Rite of Passage

A ritual for rebirth or coming of age ceremony. In sky it is usually used in two ways. First it is usually celebrated on specific birthdays when the person reaches a new state of life, also called the masking ceremony as they gain a new mask each time. This custom is done at the ages of: 10, 20, 40, 60 and in death.

The second way is, as previously stated in death, as they are adorned in robes, a special masks and gifts from family members, before they are burned. That’s done in the belief that fire sets the spirit free and cleanses it from all accumulated darkness.

Megabird/ Chet

The deity of light and soul. Each string of light that makes up it's body, is connected to a world by their tear (the prince/king) and let's the cycle of birth and death happen. Without it, the cycle would halt and —as seen in sky— the spirits would be stranded on their world, neither truly dead nor alive. To restart this cycle, until the old tear fades and a new one can be send down, their feathers (the skykids) do the job manually by collecting the souls and bringing them to the connection point.

The Light

The soul, life and core that can be found in everything. Dark beings hold no such light and thus have to leech it off of others and gnaw on passing souls to stay alive.

The Flame

The power and will of every being. It manifests as personality, creativity or even cosmetics.

Obsidian

A stone made from pure darkness and a direct by product of the light that flooded the land. Thus it does not react to the flame — like dark stone does — but rather the light itself. The King had bestowed the Elders with shards of this stone, that granted them special abilities such as immortality. However, these shards became their downfall when the heart / light crystal exploded.

They reacted and absorbed the accumulated darkness that had Overwhelmed the heart from within and thus instantly destroyed the physical forms of the elders. However, as they could not be killed, their souls landed in limbo and were since unable to reconnect with their flame and thus their will and duty.

Darkstone

A natural stone / crystal that grows in dark places such as caves and mines or where light creatures have died . The stone reacts to flame and absorbs it, turning its raw power into controlled energy. Due to this, it can give other objects that do not have light, the ability to fly or other interesting uses. Dark stones thus come in two types, the conduct that is made from naturally grown crystal or the batterie/ spells that are made from crushed light creatures/ their bones and lightblood or other natural materials such as wood.

The Elders

Immortal Demigods that watch over their own constellations and posses both dragon flames and obsidian shards. The Constellations give them the ability to return to the world with their memories intact. The Dragon flames grant them power over the elements and powerful magic. The Obsidian shards grant them immortality.

Edens crystal

The crystallised power and heart of the King. It absorbs the darkness of the passed on souls, even those that had not been burned at the burial and leads them straight to the megabird.

Time

A timeloop created by the elders power whose eternal sleep has caused the day to stop at their favourite time. Said power is a by product of the obsidians power to "freeze time". However only the daytime/ weather is affected, everything else keeps on aging and changing. Areas beyond the elders domain continue changing as usual.

The dragons

The four Elemental dragons exist in every world for the same purpose. To await the tear chosen by the megabird and test if they are strong enough to uphold the connection and are worthy of their flames. Such events however happen very rarely and while the dragons slumber and dream of the future, their guardian tends to their cave and trials, and records the whispered prophecies until the day they wake again.

The Krill

Creatures born after the second Cataclysm. They are a mix of bones, sludge and the bodies of the dead. Some say that there are more than one kind. Some even older that rose from the depths of the ocean, though none have ever lived to prove their existence.

Constellations

Like the nations of our world, the spirits have sworn themselves to different Constellations and follow their path on their travels diligently. If the spirit guide fades or dies, their constellation disperses and leaves the affiliated spirits to wander until they reach or form a new one. Just like the saying of the Northern star, they too follow the sheperds staff to find the mysterious Kingdom in the clouds and explore it's secrets.

Whisperers

These are special spirits that have in their life time been very closely affiliated with light creatures and have tended to their Sanctuaries their whole life. Due to this, they not only have adapted some mannerisms and features of their creatures, but also retained their voice even after death.

Flight/ transportation

An ability given through light. Spirits could also use their inner light to fly freely though it was best to wear a cape while doing so, as to not loose control so easily when airborne. After the introduction of the darkstone and the usage of flying boats, it was generally seen as crude when spirits flied themselves as only champions or travellers did so. Other transportation methods also involved tamed light creatures.

Nature

After the connection happened and light flooded the land, it transformed nature and turned clouds almost solid. That way they keep the islands afloat by their natural light. Plants were also changed as seen in woods and forests. The trees stopped growing leaves and instead created thin white leaf like objects that stuck to one another if they were close enough and would form, after enough time, new clouds. If the trees were apart far enough, the clouds would rip themselves off of the branches and fly away; if not, they would stick to other trees and create pocket clouds in which those forests were hidden. The trees also had a unique ability, as they could absorb the filth from the earth, push it through the cloud leaves and let it down again in the form of rain. If there was too much death however, they would not be able to cleanse it fully and let rain fall that drained the light of all creatures.

The old world

Barely anything is known about the world before the first Cataclysm, but some say that there are still a few places that preserved until this day.

The sea

Broad and vast, it encompasses almost all of the Planets surface and hides old ruins and secrets underneath.

The Leviathan

Hypothesised to be a form of ancient Krill, that got corrupted after much of the sludge and filth from the darkstone production was dropped into the ocean and sunk into the depths. Researchers had discovered it hibernating after setting up a mining facility nearby and studied the life cycles of light creatures and their uses while still alive, such as the ability to make water breathable.

The Bells

Like a beacon, the ringing of the bells would draw the spirits near and guide them to the holy mountain. This was done everything a funeral was held though it was also used for communication.

Spirits

Their bodies had long since turned to stone and rot and their spirit trapped within the oily confines of plants, blind to the world and unmoving. Their eyes could only see light filled things and their calls functioned like echolocation. To free a spirit and reawaken them through flame, they had to first relieve their most important memory, before burning the body like it was intended to cleanse it from the rot.

To help a spirit further, one could go out and find their treasured items and bring them back to their grave until they are ready to pass on in peace.

The oily sludge

Industrial left over sludge that has been dumped into the outskirts of the city and sea without a care. Sludge within the city is a result of mass deaths and lack of purging.

The oily plants

Maybe like rot and mold, they grow upon corrupted biological matter and constantly resurface where the darkness hasn't been purged. The flames appear as a result of the industrial sludge and oil clinging to it.

Colored lights

Pure light is always golden, but if one breaks it apart, it reveals a multitude of colors and uses, hence the creation of magic spells. Some spirits have managed to break their light into fractions and use the power accordingly, or create new light and flames from the world around them by mixing it with alchemy.

Light generator

An old colloseum for sport festivals and more. It's special structures continously rotate to keep the wind going and give the contestants an easier time in the air.

Gates/ portals

Special doorways that lead to the Realms on by one. No one knows where they came from, only that they've always been here ever since the children arrived.

Winged light

Feathers of the mega bird that did not manage to form a hybrid body and thus remain as drops of power rooted in place. Can be collected only by fellow feather (sky kids)

Memory lanterns

Lanterns into which the memories of the deceased have been carved into. If lit up, they throw the memories like a projection onto the wall, much like those paper lanterns.

The continent now known as the Kingdom in the Sky, is the largest of the remains and was soon turned into a refugee for many survivors of the great catastrophy. There are of course a few others great continents and several islands groups, but there isn't much known about them as contact became scarce.

Life was hard as they adapted to the lack of old technology and more and more knowledge was lost with time, but it wasn't all hopeless, as one day a star descended from the heavens in the form of a child. A child soon dubbed the name of "prince" from the bright glowing halo around their head.

What the survivors didn't know was, that due to the large loss of lives, the balance between life and death was disrupted and the Mega bird, the heavenly deity that travels through the cosmos and watches over all the souls, needed to take action.

To rebalance the natural forces, it sent down an Guide whose purpose was to relink the world to the birds influence and continue the cycle of life, death and rebirth.

Upon arrival, the four Elemental dragons noticed their presence and took them to the trials to test if they were worthy of the task.

Naturally, the "prince" bested them all and managed to obtain the dragon flames, which they gifted to six great leaders who took charge of their people and proved themselves worthy to carry the flames and find a new home for them to live in.

Together, with their new found powers, the "prince" and their followers ventured out into the world to built it anew. Alone the Prince the ascended the highest peak on Terra and reconnected the planet with the mega bird. The resulting blast of power, infused everything with light and lifted the land into the heavens to prevent such a flood from happening ever again.

Peace and harmony filled the land in its wake and new creatures emerged from the dephts, each having been grazed with the ability to fly except for those that rejected that power.

Soon, the leaders of the survivors split apart and created their own homes to live in. Daleth, as they were now called, settled on the Dawn Island, to serve as a welcome place for stranded travelers and survivors who hoped for a new life in the founded kingdom.

Ayin took claim on the daylight prairies and embraced the nature and harmony that they shared with the creatures. It was also the main port and took care of all the exports, making it a bustling hub for travelers far and wide.

Teth explored the cloudy forests that emerged all over the world and settled there to try and recreate the lost technologies, leading to the discovery of a rock called dark stone that absorbed the fire if placed near an open flame and transformed it into energy by doing so.

Sahmekh took off into the mountains and lived for the entertainment and enjoyment of the people, bringing life and joy to all around them and making sure that all were free from their troubles and sorrowful pasts.

Tsadi was never fond of heights and preferred to stay on the ground were they then began to create the industrial revolution, by cooperating with the findings of Teth and thus calling in the dawn of the dark stone age.

Lamed, one of the original followers, secluded themselves to a tower deep within the holy mountain and focused on the recording of history as well as the capture and preservation of the memories of the deceased.

Meanwhile the "prince" remained on the mountain, to keep the connection alive.

They stayed there for a long time, deep within meditation while around them grew a blooming paradise, filled with life and light plants that soon spread across the lands, while the spirits returned to the deity and the cycle of life and death started anew.

But, as time passed, the "prince" grew tired of their duties and more and more curious about the creations down below, so, thinking that no harm could be done by a quick trip there and back, they left the holy mountain and ventured down to a new, blossoming civilization — but not before crystalzing and anchoring the holy light they carried so that the connection did not fade.

Awed by the people and the things they came up with, the "prince" began to help them expand their knowledge of the world, by showing them how to collect memories, how to wield light or talk to the creatures around them. Fascinated by this, the people kept the "prince" earth bound and soon crowned them to be "king" as well as constructing a castle high above the clouds.

As they slowly grew older, the "king" began to forget about their previous duties, confident that the light would stay as it was.

Yet as time passed, a rift appeared between the tribes as the industrial ones grew too confident and greedy with the new technology and exploited the nature around them. Compressing creatures and plants to draw more light from them to use as fuel for their machines, while dumping the resulting sludge, filth and death into the soil.

This tainted nature and greatly angered the environmentalists, who tried to come to an agreement, yet the industrial ones would not listen. The conflict between them grew more and more until a civil war broke out, that finally drew the attention of the King.

Concerned about the actions of their subjects and the strange flickering in the light crystal, the King then secluded themselves to the castle and meditated to regain the balance within their heart before they would descend and clear the conflict themselves.

But no matter how hard they tried, the rift was too great. More and more were dying than it was natural and without a vessel to keep it in check the light grew fragile until it finally shattered into pieces despite the help of the elder spirits.

All of the accumulated darkness, negativity and death seeped out, no longer able to be contained nor purified by the crystal, and corrupted the "king" who was now trapped in a cataclysmic storm that laid waste onto everything in its path and closed the gate between the world and the Mega bird, dooming all the souls that died to stay there forever.

In the wake of the second Cataclysm, the darkness and filth spread, now that there was nothing to purify it anymore. All of the corpses were tainted by it and mutated slowly into dark dragons that stalked the remaining land and fed on everything that still carried light, while the few untouched areas slowly healed from the poison.

The elders who had helped contain the crystal were put into a deep sleep after the loss of the primordial flames and could no longer serve as an anchor for the spirits and thus, the cycle between life and death came to a halt.

Since no new connection could be formed until the old "prince" faded from the world, messengers were sent to the place as a hybrid between darkstone and light, with the flame inside them. And they would now guide the souls to their final resting place and the gateway, until the connection faded and they could be born anew.