Floating Gardens of Azura
Azura
"Oh hey! You're finally in my domain! Took you long enough! So I am assuming you know the rules...reach the top of my treacherous and deadly floating maze and I will grant you any boon you desire. Fail, and...well, you saw all the skeletons on your way here? Might not want to fall!""Anyways, Good luck!"
The Floating Gardens of Azura is a collection of floating islands located in the Sands of Nessa, a large desert area in central Cassel. The islands number around 3 thousand. Most are as small as a large boulder but some are much larger. One is around 20 square kilometers in size. The islands slowly drift around the center of the desert throughout the year, but mainly stick close to the town of Lapis. The islands are usually quite visible from anywhere in the desert and are used as a way to tell where you are located.
The islands are able to float because at the core of each of them is a large Gravity Stone, which depending on the purity and aether charge, can lift quite a bit of weight. Each island generates a small gravity field and stay attracted to each other, never drifting too far apart.
Year Created:
Capital:
Controlled by:
Land Area:
Climate:
Population:
Capital:
Controlled by:
Land Area:
Climate:
Population:
Sometime during the Bronze Age
Lapis
Azura
22.7 km2
Desert
1 Fairy
Lapis
Azura
22.7 km2
Desert
1 Fairy
Azura's Domain
The sole resident of these islands, Azura is a fairy with incredible power. She is hard to anger but she always gets her way in the end. Unlike some fairies like Xana, Azura prefers to have a human form almost all the time and very few people actually know she's a fairy unless they attempt the climb to the top of her floating gardens. Azura reveals herself to people and helps them seemingly at random, for reasons only she knows. Make no mistake, like all fairies she can be just as sadistic as any of them can.
Azura regularly intermingles with the humans and elves of Lapis, a town that can also be considered part of her domain. She is actually the owner of a tavern there, the Jewel of the Desert. It is somewhat of a resort in the middle of nowhere, a place of relaxation and entertainment for weary travelers before they continue their trek across the desert. Dancers from across Cassel and other parts of Vreathe are hired to perform here. The most popular dancers Azura hires are from the kingdom of Arreken and she often takes part in their performances.
"Before you continue your journey, I could...help you relax?"
"Uhm...No thanks, I'm good..."
"Are you sure? After nearly burning that poor girl to death, I figured you came here for something?"
"How did...there's no way you could know that!"
The Garden Maze
People at the Jewel of the Desert tavern always hear rumors of a great fairy that lives at the top of the floating islands here, that will grant any wish. They just need to climb to the top of a maze of floating islands moving between each other in an impossibly twisted path. The Garden maze starts at ground level. There is a large white granite boulder that sticks around 150 meters out of the yellow desert sands.
After reaching the top of this boulder, Azura often reveals herself, asking the challenger if they are Really sure they want to attempt the climb. Nearly everyone who does attempt it gets stuck on the islands or ends up falling to their deaths. For those that get stuck, Azura is usually merciful enough to teleport them to the start of the climb.
If the challenger agrees, then a small floating boulder will float downwards and hover a few meters in front of them. It's a jump many people can make, but it's still an uncomfortably long distance away. Once the Challenger makes the jump and lands on the floating boulder, they will float upwards to the maze.
Dangers of the Maze
Unpredictable Paths
The greatest danger of the floating maze are the unpredictable movements of the floating islands themselves. Challengers have to make a number of precise jumps to get their way up through the maze and have to time the movements of various boulders and islands. If the challenger is athletic, they can make the jump pretty easily, if they aren't...well, they're kind of stuck.
If people explore the islands they are on, they'll find a series of chests in hard to reach locations. Inside these chests are little gems of various types. These gems can also be randomly found by defeating monsters. Attached to them is normally a scroll explaining that they are little "Bonus Gems" to make the challenge more interesting. The scroll also explains what they do, and that the challenger can't have anymore than three of them at a time.
"Dammit. Is this some sort of game to her..."
List of Bonus Gems
Jump Stone - Doubles your jump height. Might want to practice with this one first!
Heal Stone - Heals all your injuries once. Stone is consumed afterwards.
Float Stone - Allows you to float for 10 seconds. Gem turns black when out of energy.
Flare Stone - Hold in your hand to create a bright light in dark caves.
Armor Stone - Enemies of the Floating Gardens hit you with 25% less force.
Blade Stone - Your weapons are much more powerful and hit with 25% more force.
Bomb Stone - Throw to create a large explosion. Careful to not knock yourself off the island!
Fire Stone - Doubles the power of fire elemental magic, but ONLY Fire elemental magic.
Mistake Stone - If you fall to your doom or are close to death, this stone teleports you to a safe spot and fully heals you. The stone is destroyed after.
Elemental Stone - Double elemental power for everything EXCEPT Fire magic.
Monsters
Azura stocks her maze with monsters from various lands from across Cassel, and the rest of Vreathe. Their only goal is to knock the challengers off the maze. Azura goes out of her way to take care of the monsters and encourage them to be as mean to the challengers as possible. Azura organizes her monsters into tiers or levels, meaning a challenger will only encounter weaker monsters at the lower levels of the maze, and stronger monsters at higher levels.
Tier 1 Monsters
Burst Kittens
They look cute, cuddly and adorable, but burst Kittens are a type of cat infected with the corruption of Xestendi, a dragon lord with absolute control over gravity. If you try to pick one up or pet them, they are likely to activate their explosive power of gravitational repulsion and shove you off the island.
Eagles
Azura employs the use of various eagles in her maze, sourced straight from The Sun Valley. Eagles play with the challengers, diving progressively closer, making the person more and more wary until they slip and fall over the edge themselves.
Rams
Rams of various types can be found on the floating gardens, usually ones with dragon corruption, so they have additional abilities, besides their need to try to shove you off the islands with their massive horns. They also have fire, lightning, and ice powers!
Goblins
"...Goblins are a type of devolved humans...I see them in the cities all the time. They live only 20 years and aren't any more intelligent than a 10 year old.
"Azura, I'm not killing kids..."
"Azura, I'm not killing kids..."
Tier 2 Monsters
Magma Wolves
Sourced from The Moon Izi. These creatures generate a lot of heat and are quite unbearable to be around. Not that anyone would want to get close, as these wolves will likely attempt to rip a person's throat out, then feast on their slowly barbequing remains. It's virtually impossible to defeat one with fire magic, but they are quite weak to ice and water magic.
"They've never seen my fire magic before!"
Trolls
Trolls are afraid of heights, so they stick to the inner areas of the larger islands. They also like carrying around really big sticks, and will use them to bat someone away, usually over the edge or into a wall. Killing a troll is a difficult task, but it is very necessary to defeat one in order to continue.
Phoenix
Unbelievably powerful firebirds. Phoenixes are infected with the corruption of Xiralgus and have the power to heal people from the brink of death, or burn them up in fire.
"Okay, something strange is going on here....Most of these creatures are strong against my fire magic. It's almost as if these creatures were tailored to fight against me, trying to make me fail..."
Tier 3 Monster
"A CRYSTAL GUARDIAN!?!? OH Fuc--"
When Azura chooses what monsters to fill her maze with, she picks the ones that will give the challenger the toughest challenge. So for a challenger who is particularly strong with fire magic, Azure will use creatures born of the flames. She will also choose monsters that might have given the challenger trauma in the past....
"In the case of a certain challenger that's been venturing through my maze up to this point, she journeyed into The Olimian wastes in the past, with the goal of gathering a dragon egg. Then she ran into these crystal guardians, beings that are completely resistant to magic, forcing her to run away. They are the only things she has never been able to defeat, other than herself.
Heh...I think I outdid myself this time!"
Azura does of course have a purpose behind these absurd challenges. She is testing the challenger's physical ability of course. The primary goal is still to get to the top, but she also tests the challenger's strength of mind, their strength of character, and their resolve.
Crystal guardians are easy to defeat if the person knows to not cast any magic when fighting them. The guardians are made of enchanted quartz crystal and will shatter with a decently powerful blow. But use any magic, and they immediately harden to impossible levels, and then punish the person attempting to use magic.
Azura's Sanctuary
At the very top of the floating gardens, at the end of the maze, is Azura's sanctuary. It is a large floating island, around 5 km2 in size. It is located at an elevation so high it should be difficult to breathe, but people find there is no issue here, as if they were at ground level in the Sands of Nessa. The island has several large lakes and a forest. There are also ruins of a very ancient city here, possibly from the Silver Age. Azura doesn't like to talk about those ruins.
If the challenger is able to make it past the maze and defeat the dangers, they will make it to this sanctuary. Azura waits there to congratulate the challenger, and to grant them a wish. Very few challengers have ever made it to the top. Most perish in the journey or give up and find a way back down. In the last hundred years, the only ones who have made it to the top are King Eldon Vernador XXI of South Cassel, King Brenon Vernador of North Cassel. Most recently Renelle Vernador made it to the top.
"Congratulations Ren! You fought against my challenges and beat them all! You are the first person in years to accomplish this feat! Now comes the part where I grant you a wish! Tell me, what do you desire? Whatever it is, I'll make it yours!"
"You've already given me what I needed. I've been in a bottle, wandering the country for years now. And...I keep being told that wandering is what we Vernadors do best, but there is one other thing we're good at, and I've been ignoring it for far too long."
"Good Answer! But really, I will give you whatever you want!"
"Okay...uhm...Can I keep these bonus gems I found? Just make them work outside your floating gardens?"
"A CRYSTAL GUARDIAN!?!? OH Fuc--"
When Azura chooses what monsters to fill her maze with, she picks the ones that will give the challenger the toughest challenge. So for a challenger who is particularly strong with fire magic, Azure will use creatures born of the flames. She will also choose monsters that might have given the challenger trauma in the past....
"In the case of a certain challenger that's been venturing through my maze up to this point, she journeyed into The Olimian wastes in the past, with the goal of gathering a dragon egg. Then she ran into these crystal guardians, beings that are completely resistant to magic, forcing her to run away. They are the only things she has never been able to defeat, other than herself.
Heh...I think I outdid myself this time!"
Heh...I think I outdid myself this time!"
Azura does of course have a purpose behind these absurd challenges. She is testing the challenger's physical ability of course. The primary goal is still to get to the top, but she also tests the challenger's strength of mind, their strength of character, and their resolve.
Crystal guardians are easy to defeat if the person knows to not cast any magic when fighting them. The guardians are made of enchanted quartz crystal and will shatter with a decently powerful blow. But use any magic, and they immediately harden to impossible levels, and then punish the person attempting to use magic.
At the very top of the floating gardens, at the end of the maze, is Azura's sanctuary. It is a large floating island, around 5 km2 in size. It is located at an elevation so high it should be difficult to breathe, but people find there is no issue here, as if they were at ground level in the Sands of Nessa. The island has several large lakes and a forest. There are also ruins of a very ancient city here, possibly from the Silver Age. Azura doesn't like to talk about those ruins.
If the challenger is able to make it past the maze and defeat the dangers, they will make it to this sanctuary. Azura waits there to congratulate the challenger, and to grant them a wish. Very few challengers have ever made it to the top. Most perish in the journey or give up and find a way back down. In the last hundred years, the only ones who have made it to the top are King Eldon Vernador XXI of South Cassel, King Brenon Vernador of North Cassel. Most recently Renelle Vernador made it to the top.
"Congratulations Ren! You fought against my challenges and beat them all! You are the first person in years to accomplish this feat! Now comes the part where I grant you a wish! Tell me, what do you desire? Whatever it is, I'll make it yours!"
"You've already given me what I needed. I've been in a bottle, wandering the country for years now. And...I keep being told that wandering is what we Vernadors do best, but there is one other thing we're good at, and I've been ignoring it for far too long."
"Good Answer! But really, I will give you whatever you want!"
"Okay...uhm...Can I keep these bonus gems I found? Just make them work outside your floating gardens?"
I love the formatting of your articles! Also Burst Kittens blasting a cat lover off a floating island sound like a hilarious trap for a player.
The worst writer in at lest two realities.
Thanks!