#cloudsong

@mew-poo​ @randompurple​ @hexerutena

WIND! My native flight~ 

CLOUDSONG TIME

Ruvenhaec’s capital is entirely airborne and made up of a collection of floating platforms and ships. Groups of relatively stationary platforms are called Hubs or Anchors while groupings of more freely moving parts are Fleets. Anchors are modular and often break and merge in order to maintain balance around the boosting spells that keep them aloft. Each anchor has a public platform, usually taken up by market space. Surrounding that are platforms belonging to independent clans or individuals which hang or weigh onto the public plat. These are lairs or shops usually. The outer ring of an Anchor contains some set amount of dock space for ships coming and going, both local and visitors.

Which brings us to the fleets. Cloudsong organizes several thousand major vessels in between 200 and 300 fleets of various sizes. Each fleet has a flagship which follows a weaving path between anchors set out by the Cloudsong Port Authority. Individual ships are assigned to flagships, and assignments change on a rotating schedule in such a way that no flagship hits their docking capacity, resources are distributed to where they are needed, and weather complications are minimized. 

The patterns quickly grow very complex and, for those not well versed, locating one specific vessel at any given time can be an ordeal to say the least. Outsiders often describe the dance they do as completely random with ships and platforms unmooring and floating off as they please. In the vast majority of scenarios, this is not the case.

Cloudsong

At high altitudes ones’ tastesbuds are dulled or numbed, flavors such as salt and sweet are decreased and food seems to be drier. The sense of smell is also diluted, and in airplanes the droning of the engines creates a white noise which limits the brain processing the information about food.  

So to make up for these things the cuisine of Cloudsong (and the Twisting Crescendo)  is extremely flavorful- almost to a painful extent- when eaten at ground levels. Up high in the clouds it tastes just right, but below it becomes unpalatable to most. Strong spices, salt, and sugar cane is in high demand from traveling merchants in the cloud high shops. Liquid food such as broths and soups that can be easily carried in canisters or flasks is common. 

 And to combat the sounds of the planes or even the whipping winds, hats with ear covers or ear muffs are popular. Some dragons will not even dine without their favorite ear muffs for they say the food tastes off without them. Scent of food is increased via covered or close-lipped bowls, so that the smell is trapped within the bowl. To inhale deeply in the scent of the food is usually done before eating the meal, Wind dragons call it “drinking in the soul of the food”.

Horsey Friends