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Sky Islands

Last updated Mar 13, 2024

# Overview

Generally, sky islands are large animal-shaped islands which float above the surface of the ground. They often feature self-sustaining ecosystems atop them, with a forest or grassland on the topside, and a rocky underside which changes shape due to Alucinara influence.

# Appearance

# Topside

The topside of sky islands can vary in appearance, but appear rocky like the underside and dusty without outside influence. However, over time or if the island comes from an organic area, nature and claim the topside of sky islands and forests or grasslands can grow on top.

# Underside

The underside of sky islands varies from the topside, commonly featuring only as a rocky surface. If a sky island is claimed by a sapient organism, the underside may be carved into and made to feature walkways or rooms carved into the rockface. However, when the surface is undisturbed, the alucinarium content causes the rock to warp or shift into shapes.

# Formation

Sky islands begin as subterranean alucinarium deposits near the ground surface. The alucinarium eventually may cause the surrounding area to detach from the crust and begin to float.

The alucinarium content in the rock causes the surface of sky islands to change shape, warping into features such as a face, a carving of a scene, or other small-scale features. In addition, larger-scale features can develop, such as the overall shape of the sky island to warp into the body plan of an animal.

Furthermore, sky islands show a tendancy to take the form animals according to the pseudo-fauna principle. As sky islands float, they may take the form of avian animals such as birds or bats, or may take the form of aquatic animals such as whales or fish.

# Feeding Habits

While sky islands aren’t alive, they need to be fed with Alucinara to stay afloat, and hunt alucinariferous animals or plants to refuel according to the pseudo-fauna principle.

A common hunting practice is that the sky islands may be drawn to areas of high-alucinarium content, such as communities of animals or crystalline mountains. They swoop from high altitude down, and catch any sources of Alucinara in their mouths which shift open as they descend.

If an animal is eaten, then the alucinarium present in their body will be absorbed into the rock as decomposition takes place. Once all that is left is bone, the bone will be naturally moved deeper into the rock itself as the stone shifts. This can cause high concentrations of calcium in the rock, and this can cause vast large stalagtites of calcium carbonate to form.

# Stalagtites

These stalagtites hang from the underside of the sky islands, reaching large sizes. Due to the pseudo-fauna principle, these stalagtites may even warp vaguely into a shape reminiscent of a minikin, an other animal, or trees.

# Spikefalls

Once the stalagtites reach a large enough size, they can fall from the sky islands in an event known as a Spikefall. Due to their large mass, wide, dusty, vast craters form once they reach the ground. While a lot of the stalagtite is vapourised on impact, the large scale of them can lead to the more stable inner rock staying intact.

The more stable rock tends to take a more clarified shape of what the stalagtites were before impact. Whereas a minikinoid stalagtite may have a smooth indistinct surface on the sky island itself, once fallen the exess is broken away and there is left colossal structures at the centre of each crater.

# Stalagtite Communities

If found, some craters are converted into communities, cities, or towns. The central structure is commonly the basis of a deity, and these fallen stalagtites are often worshipped by those who live around them.

In addition, some crater communities carve houses or structures into the fallen stalagtites, creating walkways through the stone and balconies at the side, while others create wooden or clay buildings around the main structure. Some communities do both, and create walkways and/or connections from the carved structures into the external ones.

# Notable Stalagtite Communities

# Notable Sky Islands

# Aderyn Major

Aderyn Major, the largest sky island to record, takes the shape of a bird and has been inhabited by the Nesi and Stonechild Imperial Minikin. Originating from Tseiréph, Aderyn Major has been found and colonised by many central continent peoples.

# Discovery by the Ǫzí Minikin

Once, Aderyn Major crash-landed, having ran out of Alucinara. A group of minikin known as the Ǫzí minikin found Aderyn Major’s remains and began to inspect it but, in a turn of tragic fate, one group of minikin entered the mouth of the sky island and tragically died to the ravenous ecosystem inside.

When the alucinarium inside of the victims’ bodies was released, the sky island took full advantage of this - immediately springing to animation, with the rest of the Ǫzí minikin on its back. It soon began to float upward, taking its place as the home of the Nesi Minikin, who broke off from the Ǫzí.

# Conquest by the Empire of the Petrified Child

Centuries later, by the time of the Stonechild Era, the empire had begun to take advantage of their new technology of Alucinara-powered flight. Using an airship of theirs, they attacked the island - burning and pillaging the town of Aderynville and taking control of Birton, claiming it as the capital of their Aderyn Major Province.

Following the conquest, two social classes formed, as is usual with stonechild colonialism - the Blue class and the Orange class. The blue class was named for the stonechild officers’ blue attire, and the orange class for the remaining Nesi minikin’s orange attire.

For centuries going forward, the Empire of the Petrified Child would control the island, policing entry and exit, taxing the inhabitants, converting them to Stonechildism, and mistreating them. However, once the empire fell, outside resources were scarce - the blues attempted to keep control, convincing themselves that the empire couldn’t truly be gone, but it was too late.

# Fall of the Empire

Eventually, the blues formed their own state, not letting themselves succumb to the mounting resistence that was ready to burst in the wake of the political instability of the time. This was what would be known as the True Sovereign State of Aderyn Major of the Petrified Child, often shortened to just ‘The Aderyn State.’

A queen was appointed of the highest-ranking officer of the island, beginning a matrilineal line of succession as each generation took the mantle of controlling the island.

As time went on, the unrest of the island calmed, as the blues became more and more comfortable with feeding dissenters to the belly of the island. However - stonechild influence on the island dimished over time, albeit slowly over centuries.

# Rise of the Nesi Minikin

Over time, the class divide grew to become a mere suggestion. As the culture of the island developed and evolved and diverged,