturday. And that is a little hard to manage when you’re offered immortality in exchange for eternal imprisonment in a mystical fortress.