With your heart in your mouth, you race forward and shove the captain out of the way in the nick of time. You see her eyes go wide at her near escape. Then you look upwards and see wit horror that the mast is continuing to fall – right on top of you.

Frantically, you start to move to avoid it, but you are already out of time. You have sacrificed what precious seconds you had to save the captain. Your legs are moving too slowly, far too slowly to avoid the heavy lump of wood which will crush you asunder. Everything seems to move in slow motion as the mast careens towards your helpless body –

“Fprcf!”

A shrill cry erupts from the other end of the airship. The mast shudders as an invisible force slams to it, snapping it further at an awkward angle. You can barely breathe as the fractured beam crashes through the deck barely a metre away from you. You’re alive. You can’t believe it.

You raise your head to see Mother Ghared frozen in position, her hands outstretched towards the fallen mast. Your knowledge of her abilities is still limited, but you understand that this is the second time she has saved your life. The captain is already on her feet, struggling to defend herself from another group of mutants.

Before you can move, you see Mother Ghared slump to the ground. She seems exhausted by the effort of stopping the heavy mast, and the energy drain is too much for her. You start to force yourself to your feet, knowing that if you spend too long dawdling then you won’t have long to celebrate. She needs help, and fast.

That’s when you hear the violent splintering sound below you.

Fearing the worst, you see that the heavy mast has in fact torn straight through the centre of the airship. It is in no condition to fly. The vessel has already been damaged by the attacks of the mutants, and you can only watch in horror as more and more cracks appear, joining together as one…

The airship breaks apart down the middle.

You see the mutants react with surprise as they start to plummet along with their half of the ship. Surprisingly enough, they can no longer fly. You’re not quite sure why, but you have a feeling that their wings from before were only temporary. In addition...part of the airship somehow remains airborne. You’re not in a position to question the laws of aerodynamics right now, but you need to act fast.

Your half of the airship is currently airborne and in no danger of falling – or so you hope. The captain is next to you, slumped in a heap. The other half of the ship is about to plummet downwards, and you realise that Mother Ghared is still on that side. She’s unconscious and has no idea of what has happened.

You have a split second to decide whether to cross over the gap to Mother Ghared, or stay here with the captain. You have no idea what condition either person is in.
> You cross over to the other part of the ship where Mother Ghared is, which is plummeting towards the ground
You must be mad to think of doing this. Quickly, you leap over the gap and onto the separated part of the doomed ship, which is quickly plummeting towards earth at a deadly speed. Above you, the remaining half remains airborne. It quickly disappears from sight as you fall.

It’s impossible to keep your footing on the deck when the ship is falling so fast; parts of it are beginning to break up again from the constant acceleration. Gritting your teeth, you force yourself to crawl over to where Mother Ghared is lying. Her eyes are open, and she seems faintly aware of what is going on around here, but she is otherwise unhurt. If anything, she just looks exhausted.

When she sees you, her eyes widen and she grabs your wrist. “Fljght, Fljght,” she whispers to you urgently, pressing a crumpled scroll into the palm of your hand. The words she speak are not in your language. “Fljght, fljght…”

Her eyes close as she falls back into unconsciousness. You stare at her in confusion as the ship continues to fall. The scroll she gave you is covered with strange symbols and runes that are incomprehensible to you. Somehow, you think she was trying to give you to a clue.
> You say the word "Fljght"
You utter the incantation, and the scroll glows faintly before disintegrating into nothing. The glow itself has not faded, however, but has spread to the soles of your feet. With a start, you realise that you are no longer falling, and that your body feels as light as a feather. You are no longer in any danger of plummeting to your death.

Moving forward, you are surprised to find that you can now move in any direction – up and down, too – at will. You have as much freedom as a bird, and can fly through to the air as you see fit. The activated scroll has bestowed this power on you, and you may now fly from here to your heart’s content.

Sadly, this power of flight is not extended to Mother Ghared. She continues to fall towards the ground at a faster speed, until you can no longer see her at all. You start to fly down towards her with your new-found ability, but discover that you can only do so at a fixed speed. There is no way to accelerate, and therefore no way of saving Mother Ghared before she disappears into the void far below.

You have no choice but to travel away from here. Fear washes over you at the thought that this ability may actually be temporary. What if you could lose this power at any given moment?

With this in mind, you turn to fly as far away from here as you can, away from the ruins of the airship far above you. You don’t know where you’re going, exactly, but anywhere is better than this.
> You proceed
For the next few hours or so, you fly across the skies at a mediocre speed. The wind blows through your hair as you travel, and you feel a kind of freedom wash over you that you’ve never quite experienced before. Throughout your life, you’ve been content to remain settled upon your own island, never venturing out into the skies around you. Right now, however, you feel as if you can literally go anywhere. Any island, any port, above the clouds, down to the ruined surface…The sky’s the limit, so to speak. You feel as if you could fly like this forever.

You’re not going to do that, of course, because you’re still wary that the effect of the scroll will wear off before long. You will have to land somewhere soon, because ultimately you want to find a new island to settle upon. A new home to call your own. A place where you can start again…

Within the hour, you pass the remains of several islands floating in the sky, broken chains dangling uselessly into empty space. As you approach, you realise that these are parts of bigger islands which have already fallen towards earth. Nothing remains there anymore. They have all suffered the same fate as the place you used to call home.

It’s some time before you finally see one island which still remains intact. From here, you can see that there’s a considerable number of inhabitants; numerous houses, roads and streets stretch out below you. Why, it looks like there might be a town down there. There’s definitely some kind of community. The question is, will that community approve of you?
> You land at this new island
You touch down upon the edge of the island, a thrill racing through you at the thought of what lies beyond. Immediately, the glow fades away from the soles of your feet and the power leaves you. So that’s how it is: the scroll’s effects last as long until you touch solid ground again. In theory, you could abuse such a power, but you don’t want to push your luck.

The town before you is bustling with crowds of people and shops on every street corner. You’ve never seen anything quite like this. In fact, you’re not quite sure this isn’t just part of a small city. The diversity of species here is mind-blowing: you see Auvahrs chatting to each other in the marketplace, Tenurs tending their stalls and displaying their wares, Gahl’vuhr Sehn officials marching up and down the streets as if they own the whole place, other subspecies you’ve never seen before staring at the scene like some kind of tourist…You ever see nameless ones like you. Unworthy ones, as the captain called them, but you don’t take to that nonsense. Nameless is what you are. It’s what you’ve always been.

A large glistening sign at the main port spells it out for you.

WELCOME TO MAJERUK

WHERE DREAMS COME TO LIFE

You could definitely settle in a place like this. You love the city. You love the hustle and bustle of the crowds, the countless things to do on every street, the sheer size and depth of the place you’ve found yourself in. There’s libraries, museums, galleries, bookshops, clothiers, governing halls for Gahl’vuhr Sehn officials, various buildings that you can’t even begin to describe…All you have to do is get a foot on the ladder and you’ll be in.

This is a place which rewards you for doing very little – or, conversely, which rewards you with little for doing far too much. Exchange of goods and money. Economics. The arts. Societies. Meeting halls. Dance, music, sculptures, concerts, religion…

“Excuse me, ma’am,” a curt voice says behind you.

All at once, the illusion is broken. You turn round to see three stern-looking Auvahrs in uniform, carrying firearms at their belt. At least, you assume they’re firearms. You’ve only ever seen pictures of them in books before, never having crossed out of your own little island before now. You’ve heard such stories of the city…

“You are under arrest for the unlawful use of privileges available only to high-ranking members of the Gahl’vuhr Sehn,” the man says coldly. “As an Unworthy, you should not have access to such abilities.”

At first, you just stare at him in confusion. Abilities? Wait a second. Is he talking about the scroll’s power which allowed you to fly here? Perhaps that’s the issue here. Someone saw you using the flying ability – or sensed it, detected it, whatever – and decided that you’d breached some kind of unspoken law of theirs.

“That wasn’t my fault,” you protest. “The airship – ”

“You were caught using a long-distance Flight scroll,” the official says, his tone rather hostile. “Unless you have a very good reason for doing so, Unworthy, you will face the penalty of breathing the laws of Gahl’vuhr Sehn. The island of Majeruk is under the jurisdiction of the Auvahrs of Gahl’vuhr Sehn, and all must abide by our rules. A lifetime upon a prison island will do a world of good for scum like you.”

Surely, if you were to explain yourself rationally to the man, then he should understand that this is all a big misunderstanding and let you go. Right? They wouldn’t judge you on something like this, face to face. Surely they can let it slide just this once.
> You tell him your story
You see no reason not to tell the truth. Swiftly, you explain to the official the full story of how you fell from your island and how Mother Ghared saved your life, taking you on board the Gahl’vuhr Sehn airship. As soon as you mention this, the men exchange glances between each other, shaking their heads doubtfully, and look at you with greater suspicion than ever. You continue talking about how you activated the scroll, gaining the ability of flight for a temporary basis, but the official abruptly holds up a hand to stop you.

“I have heard quite enough,” he says sharply. “Your story is an unlikely one to begin with. Whilst there have been reports that many islands have been falling due to the effects of the chaos on the surface, it is inconceivable that a high-ranking member of the Gahl’vuhr Sehn would choose to save your skin. You are an Unworthy. Your life is not of equal worth to a normal person.”

“That’s not true!” you protest. “Mother Ghared saved my life!”

“Is that so?” He folds his arms. “And where is Mother Ghared now? Can she testify to this?” Taken off-guard, you start to splutter that Mother Ghared probably didn’t make it, but the man pushes aside your excuses. “Even if you are telling the truth, which I greatly doubt, it makes one thing very clear: no true member of the Gahl’vuhr Sehn would choose to save the life of an Unworthy. If Mother Ghared truly acted as you claim, then it means that the rules and regulations of the Gahl’vuhr Sehn have not been followed correctly. I see no reason to trust your word. Rather, it seems far more likely that you were a stowaway on board.”

With that, the official turns away and issues a sharp command to the men on either side of him. The Auvahrs immediately step forward and grab you, pulling your arms behind your back painfully. You struggle indignantly in their grip, protesting all the way as they frog-march you in the direction of the main port. Nothing about this is fair! Have you survived your trip from the airship only to be taken prisoner by the same race of people who saved you in the first place?

“As the presiding justiciar of the Gahl’vuhr Sehn stationed upon Majeruk,” the lead official says in a rather formal tone, “we find you guilty of the offence of using a long-distance Flight scroll, an item used only by high-ranking members of the Gahl’vuhr Sehn. Normal citizens are not permitted access to such privileges, let alone an Unworthy like you. Having heard your story, we also find you guilty of the additional crime of stowing on board an airship under the command of the Gahl’vuhr Sehn, as well as possible contributing to its destruction!”

You are forced into the back seat of a cramped-looking aerial vehicle, and strapped in tightly with a grim-looking official seated next to you. Two more men enter the front of the vehicle. The engines start to fire up.

“What’s going on?” you demand, fearful of what they intend to do with you. The Auvahrs are practically treating you like a criminal. You don’t know what they do with such people, because on your island you never had to deal with anyone like that. “Wh…where are you taking me?”

The lead official barely glances at you. “Prefect, take the Unworthy to Island 39. She is to be classified as a Class 3H criminal of the fourth degree. If she talks at all during the journey, silence her.” He slams the door on you and turns away without another word.

Frightened about what fate lies in store for you now, you can do nothing but watch as the Gahl’vuhr Sehn drive you away from the attractive island of Majeruk, towards a grim-looking location in the distance. You are strapped in so tightly that you can barely breathe, making escape impossible. The man in the seat next to you is watching you closely, making you feel very uncomfortable.

Nobody talks. Nobody says a word, not to you or any of their colleagues. The Gahl’vuhr Sehn operate in a professional manner which scares you, honestly. It’s about half an hour before the vehicle you’re in start to slow down. You chance a glance over the side of the vehicle and see an ominous-looking island, surrounded by cliffs on all sides. Nothing about your situation seems promising at all.
> You proceed
You are forced out of the vehicle with your hands tied behind your back, where the officials march you over to a tall, grey, oblong-shaped building situated some distance inland. As you step inside, you are shoved into a cramped, featureless interrogation cell with dim lighting and no windows to see through. Another Gahl'vuhr Sehn official sits opposite you, barking personal questions at you whilst the other men search you for any weapons or illegal contraband. You sit through the whole experience in a kind of numb shock, never having been through anything like this before.

After about an hour, you are taken to the strip of land which lies beyond. A grim sight greets your eyes. Thousands and thousands of people are locked within maximum security cells, isolated here away from the general public, some of which are suspended above mid-air to conserve space. Men and women of all races, including some mutants like you saw before at the airship, peer out from behind the bars. Food and water are strictly rationed and prisoners are permitted no more than an hour per day at the exercise yard, before being put to work doing hard labour at the mines, located at the other end of the island.

“What're you in for, girl?” a mutant sneers at you as you pass by his cage.

You are thrown into a square cell of your own, situated underground. A small plate of stale food lies in the corner, and your stomach rumbles fro not having eaten all day. There should be water here, too, but the guard with you informs you that they can't get fresh water to every cell during the day. You may have to remain thirsty until they find the time to give you a refill.

“Sweet dreams, kid,” he says nastily.

The cell door slams shut behind you with a very real tone of permanency. This is your fate at the hands of the Gahl'vuhr Sehn. You have been sentenced to a maximum of thirty five years of underground confinement and hard manual labour, here upon one of the many prison islands which fill the skies.

Moreover, it is likely that you will not survive long in such conditions. Prisoners who fail to meet their work quota daily are punished severely, and your body does not possess sufficient stamina to bear the torture experienced at a Gahl'vuhr Sehn prison island. Withdrawal of food and water is not uncommon, and many of the inmates are at the mercy of the guards. Females in particularly do not have any protective rights from assault, not whilst they have their prisoner status. Even if you could escape, the island is ringed by cliffs on all sides. You are deprived even of the opportunity to commit suicide.

Fate has not been kind to you. You will remain here at the prison island for the rest of your mercifully short life.


You touch down upon the edge of the island, a thrill racing through you at the thought of what lies beyond. Immediately, the glow fades away from the soles of your feet and the power leaves you. So that’s how it is: the scroll’s effects last as long until you touch solid ground again. In theory, you could abuse such a power, but you don’t want to push your luck.

The town before you is bustling with crowds of people and shops on every street corner. You’ve never seen anything quite like this. In fact, you’re not quite sure this isn’t just part of a small city. The diversity of species here is mind-blowing: you see Auvahrs chatting to each other in the marketplace, Tenurs tending their stalls and displaying their wares, Gahl’vuhr Sehn officials marching up and down the streets as if they own the whole place, other subspecies you’ve never seen before staring at the scene like some kind of tourist…You ever see nameless ones like you. Unworthy ones, as the captain called them, but you don’t take to that nonsense. Nameless is what you are. It’s what you’ve always been.

A large glistening sign at the main port spells it out for you.

WELCOME TO MAJERUK

WHERE DREAMS COME TO LIFE

You could definitely settle in a place like this. You love the city. You love the hustle and bustle of the crowds, the countless things to do on every street, the sheer size and depth of the place you’ve found yourself in. There’s libraries, museums, galleries, bookshops, clothiers, governing halls for Gahl’vuhr Sehn officials, various buildings that you can’t even begin to describe…All you have to do is get a foot on the ladder and you’ll be in.

This is a place which rewards you for doing very little – or, conversely, which rewards you with little for doing far too much. Exchange of goods and money. Economics. The arts. Societies. Meeting halls. Dance, music, sculptures, concerts, religion…

“Excuse me, ma’am,” a curt voice says behind you.

All at once, the illusion is broken. You turn round to see three stern-looking Auvahrs in uniform, carrying firearms at their belt. At least, you assume they’re firearms. You’ve only ever seen pictures of them in books before, never having crossed out of your own little island before now. You’ve heard such stories of the city…

“You are under arrest for the unlawful use of privileges available only to high-ranking members of the Gahl’vuhr Sehn,” the man says coldly. “As an Unworthy, you should not have access to such abilities.”

At first, you just stare at him in confusion. Abilities? Wait a second. Is he talking about the scroll’s power which allowed you to fly here? Perhaps that’s the issue here. Someone saw you using the flying ability – or sensed it, detected it, whatever – and decided that you’d breached some kind of unspoken law of theirs.

“That wasn’t my fault,” you protest. “The airship – ”

“You were caught using a long-distance Flight scroll,” the official says, his tone rather hostile. “Unless you have a very good reason for doing so, Unworthy, you will face the penalty of breathing the laws of Gahl’vuhr Sehn. The island of Majeruk is under the jurisdiction of the Auvahrs of Gahl’vuhr Sehn, and all must abide by our rules. A lifetime upon a prison island will do a world of good for scum like you.”

Surely, if you were to explain yourself rationally to the man, then he should understand that this is all a big misunderstanding and let you go. Right? They wouldn’t judge you on something like this, face to face. Surely they can let it slide just this once.
> You make something up
“There is an extremely good reason for this,” you say. You doubt that these men will believe you if you tell them the truth, considering their low opinion of your species to begin with. Your best guess is to fabricate something which seems believable. “This Flight scroll doesn’t belong to me.”

“We are quite aware,” the official says fervently.

“No, no.” You’re not used to lying to people. There usually isn’t any need to do so. “I was ordered by…by Mother Gherad to use it.”

He frowns. “Do you expect me to believe that, Unworthy? A high-ranking member of the Gahl’vuhr Sehn willingly gave you a long-range Flight scroll? I have heard more convincing tales extending from the back of an anteater.”

“She gave me the scroll,” you say quickly, “in order to prevent it from falling into the hands…of…the enemy.” What enemy? Who’s the enemy? Lying to people is a lot harder than you thought. “The enemy, that is, of the Gahl’vuhr Sehn. A…rebel army of mutant rabbits.”

“Rabbits,” the official repeats.

“Yes, really. Really, really big ones. With axes.” You’re babbling now, but you might as well keep this up. “It was a valiant battle against the bunnies, and they were after the scroll of Flight in order to turn into flying mutant rabbits! They planned to assault this island, thousands of flying bunnies throwing axes at the poor citizens of Majeruk. Luckily, I thwarted their plans and now they will never have their rabbit revenge!”

“If I can just stop you there – ”

“Mother Gherad died heroically defending the ship,” you say dramatically, going all out with this story now. Now that you’ve started, you cannot be stopped. “We could not hold them back for long. We had to poison their supply of carrots just to get an advantage. Lettuce, too!”

“Wait a second,” one of the other men interrupts. “You mentioned…it was a rebel army of mutant rabbits?”

You nod enthusiastically.  “Exactly.”

“A rebel  army. So…how were they rebelling?”

“Rebelling against the Rabbit King,” you say proudly. “There’s a long, long history of all the rabbit rebellions before our time, going all the way back to Lord Rabbiter McRabbit himself. I will enlighten you now.”

With a flourish, you then continue to rabbit on at great length, detailing the long history of two thousand years of rabbit-themed monarchs and bloody battles which claimed the lives of their citizens to gain vital land on the sky islands. You don’t quite know how you came up with all this stuff, but you’re going too fast to be able to stop now. The officials actually seem genuinely interested about all of this fictional backstory that you’re pulling out of thin air – or at least, you think they are. They might not care at all.

“…and that,” you finish, twenty five minutes later, “is the entire account of the rise and fall of the Rabbit Empire, shortly before Queen Fuzzlebunny came to the throne and brought civil war among the nations.” You let out a long sigh, since you’ve been talking for some time now. “Would you like to hear it again?”

“That was very interesting, but no,” the official says. He is looking at you long and hard. All of them are, actually. You can’t quite tell what is going through their minds, but you’re sure that you must have made a good impression. “I think we’ve had enough of rabbits.”

“Why are you looking at me like that?” you ask. “Is it the rabbits?”

“No,” the first Auvahr states. “It isn’t the rabbits.”

“What is it then?”

“We’re looking at you like this,” he says testily, “because we think you’re insane.”

“Really?”

He glances helplessly at his two companions, who look back at him in just a helpless a fashion. You watch as they whisper furtively amongst themselves, looking rather worried about the situation. Telling a tall tale about the rise and fall of the majestic Rabbit Empire was definitely a step in the right direction.

Eventually, the official steps forward towards you again. “We’ve decided,” he says resignedly, “that we are not going to press charges to you, on account of you straying so far from the original question that we can no longer remember what we were talking about in the first place.”

“It was the scroll,” you remind him helpfully.

“Right. The scroll.” The man sighs. “Look. I’m not prepared to hear you talk about damn rabbits for another thirty minutes. I don’t have time for this. Rules are rules, and the Gahl’vuhr Sehn has to make sure everything is perfect. Especially here in Majeruk. What I’m going to say instead is that your usage of this high-level scroll was some kind of freak accident, because…you do not seem like the kind of person with the mental capability to steal a Flight scroll whilst knowing what you were doing. My colleagues here will bear witness to that.”

“Definitely,” says the official next to him. “She’s bonkers.”

“You may remain in Majeruk for the time being,” he says, with long-suffering patience, “but only because I don’t want to stand here for over an hour listening to a crazy girl talking endlessly about fictional rabbits. You’re free to go. Just…don’t do it again, alright?”

Elated, you smile as the three officials turn on their heel and march back down the street the way they came. Somehow, you’ve managed to get away with it. You’re not sure where all of that inspiration for rabbit-themed history came from, but you ought to write it down sometime. Some people like that kind of thing, apparently, although you’re yet to meet anyone like that in person.
> You proceed
Majeruk promises to be an exciting place for you to live. There are numerous cities and towns across the island, and you take some time to explore your options before choosing on a suitable career path. In addition, the Gahl'vuhr Sehn occupy the whole of the land here and have set in place a number of strict rules for all citizens. After your last encounter with them, you decide not to do anything to annoy the governing body around here. You don't want to cause any trouble.

The first week is rather rough for you. With no money or resource of your own to trade – aside from the sword you kept from the airship, and that turns out to be worth very little of value in Majeruk – you are forced to sleep rough at night. The Gahl'vuhr Sehn do not allow people to sleep on the streets, which is fine for you because you see no problem with sleeping outside their towns. It's always good to experience new things, but you have to take care in doing so. The wrong situation could see you lose your life at the hands of the local wildlife, which turn out to be unexpectedly hostile…

It's some time before you finally manage to secure employment as a courier, delivering goods and packages between the towns in Majeruk. The job gives you an advance payment, enough so that you can afford to rent some accommodation in the suburbs of the central city. It's hard work, with long hours, but you keep at it and soon begin to learn the various trade routes going around the island. It makes your job easier, and it's another year before you have enough money and resources to try your hand at another job.

Every day, you hear news about the chaos on the surface and how more and more sky islands are falling down to earth in a blaze of constant destruction. It makes you think of home, or what used to be home. You think back to all the events that brought you here in the first place, to Mother Gherad and the captain on the airship which saved your life. You wonder if the captain ever made it out alive.

You make lots of new friends in Majeruk over the years, but still you worry that such a densely-populated island might suffer the same fate as your first island did. What if everything here is destroyed? With this in mind, you take to travelling. You've become quite an accomplished businesswoman by this point, taking on several jobs and even employing your own staff with ease. You're going up in the world. You manage numerous accounts of money, oversee cargo taken on board airships in an organisation built with your own two hands, and you know that you have to expand your horizons.

Many years have passed, and you have more than enough to purchase an airship of your own now. You travel through the skies, venturing far and wide, but never stay on board for too long. Airships can be dangerous. You become a kind of explorer in your own right, navigating countless islands and assembling a crew of your own. For some time, you pursue this exciting choice of life, but you're not really sure what you're looking for. You know you're searching for something, but you just can't put your finger on it.

It's several years after that when you finally return to the island of Majeruk. It's the same as always, and business is booming, but you're now experienced enough to put in several advisors who can easily run your organisation by themselves with only limited help from you. Even the Gahl'vuhr Sehn are respectful to you. They still refer to you as “Unworthy”, more out of habit than anything else, but you have a mutual understanding of each other. You a force to be reckoned with.

Looking at everything you've achieved over the years, you finally realise what you've been seeking. You want a place to settle down. Somewhere to settle down. A home, in nature, but you already have several homes across the skies. You decide to settle here in Majeruk. You think about the future, and seek a husband with which to bring up a family of your own. There is no shortage of men in Majeruk, and all of them are falling over themselves to propose to you. It's sweet of them, really, but a woman of your reputation and wealth can afford to be choosy.

At the end of it all, you remain here in the island of Majeruk for the rest of your days. You have lived a life filled with contentment, riches and great respute. You consider having children of your own and handing down the family business to them, once you grow old enough to retire, but that's in the future. You could have never predicted that things would work out so well.

After falling from a great height, you have risen to become a woman of grand accomplishments and great success.


For the next few hours or so, you fly across the skies at a mediocre speed. The wind blows through your hair as you travel, and you feel a kind of freedom wash over you that you’ve never quite experienced before. Throughout your life, you’ve been content to remain settled upon your own island, never venturing out into the skies around you. Right now, however, you feel as if you can literally go anywhere. Any island, any port, above the clouds, down to the ruined surface…The sky’s the limit, so to speak. You feel as if you could fly like this forever.

You’re not going to do that, of course, because you’re still wary that the effect of the scroll will wear off before long. You will have to land somewhere soon, because ultimately you want to find a new island to settle upon. A new home to call your own. A place where you can start again…

Within the hour, you pass the remains of several islands floating in the sky, broken chains dangling uselessly into empty space. As you approach, you realise that these are parts of bigger islands which have already fallen towards earth. Nothing remains there anymore. They have all suffered the same fate as the place you used to call home.

It’s some time before you finally see one island which still remains intact. From here, you can see that there’s a considerable number of inhabitants; numerous houses, roads and streets stretch out below you. Why, it looks like there might be a town down there. There’s definitely some kind of community. The question is, will that community approve of you?
> You ignore it and keep going
You continue to fly through open skies, unable to rest anywhere for fear that the scroll’s power will suddenly wear off. Hours pass by, and still you see no other inhabitable islands or places where you can land. You encounter a few passing airships – active ones, thankfully – but they are only merchant ships and pay you no heed. You dare not stop.

There are numerous lightning storms in this part of the sky, and you are quick to stay away from them. Many an airship has fallen victim to the fierce and unpredictable weather conditions escalated by the deadly situation on the surface far below. As it is, a single strike would probably send you plummeting out of the sky. You need to stay airborne at all costs. You saw what the surface is like now: nobody can survive there anymore, and the people who remain there now have no future.

Nightfall comes at last, and you are exhausted from flying for so long in one go. It is too dangerous to keep going in the dark, anyway, so you absolutely need to rest soon. You decide that the next inhabitable island you see will just have to go. You should change your angle of ascent, too, and see what you can find. Up or down? There has to be something here. So many islands have fallen now, so many lives have been destroyed…
> You choose to ascend
You fly upwards for over twenty minutes more before you spy a small fragment of an island, almost invisible to the naked eye from this distance. It seems to have broken off from a greater land mass, possibly another victim of the chaos on the surface. The island looks to be too small to offer you many favourable options, but you’re in no position to pass up the opportunity. You’ve been flying all day long now, with limited food to keep you going, and you’re extremely tired. As things stand, you’ll just have to take a chance on this.

Hoping that you won’t regret your decision, you disembark upon this small patch of island. Immediately, the glow fades away from the soles of your feet and the power leaves you. So that’s how it is: the scroll’s effects last as long until you touch solid ground again. In theory, you could abuse such a power, but you don’t want to push your luck.
> You proceed
The island you stand upon seems eerily similar to the one you lived upon previously. It seems strange to suggest such a thing, but you feel almost as if you've been here before. You take a few steps forward upon the crisp, yellowed sand under your feet, and walk towards a cluster of primitive-looking huts in the distance. A dusty path runs towards the centre of a peaceful-looking village, and there is hardly any wind here at all. It's all very quiet.

Unable to shake off the feeling of deja vu, you continue walking up to the village square. It's quite dark now, but you can see lights up ahead. A small group of people are sharing a bite to eat over a roaring fire, chattering away excitedly in good humour. They are not talking in Common Tongue, like the Auvahrs of the Gahl'vuhr Sehn. They speak your language fluently.

You approach the fire, and the people turn in surprise to look at you. Their skin and body composition is very similar to yours. You realise, then, that they are the same species as you are: they are nameless. For an instant, you feel almost as if you are back home again, but you push the feeling away on the grounds that it must be some illusion. Your home has already been destroyed, and surely nothing can replace it.

“Hello,” you say to the people here, unsure what to say.

A man and a woman look curiously at you and smile, before offering you a leg of meat. There is no suspicion or aggressiveness in their innocent faces. It's as if they've been expecting someone like you to arrive after all this time.

“Sit and eat,” the man says in a friendly tone as you accept the food. You haven't eaten all day. “You look tired.”

“I am,” you say, sitting down by the fire with him. “I...I'm so tired.” Your words feel slurred and inconsistent from heavy fatigue, but you feel that it's important to get this off your chest. “What...what's the name of this island? Do you have a name?”

“What kind of question is that?” He smiles. “We do not name ourselves. Names give power to other people. Why do you ask these things? Do you have a name?”

You shake your head. “I do not.”

“Then it is of no consequence.” He gestures to one of the huts behind you. “Feel free to use one of the rooms out back. Our brethren will not mind sharing their bed with a fellow nameless one, but we do not receive many travellers this way. Are you passing through?”

As it is, you currently have no way off this island. You are stranded here, but somehow you don't see it that way. You look around you with tired eyes at the friendly people here, inviting you inside to share their food and drink with them. It looks so much like the village you used to call home. An island so small and seemingly insignificant that nobody else even knows it exists. You doubt that any airships even come this way. It's a tiny part of the world, isolated away from everything else.

You could settle here. You feel it in your bones. Start again, rebuild, reconnect with people, contribute to a living community, help each other out and start again...The thought brings tears of happiness to your eyes, and you have to look away for a moment. You didn't think this would ever happen, but you feel...as if you are finally home.

“No,” you answer. “I'm not just passing through. I'm returning home.”

You see in his eyes that he understands exactly what you mean. This island has not fallen. It is too high above the rest of the world, too isolated in its own little share of the skies to be affected by all the chaos going on at the surface. You hope that things will remain that way. It is true that you cannot predict the future, but you feel optimistic about what's waiting for you out there.

After falling from a great height, you have finally found your way back home.


You continue to fly through open skies, unable to rest anywhere for fear that the scroll’s power will suddenly wear off. Hours pass by, and still you see no other inhabitable islands or places where you can land. You encounter a few passing airships – active ones, thankfully – but they are only merchant ships and pay you no heed. You dare not stop.

There are numerous lightning storms in this part of the sky, and you are quick to stay away from them. Many an airship has fallen victim to the fierce and unpredictable weather conditions escalated by the deadly situation on the surface far below. As it is, a single strike would probably send you plummeting out of the sky. You need to stay airborne at all costs. You saw what the surface is like now: nobody can survive there anymore, and the people who remain there now have no future.

Nightfall comes at last, and you are exhausted from flying for so long in one go. It is too dangerous to keep going in the dark, anyway, so you absolutely need to rest soon. You decide that the next inhabitable island you see will just have to go. You should change your angle of ascent, too, and see what you can find. Up or down? There has to be something here. So many islands have fallen now, so many lives have been destroyed…
> You choose to descend
You allow yourself to fall downwards, reasoning that you are now too high up to see any inhabitable islands. Your eyelids are heavy and your head drops onto your chest from your exhaustion, but you maintain some element of concentration and continue to descend at a normal pace. It might be your imagination, but the air pressure seems particularly high around here. Dark clouds have built up around you, filled with rain which is pelting down upon the surface…

Thunder rumbles in your ears, and your eyes flick open when you realise that you have stumbled into the midst of a storm! Shaking your head, you start to fly away from the area to avoid the bad weather, but the wind buffets you back and forth and blows a torrent of rain right into your eyes. You cry out, shielding your face protectively, and start to fall through the clouds.

You’re falling a bit too fast for your liking now, but at least you’re clear of the storm. From here, you can see that you’re actually not too far from the surface where chaos rages. That won’t do at all. You decide to force yourself to slow down, trying to fly back up to where the sky islands are.

Nothing happens. You continue to plummet, faster and faster towards the earth. Your flying ability is no longer in effect!

You don’t entirely understand what just happened – perhaps the storm did something to your abilities, or maybe the effect wore off on its own – but what’s important is that you’re now in constant freefall. Quickly, you try to suppress the sheer panic rising up in your chest and struggle to slow yourself down. Something gives, and you manage to lower your speed of descent – just barely. You might survive, but it’s touch and go at this rate…

You’re so close to the surface of the planet now. You can see people down there. Buildings burned to the ground, screams and crying, the lava flow from an erupted volcano, mass flooding from the rising sea level…It’s not a place where you could ever survive. You need to stay in the skies. You need to stay up here…

The noise from below gets louder and louder until it becomes almost unbearable. You can no longer stay in the sky, and you’re going so fast that you can’t focus on anything around you anymore. Praying very slightly, you brace yourself for a crash landing.
> You proceed
The impact is tremendous as you make contact with the surface. As luck would have it, the trajectory of your descent takes you away from the mainland and sends you into the ocean itself, your momentum forcing you deep underwater. Waves of pain wash over you, and for several long seconds you cannot move at all. You feel as if you have broken several bones in your body.

Fighting to conserve oxygen, one truth reveals itself to you: you are alive. You can hardly acknowledge the fact, but you are alive. The wind has been driven out of you, and you are already starting to swallow sea water; swiftly, you struggle to swim up to the surface for air. Agony rushes through your body at every little movement, prompting a scream deep within your throat that nobody will hear. You grit your teeth and keep swimming upwards, your lungs burning. You need to survive.

You break the surface at last, hacking and coughing as you take in fresh oxygen into your lungs. Air. Fresh air. From here, you can see the coastline isn't too far away. You should be able to make it as long as you tread water and take it nice and slowly. You've survived this far and you're determined to keep going, despite the mind-numbing pain tearing through your limbs.

It takes several minutes for you to get to dry land, but you can already tell that something is very wrong. You do not feel well. Perhaps it's the effect of swallowing so much sea water, but you are unsteady on your feet and you can feel a surge of unnaturally dark emotions rising up inside you. You do not feel like yourself. Grimly, you force yourself to suppress such thoughts and concentrate on reaching safety.

The coastline is littered with corpses.

You stagger forward and see people shambling across the beach. They do not look like people. Humans, yes. You haven't seen a human being for a long time, but you know what a rational person look like and these are different. Their clothes are ripped and torn, their skin covered by a mesh of angry black spots which suggest the telltale designs of disease, and there is a frenzy in their eyes which frightens you beyond anything you have witnessed so far.

The people have not reacted to your presence. They are screaming at the top of their voices, wielding vicious blades in their hands, and killing each other on sight. Countless bodies cover the blackened ground as far as the eye can see, like the gruesome remnants of some kind of battlefield. It's as if a war is going on, but you can see here that the war is purely internal.

You see two men beating another to death with a hatchet. A crowd of children have surrounded a woman and are stabbing her repeatedly, all with the same murderous frenzy in their eyes. Three girls are gouging out the eyes of a bystander. A strange haze has settled upon this place, this peaceful village that saw no such violence before. Everything has gone out of control. You knew the situation on the surface was dire, but you had no idea that it had escalated to such extremes...

Something snaps inside of you. Something wild. It's the same feeling you had just minutes ago, not long after you accidentally swallowed some of that seawater. You turn to look at the ocean curiously for a moment, and can't help but notice that the water is...a different colour than it's supposed to be. It's certainly not blue...

You drop to the ground, retching, as a new pain takes hold of you. You can't see anymore. Blood fills your eyes and you buckle forward, clutching at the ground in a similar frenzy to the people around you. You hear yourself scream aloud as every thought going through your mind is crushed into nothing, nothing but a maniacal desire for bloodlust. The world feels like it's revolving around you all of a sudden, revolving in a sea of haunted faces…

There is no need to think anymore. You snarl and shriek like a wild beast, pouncing forward onto the nearest human being to pluck out their eyes and beat their face into a bloody mess. The man is holding a knife of some kind, and you immediately wrest it from his cold dead hands to take for yourself.

Gleefully, you charge at your next choice of prey. Two girls covered with blood from head to toe shamble towards you, half-blind. One of them is practically dead already, but she hasn't realised it yet. Both of her arms have been savagely torn off, and her head has been bashed in from one side. You slash at her with the knife and blood spurts out of her throat in a red fountain. The other girl lunges at your neck. You stab her in the stomach. She doesn't react.

A man is clubbing you from behind, but you don't feel a thing. More people are here now. More people, more violence, more chaos. You twist out of your assailant's grip and kill another person, doesn't matter who it is. You're having fun, and every part of you loves it.

This is your place now. You're part of the neverending chaos on the surface, just another victim of the shambling horde drifting across the planet in your insatiable desire to kill every living creature you see. Nothing else matters, because this is your world.


You must be mad to think of doing this. Quickly, you leap over the gap and onto the separated part of the doomed ship, which is quickly plummeting towards earth at a deadly speed. Above you, the remaining half remains airborne. It quickly disappears from sight as you fall.

It’s impossible to keep your footing on the deck when the ship is falling so fast; parts of it are beginning to break up again from the constant acceleration. Gritting your teeth, you force yourself to crawl over to where Mother Ghared is lying. Her eyes are open, and she seems faintly aware of what is going on around here, but she is otherwise unhurt. If anything, she just looks exhausted.

When she sees you, her eyes widen and she grabs your wrist. “Fljght, Fljght,” she whispers to you urgently, pressing a crumpled scroll into the palm of your hand. The words she speak are not in your language. “Fljght, fljght…”

Her eyes close as she falls back into unconsciousness. You stare at her in confusion as the ship continues to fall. The scroll she gave you is covered with strange symbols and runes that are incomprehensible to you. Somehow, you think she was trying to give you to a clue.
> You say "Fljght, Fljght"
You utter the incantation, and the scroll glows faintly before disintegrating into nothing. The glow itself has not faded, however, but has spread to the soles of your feet. With a start, you realise that you are no longer falling, and that your body feels as light as a feather. You are no longer in any danger of plummeting to your death.

Moving forward, you are surprised to find that you can now move in any direction – up and down, too – at will. You have as much freedom as a bird, and can fly through to the air as you see fit. The activated scroll has bestowed this power on you, and you may now fly from here to your heart’s content.

Thankfully, the same ability has also been granted to Mother Ghared. Though unconscious, she remains floating in the air before you. You take hold of her body, which you find to weigh scarcely anything at all, and bring her with you as you fly through the open skies. Perhaps she just needs some rest after what she’s been through.

With Mother Ghared in tow, you turn to fly from here as far away as you can. You discover that you can only fly at a fixed speed, so there is no way to accelerate. Fear washes over you at the thought that this ability may actually be temporary. What if you could lose this power at any given moment?

With this in mind, you travel away from the ruins of the airship far above you, out into the vast vast open skies. You don’t know where you’re going, exactly, but anywhere is better than this.


You decide to remain on deck and see what help you can lend to the crew members. Mother Ghared disappears down below, and from here you watch as the helmsmen frantically try to turn the airship around as quickly as possible. Before long, the ship is so close to the storm that pieces of wood are being shredded away from the outside of the hull. You grip the railing tightly, fearing the worst…

“Brbcf ypvrsflf!” the captain yells.

There is a horrendous tearing of wood and metal as the storm makes impact. Fearfully, you throw yourself clear from the balcony – and just in time, too. A bolt of lightning flashes down onto the crystal lens where you were standing, shattering it into a million pieces. The crewmen cry out as a violent gust of wind slams into the ship, powerful enough to tear the railings apart. Rain and sleet pours down to accompany it.

Desperately, you search for somewhere to take cover from the storm. This was a bad idea. You shouldn’t have stayed up on deck in this kind of climate. There’s nothing you can do here –

Another bolt of lightning flashes down and rips straight through the mast.

You turn to see the entire weight of the mast fall towards the deck. To your horror, you see that the captain is right in its path, just seconds away from being crushed. None of the mercenaries are close enough to help her. No one is close enough to help…but you.

Even if you did help her, it’s unlikely that you would be able to get out of the way in time.
> You turn away and worry about yourself instead
You can’t risk saving her. Who knows if you will succeed? Guiltily, you turn your eyes away from the scene. You don’t want to see the results of your inaction. The opportunity has now passed, and may never be seized again. She isn’t going to make it in time –

“Fprcf!”

A shrill cry erupts from the other end of the airship. The mast shudders as an invisible force slams to it, snapping it further at an awkward angle. You watch in amazement as the fractured beam crashes through the deck barely a metre away from the captain. She’s alive.

You turn your head to see Mother Ghared frozen in position, her hands outstretched towards the fallen mast. Your knowledge of her abilities is still limited, but you understand that she has saved the captain’s life. The captain waste no time moving away from the fallen mast and is already on her feet, struggling to defend herself from another group of mutants.

Before you can move, you see Mother Ghared slump to the ground. She seems exhausted by the effort of stopping the heavy mast, and the energy drain is too much for her. You start to force yourself to your feet, knowing that time is of the essence. She needs help, and fast.

That’s when you hear the violent splintering sound below you.

Fearing the worst, you see that the heavy mast has in fact torn straight through the centre of the airship. It is in no condition to fly. The vessel has already been damaged by the attacks of the mutants, and you can only watch in horror as more and more cracks appear, joining together as one…

The airship breaks apart down the middle.

You see the mutants react with surprise as they start to plummet along with their half of the ship. Surprisingly enough, they can no longer fly. You’re not quite sure why, but you have a feeling that their wings from before were only temporary. In addition...part of the airship somehow remains airborne. You’re not in a position to question the laws of aerodynamics right now, but you need to act fast.

Your half of the airship is currently airborne and in no danger of falling – or so you hope. The captain is next to you, slumped in a heap. The other half of the ship is about to plummet downwards, and you realise that Mother Ghared is still on that side. She’s unconscious and has no idea of what has happened.

You have a split second to decide whether to cross over the gap to Mother Ghared, or stay here with the captain. You have no idea what condition either person is in.


You see what appears to be a mass of black clouds on the horizon, lit up by a blaze of yellow and white flashes. The atmosphere around the airship is becoming increasingly turbulent, and you feel the vessel shake beneath your feet, making it difficult to keep your balance.

The captain turns to see what you’re looking at and swears out loud. “Just our luck,” she mutters. “Damn lightning storm could put us all out of commission.” Without hesitation, she starts to shout orders down to the crew below, reverting back to Common Tongue as she does so. “Bll hflmsmfn pn thf blfrt! Thfrf’s b ljghtnjng stprm bpprpbchjng thf shjp. Bfgjn fvbsjvf mbnpfvvrfs jmmfdjbtfly, pr wf wpn’t lbst fjvf mjnvtfs!”

You see the crew members scramble to their positions quickly, working amongst themselves to turn the ship around before it makes contact with the imminent storm. The captain turns to you. “We’re going to try and steer around the storm, Unworthy. It’s a big one, and with such short notice we might not be able to make it. But I’m confident I can get my ship through this. It's rare for a lightning storm of this size to appear without any warning, but...”

“Is this to do with what's happening on the surface?” you ask worriedly. There was no sign of any such storm until now. The change in pressure was simply so drastic for this to happen naturally.

The look in the captain's eyes tells you the answer to that. “Unworthy, you’d better get yourself below deck where it’s safer,” she says grimly. “Just stay out of trouble. That way I won’t have to worry about protecting your neck.”

With that she rushes down the steps, still shouting orders as the storm draws closer. You hold onto the railing tightly as the ship starts to change course, but at this distance you have a feeling that it might be too late. A crackle of white-blue lightning flashes not too far from the vessel, and the wind is getting stronger.
> You retreat into the cabins below deck
Taking the captain’s advice to heart, you head below deck towards the relative safety of the corridors. There’s nobody else down here, as all of the crewmen have gone upstairs to steer the ship clear of the storm. You start to head towards your bedroom, wondering what will happen next…

A violent tremor shakes the airship, throwing you off your feet. Fearfully, you stay braced against the wall as the atmosphere around the ship becomes increasingly more turbulent. The storm is very close now. Suddenly, you hear cries of alarm go up on deck and the loud tearing of wood. You grab onto one of the banisters for support as the entire vessel rocks back and forth…

You hear the sound of thunder. It’s right above you. With a start, you realise that the crew have failed to steer the ship clear in time. The storm has made contact.

The noise around you is now tremendous. Rain and sleet pour in from above, and holes open up above your head as lightning rips through the airship. You cower in the corner of the corridor, frantically looking for cover, but you don’t know anywhere that’s safe anymore. Perhaps you have overstayed your welcome.
> You hide in one of the cabins
Forcing yourself to remain upright, you manage to slip into one of the empty cabins. The noise above is getting louder and louder, and you crouch in the corner, hoping that you’ll be safe here. Surely someone else will come down here to seek shelter as well? As time passes, you see no sign of any other crew members. Before long, you cannot hear their voices anymore, drowned out by the sound of the thunder…

The walls around you are shaking, buffeted by the force of the storm on all sides. It feel as if the ship is starting to break up, and you start to wonder if maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. You don’t feel safe here. Even so, you hesitate to move from your current position.
> You continue hiding here in the hope that the storm will pass
Despite your better judgement, you remain huddled in the corner of the cabin. The whole ship is shaking violently now. Cracks appear in the walls and ceiling, and you cover your head protectively with your hands. What’s going on out there?

You start to get to your feet, wanting to move to somewhere more secure, but it’s far too late. The opportunity has already passed. The ceiling of the cabin caves in from above, and your body is crushed under tons of falling rubble. You do not live to see what happens next, but the rest of the airship is destroyed minutes afterwards. You perish here on the airship, in the midst of a violent lightning storm.


Forcing yourself to remain upright, you manage to slip into one of the empty cabins. The noise above is getting louder and louder, and you crouch in the corner, hoping that you’ll be safe here. Surely someone else will come down here to seek shelter as well? As time passes, you see no sign of any other crew members. Before long, you cannot hear their voices anymore, drowned out by the sound of the thunder…

The walls around you are shaking, buffeted by the force of the storm on all sides. It feel as if the ship is starting to break up, and you start to wonder if maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. You don’t feel safe here. Even so, you hesitate to move from your current position.
> You move out of your hiding place as it's no longer safe here
You’re not staying here a second longer. Quickly, you break out of cover and run out into the corridor. Cracks have appeared in the walls and ceiling, and the roof of the cabin caves in as you make it out of there. You’ve spent quite enough hiding from the storm. It’s time to find a way off this ship, once and for all.
> You proceed
Judging your chances of survival on board this ship to be diminishing by the second, you start to search the surrounding cabins for a way out of here. There has to be something that you can use. Airships are fitted with emergency safety measures for use in the worst-case scenario, such as equipment failure or a particularly vicious storm. You're not on the surface, after all. You’re not in one of those strange human ships which take people over water, able to throw yourself overboard and swim away from all the pandemonium…

Inside one of the cabins near the back, you find a disused aerial vehicle which is fitted with an engine of some kind. At least, you assume that it’s an engine. It looks quite similar to some of the devices you saw in the captain’s room. Buttons and dials cover the inside of the vehicle, and there is only space for one person to drive it.

The craft is covered with dust and cobwebs and looks as if it hasn’t been used in some time. You have no idea if it still works. If you’re really unlucky, it might even blow up in your face.

From far above, you can hear the sound of the storm growing louder and louder. You can no longer hear the voices of the crew members from before. A chill goes up your spine as you realise that the airship is being dragged deeper and deeper into the storm.
> You try to operate the vehicle
You step into the vehicle and strap yourself in, before realising that you have no idea how to physically turn it on. With a frown, you examine the numerous buttons and dials on the dashboard in front of you. One of these must start up the machine – if it works at all, that is. After about a minute, you manage to narrow down the correct button to just two of them. They are all labelled, but naturally the words are written in Common Tongue.
> You push the button which says "Jgnjtjpn"
You press the button and the vehicle immediately roars to life. Twin engines fire up and you are thrown back in your seat as the craft blasts through the weakened hull and out the other side, breaking free of the airship completely. From here, you can see that the storm has devastated the ship almost to the point of complete destruction! You can't see a single living soul on board the upper deck, and you have a feeling that both the captain and Mother Gherad must be among the dead. The airship is covered with the bodies of mercenaries and crewmen, and you are lucky not to share in their fate.

With a shudder, you turn your vehicle around to fly away from the ship. You don't know how to drive this thing, exactly, but the controls seem to respond to your touch and you're just glad to get out of here. Gauges pop up all over the dashboard, none of which means anything to you. Fuel, altitude, energy levels...no, you haven't a clue how any of this works. You'll worry about it later.

Grimly, you accelerate away from the doomed airship and fly your craft as far away from here as possible, dodging and weaving through the last of the storm. As you depart, you can just make out the violent wrenching of wood and metal as the airship is ripped apart.
> You proceed
For the next few hours, you travel through the open skies within the comfort of your flying craft, searching far and wide for your next destination. The wind blows through your hair as you accelerate forward, and you feel a kind of freedom wash over that you’ve never quite experienced before. Throughout your life, you’ve been content to remain settled upon your own island, never venturing out into the skies around you. Just a few hours in this craft is enough to tell you that there’s much more to life than that.

Even so, you don’t want to push the limits of this vehicle too much. In fact, you have a feeling that it’s starting to run low on fuel and energy. You will have to land somewhere soon, if only to refuel, but ultimately you want to find a new island to settle upon. A new home to call your own. A place where you can start again…

You pass the remains of several islands floating in the sky, broken chains dangling uselessly into empty space. As you approach, you realise that these are parts of bigger islands which have already fallen towards earth. Nothing remains there anymore. They have all suffered the same fate as the place you used to call home.

Continuing on, you eventually do find an island which is still intact. You do not recognise it, but from here you can see that there is a fair number of inhabitants. You can see houses and huts on the ground, indicating that there is some kind of community there. Of course, you have no idea how this community will react to your presence.
> You land at this island
You descend to the surface of the island, which is ringed by a protective metal fence, and land just within the perimeter. Upon first glance, the surrounding region appears to be nothing more than one of many small towns present upon this isle. There’s plenty of land to build fresh houses, and more than enough grassland for animals to graze. It’s quite a pleasant atmosphere. Perhaps this island could be a suitable place for you to settle upon?

As you turn your vehicle off and step out onto dry land for the first time in a long time, you notice that the people here are staring at you. Much like the captain and her mercenaries, they are not the same species as you. They appear to be Tenurs, in fact – a bipedal species of people who have inhabited the sky islands for generations before you. They are hairless and bald, with three fingers upon each hand, and two separate mouths set into their faces.

Their appearance is a little strange to those who have not encountered a Tenur before, but your home island was visited by a few Tenurs some years back, and you have some firsthand experience of interacting with their kind. They are quite an intelligent race with a flair for mechanics and engineering. It’s always fascinated you how their skin colour changes with their temperament; they are people who literally carry their heart on their sleeve. Of course, the older Tenurs can control the rate of change in skin tone, but that's another story.

“You are not one of us,” says a male Tenur, watching you critically.

Usually, you can tell what a person is thinking from the way they look at you, or the type of facial expression they wear, or their general body language. With a Tenur, none of that is needed. The man’s skin is pulsating faintly between colours of blue and orange, suggesting that he is both suspicious and anxious about your presence here. It would not do to frighten him.

Still, you’re just glad that he speaks your language, unlike the captain’s entire crew on board the airship, who mouthed off in Common Tongue to no end.

“I mean you no harm,” you say to him. His skin tone does not change; your words have brought him no consolation. “I am a survivor from a nameless island. One that fell out of the sky. I only seek shelter and settlement within an island which will help me.”

His expression did not change, and you realise now that he staring at the sword in your hand. You’d forgotten that you were still holding it after all this time. Quickly, you lower it down to the ground.

“You carry weapons,” he says sceptically. “But I sense no harm from you. Not many nameless ones come to our island. We place importance upon names, so if you stay here, you may have to take one for yourself.”

You notice that his skin tone is changing to purple. That confuses you at first, until you recall that purple refers to sexual attraction. His eyes are still fixed on you. Well, this is just brilliant. Your first time on another island and the first native boy you meet is attracted to you.

“We have heard about the falling of the other islands,” he says quietly. “You have my sympathy. We Tenurs are fortunate that we have not been affected by the energy drain which has destroyed the lives of so many. You need not fear such dangers here. If you wish to settle here with us, then we can offer you some protection.”

“I would like that very much,” you say gratefully. “Thank you.”

His skin colour darkens to a deeper purple. “I...I have just one question for you before I admit you into town.” You do not miss how the tone of his voice has softened. “Are you here from Gahl’vuhr Sehn?”
> You tell him you are from the Gahl'vuhr Sehn
Upon hearing your answer, the Tenur's skin tone changes to a murky green.

“Agents of the Gahl'Vuhr Sehn are not welcome here,” he says in a low voice warily. “You have made a dire mistake in coming to this island. Leave here before anybody else sees you. My kin will not be as lenient as I.”

“Who's this?” interrupts a voice from behind him. A tall, female Tenur with two wide smiles on her face turns to face you. “A nameless one. I heard you mention the Gahl'Vuhr Sehn, sister. Do you know what we do to agents of the Gahl'Vuhr Sehn?” The grins on her face carry no friendliness at all. “We don't appreciate what you do here. You will not control us, sister. The other Tenurs may bow down to you, but there is no space in the skies for your kind.”

“Listen, this has all just been a big misunderstanding,” you blurt out, realising things are starting to escalate out of hand. Naturally, you assumed that these people would respect the word of the Gahl'Vuhr Sehn, but it seems that you were dead wrong. “I'm not really with the Gahl'Vuhr Sehn. I escaped from their airship and - ”

Wordlessly, the male Tenur points to where you parked your craft near the edge of the island. He is staring at the emblem painted at the front.

“Your vehicle carries the symbol of the Gahl'Vuhr Sehn,” he states, his skin colour becoming more hostile. “You are no friend of ours.”

“I'm telling you, I'm not with them!” you say, starting to panic. “I stole it from their airship!”

To your dismay, more and more Tenurs are beginning to emerge, drawn by the commotion. You hear murmuring amongst them, and more than a few glares directed towards the emblem of the Gahl'Vuhr Sehn, in full view for everyone to see. People are beginning to whisper to one another, calling for you to be thrown out from the island altogether. The atmosphere has quickly turned very toxic.

“Leave!” one woman yells. “Leave us alone! We will have nothing to do with agents of the Gahl'Vuhr Sehn!”

“Get out!”

“You Gahl'Vuhr Sehn agents are always snooping around. Go back to where you came from! Try taking a trip back to the surface, there's plenty of room now that the humans have killed themselves!”

“Filth!”

The crowd of people is rapidly turning into an angry mob. Sensing that it is too dangerous to remain here anymore, you stumble back towards your vehicle as the Tenurs continue to hurl insults at you. You hadn't realised that some races actually hated the name of Gahl'Vuhr Sehn. From the look of things, the townspeople must have had very bad experiences with them indeed.

“Get out!” the Tenurs yell at you as you strap yourself into your craft and prepare to take off once more. “We don't want your kind here! Go back to Majeruk with the rest of your slime!”

Quickly, you hit the ignition and fire the engines up, flying away from the island of angry Tenurs. They seemed to be such a friendly sort of people at first, but just the mention of the Gahl'Vuhr Sehn was enough to set them all off. Perhaps you should have been honest with them, but it's too late now. Feeling rather affronted, you take your vehicle back into the skies and decide to look for an island which isn't so aggressive to visitors.
> You proceed
You continue travelling for a few more hours, on the lookout for any landmarks or signs of life on various islands. After some time, however, you began to realise that something is wrong with your vehicle. Although you still have sufficient fuel to take you a fair distance…you are starting to lose altitude. You are falling lower and lower in the sky, moving down in a broad spiral which takes you closer and closer to the surface of the planet itself…

Determinedly, you try fiddling with the controls on the craft to try and fly back up to where you were. Nothing works. You are starting to fall through the clouds by now, but all is not lost. It just means it’s more important than ever to find a decent place to land. For some reason, one of the components of your vessel appears to be malfunctioning.

There are numerous lightning storms in this part of the sky, and you are quick to veer away from them. Many an airship has fallen victim to the fierce and unpredictable weather conditions escalated by the deadly situation on the surface far below. As it is, you can barely control your vehicle at all. You need to stay airborne at all costs. You saw what the surface is like now: nobody can survive there anymore, and the people who remain there now have no future.

You accelerate in another downward spiral and cross through the clouds into a graveyard of broken and damaged airships, long-abandoned by their previous owners or simply left to rot. Many of these are ghost ships, whereupon the crew have run out of fuel and starved to death in their limited patch of open sky. The wind doesn’t blow all the time, after all.

One of the airships, strangely enough, shows faint signs of life. It is also severely damaged and has a faint plume of smoke coming from the hull.
> You approach the airship
A strong, putrid stench arises from the remains of the airship as you draw near. It’s easy to see why: the deck is covered with a mass of dead bodies, many of which have rotted away completely. Some of the corpses are now nothing but skeletons. You gag on the smell, forced to cover your mouth and nose with your sleeve. It’s inconceivable that anybody could be still alive out here.

What on earth happened here? Your first thought is that there must have been a ferocious battle of some kind, but many of the bodies show no signs of any physical wounds. There is some blood, yes, but not enough of it to give a concrete explanation. Mass starvation might be more likely, but this kind of airship seems big enough to carry a large number of supplies, and you don’t think that any of these people died from malnutrition.

There is a crunching sound from ahead of you, and you look over to see a single man crouched in the centre of the deck. He appears to be humanoid in appearance, aside from a third eye in the centre of his forehead, indicating that he is one of the rare subspecies of the sky races. His eyes are sunken and there are black blotches covering his skin.

He is gnawing hungrily upon the severed limb of a dead comrade.

Alarmed, you glance from the man to the countless bodies surrounding him. The smell of death and decay doesn’t appear to bother him. He must have been exposed to it for a very long time.

The man suddenly whirls around to face you, hearing the telltale sound of your vehicle’s engines. His eyes narrow when he sees you, watching you furtively, and he slowly puts down the bloodied limb that he was eating. Three more skeletons are lying behind him. You have a feeling that he is responsible for all the bones in sight. How long has this man been feeding off the flesh of the dead?

“Good day,” he calls out to you in a surprisingly jovial fashion.

You’re not quite sure how to respond. This cannibal is behaving as if you have simply strolled into his house for a brief chat. Every instinct you have screams at you to get as far away from this place as you possibly can.

“I have not had visitors for some time,” the man says. He beckons to you with one skinny finger, and you can see the bones through his skin. “Come aboard. Dine with me.”
> You come aboard as he requests
With extreme caution, you bring your vehicle up to the edge of the airship and climb aboard. This man looks dangerous, and you feel as if any moment he's going to suddenly snap and lunge at you to consume your flesh for himself. Nobody could possibly be so calm munching upon the flesh of the dead. You hold your sword out in front of you and keep your distance from him.

“You need not fear me,” he says. The sight of your weapon does not appear to worry him. “I have no intention of feeding on you, girl. There is more than enough food to go on already.” He nods towards the mound of rotting carcasses piled up across the ship.

You gag on the smell, trying not to breathe. “What happened here?” you demand. “Are you responsible for all this?”

He laughs shortly and takes another bite out of the severed arm at his feet, chewing slowly. “Unlikely. A third of the crew had already died before they let me out of the brig.” The man gestures at the black spots covering his body. “Worked it out yet? It's a disease. I contracted it from one of the islands to the south, whilst on an exploration mission for the captain. Itches like hell.”

“And yet you're still alive.”

The man smiles. “That's the thing. I'm just the carrier, but I suffer no ill-effects apart from...what you see here, but...it's very, very contagious. The rest of the crew received a fatal dose of the infection as soon as I returned to the ship. It attacks the vital organs, you see. Shuts them down, one by one. Body stops working. You hardly know it's happening to you at all until the starvation starts settling in. You live a long time, but you're...not really living anymore...”

He licks his cracked lips. “You asked me if I was responsible. Take a wild guess.”

You stare at him for a few moments, sitting here surrounded by bodies. The bodies of people who died as a result of the disease he brought on board. Slowly, the real horror of his words washes over you, and you start to back away. Have you been infected, too, just by coming on board this ship?

“Oh, don't worry,” the man says reassuringly. “I haven't infected you. Actually, I can't. The virus itself isn't active anymore. I think it's to do with the amount of dead tissue that I've taken into my body lately...but it's fine now. I can feel it. Doesn't get rid of the black spots though.” He rubs at his cheeks self-consciously. “Still itches.”

You don't want to trust a single thing he says. Your life could be in danger, just by standing here talking to him. Is the virus spread through the air? You shuffle back towards your vehicle, not wanting to have anything more to do with this...this cannibal.

“Why did you invite me on board?” you ask quietly. “Did you really think I wanted to hear your life story?”

“No,” he said simply. “I want you to do something for me.” The man gets to his feet, and you tense unconsciously. “I've been here for so long, feeding off the dead. Too long. I want you to get me out of here. That vehicle of yours can support another passenger, so long as you don't go too fast.”

He takes another step towards you, eyes burning into yours. “I don't weigh much. Not anymore. I want you...to take me with you. You're a wanderer too, girl. You're trying to survive. I...can help you.”
> You allow him to ride on the back of your vehicle
You must be crazy to even consider allowing this disease-ridden, filthy cannibal on the back of your vehicle, but part of you is curious about his offer of help. How could he possibly help you? You watch him very closely as he climbs onto the back of the craft, but the man shows no aggression to you at all. It's difficult to tell what his motivations are, but you know that he must have a reason.

“One wrong move,” you tell him, “and I'm throwing you off into open sky.”

He doesn't seem to be worried by that. “You're looking for somewhere to go,” he says. Slowly, the man lifts his arm up and points in a specific direction above you, roughly to the northwest. “You...should go that way, I think...”

You stare at him in disbelief for a moment, wondering what he's playing at. He surely didn't come along just to give you directions. Besides, you've been driving for hours and haven't seen any signs of inhabitable islands at all. It's worth a short, though, and might be better than just drifting through the skies without knowing where you're going.

Your vessel is still losing altitude steadily, and that worries you. You don't want to find yourself getting too close to the surface. Nevertheless, you manage to gain some height by pushing the levers on the dashboard as far as they can go, adding an extra boost to the engines and burning more fuel than usual. This had better work. The craft shifts upwards at a steep angle, and you lean back on your seat; the cannibal behind you lets out a cry of alarm as he is almost jolted off the vessel into the void.

“What was that for?” he demands, clutching onto the back of the vehicle with both hands and holding on for dear life. “You almost threw me off!”

“This craft is nearly out of energy,” you say. “There's something with the altitude on this thing...”

You climb steadily for about fifteen minutes, breaking through a new layer of clouds. At once, you spy a small fragment of an island, almost invisible to the naked eye from this distance. It seems to have broken off from a greater land mass, possibly the victim of the chaos on the surface. You almost missed it from here.

The island looks to be too small to offer you many favourable options, but you’re in no position to pass up the opportunity. Your vehicle is in dire need of maintenance, since you don't know how much longer you can keep it airborne. Only skill and luck have managed to keep it going for so long up to now. As far as provisions go, you've had limited food to keep you going, and you’re extremely tired. As things stand, you’ll just have to take a chance on this.

Hoping that you won’t regret your decision, you disembark upon this small patch of island. Hopefully there's some kind of intelligent life here, and if you're really fortunate you might be able to find someone who can fix your vessel. Perhaps…

There is a roar of engines behind you.

You whirl around to see that the man who guided you here has seized control of the aerial vehicle and is driving away from the island, almost straight down. With a yell, you dart forward to confront the cannibal, but he has already disappeared below. You're never going to see it again. He has effectively stranded you here in the middle of nowhere.

With little choice left to you, you decide to investigate the tiny island around you. Perhaps you can make the best of a bad situation.


With extreme caution, you bring your vehicle up to the edge of the airship and climb aboard. This man looks dangerous, and you feel as if any moment he's going to suddenly snap and lunge at you to consume your flesh for himself. Nobody could possibly be so calm munching upon the flesh of the dead. You hold your sword out in front of you and keep your distance from him.

“You need not fear me,” he says. The sight of your weapon does not appear to worry him. “I have no intention of feeding on you, girl. There is more than enough food to go on already.” He nods towards the mound of rotting carcasses piled up across the ship.

You gag on the smell, trying not to breathe. “What happened here?” you demand. “Are you responsible for all this?”

He laughs shortly and takes another bite out of the severed arm at his feet, chewing slowly. “Unlikely. A third of the crew had already died before they let me out of the brig.” The man gestures at the black spots covering his body. “Worked it out yet? It's a disease. I contracted it from one of the islands to the south, whilst on an exploration mission for the captain. Itches like hell.”

“And yet you're still alive.”

The man smiles. “That's the thing. I'm just the carrier, but I suffer no ill-effects apart from...what you see here, but...it's very, very contagious. The rest of the crew received a fatal dose of the infection as soon as I returned to the ship. It attacks the vital organs, you see. Shuts them down, one by one. Body stops working. You hardly know it's happening to you at all until the starvation starts settling in. You live a long time, but you're...not really living anymore...”

He licks his cracked lips. “You asked me if I was responsible. Take a wild guess.”

You stare at him for a few moments, sitting here surrounded by bodies. The bodies of people who died as a result of the disease he brought on board. Slowly, the real horror of his words washes over you, and you start to back away. Have you been infected, too, just by coming on board this ship?

“Oh, don't worry,” the man says reassuringly. “I haven't infected you. Actually, I can't. The virus itself isn't active anymore. I think it's to do with the amount of dead tissue that I've taken into my body lately...but it's fine now. I can feel it. Doesn't get rid of the black spots though.” He rubs at his cheeks self-consciously. “Still itches.”

You don't want to trust a single thing he says. Your life could be in danger, just by standing here talking to him. Is the virus spread through the air? You shuffle back towards your vehicle, not wanting to have anything more to do with this...this cannibal.

“Why did you invite me on board?” you ask quietly. “Did you really think I wanted to hear your life story?”

“No,” he said simply. “I want you to do something for me.” The man gets to his feet, and you tense unconsciously. “I've been here for so long, feeding off the dead. Too long. I want you to get me out of here. That vehicle of yours can support another passenger, so long as you don't go too fast.”

He takes another step towards you, eyes burning into yours. “I don't weigh much. Not anymore. I want you...to take me with you. You're a wanderer too, girl. You're trying to survive. I...can help you.”
> You refuse and drive away from here as quickly as you can
The sight of this cannibal gorging himself upon the bodies of his dead comrades sickens you to no end. You're not staying here a second longer. Without hesitation, you strap yourself back into your vehicle and fire up the engines, speeding as far away from the airship as you can. You can feel the man's gaze burn into your back as you depart.
> You proceed
You continue to fly forward for about an hour, mindful that your craft is now losing altitude at a rapid pace. The gauges on the dashboard are showing warning signs, but you still don’t understand what they mean. Power? Are you losing power now? You still haven’t seen a single island since the last one, and there’s nowhere for you to land at all…

The vehicle falls through the clouds, and you realise you are getting dangerously close to the surface. No. No, you can’t go this way. You’ve already seen the kind of chaos that’s happening down there. You saw every little part of it with the captain on the airship. Your place is up in the sky, among an island where you belong…

Your vessel runs out of power, and now you are veering towards the rocky ground below at a deadly speed. Frantically, you try every button and dial which makes any kind of sense. Anything. There has to be something which can slow down your descent. This isn’t what you wanted at all. Parachutes? Destabilisation of air pressure? No, of course not, of course this type of vehicle isn’t designed for going anywhere near the surface…

You’re so close to the surface of the planet now. You can see people down there. Buildings burned to the ground, screams and crying, the lava flow from an erupted volcano, mass flooding from the rising sea level…It’s not a place where you could ever survive. You need to stay in the skies. You need to stay up here…

The noise from below gets louder and louder until it becomes almost unbearable. Your vehicle is not going to stop. Praying very slightly, you brace yourself for a crash landing.
> You proceed
The impact is tremendous sending multiple shockwaves through your vehicle as it crashes into the ground, continuing forward for several more metres before coming to a grinding halt. Waves of pain wash over you, and for several long seconds you cannot move at all. You feel as if you have broken several bones in your body. Smoke billows out from the front of your vehicle, and you see that the exterior has been completely ripped apart. At the same time, it has cushioned the blow for you.

You are alive. You can hardly acknowledge the fact, but you are alive. Sparks fly from the dashboard, igniting another smaller fire within the interior, and you force yourself to get to your feet. Agony rushes through your body at every little movement, prompting a scream from your throat. You grit your teeth and keep moving. You need to survive.

You manage to force open the door. It's so badly damaged from the crash that it practically falls off its hinges. You can hear the screams from here.

The ground is blackened and burnt, and not because of the impact of your arrival. No, it was already like this. You have landed at the edge of what used to be a peaceful village. Buildings lie in ruins, farm animals lie dead on their side or half-devoured, and any crops have long since been the victim of multiple fires which raged here.

There are people around you.

They do not look like people. Humans, yes. You haven't seen a human being for a long time, but you know what a rational person look like and these are different from that. Their clothes are ripped and torn, their skin covered by a mesh of angry black spots which suggest the telltale designs of disease, and there is a frenzy in their eyes which frightens you beyond anything you have witnessed so far.

The people around you have not reacted to your crash landing. They are screaming at the top of their voices, wielding vicious blades in their hands, and killing each other on sight. Countless corpses litter the blackened ground as far as the eye can see, like the gruesome remnants of some kind of battlefield. It's as if a war is going on, but you can see here that the war is purely internal.

You see two men beating another to death with a hatchet. A crowd of children have surrounded a woman and are stabbing her repeatedly, all with the same murderous frenzy in their eyes. Three girls are gouging out the eyes of a bystander. A strange haze has settled upon this place, this peaceful village that saw no such violence before. Everything has gone out of control. You knew the situation on the surface was dire, but you had no idea that it had escalated to such extremes...

Desperately, you run for the safety of your aerial vehicle, even though there is no chance of getting it off the ground anymore. You can't take this. This is not an atmosphere in which you can survive. The people around you do not look as if they have eaten for days, a fact which hardly seems to bother them as they repeatedly murder each other on the spot with little regard as to the consequences. You are stranded on the surface of a world gone insane, and little hope remains to you at all.

You limp forward a few more steps before the pressure on your broken leg sends you crashing to the ground. The pain flares up anew, and you claw at the dirt around you. Your hands grasp at the morbid remains of a grinning human skull.

The humans turn around at the noise of your fall and shamble forward slowly, before charging towards you in a frenzy of bloodlust. All of them are already covered by vicious cuts and wounds which would usually kill a normal person, but these people do not seem to notice their injuries. They are far too gone. No semblance of reason remains in their minds. Not anymore.

The last thing you see is the irrational hatred and rage burning in their eyes, before your body is hacked to pieces by the inhabitants of the surface. Your screams are lost in a storm of mindless insanity which has already engulfed everything around you, mind and soul. You perish here, upon arrival.


You descend to the surface of the island, which is ringed by a protective metal fence, and land just within the perimeter. Upon first glance, the surrounding region appears to be nothing more than one of many small towns present upon this isle. There’s plenty of land to build fresh houses, and more than enough grassland for animals to graze. It’s quite a pleasant atmosphere. Perhaps this island could be a suitable place for you to settle upon?

As you turn your vehicle off and step out onto dry land for the first time in a long time, you notice that the people here are staring at you. Much like the captain and her mercenaries, they are not the same species as you. They appear to be Tenurs, in fact – a bipedal species of people who have inhabited the sky islands for generations before you. They are hairless and bald, with three fingers upon each hand, and two separate mouths set into their faces.

Their appearance is a little strange to those who have not encountered a Tenur before, but your home island was visited by a few Tenurs some years back, and you have some firsthand experience of interacting with their kind. They are quite an intelligent race with a flair for mechanics and engineering. It’s always fascinated you how their skin colour changes with their temperament; they are people who literally carry their heart on their sleeve. Of course, the older Tenurs can control the rate of change in skin tone, but that's another story.

“You are not one of us,” says a male Tenur, watching you critically.

Usually, you can tell what a person is thinking from the way they look at you, or the type of facial expression they wear, or their general body language. With a Tenur, none of that is needed. The man’s skin is pulsating faintly between colours of blue and orange, suggesting that he is both suspicious and anxious about your presence here. It would not do to frighten him.

Still, you’re just glad that he speaks your language, unlike the captain’s entire crew on board the airship, who mouthed off in Common Tongue to no end.

“I mean you no harm,” you say to him. His skin tone does not change; your words have brought him no consolation. “I am a survivor from a nameless island. One that fell out of the sky. I only seek shelter and settlement within an island which will help me.”

His expression did not change, and you realise now that he staring at the sword in your hand. You’d forgotten that you were still holding it after all this time. Quickly, you lower it down to the ground.

“You carry weapons,” he says sceptically. “But I sense no harm from you. Not many nameless ones come to our island. We place importance upon names, so if you stay here, you may have to take one for yourself.”

You notice that his skin tone is changing to purple. That confuses you at first, until you recall that purple refers to sexual attraction. His eyes are still fixed on you. Well, this is just brilliant. Your first time on another island and the first native boy you meet is attracted to you.

“We have heard about the falling of the other islands,” he says quietly. “You have my sympathy. We Tenurs are fortunate that we have not been affected by the energy drain which has destroyed the lives of so many. You need not fear such dangers here. If you wish to settle here with us, then we can offer you some protection.”

“I would like that very much,” you say gratefully. “Thank you.”

His skin colour darkens to a deeper purple. “I...I have just one question for you before I admit you into town.” You do not miss how the tone of his voice has softened. “Are you here from Gahl’vuhr Sehn?”
> You deny that you have anything to do with the Gahl'vuhr Sehn
“I promise you that I have nothing to do with the Gahl'Vuhr Sehn,” you tell him in a sincere tone of voice. Even as you speak, you realise that the vehicle you took from the airship has the telltale emblem of the Gahl'Vuhr painted on its front, and hope that the Tenur does not think to look. You hold his gaze, mindful of his current temperament. “Can you offer me shelter today upon this island? It would be nice to have someone show me around.”

You play upon his insecurities and any remaining doubt vanishes from his face. He smiles with both mouths. “Of course,” he says, extending one hand towards you. “Come this way. I would be happy to be your guide for today.” You take his hand, and notice the colour of his skin tone fluctuate ever so slightly. “Whilst we walk, perhaps I can tell you a little about the history of this island. Our ancestors first colonised this region of the skies over three hundred and fifty years ago...”

He clearly likes to talk and you spend some time getting acquainted with the Tenur male, who seems quite smitten with you. You're not sure that you find Tenurs particularly attractive in return – they do have two mouths in their head, after all – but you are keen to take advantage of his feelings. You decide not to risk going back to your vehicle and instead remain with your guide for the rest of the day.

One thing leads to another, and you start making enquiries about possible lodging and settlement upon the island. You soon learn that the Tenur man can put you in touch with various contacts in town. Money is no problem here; rather, Tenurs value work and resources to trade rather than currency, and you work to secure a steady job for yourself. The island is in need of miners, couriers and helpers for building work and you soon find an available position.

After that, the rest of the week passes quite quickly. You become close friends with the Tenur man and become acquainted with many people in his circle, as well as other Tenurs at your place of employment. A settlement has been reached. Before the end of the week, you even procure a name for yourself so as to fit into Tenurian society. Annabel. That's what you call yourself now. Annabel. It has a nice ring to it, and you refuse to answer to anything but that. Nobody can call you Unworthy anymore.

An entire month passes, and you find that you are enjoying month here with the Tenurs. The vehicle you used to travel here is found smashed up just a week after that, turned into scrap metal. Apparently, the locals here really don't like the Gahl'Vuhr Sehn. It's a good thing you didn't associate yourself with the organisation, because the people here seem so friendly otherwise.

Months turn into years, and you soon forget about the chaos happening on the surface far below. There's nothing to fear here. There is frequent news about the other islands which have fallen, but the Tenurs are a proud people and often talk about how the humans have destroyed themselves. It's nothing for you to be concerned about, really, so long as that kind of destruction doesn't affect your daily life.

You amass enough resources to improve your place of residence, and even start moving in with a few Tenur males who are interested in you. In fact, you become quite popular upon this island. You spend your resources wisely and save when you can. You have much to look forward to. You start to think about the future, about marriage and children and what prospects you have for them upon this island. The future is bright. This island is not going to fall, after all. The people here have amassed enough energy and resources to keep it going for a long, long time.

You end up settling permanently upon the Tenurian island, content with the life you lead right now. Not a day goes by where you regret your decision. Sometimes you gaze up into the sky and wonder about the crew of the airship that saved you, about the captain and Mother Ghared. They probably didn't survive. You are glad to live on.

After falling from a great height, there is no longer anything that can hurt you anymore.