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Return_to_Metropolis Crew
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 Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2006 11:24 am
Air:
City Name: City of Air
Population: Approximately 45,000
Architecture: All of the buildings are made of a mysterious crystalline substance, whose origin is unknown as it has been forgotten since the city of air originally ascended into the skies. The architecture itself is all delicate arches and graceful towers with halls and elegant,
Trades With: None
Magic: The magic of the Air Mages, obviously, deals with the air. They have the ability to control the wind, and therefore, the weather. Summoning storms can take time though, depending on how large it must be. Small local storms are whipped up fairly easily, and large storms can take an entire day to conjure. It is very rare that they have a need to call up a large storm though, as they require only little ones to water the crops they keep on their island home amongst the clouds. The Air Mages use their power over the wind and air to keep their city flying. As well as controlling the wind, Air Mages can make the air harden to use as a shield, or even to walk on. How long they can do this for depends on how much training they have had. Master Mages can walk across the air all day and not break a sweat. They rarely do of course, since they have wings which they fill with wind to keep themselves afloat in the air rather than walk, as flying is faster.
Surrounding Area: The floating city drifts about wherever the wind (and wind mages) take it. During the day, the sun reflects off of the crystal city, making it visible to all. At night, the light of the moon causes it to glow prettily with an eerie blue light. The cities on the continent below often refer to this wandering city of the air as ‘The Wayward Star’, as it is constantly on the move.
Residents: The people of the floating city are distinctly avian in nature. All of them have large feathered wings that vary greatly in color and markings. They are a relatively small, thin, and lithe people, built for riding the winds. Their wing span is usually two and a half times their height as a general rule of thumb. Some are a bit larger, others a bit smaller. Their bodies are humanoid, but they have long feathered tails that serve as rudders while they are in flight. They have long windswept hair that grows down their neck and to their back where it melds with the feathers of their wings and tails, changing from hair to soft, downy feathers. Their faces are generally angular with prominent noses and sun-kissed skin. Their eyes are almond shaped and are either shades of gold, or black.
For clothing they prefer no, or very small tops that won’t get in the way of their flying. Males always go topless, and women wear the smallest possible coverage on their top as possible to keep clothing from getting in the way. The women are very small chested anyways. For pants they like loose, flowing garments that go to at least their knees, and for shoes they wear sandals that have straps that wind up around their calf.
Daily Life: The people of The City of Air are creatures of the day. They delight in the feeling of sunshine warming their backs and the wind in their wings as they fly high in the sky, rarely descending to earth. In fact the only time they ever do go down to the ground is when small groups of hunters are sent into the Earth Forest to retrieve the meat necessary to keep them alive. They don’t require much meat, as much of their diet is supplemented with fruits and vegetables they grow themselves.
There are no real classes on the City of Air, as everyone does their fair share of work, some way or another. Mages contribute to keeping the city aloft, others tend the vegetable patches and fruit groves that are located at one end of the floating island. Still others are sent down to do the hunting. Like all of the other cities, this one also has a tower where magic is taught, and it is located at the far end of the island, opposite where the food is grown.
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 7:28 pm
Her son wasn't there. Micheal Aeris, Mage Superior to the City of Air had vanished in the middle of the night without so much as a note to his mother. He'd taken his entire staff with him, but could he be troubled to stop by for his mother? At least tell her where he was going? No, not at all. It was so like him. The aging woman frowned slightly in the chair she occupied in her sons office. Her husband was talking to the tower keeper, demanding to know what in the name of the wide blue sky had happened to his son and the normal staff, part of which was his daughter from his first marriage, to whom his current wife had no real attachment.
She loved her son dearly, had always worried about him as a boy, knowing that he was surely destined for greatness, unlike her step daughter to whom her husband showed to much preference too for her tastes. What if he was hurt and needed his mother to patch him up again? Oh she'd never forgive these fools if anything happened to her darling son! He'd always been a rebellious boy, always running about with all those other children from dawn until dusk. Then when he'd turned sixteen and was old enough to fly on his own that had only increased it! Oh her poor nerves at that point in their lives! Now it was all coming back.
Her husband and the tower keeper were surprised when the formerly silent Lady Aeris stood, glared at the keeper and said “I want him found, do you hear me? I want him found and I want him found now! NOW STOP YOUR JIBBER JABBERING AND GET MOVING!” she yelled, making the tower keeper yelp, repeatedly say yes ma'am while bowing his way out of the room, before turning tail and running out as a vase was thrown at him. He quickly spread the word throughout the non-mage staff and the search began, word of the missing mages spreading like a wildfire as they went for to search the city, though it was all in vain.
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Return_to_Metropolis Crew
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Posted: Sat Dec 16, 2006 2:47 pm
Gabriel was in his small apartment on the top floor of one of the many crystalline buildings that jutted up from the piece of earth that floated gracefully amongst the clouds of the wide open sky. He was sprawled out on the floor, laying on his stomach, chin resting on his folded hands and eyes as his mind drifted, focusing mostly on the startling announcement that had only been made an hour before.
“The Mage Superior is missing.”Gabriel said aloud to the empty air, unfolding his large white wings and letting them spread out across the floor. Black eyes were revealed as the man's eyes drifted open. He had just been coming to grips with the idea that he was a mage too, he'd even planned on going to see about registering for classes that very day until he heard the news! What was he supposed to do now, without a teacher to help him gain control of these new powers?
Gabriel huffed and kicked his legs lightly against the rug on which he was laying. It wasn't fair! Here he was with new, amazing powers and not a thing to do with them! The 22 year old man closed his eyes again, calming himself by taking deep breaths and turning his thoughts inward until he found that strange sensation once more. It'd been there ever since early that morning when he'd woken at dawn like he always did. He found that it was always loudest when he let his mind still like he was now. It was an urge, a pull, an itch to leave that he had never felt before in his entire life. It was strange, exciting, and frightening all at the same time.
The feeling puzzled him exceedingly. What was he supposed to do? Meant to do? Was the feeling just wishful thinking or did it really mean something? Perhaps it had something to do with the missing mages? After all, it hadn't started until their disappearance. Somehow, Gabriel was very sure that the feeling definitely had something to do with the mages, and if he wanted explanations, he needed to find them!
Suddenly full of energy and motivation, Gabriel rolled lithely to his feet and ran into the bedroom, pulling out a pack and stuffing clothing and supplies into it. Halfway through though, reality hit him like a a gale force wind. Just what was he doing? The mages could be anywhere on the continent below him, a place that he rarely visited and knew little about. Gabe huffed again and fell back onto his bed, fire and inspiration leaving him as abruptly as it had come. He lay there, debating with himself internally, and was still laying there half an hour later when a voice suddenly reached his ears, making him sit up in surprise.
“I said, are you going somewhere?” asked the older woman with a sad smile who was standing in his door. She looked a lot like him, white wings and hair, dark skin, but golden eyes rather than black.
“Mom!” he exclaimed in surprise, sitting bolt upright and hurriedly shoving the bag before him. “Ah...no, not really.” he said.
His mother, Ashli, only chuckled and moved forward, tugging the bag out from behind him and examining it as she said “Well what's all this then?”
Gabriel sighed and lay back on the bed. He never had been able to lie to his mother with any kind of conviction. “Alright alright...I was thinking of going to look for the missing mages.”
Ashli froze for a moment, but then kept moving, pulling her sons things out the bag and then neatly folding them and replacing them more neatly than he had in the first place.
“When are you leaving?” she asked quietly.
“I don't think I am.” he replied.
“Whys that?”
“How would I even find them?! I haven't gone down to the surface except for hunting since...well, for a very long time.” he said finally after a moment's hesitation.
“Oh I don't know, if anyone could do it, I think it would be you, Gabriel.” his mother said, still packing things for him.
“What makes you say that? Do you want me to go?” Ashli's son asked in confusion, sitting up and looking at his mother with his dark eyes.
“Of course I don't want you to go love, but...You need this, you and I both know that.” She sighed and closed the bag she had been packing and then sat down next to her son who fairly dwarfed his small mother. Amongst their people, his 5'6” height made him one of the tallest people around. “Ever since you found your powers Gabriel, there's been something different about you, especially now as I look up at you. I can see it in your eyes more than ever.”
His mothers perceptiveness never ceased to amaze Gabriel, who looked at her in surprise for a moment before saying “But what about you? I can't just leave you here all alone.”
Ashli reached up and patted her son's cheek and smiled at him warmly “You always were such a thoughtful boy. But I'll be fine, I promise. You though,” she said matter-of-factly “need to get going.”
Ashli stood and offered the pack to her son, smiling at him. “Now go on Gabriel, i know this is what you really want. Don't let me hold you back.”
Gabriel sat on the bed for a moment, turmoil roiling within him. His mother was right, he did want to leave, but on the other hand, he didn't want to leave his mother here all alone. Looking up at her smiling face though was what finally convinced him. He got to his feet, took the bag, and then warmly embraced his mother, holding her there for several moments before saying “Thank you mother...I'll miss you.”
Ashli did her best to hold back her tears as she wrapped her son up in a tight hug and replied “And I you. Don't you come back till you've mastered those powers though, you hear me? I want to be able to brag to all my friends that I have a master mage for a son!”
Gabriel couldn't help but laugh, knowing that his mother was only putting on a brave face for his sake. He pulled back and nodded his head. “I will.” he said, and with one last look at the woman who had worked so hard to raise him, Gabriel walked out the door of his apartment, leaving a weeping mother behind him.
The wind, oddly enough, was almost still as Gabriel exited onto the roof of his apartment, meaning that the city had stopped, a rare thing indeed. Perhaps it was an omen of good luck for Gabriel that the city was so still, for had it been moving, escaping the wind current around the city would have been very difficult. Because it was still though, it would be as easy as a jump and a few wing beats to escape the city.
The winged man resettled his pack on his back and took a deep breath as he stretched his wings.
“Well, here goes nothing!” he said and then suddenly ran and leapt from the edge of the building making it quickly to the edge of the city and then off into the sky beyond.
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