Hi!! Happy WBW from @magic-is-something-we-create!!
I was looking through your WIP list, and Tairkyda from City of Fractured Dreams caught my eye - what's keeping the island/city afloat? Is it magic, technology, or a blend? Are there other cities/places like it in that world, or is it one of a kind?
And you mentioned in the synopsis the idea of Topside and Underside - is the island more like a chunk of ground that was lifted with the city itself, with sewer systems and undercity attached, or was the whole thing constructed with the intent to float? Like a really big ship with people living in the maintenance hold??
(Also, I'd love to be added to the taglist if you have one for that WIP!! It sounds really cool!!)
I hope you have a lovely rest of your day!!
!!! ;-; You're so sweet.
So every single land form in that world floats. Not just Tairkyda. The planet's surface is infinite ocean on all sides with terrifying depths in some places. There's places shallow enough to stand in, if you're willing to be up to your hips, in a handful of places at low tide, but that's it.
So the island is a literal floating island. The surface, like we see walking around, and then tonnes and tonnes of rock and dirt and sediment and plant matter and ore and all sorts of stuff beneath it. Like tearing a land form out of the ground and lifting, getting all the dirt and rocks underneath. Literal islands in the sky, undersides and all. Some islands are much shallower than others, but Tairkyda is a fairly deep island.
No one knows why they float. There's been many studies over the world, but no one can figure out why. Best guess is that it's the same thing that creates the magic polyhedral dice and the literal river of souls and fog that winds its way around the planet every year. But as far as everyone knows, this is how things have always been. It's not technology though, and it's not on purpose. To everyone in this world, the floating islands are totally normal, like how tectonic plates are normal for us.
Topside is the surface of Tairkyda, so everywhere that gets the sun. Underside is literally beneath Topside, with Topside's infrastructure of piping and sewers being the literal roof of the top level of Underside. Underside is carved out from the sides of the island, creating tiers of docks and living space where only those living on the very edges get sunlight. It exists due to overpopulation of the island, increasing class differences, increasing police presence, and the tendencies for the lost and the isolated to go carve out their own spaces.
It is like a bunch of people living in the maintenance hold, though. That is definitely a big part of the vibe of Underside.
And yes I will add you! Oh my goodness thank you! (I love Ehlverse so much & I'm v excited about Millenium Saga)
