Qala di Ciel: The City in the Clouds

A Collection of Thoughts from Illona Torok

If there’s one thing that I can tell you as a traveler, it’s that there’s nothing quite like the dim glow of the lantern welcoming you to a tavern after a long day's journey. The comforting warm air inside the doors invites you in from the cold, letting you know that you are most certainly welcome here, no matter where you came from. The only thing that could make that ambience any better would be the melodies of a maestro, and there is one particular songbird that secured a place in my mind from the moment I heard her sweet music. Could I tell you the exact tavern? Certainly not off the top of my head, but as soon as I heard the sound of Lyra’s voice, I could feel in my heart that I wouldn’t forget it. An ale in my hand and a dras tossed to the keep, I found my head turning in her direction to hear the ballad that she’d perfected. To sing such a forlorn tune with an air of hope and optimism was to captivate her audience in a moment. The song was a retelling of a legend, one that I’d actually never heard of before. A young person cradled in the earth by Divinity, who despite their curious arrival, found themselves drawn to the sky, up above the clouds, and they were constantly drawn to the storms of congruence. Being around these storms brought them so much joy it was said they made them feel like they were flying - flying back home.

‘Soar, soar, Kalani soar,
Up to your home in the great wide Azure
Soar, soar, Kalani soar,
Home to Qala di Ciel’

The lyrics themselves were beautiful, but the fact that this legend had anything to do with the floating city had me in a state of elation. I listened intently to the rest of the epic, explaining how our hero Kalani went on to create a community that followed these congruence storms, all in a noble quest to return to the floating city. It was a beautiful story, one that I could have listened to for hours on end, but was it really true? The Stormchasers exist to this very day and, as far as I knew, Qala di Ciel has been spoken of as existing for generations. Was Kalani real? Was Kalani still alive? My head was so riddled with questions that I barely even noticed the comings and goings of my comrades, engrossed in this maestro’s tunes and the stories she told. Some of the songs I recognized, and knew to be true, while others lived in pure fantasy… but the Legend of Kalani? It existed somewhere in between, and I simply had to know more. With a bit of convincing, my traveling companions agreed to stay until the maestro’s show was over, and as soon as that moment occurred I jumped on my chance to meet her. Lyra was a kind woman who was certainly open to sharing a drink with a patron, and it was then that I learned her name and a bit more of her story as a traveling songstress… I could really go on for pages and pages about this maestro, but I promise I’ll stick to the point: Was this Legend real? And what, if anything, did she know about the floating city?

“Ah, Kalani…” She mused, a fond glint in her eye as she took a slow swig of the ale provided to her. “It’s one of my favorites, really. And for that very reason. Kalani is whomever we need them to be, and Qala di Ciel? Well, who really knows anything about the floating city? It’s an island of endless possibilities.”

Rumors of the City

Now, while there are at least a few suspected facts about this mystery city above us, Lyra wasn’t entirely wrong. We know, or at least we strongly assume, that Qala di Ciel used to be a town that existed on the same plane as the rest of us until it was swept up in its entirety by Congruence. Some have rumored it was at the will of a Divinity, but the only certainty is that this city is very-much linked to Congruence. Why else would an entire city follow the tides and streamlines of Congruence above our own heads? We imagine that the people live up there comfortably enough, but nobody has actually spoken of getting all the way up there. Perhaps in a day where we can soar like the silverbirds, somebody can check on them, but as long as we’re tethered to the ground, I’m not sure we’ll ever definitely know the answers.

As for Kalani? I’m not sure that they’re out there, and I’m definitely not certain if they were part of the foundation for {the Stormchasers}, but it’s one hell of a Legend, and, Twins regard them, I really hope they find their way home.

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Writers Notes:

• Skyborne by naturally occurring Congruence
• Follows the tides/streamlines of Congruence through the world
• Some sort of peoples on top of it (unidentified)
  • There was a city built on land that got swept up into the sky
  • They’re isolated, but not necessarily by choice
  • Have some sort of crop/root that doesn’t take up space but is dense in nutrients and uses congruence to grow
    • Think like Taro/Poi in Polynesian cuisine
  • Community hasn’t expanded much since then
• Has been floating for generations (~100-200 years)
  • Qala di Ciel became airborne in 98AF
  • Long enough that people have heard of it
  • Most haven’t seen it
    • Most probably think the city itself is fake, or a fable linked to ‘The Legend of Kalani’
  • Nobody has been up there yet
• Powered by a head-sized congruence core