Challenges of living on a floating island

How do you get there? How do you control it? What about food and water?

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It might sound like a dream to have a house upon a floating island, but what about water? There's no secret spring of infinite water in the middle, and if it rises above the cloudline there's not going to be any rain!

— Overheard discussion

Overview

The challenges of living on a floating island have stayed in the minds of engineeres since they were daydreaming children looking up into the perfect blue sky on a lazy summer day.
The Academy of Arcane Sciences were the first successfully coordinated attempt in Zendu to build a structure on an island as it rose from the ground. They started construction early and brought all the materials they would need onto the island and supported it with anchor chains to hold it in place.
Magic was used throughout construction to control building environments and speed up construction, and the campus even has rotating towers that act like sky-rudders to help direct the flow of wind.
Now that Academy Island is unchained and roaming, groups of mages use wind magic through huge propellers to bring the island into motion. They use heat magic on the albar core of the island to raise the altitude, and cold magic to lower it. Small adjustments are made throughout the day to account for the midday heat and night time chill.
They have planted alpine shrubs and small trees that help to collect moisture from the air, and they often keep the island below the cloudline to collect rainwater.

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