Zephyria - Chapter 1

Zephyria’s Floating Boulders. A small set of 137.5 land masses hovering around 7km above the already sky high Kingdom of Zephyria. Each boulder was about 2km in radius with surfaces covered by a combination of greenery, rock and water, with miniature rivers cascading off the surfaces into nothingness. Where this water goes is a hot topic for debate, considering the levitating kingdom beneath it remains ever so dry. Both Scientific u0026 (surprisingly) Religious Communities argue that the water evaporates far before it could ever reach the mainland. The Misguided Magic community argues that the water disappears into nothingness due to their self proclaimed “magic barrier”. The “Science + Magic” theorists believe both, that the evaporation is caused by said barrier. And finally the “We are flooded” Society believes that the water does reach the surface, and that they’re eternally soaked because of it.

They are not.

Like the Zypherians and their differing beliefs, the floating boulders are unique in their own right, in size, mass, smell, taste etc. However, also like these Zypherians, they’re of the same species: suspended rock. Each possessed huge varieties of plants and fauna; daisies and butterflies flourished on some, whilst piranha plants and tarantulas infested others. That said, no-one paid attention to any of this wildlife. Down below existed a kingdom that left behind nature and “looked toward better advancement” or whatever way they put it. These boulders were the only remaining genuine images of nature in the kingdom, which most people didn’t give a thought about, but consequently made for great places to be alone.

That said, upon one of these rocks were not one but two conveniently attractive and powerful people, along with a large Teddy Bear. A weird sight to behold indeed. Two people up here? Unheard of.

The male sat along the edge, his legs staring into the eyes of death, whilst the female with arms crossed stood behind him. Both were similarly clothed in white shirts, black neck-ties and slim white bottoms (the male in trousers, the female in a skirt), however their cloaks differed in colour. The male sported a golden cloak made of silk, whereas the female wore a silver cloak of cotton fibre. While the silk cloak is the official garment of Vanguard, the cotton fibre was custom made and purposeful. She developed a mild pompous attitude because of this, under the falsehood that her fellow cohorts slightly envied her because of this.

They did not.

The Teddy Bear was of a water-proof, cotton-like substance and of light brown colour. Were you to punch it with any given amount of force, your arm would decelerate at a fixed rate, enveloped by the mysterious smooth yet fluffy material, before slowly recoiling back to it’s punching form. It sat at about 2 meters tall and possessed a perpetual blank face. It wasn’t inanimate, and did not sit motionlessly, but it’s movements were minimal. Think “resting doge”, without the potential of barking when bothered. It sat several meters away from the two Zephyrians, also staring at the view below.

“Aren’t you afraid?” Gale asked, observing the bustling metropolis. She was the female.

“We’ve been up here thousands of times, you’d think I’d have gotten used to this by now.” Hikari replied, stone faced.

“Not of heights you idiot, aren’t you scared of what’s out there? What lies beyond this place?”

“Hm”. Hikari moved his gaze from the mega city below towards the cloudy landscape that lied before them. “I wouldn’t say I’m not.”

“Gee, you don’t have to act tough, no one’s watching you, you know” Gale murmured as she sat down next to him. “Well.. I’m scared.”

Hikari gave a Gale a disgusted look as if she were a doge who pooped on his foot. “If the highest ranked air force commander is scared, then our Kingdom is certainly doomed.”

“We haven’t been out there before. If the stories are true then we won’t have it easy.”

“Seems like you’re the idiot here. Weren’t we chosen specifically because it’d be difficult?”

Gale gave in. “Meh, you’re right. You’re always right.” Gale said begrudgingly as she got back to her feet.

Hikari let off the slightest smirk, which triggered her.

“Which means you should be used to this.”

“I hate youuuu.” Hikari shouted as he was kicked off the ledge, his cries echoing as he plunged towards his apparent demise.

“Not afraid, my ass” Gale remarked, as she dived off the boulder to follow him.

The Teddy Bear followed suit, leaping off the ledge and propelling itself towards Hikari with its’ repulsors in all four limbs. Once it caught up to him, Hikari swiftly boarded the teddy bear’s back and both accelerated towards the floating metropolis in a now direct flight pattern. Gale caught up to Hikari in minimal time too, as her cloak morphed into a huge pair of navy blue mechanical wings, each feather a blade claiming to be sharp enough to cut diamonds just by lightly caressing them (again, Gale lives in her own delusions).

They almost instantly gained composure and their faces were full of intent. Full of ambition. Full of passion. Their lives were building up to this point in time, and they were not to waste any opportunity. They were indeed afraid, though not of falling. Of failing. They didn’t think they were ready.

They, surprisingly, kinda were.