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The man found a clue that pointed him in the right direction. The only trouble was, the direction he had to go was one that never crossed his mind. He had to go up but he had no idea how. With frustration setting in, the traveler headed over to the nearest town and conversed with the locals, hoping to get more information on how to go up. Sadly, nobody was any help. The man retreated to the inn and went to bed, wondering where and how to get there. Little did he know his destination was one of the legendary fantasy floating islands which meant he had to either climb a mountain or ride a large bird to to get there.
The floating islands is an environment unique only to fantasy. There’s no real-world counterpart which means they’re all based on their creator’s imagination.
Fantasy floating islands range in size and altitude but they all have one thing in common: they’re the closest to the heavens!
Though they might be the majority of the lifeforms found on these islands, birds aren’t the only ones that you can come across. The islands have a great diversity of animals that populate them, making them feel like real places.
When it comes to the story, fantasy floating islands are one of the few environments that play an outsized role in the tales they appear in. Their visual scenery invites both the audience and characters to become invested in them, wanting to learn more about them and see how they impact the story going forward.
This is the twenty-fourth article in the series chronicling the different kinds of fantasy environments. If you want to read more in the series, you can find them on our blog page. You have twenty-three other articles to look through at your leisure!
Let’s hitch a ride on our friendly dragon and see the majesty of the floating islands, shall we?
The fantasy floating islands are found way up in the skies, way above the surface. You can clearly see them from the surface and all you see are small shapes that seem to stay in place, never moving. Seeing them makes you want to find a way up there that doesn’t involve you to, you know accidentally plummet to your death.
Where can you find them? You can find them just about anywhere in the sky. The climate and terrain beneath doesn’t matter at all. Another interesting piece of information is that the altitude doesn’t matter as well. You can find some that are closer to the surface and some that are really, really high.
How do the fantasy floating islands stay up without falling to the ground? Well, the most obvious answer would be magic but that’s being a tad simplistic. The explanation depends on the kind of world you’re creating. For technologically-advanced civilizations, you want to have some sort of energy generator like fusion that’s providing the power or use heavy propellers to keep them afloat. For magic-dominant worlds, you could opt to have an advanced branch of magic that’s powering them. You want your explanation to make sense, not just for the characters inhabiting your world, but for the audience as well.
What should you expect to find if you’re lucky enough to reach one of them? Keep in mind that their being located in the sky usually means they have a connection to the heavens or the deities who created their world. As such, they have a closer relationship to them than the people living on the surface do.
Statues or images honoring them are one thing you’ll come across on the fantasy floating islands. The statues are made of stone or marble and depict the deities how they’re perceived by those living on the islands. You could see pictures of the sun, clouds, birds, or dragons in addition to the gods and/or goddesses.
You’ll also find signs of civilization, whether they’re ruins or they’re still in pristine condition. Crumbled structures that once served as homes or a broken fountain that once was the center of a bustling marketplace. Or you see perfectly manicured homes with vines growing on their sides and a great castle filled with abundant sunshine beyond a busy marketplace filled with shops.
The fantasy floating islands are home to a myriad of creatures. Some are peaceful and prefer to keep to themselves. Others are violent and will attack upon sight.
Let’s start with one you’ll see far more often than the others: birds. The islands are paradise for them, for they don’t have to worry about as many predators like cats like they do down on the surface. These places are a magnet for many different kinds, from the little sparrow to the fat crow.
You don’t have to use only real-world based fowl on your fantasy floating islands. Since they’re made out of your imagination, it’s only fitting that you create your own to live there. Experiment with multiple designs and come up with unique, interesting names for your species. If you’re lucky, one of your creations will become a hit with your audience!
Before we move on, let’s talk about one beast you expect to find up there: the almighty dragon. While mountains and caves are great spots to find one, the floating islands are the best because the dragon can see everything that comes near it. In addition, the dragon’s bulk takes up a good amount of the small surface, making it difficult for any would-be slayers to have plenty of room to fight and defeat it.
Fairies are another lifeform that live on fantasy floating islands. Their shape and appearance varies by the world but they serve similar purposes. They provide health for the hero and enhance their weapons’ power, making them stronger and more effective against the bad guys.
Many floating islands have small ponds. Some of these ponds have several kinds of fish and they’re exclusive only to the islands, meaning they don’t exist down on the surface. You have rare species like the arowana. This is another opportunity for you to come up with your own unique fish!
Furry creatures like squirrels love floating islands, especially those with trees chock-full of berries and acorns. These small adorable guys don’t have as many predators to worry about which means their numbers can quickly explode out of control.
Whenever fantasy floating islands appear in the story, they play a significant role. Whatever transpires on the islands has the potential to alter everything that comes afterwards.
Think about it, they’re a special place and they typically have a close connection to the deities of the world. Statues and images honoring them are all over and in some cases, they’re where special artifacts that have powers far beyond any down on the surface are hidden.
Where in the story can you find them? The answer is that they fit in anywhere. Want to have them in the beginning? No problem! What about halfway or the end? Either one will work!
They work anywhere in the tale because no matter where you put them, something will happen that impacts the rest of the story, for good or bad. This makes them quite easy to work with, provided you use them in a way that not only makes sense for both the story and its structure.
At their heart, their visual scenery draws both the audience and characters in. They’re in a world they never imagined they would see. You have a golden chance here to make them truly memorable, not just in aesthetics but in the storyline as well. Make your characters and audience want to learn more about this mysterious world they’re in.
Many fantasy floating islands harbor secrets that people would do everything they could to get their hands on. They have treasures unheard of down on the surface like jewels and gems that came from the mines up there. Powerful magical weapons with the capacity to smite evil or vanquish their users’ foes. Or artifacts that temporarily halts the aging process, allowing people to live far longer than normal. There’s a reason why it’s very difficult, if not impossible, for people on the surface to reach them.
To put it together, the fantasy floating islands are an environment you can’t leave out of your world. If you’re building a fantasy world, why not have an environment that’s unique to the genre?
Due to how high up in the skies they are, the floating islands are filled with great beauty, from trees overflowing with golden leaves to seeing the sun rising or setting with nothing standing in front. From the perspective of land-dwellers, they’re the closest to the heavens in the world and only a lucky select few can step foot upon these hallowed places.
Exotic lifeforms that are notoriously hard to come across on the surface call the floating islands home. You have fairies and dragons and rare creatures like the arowana. The islands offer them shelter and safety from those who hunt them.
The fantasy floating islands have so much to offer in storyline potential! No matter what events you plan to take place on them or where in the story you place the islands, they wield the power to fundamentally change the rest of the tale.
If you’re creating a world from scratch, you can’t go wrong with having one, two, or even more fantasy floating islands! And they’ll definitely leave a lasting impression for both your characters and the audience!
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Sunfire
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