The High

Open skies far above the islands.

Azar lay on the ground staring up into the unusually clear skies above while his horse nibbled on the grass. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had been very busy for many hours raising the village tents in their new location.   He took a second breath before opening his eyes again and staring into the great blue. Then he saw it, something clear, wispy, and ethereal drifting far above him. He blinked and rubbed his eyes. There was nothing there.   "Did you see that?" Azar animatedly asked the horse who only briefly looked up from the grass to see him. "Just some dirt in my eyes and an overactive imagination, that was it."

The Empty Above

The High is the space above the sky where the islands float. There is nothing there save the thin wispy clouds that find their way up that far. An endless expanse of azure. It extends upward as far as the eye can see - and in the empty High that is basically forever - and the endless light that bathes the sky is from even above that.   All the peoples of the skies can see the High - as long as it isn't cloudy - whenever they look up. Some cultures have always been intrigued by it, seeing it as a symbol of infinite freedom and spirit. Others have shown no interest, focusing on the areas with islands - and therefore plants, animals, and people.   In 47EX a skyship set off with the purpose of exploring the High. They searched for many cycles but had to turn around when they had consumed half of their food and water, returning home with only a few sketches of the strange things that float up there. Little is written of this event, it generated little more public interest than a side story in the 214th issue of the Happenings of Darapur for that year.

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Old Article

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Creatures of the High

Even in places where no one thinks life could persist it finds a way. The creatures that inhabit the High are thin and wispy - even moreso than the creatures of the Void - as light as the air their in. They gain sustenance from the light and the occasional cloud.   Life is slow and quiet up in the azure - a stark contrast to that in the Floor. The lack of nutrients means that all the lifeforms can do is drift in the wind and wait passively for the nutrients to come to them.   For a place where life crawls forward it has incredible diversity. No two of the creatures here are the same. Some are bulbous, others disc-like, and some nothing but a tube. The most stunning have smooth silken tops and many long tails that trail down in search cloud water. Some catch the wind and ride it at incredible speeds while others are barely held aloft.   Little is known about the unusual creatures of the High but they certainly aren't enough to fill a stomach.


This article has no secrets.

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