You grew up on or somehow managed to secure a livelihood on the floating
island of Vaelandris, the last great wonder of the Ancients. Your life
amongst the clouds has given you a unique, if somewhat insular, perspective.
The doings and troubles of the Groundfolk were a distant or even nonexistent
concern. Detached from the world below, the happenings of even the Blight
seemed to be Someone Else's Problem.

Until, of course, it wasn't.

When the Blight overtook the world beneath, you were not on Vaelandris.
Perhaps you were already in Altheria, as one of the many sent to assist in
the Aetheric research of Ancient designs. Or you were aboard one of the
wingships as a trader or crewmember. When suddenly, without warning, all the
magic failed. And the incredible flying vessels began falling from the
skies.

If you were within Altheria at the time, the sight of the falling ships were
the severing of your link to your homeland. If you were sailing the sky at
the time, how you survived the plummet, and the subsequent crash might be no
less than a miracle. But without the wingships, there is now no possible way
to return home. You are stranded with the Groundfolk refugees, and have had
to learn to live as one of them. Even when Vaelandris drifted above
Altheria, just within the Barrier, no Sendings were returned from the
floating island. You have no idea what has happened up there, and no way to
reach them.

Note that this option limits your choice of culture to just Vaelandris.

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