Floating Islands RP

Floating islands RP is a collaborative role-playing story started on December 3rd, 2017 on the website cricketmagkids.com. While the roleplaying aspect officially ended on April 12th, 2018, the story and lore were expanded and continued by its original creator.

You can find the original RP thread here, which explains the basic premise in greater detail.

Premise
Floating Islands RP is a high fantasy story set in a vast sky world comprised of many diverse realms suspended in the air above a treacherous cloudy maelstrom guarding the mystery of what lies below the islands. From the overgrown jungles of Wildersky to the snowy city of Spark, all lands in the Sky are caught in the tyrannical grip of the once-benevolent Noventian Empire.

The story features a magic system based around the concept of one's "Windspark", which is the internal catalyst that allows a person to be able to perform magic, and can only be "unlocked" through both hard concentration and proximity to a "magically conductive" material. Throughout most of the story, the only known instance of such a material is the Thystus, a giant crystal located beneath Spark Academy. Thus, the Academy is the only place in the Sky where people can learn magic.

Those who attend Spark Academy typically become Windtracers, a class of licensed magic-users whose main skillset includes the manipulation of ice, wind, and snow, including the ability to transform their own body into the aforementioned materials, which allows them to fly across and between the islands. Many Windtracers travel to one of the several Guilds located throughout the sky, where they receive paid assignments from various commissioners. Those who stay in Spark typically become mentors or teachers at the Academy.

The story also has a heavy steampunk theme, particularly in the industrial city of Jetsam, which is the sky's hub of technological innovation. However, this technology can be found all over the sky in varying degrees, most notably in the form of airships, which are the main mode of air transport for non-Windtracers.

The sky and the world beyond it have a deep and sometimes disturbing history that is gradually revealed as the story progresses.

Plot
The story is divided into a series of arcs, each of which is set primarily in a new area and follows a self-contained subplot. While the original RP only completed the first arc and part of the second, the original creator extended the story to include at least two more. Currently, the story remains unfinished.

Warning: spoilers ahead

Arc 1: The Solstice Festival
For a summary in greater detail, see Solstice Festival Arc.

In the first Arc we are introduced to our main protagonists, which include Corilis Asterlon, Terrence Whitlock, Iesha Merl, and Orson Kyo. Corilis, a successful cartographer who was never able to unlock his Windspark, is preparing to celebrate the annual Winter Solstice Festival in the city of Spark. Suddenly, a group of anti-Noventian rebels known as the Reavers arrive in Spark, led by former Academy student Terrence, better known as Morningstar. Terrence warns that Emperor Cerus is planning to invade Spark, and requests Corilis' talents to held coordinate a counterattack on Noventia. However, the Headmaster of the Academy, Nix Galligan, forbids Corilis to go with Terrence and forces the Reavers to leave Spark.

In Noventia, we meet Orson, a relunctant young soldier from an affluent family, who has been hand-picked by the Emperor to participate in the invasion of Spark. Orson, who had very mixed feelings about the mission is joined by his father and another military officer on a practice flight shortly before the invasion is scheduled to begin.