Submission (#1418) Approved

Gift Art Submission Link: https://worldofeyre.com/submissions/view/1406
Related Prompt: Festive Gifting Spirit
1st or 2nd Submission: 1st Submission
Regional Affinity: Kyendi
Elnin: https://worldofeyre.com/character/ELN616

Benji has always wanted to see the Kyendi region’s Eldertree. With its reedy, billowing fronds and impossible height, it must be a sight to see. Climbing on top of the gnarled branches would be a great adventure, advancing until he reached the thinner bits that would cease to hold his weight. Weeping willows are already impressive by themselves, but for an Eldertree? It must be beautiful in the fall. The lake it covers in shade would have to be clogged with fallen leaves, if the tree manages to stay overtop of over half of the water. 

Even beyond the Eldertree, Benji knows that the floating islands are what he looks forward to most. How is he supposed to get up there? Are there pathways built out of wood and plank, forcing elnin to climb a latter or vine all the way up? Wouldn’t that be dangerous? The thought of having to climb high enough into the sky to reach the clouds makes him nervous, but he’d be willing to make the climb, if only for the view. Being able to look at the world like it’s as small as an ant would be truly amazing. The rising or setting sun would make for a harsh view at dusk and dawn, but right before, when the sky turns a myriad of pinks, oranges, and yellows, must be breathtaking. The light might bounce off of the sunshard crystal deposits that lift the islands up, and create a vortex of shimmering colors. Do the shards permeate the entire base of the islands, with most of it unseen beneath wind-battered soil? How do shards of crystal hold up entire islands, anyways? Does it have something to do with magnetics, or does the mana just resonate that strongly? Leaving your fate in the air up to a bunch of crystals might seem like a coin toss, but Benji thinks he’d be able to do it. He just hopes the view is worth the risk.