The Moyo Crystals of the Mlezi Sky Islands

Why was Chivit chosen above all other continents to have these wonders? Why is chivit the chosen place for life?

— Maelyrra von Greypeak, Scholar

Overview

A continent where life is flourishing should have been impossible given the catastrophe that was the The Great Collapse. The collapse was an event that ended the powerful and unified Ancient Order. Yet, several expeditions have brought back more than enough evidence to affirm without doubt that life on the Chivit Continent (shi-VIT) has thrived and prospered. Many are amazed by this happening and yet are suspicious of it. Perhaps it is little wonder that there is an inclination to look for a supernatural reason for Chivit's flourishing life. The Mlezi Sky Islands and the local legends concerning them offer that supernatural explanation.

The Moyo Crystals

According to journals written by explorers to the Chivit Continent, there are seven sky islands floating above the jungle canopy of the Anestri'for. These sky islands are called the Mlezi Sky Islands. Legends from the Pază tribe claim that these cube-like sky islands are the silent guardians of the seven moyo crystals. The moyo crystals emit life-giving magics that promote and protect the well being of life within their sphere of influence. This has allowed for the rapid growth and diversification of flora and fauna which has resulted in the creation of the Anestri'for as told by the legend. As such, the Mlezi are considered a healing gift from a benevolent power for our shattered world.
The Pază People, and other peoples like them, claim to be the chosen guardians of the Mlezi. They prohibit outsiders from getting too close to the sky islands much less to go inside them. To do the latter action would be to desecrate the power of the crystals and risk insulting the benevolence that has given them. Thus, the Pază have been constructing a stone wall to guard their territory and the crystals. This is to ensure that the crystals may always ensure the flourishing of life.

Mlezi - Sky Island Guardians

The Pază, the tribe we know most about and the source of most of our knowledge concerning the legend, claims that the floating islands guard the crystals. This seems to be at odds with the proclamation that the Pază are guardians. The Pază have been challenged on this. The answer they give is that the Mlezi are a power above them, that the Mlezi give the Pază the power to ward off any invader. There are hints that the sky islands can produce powerful storms when hostility against them is present. No one has been willing to test this supposition thus far.

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I took a sip, and the exhaustion melted away. I ought to settle down and live out my days here.

— Ryo, Explorer

Rejuvenating Waters

While explorers weren't allowed to get to close to the floating islands, they were able to approach a large lake- Fanrong Lake- underneath one of the Mlezi. The body of water in question seemed to be clean, and many kinds of small fish swam within it. Those who drank from the waters, they did so after some encouragement from the Pază People, said that they never felt more alive shortly afterwards. It is something of a surprise that drinking the waters did not incur some kind of wrath upon the drinker. This has led many to assume a benevolent presence exists within the seven Mlezi Sky Islands.

Edellä Sky Archipelago Origin Theory

Back on the Quassus Continent, many have begun to make their own ideas on the origin of the Mlezi Sky Islands and their Moyo Crystals.
One theory for the existence of the floating islands is that they were once part of the Edellä Sky Archipelago. During the collapse, many plots of land was torn from the earth to become sky islands. Many of these sky islands returned to the ground when the wild magics finally began to dissipate. However, many islands remain in the sky. Most of these islands formed the Edella Sky Archipelago including the seven which would become the present day Mlezi Sky Islands. At some point the seven islands affixed themselves at several stations above the northern Chivit region. Shortly thereafter, the Anestri'for blossomed into an impossible bastion of life in spite of a shattered world.
Maybe the Djinn placed the sky islands as an act of kindness. Maybe the Djinn could not exercise their will over the power controlling the Mlezi. Astute readers will have noticed that this leading theory does little to address the existence let alone the origins of the Moyo Crystals.

Life Elsewhere

The reader may be wondering why the Anestri'for is considered a bastion of life when life seems to have done well elsewhere. Certainly the Quassus Continent is home to several kinds of life as is the Planus Continent. However, many do not realize that these lands are in fact slowly dying.
The Reclaimer Guild of the Deshret Continent are keenly aware of this due to the apparent impossibility of introducing livable land within the Oniruuru Desert.
It may be several centuries before Quassus and Planus resemble the deserted lands of Deshret, but some scholars have presented evidence that desertification is already happening. This has yet to become the official narrative and there are plenty of scholars who dispute the idea of global desertification. Even among the most pessimistic scholars, there is universal agreement that Chivit will continue to thrive regardless of what happens to the rest of the world. Perhaps whoever placed the Moyo Crystals was seeking to preventing the outright loss of life on Awldor.

A Garden for the Eldritch

Of course there is another and darker theory concerning the Moyo Crystals. When stories of the Lalina Trench made its way to Quassus many have taken to the idea of an Eldritch being living within the unreachable dark depths of the deepest trench in the world. Part of this believe inevitably casts the Moyo Crystals as nothing more than a device to ensure that the monsters under the dominion of the Eldritch Power are assured something to feed upon when the time is right.

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Strange Watchfulness

Journal notes show that those who lay eyes upon the Mlezi felt as if they were being watched.
It is not clear if what they experienced was real or imagined. If real, it is likely that what the adventurers sensed was someone on the islands watching them.
If it was the Mlezi islands looking back, then perhaps they are not what they seem. Further study would warrant caution.

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Lighthouses of the Jungle

While not entirely confirmed, one explorer named Alex wrote about seeing a beam of pink light reach out across the night sky. He never saw the source, but he thinks it came from one of the sky islands.
Alex convinced his expedition commander to head to the sky island to investigate. After all, they were lost and there was naught else for them to do.
The search led to a peaceful first contact between the peoples of Quassus and the Pază. The Pază aiding the lost expedition thereby saving their lives.
The beam is now believed to have originated from one of the Moyo Crystals. Perhaps the crystals act as lighthouses to the lost.
If true, then there is hope from some of the lost expeditions who never returned from the Anestri'for.
As for the beam of light, no other member of the expedition saw it and Alex never saw it again after that one night.

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Note(s) from the Archivists:

I think there's a giant eye on each sky island. - Archivist Bob 
You have no basis for that assertion. - Archivist Taenya 
I stand by it. - Archivist Bob