Such vast, beautiful skies…
With the help of my mother's familiar, a giant white owl, we traveled across the heavens.
Although it feels cliché to say this, it was genuinely breathtaking.
As we soared higher, I was finally able to grasp the scale of the land I had been living in. From this vantage point, I could see the forests, the towering mountains, and even our home—now reduced to a dot. It was humbling. The house looked like nothing more than a speck of dust.
"Wow…" I muttered, gazing out in awe.
We were flying above a floating continent—Skyarnia. From this height, I couldn't even see its edges anymore. The floating land mass stretched endlessly in every direction.
The breeze was crisp, cool, and invigorating. It soothed my skin and filled my chest with fresh air. There was a peaceful silence here that words couldn't describe.
Along the way, I spotted ancient ruins, crumbling temples, and towering snow-covered mountains.
From time to time, gigantic winged creatures passed us by. Massive birds, some the size of buildings, soared past without even acknowledging us. Once or twice, a wyvern glided close enough for me to catch the glint of its scales. But they didn't attack. They simply acknowledged our presence and continued on their paths.
It was so fun… and so surreal.
"Do you like the skies, Leon?" my father asked, his voice carried on the wind.
"I do! I do!"
"Isn't it a beautiful and calming place?" my mother added.
"It is…" I said quietly, overwhelmed by the beauty around us.
"We should reach the edge of the continent in a few more minutes," said Eustace, the giant owl familiar, flapping his wings wide to catch a powerful air current.
FLAAAAASH!
As he gained speed, I leaned to the side and looked down again. This time, I saw something new—a massive, shimmering lake. Around it, jungle-like trees towered over a vibrant ecosystem. Strange creatures lived here. Giant elephants with three trunks drank from the lake while small crystal-horned deer dashed through the trees.
A green lizard, massive and agile, chased the herd with predatory hunger, but the deer easily outpaced it.
Further away, a family of wyverns circled the sky. They weren't dragons—those were rarer and far more intelligent—but these wyverns, like massive flying reptiles, held their own majesty.
I saw two of them, both male, battling mid-air while a group of females looked on. It seemed like a contest for dominance or mating rights.
"This is probably mating season for wyverns," I muttered.
However, the most shocking sight came next.
"GRUUUUOOOOONNNN…!"
A deep, echoing cry broke the peace of the skies. I looked ahead and gasped.
From the endless sea of white clouds, a colossal form emerged. Then another… and another.
"Gruuoonn…"
"Grruuuoon…"
"GRUUOOONNN…!"
Massive sky whales—each the size of an island—glided through the clouds as if swimming through water.
"Oh! Look at that, a family of Sky Whales," said father, pointing with excitement.
The enormous beasts floated gracefully, their bodies gliding effortlessly through the clouds. The adults dwarfed entire buildings. Some of them had green pastures and forests growing on their backs—actual ecosystems. I even saw what looked like birds flying over the foliage atop them.
The smallest of the whales swam alongside their mother, occasionally stopping to nurse. The sheer peace and size of the creatures made my chest tighten in awe.
"They live above the clouds and follow them as they drift across the skies. It's rare to see a full family of them like this," mother said, smiling.
"They say the largest Sky Whales are ancient. Some are said to carry entire villages on their backs, along with forests and rivers," she added.
"Some tribes even live on them permanently. Flying beastkin and other nomadic groups call them home," father chimed in.
"Do they have dungeons inside?" I asked, remembering a line from an old fairytale.
"They do," my father nodded. "The oldest Sky Whales sometimes harbor dungeons left behind by the gods. That's how we found several powerful weapons and artifacts back when we were still heroes on our journey."
"Ooh… that must've been so fun!"
"Well, it was also incredibly dangerous," my mother chuckled, her gaze distant.
"We almost didn't make it on our first attempt. Without Eustace, we tried flying ourselves and got tossed around by the winds. It wasn't pretty," father admitted.
"Nepheline threw up so much that day," mother said, laughing.
"You didn't have Eustace yet?" I asked, looking up at the proud white owl.
"I was recruited much later," Eustace replied with a sigh. "Ever since then, I've been the transport. The first-class ride through the skies… sigh…"
"I guess it's a noble job," I said.
The owl glanced at me from the corner of one large eye. "You're more polite than your parents."
"That's because I haven't had to carry anyone yet," I joked.
We continued flying for a while until Eustace's voice brought my attention back to our path.
"We're approaching the edge now."
I turned my head and saw it—Skyarnia's edge. A sheer, sharp cliff that marked the end of the floating continent. Beyond it lay only clouds, sky, and the vast world below.
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