Cloudkin
The sky is very much alive.
"Look for suspicious forms when steering through the air.
Every pilot should be aware of their existence, or they might have flown their last flight.
These usually white, sometimes grey and rarely red monstrosities are passive...until they aren't.
I am talking of course about cloudkins, the rulers of the stratosphere.
As airship captains you should be aware of the food chain of the sky: Cloudkin, Sylphs, nothing ... us.
Always keep the special warn lights on or you might collide with one.
And if you do ... Vapor be with you, my friend."Admiral of the Army of Peace
Basic Information
Anatomy
"Admiral! A colossal grey cloud is blocking our path. It-it stares us down with its formless eyes."
Major cloudkins are a sight to behold. A singular cloud that darkens the sky, blocking even the red sun of Prius devouring all light. Their morphology is fluent and natural. Only two red glowing eyes are giving of the sentience of the cloudian, paired with expressive cloudbrows to stare down anybody opposing their rulership.
Cloudkins come in three colours: white, grey and rust-red.
White:
White cloudkins are usually considered peaceful, welcoming even. Airships may pass through them without fearing any consequences. Minor white cloudkins often get dragged out of the stratosphere by strong winds entering lower levels, where they may come in contact with humanoids forming a symbiosis bestowing their control over smoke to the worthy.
Grey:
Sail around those grumpy cloudkins. They will remain passive unless you enter the domain that is their massive corpus. If one is stupid enough to ignore these pilots' wisdom, be ready for a storm you will never forget. Strong winds, duststorms, limited vision, heavy rain, and much more will let you remember the food chain in the sky.
The survivability of passing a grey cloudian is depending greatly on your vessel. Behemoth-class airships may pass without any consequences, but smaller airships will get ripped apart or at least receive heavy damage.
Rust-Red:
"Red cloudian blocking the path. A massive wall of clouds. Awaiting orders.
(...)
Alternative route? It is only a cloud, admiral!? We are going in!"Famous last words
The rulers of the stratosphere. These cloudkins have proved their superiority so often, that the blood of their victims permanently discoloured their gassy bodies in a rust-red tint.
They appear hyperaggressive, actively pursuing any air vessel dumb enough to ignore the laws of the air; the air currents.
Having abandoned any desire ever to undergo symbiosis, these lords have embraced the gifts of the Veil becoming true thunderclouds. They are masters of the storm, unrivalled by anybody. They listen only to singular beings seeking shelter in their deadly corpus. Arcadian Sylphs tend to become associated with rust-red cloudkins, offering their mastery over the sky against a home in safety, letting the cloudkin suck in rocks and small mountains building floating islands inside the death zone.
"My home? Look up and witness my partner.
I live in his belly in my secluded home.
My ability to provide mobility to ignore the currents against his protection.
We sylphs call it 'advanced symbiology'."
Scientific Name
princeps caelorum
Lifespan
Unknown
Average Height
1m - 12.000 m
Average Weight
1.5 kg per square meter
Average Length
1m - 28.000m
Geographic Distribution
Sensory Capabilities
Having only eyes as their particular distinguishable feature, these living clouds can see surprisingly well being able to distinguish friend and foe via looking directly into the soul of others consulting the state of the Veil.
...
They are especially unaware of Purists due to their lack of any readable traces of the Veil. To the pioneers of the sky they appear like ordinary rainclouds of varying intensity.
Sylph Symbiosis
The kings of the sky appear due to their lack of anynotable ability to defy the will of the air currents dependent on Sylphs to gain the ability to move. Most old grey and rust-red cloudians host in their corpus at least one Sylph as their life companion.
To the queens of the sky, the cloudians appear quite talkative, friendly even. An alliance forged in mutual understanding, more potent than any currents trying to force their path in the sky.
"I can help you against the invasion of Etherium, oh Grand Abolisher Rex Tarr.vessel.
In exchange for continuing your promise to keep up the supply chain to us guardians of the sky, I and my dear partner will act as the storm bringing down Admiral Juri Ganar's
We will not intervene any further but show the enemies of our friends their aerial allies.
Deal?"Sylph Cirrus (1999)
Great idea. Cloud entities are a widespread mythos element but few have integrated them into their worlds. The symbiotic Sylph and the various types are interesting details.