Long before the stars blinked into the heavens, before Earth found shape or meaning, the cosmos existed in silence. It was neither warm nor cold, dark nor light, merely void. And yet, from that infinite emptiness, two ancient forces began to stir: Good and Evil, and from their eternal opposition, the first ethereal beings were born, woven from energy, essence, and purpose.
Among these, two rose higher than the rest. From the light came Shiruba U'windo, a radiant dragon of silver and storm, his form flowing like wind through crystal flame. A being of immense power and grace, he was forged from balance, not merely to fight, but to preserve harmony across the planes. From the darkness emerged Drako, a terrifying monstrosity of blackened scale and ten writhing tails, each one pulsing with hatred and decay. His eyes burned like dying stars, and his very presence consumed hope.
Their clash shook the heavens. Whole constellations perished in their wake. Worlds, newly formed, cracked and scattered into dust. The war had no beginning, no end, only endless consumption, until Shiruba, burdened by the cost, made the ultimate sacrifice. Using the full depth of his power, he imprisoned Drako within his own ethereal form, binding light and shadow in an unwilling embrace.
Moved by this act, the Almighty; the sole Creator; intervened. Unlike Shiruba or Drako, the Almighty was not born of ether, but eternal, above all. All beings, including Shiruba, owed their creation and purpose to Him and gave glory only to Him. The Almighty forged a divine box, crafted from Myrrh, sacred and spiritual, and Keslite, the hardest of celestial metals. Into this vessel He sealed Shiruba, Drako, and the remaining ethereal beings, closing the chapter on the Celestial War. And then, the Almighty turned to creation.
He shaped the stars. He formed Earth, lush and vibrant, filled with rivers that sang and forests that breathed. Upon it, He placed the sacred box within a temple at the peak of the highest mountain, a quiet shrine from which ethereal energy gently radiated. Life prospered beneath its invisible blessing. Humans emerged, intelligent and curious, finding purpose and peace beneath the Almighty's design. But curiosity bears danger. One day, a mortal named Pandora, drawn by dreams and whispers, found the temple. The walls glowed with gentle ether. The box pulsed faintly, as if remembering breath. Something within called to her — not with words, but with longing. She opened it.
From within poured a flood of chaos. Ethereal beings, ancient, strange, and powerful, escaped across the Earth. As the last to emerge, Shiruba U'windo, still containing the essence of Drako within, realized the magnitude of what had been unleashed. He could not undo what was done — but he could protect what remained. Drawing upon his mastery of the elements, Shiruba tore a massive fragment from the Earth and cast it into the sky, reshaping it into a floating land suspended between Earth and the celestial heavens. This land would become Skyland, a sanctuary for ethereal beings and humans alike.
Skyland was vast and varied. Towering mountain ranges scraped the clouds, deep forests glowed with unseen life, and calm rivers carried Ether through rich meadows and whispering swamps. The humans brought into this floating realm were forever changed. Exposure to raw Ether awakened something within them. They grew stronger. Wiser. They began to sense the threads of the world, and over generations, they evolved into a new species, the Adanels.
Shiruba, free from the box but bound by responsibility, chose to walk among his people not as a dragon, but as one of them. To ease their fear, and to guide without oppression, he took a tall and noble Quendikin form; a title used to describe all intelligent humanoid beings of Skyland, set apart from the wild and instinct-driven Sylvankin. He was no god, and he did not claim to be. All power was still beneath the Almighty's gaze. Shiruba ruled as a steward, not a king. From the fertile heart of the realm, he built the city of Heiwa No Basho; The Place of Peace. There, Adanels, Eldians, Dwarves, Gnommers, Lycans, and all Quendikin lived and traded and learned side by side. Even the Sylvankin were welcomed with care. For a time, Skyland was whole.
To sustain this delicate harmony, Shiruba raised the Ether Tree, a towering, radiant tree grown from Ether itself. Its roots stretched across Skyland's continents, and its branches shimmered like silver flame. The purpose of the Ether Tree was vital: it gathered and distributed Ether energy across all Skyland. All beings in Skyland depended on this flow. Ether gave life, awareness, and control. Without it, the creatures of Skyland would wither or lose themselves. The Ether Tree ensured balance, not just of power, but of purpose. Ether guided growth, healed wounds, and strengthened will. It was Shiruba's greatest act — not to dominate the land, but to nourish it.
From that harmony, the regions of Skyland were shaped. Sylvanmyr, a land of rolling blue forests and luminous rivers, became home to the graceful Eldians, masters of etheric study and scholars of the old ways. Mogger, a realm of fire and stone, was given to the towering Turocs, who built their homes near the volcanoes and forged weapons in molten flame. Duragzund, nestled within vast mountains, became the domain of the Dwarves, whose halls echoed with the sound of hammer and craft. Glimmerthund, a land of light and invention, thrived under the hands of the Gnommers, brilliant artisans and engineers. Taur, a vibrant jungle teeming with life, welcomed the Quendikin tribes, especially the Lycans, once guardians of wildlife. And at its heart, Firya, land of balance and growth, became home to the Adanels and the great city of Heiwa No Basho. For decades, under Shiruba's reign, peace reigned. But even peace can fracture.
The seal that once held Drako had not destroyed him. Deep inside Shiruba, the darkness still lingered, patient, silent, corrupting.
Shiruba's wisdom grew sharp. Then cold. His eyes dimmed. He withdrew from council and wandered the halls of Heiwa No Basho in solitude. Subtle tensions began to surface. Old rivalries stirred. Kingdoms once united began to question each other's motives.
Pride returned. Greed crept in. The sins of the flesh; jealousy, fear, arrogance, seeped back into the hearts of the people. Like Earth before it, Skyland began to fracture. As Shiruba strayed from the path of harmony, so did the world around him.
Sensing the rising threat, Nerynore, a wise and noble Harppian, gathered the realm's most learned beings. They tricked Shiruba into entering an Etheric Seal, where they cast a transformation upon him, returning him to his original form: a majestic silver dragon. To protect the realm, they created a binding pact. On every full moon, Shiruba would return to his Quendikin form for three nights. If his heart remained untainted, he would be freed. But if Drako took hold… ruin would follow. For a time, the seal held. But nothing holds forever.
In a night of fire, Shiruba awoke in fury. The seal shattered. Drako emerged. He burned Heiwa No Basho, destroying half the city in a single night. He flew north to Magmore, the ancestral home of the Gnommers, and reduced it to ash, a cursed ruin now called the Abyss. Without the Gnommers' presence to maintain balance, the nearby lands of Glimmerthund, long watched over with cautious peace, were left vulnerable. Once a land of radiant invention, it was overtaken by the Dragonkin, creatures who had long roamed its outer wilds. With no one to check their might, they claimed the land for their own, and the Drake Lands were born. There, mighty elder dragons now clash endlessly for dominance, their battles painting the skies in flame and thunder.
Fear swept through Skyland like wildfire. The species that had once stood united began to split, not merely from distrust, but from survival. Drako's corruption was no longer abstract; it crept through the land like a plague, turning regions wild, distorting Ether, and birthing unspeakable horrors.
Dark creatures, born of shadow and spite, emerged from corrupted Ether. These minions did not discriminate. They hunted Quendikin and Sylvankin alike. Entire villages fell silent. Forests, once peaceful, began to whisper with threats.
Each species retreated to protect its own:The Eldians sealed their shimmering cities behind arcane barriers.The Turocs fortified their strongholds within the molten peaks of Mogger. The Adanels claimed Firya and renamed the fallen capital Greimdall, turning it into a bastion of resistance. Nerynore, heartbroken and ashamed, vanished into the wind. The Gnommers, scattered and broken by Magmore's fall, disappeared into the forests. There, transformed by Ether and grief, they became the Fwllings, small and sprightly, now stewards of nature rather than machines.
When the Eldians abandoned the Ether Tree, new guardians arose from its roots, the Nyxes, half-wild, half-eldian beings born to defend what had been left behind. The Ether Tree still stands. It still breathes. But Skyland is no longer whole. Shadows spread across its fractured lands. Mistrust, once unknown, now rules. Drako's corruption remains, not just in form, but in the hearts of those too afraid to stand together.
And yet… the Ether still flows.
And Skyland waits... for those brave enough to rise.