Prak
Summary
Across Veltrona, numerous 'sky islands' exist, floating far above the ground in their own perpetual, and often mysterious, ways. Moved by the ever churning winds, these islands float lazily along, inspiring awe, fear, reverence, and everything in between. They're often seen as the homes of the goddesses or other divine beings, somewhat polarizing many cultures around that very common perception. The islands themselves, for the most part, are inhabited by aerial species like flap-flaps, harpies, and wyverns. Theirs is a strange and exotic ecosystem, adapted to living in a predominantly windy environment. Others have come to live up there, temporarily or otherwise, having found ways of flight or means of travel to reach the islands.Geography
Prak's islands come in varying shapes and sizes, some completely desolate, others their own entire ecosystems with trees, lakes, small rivers, and more. The cores of these islands are often concentrated super clusters of crysium, giving them far higher mana density than normal. Some scholars believe these clusters are how the islands fly, but not only are the crysium deposits different types of mana, there is no active 'magic' that suspends them either. Others suffice for divine intervention, or interference from higher powers, but no satisfying conclusion exists in popular consensus.
It can be said larger islands exert influence over the smaller ones around them. Like a dragnet in water, they pull the small ones along for the ride in their airborne lifestyle. If these small ones move too far away, they rapidly fall out of the sky and plummet into Veltrona below. A logical mind assumes that eventually all small islands would be removed over time, but somehow 'new ones' are added in periodically. Massive eruptions from Veltrona, falling star debris from space, and more is entirely capable of creating new islands up in the skies.
The last major event most geologists can point toward is the destruction of the World Gate, as its explosion practically tripled Prak's size over night.
Fauna & Flora
All kinds of exotic life calls Prak home, and some of them are so specific they can only be found on certain islands or their clusters. In a way, they're extremely diverse in how many there are, but all of them come to meet very common requirements. While insects are plentiful of all kinds, more complex life tends toward being herbivores, insectivores, or manavores. Actual carnivores are more rare, as most have been displaced/exterminated by harpies and wyverns since long ago. Those that show up, or have survived, tend to be in isolated pockets on the largest of the floating islands.
Given they often intersect with storms (dipping below, in the middle, or skimming above), all life on Prak is used to dealing with them. They, ironically, have a much easier time, as the brunt of the storms is usually not a direct problem. Fauna like storm grass boom frequently, vitalizing the islands and their ecosystems on semi-regular cycles.
Natural Resources
Generally, Prak is heavily constrained in some of its fundamental resources, but has far more exotic ones than usual. Due to their unique position, everything on Prak is much more saturated with mana than normal. Manarium and crysium at large form regularly, helping to fuel complex life and the tribal societies that live there. However, stone and dirt are premium resources because they are extremely finite.
Unless mages go around creating more, they are slowly consumed (either from erosion, manarium formation, or plant life). Renewables, like wood, are a mainstay any of the tribes on Prak struggle to move away from. The most affluent ones actually use stone architecture, carving out their home island (and possibly dismantling surrounding ones as well).
Without shipping materials up from Veltrona, there is a very real, extremely finite limit to any kind of development or exploitation on Prak. Its unique position in the sky, however, does make it an interesting refuge for dragonkind. Some have their ancestral homes on larger islands, creating enormous flying fortresses few have the means or ability to attack. Similarly, mages or cultivators with strong flying magics have carved out their own homes as well. However, as airships develop more and more, those once out of reach of Prak are heading there more and more.
Quite a few were alarmed by Velandra, Sovereign of the Heavens suddenly appearing with her own Heavenly Palace. While her palace might be considered apart of Prak on a technicality, her ability to control and move it above Nerzin means eventually she would 'leave' a nearby cluster. Thus, the islands of Prak tend to fly by her palace than her palace flies along with them. It makes for some interesting and bizarre exchanges, as some tribes come across the Heavenly Palace for the first time.
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