Pitch:

Airship captain Royce Darrow is suicidal following his wife’s death. Unwilling to give up on their captain, his crew kidnaps him for one last job: find missing adventurer Kit Harding, the man Royce walked out on years ago. The search takes them to the mythical Amethyst City, humanity’s lost birthplace. Trapped by an obsessed cult, Royce must find Kit and unlock the city’s secrets before his crew is sacrificed to a hungry god. UP meets FINAL FANTASY.

Excerpt:

The fishing line twitched in his hand. Royce stirred, shading his eyes as he stared over the calm water. The wind died hours ago, and the sea flickered under the sun’s glare. Nothing but horizon ahead; the rowboat could have been in the middle of the ocean, rather than a mile or so from shore.

Could have been the end of the world for all Royce cared. It wouldn’t matter much longer.

He closed his eyes as the line convulsed again. Something had the bait, something cautious and intelligent. He didn’t want to believe that twitch, didn’t want to get excited only to end up disappointed again. Since yesterday, he’d caught nothing but yellow capri fish.

This didn’t feel like a capri, though.

In his mind, he saw the dark green body, the long, undulating dorsal fin, the needle-like jaws of his quarry. He’d caught them before, of course. Many over the years. But never like this: no rod, just a hook on the end of a line. They said you had to be mad to try to catch the mighty sea-stallion on a hand line, and Royce wasn’t going to disagree.

With a practiced motion, he set the hook as the fish nibbled the bait again. The line lurched, almost dragging him overboard. That would never do. He wanted a fight first.