You touch down upon the edge of the island, a thrill racing through you at the thought of what lies beyond. Immediately, the glow fades away from the soles of your feet and the power leaves you. So that's how it is: the scroll's effects last as long until you touch solid ground again. In theory, you could abuse such a power, but you don't want to push your luck.

The town before you is bustling with crowds of people and shops on every street corner. You've never seen anything quite like this. In fact, you're not quite sure this isn't just part of a small city. The diversity of species here is mind-blowing: you see Auvahrs chatting to each other in the marketplace, Tenurs tending their stalls and displaying their wares, Gahl'vuhr Sehn officials marching up and down the streets as if they own the whole place, other subspecies you've never seen before staring at the scene like some kind of tourist…You ever see nameless ones like you. Unworthy ones, as the captain called them, but you don't take to that nonsense. Nameless is what you are. It's what you've always been.

A large glistening sign at the main port spells it out for you.


WELCOME TO MAJERUK

WHERE DREAMS COME TO LIFE


You could definitely settle in a place like this. You love the city. You love the hustle and bustle of the crowds, the countless things to do on every street, the sheer size and depth of the place you've found yourself in. There's libraries, museums, galleries, bookshops, clothiers, governing halls for Gahl'vuhr Sehn officials, various buildings that you can't even begin to describe…All you have to do is get a foot on the ladder and you'll be in.

This is a place which rewards you for doing very little – or, conversely, which rewards you with little for doing far too much. Exchange of goods and money. Economics. The arts. Societies. Meeting halls. Dance, music, sculptures, concerts, religion…

"Excuse me, ma'am," a curt voice says behind you.

All at once, the illusion is broken. You turn round to see three stern-looking Auvahrs in uniform, carrying firearms at their belt. At least, you assume they're firearms. You've only ever seen pictures of them in books before, never having crossed out of your own little island before now. You've heard such stories of the city…

"You are under arrest for the unlawful use of privileges available only to high-ranking members of the Gahl'vuhr Sehn," the man says coldly. "As an Unworthy, you should not have access to such abilities."

At first, you just stare at him in confusion. Abilities? Wait a second. Is he talking about the scroll's power which allowed you to fly here? Perhaps that's the issue here. Someone saw you using the flying ability – or sensed it, detected it, whatever – and decided that you'd breached some kind of unspoken law of theirs.

"That wasn't my fault," you protest. "The airship – "

"You were caught using a long-distance Flight scroll," the official says, his tone rather hostile. "Unless you have a very good reason for doing so, Unworthy, you will face the penalty of breathing the laws of Gahl'vuhr Sehn. The island of Majeruk is under the jurisdiction of the Auvahrs of Gahl'vuhr Sehn, and all must abide by our rules. A lifetime upon a prison island will do a world of good for scum like you."

Surely, if you were to explain yourself rationally to the man, then he should understand that this is all a big misunderstanding and let you go. Right? They wouldn't judge you on something like this, face to face. Surely they can let it slide just this once.

You make something up

"There is an extremely good reason for this," you say. You doubt that these men will believe you if you tell them the truth, considering their low opinion of your species to begin with. Your best guess is to fabricate something which seems believable. "This Flight scroll doesn't belong to me."

"We are quite aware," the official says fervently.

"No, no." You're not used to lying to people. There usually isn't any need to do so. "I was ordered by…by Mother Gherad to use it."

He frowns. "Do you expect me to believe that, Unworthy? A high-ranking member of the Gahl'vuhr Sehn willingly gave you a long-range Flight scroll? I have heard more convincing tales extending from the back of an anteater."

"She gave me the scroll," you say quickly, "in order to prevent it from falling into the hands…of…the enemy." What enemy? Who's the enemy? Lying to people is a lot harder than you thought. "The enemy, that is, of the Gahl'vuhr Sehn. A…rebel army of mutant rabbits."

"Rabbits," the official repeats.

"Yes, really. Really, really big ones. With axes." You're babbling now, but you might as well keep this up. "It was a valiant battle against the bunnies, and they were after the scroll of Flight in order to turn into flying mutant rabbits! They planned to assault this island, thousands of flying bunnies throwing axes at the poor citizens of Majeruk. Luckily, I thwarted their plans and now they will never have their rabbit revenge!"

"If I can just stop you there – " 

"Mother Gherad died heroically defending the ship," you say dramatically, going all out with this story now. Now that you've started, you cannot be stopped. "We could not hold them back for long. We had to poison their supply of carrots just to get an advantage. Lettuce, too!"

"Wait a second," one of the other men interrupts. "You mentioned…it was a rebel army of mutant rabbits?"

You nod enthusiastically.  "Exactly."

"A rebel  army. So…how were they rebelling?"

"Rebelling against the Rabbit King," you say proudly. "There's a long, long history of all the rabbit rebellions before our time, going all the way back to Lord Rabbiter McRabbit himself. I will enlighten you now."

With a flourish, you then continue to rabbit on at great length, detailing the long history of two thousand years of rabbit-themed monarchs and bloody battles which claimed the lives of their citizens to gain vital land on the sky islands. You don't quite know how you came up with all this stuff, but you're going too fast to be able to stop now. The officials actually seem genuinely interested about all of this fictional backstory that you're pulling out of thin air – or at least, you think they are. They might not care at all.

"…and that," you finish, twenty five minutes later, "is the entire account of the rise and fall of the Rabbit Empire, shortly before Queen Fuzzlebunny came to the throne and brought civil war among the nations." You let out a long sigh, since you've been talking for some time now. "Would you like to hear it again?"

"That was very interesting, but no," the official says. He is looking at you long and hard. All of them are, actually. You can't quite tell what is going through their minds, but you're sure that you must have made a good impression. "I think we've had enough of rabbits."

"Why are you looking at me like that?" you ask. "Is it the rabbits?"

"No," the first Auvahr states. "It isn't the rabbits."

"What is it then?"

"We're looking at you like this," he says testily, "because we think you're insane."

"Really?"

He glances helplessly at his two companions, who look back at him in just a helpless a fashion. You watch as they whisper furtively amongst themselves, looking rather worried about the situation. Telling a tall tale about the rise and fall of the majestic Rabbit Empire was definitely a step in the right direction.

Eventually, the official steps forward towards you again. "We've decided," he says resignedly, "that we are not going to press charges to you, on account of you straying so far from the original question that we can no longer remember what we were talking about in the first place."

"It was the scroll," you remind him helpfully.

"Right. The scroll." The man sighs. "Look. I'm not prepared to hear you talk about damn rabbits for another thirty minutes. I don't have time for this. Rules are rules, and the Gahl'vuhr Sehn has to make sure everything is perfect. Especially here in Majeruk. What I'm going to say instead is that your usage of this high-level scroll was some kind of freak accident, because…you do not seem like the kind of person with the mental capability to steal a Flight scroll whilst knowing what you were doing. My colleagues here will bear witness to that."

"Definitely," says the official next to him. "She's bonkers."

"You may remain in Majeruk for the time being," he says, with long-suffering patience, "but only because I don't want to stand here for over an hour listening to a crazy girl talking endlessly about fictional rabbits. You're free to go. Just…don't do it again, alright?"

Elated, you smile as the three officials turn on their heel and march back down the street the way they came. Somehow, you've managed to get away with it. You're not sure where all of that inspiration for rabbit-themed history came from, but you ought to write it down sometime. Some people like that kind of thing, apparently, although you're yet to meet anyone like that in person.

You proceed

Majeruk promises to be an exciting place for you to live. There are numerous cities and towns across the island, and you take some time to explore your options before choosing on a suitable career path. In addition, the Gahl'vuhr Sehn occupy the whole of the land here and have set in place a number of strict rules for all citizens. After your last encounter with them, you decide not to do anything to annoy the governing body around here. You don't want to cause any trouble.

The first week is rather rough for you. With no money or resource of your own to trade – aside from the sword you kept from the airship, and that turns out to be worth very little of value in Majeruk – you are forced to sleep rough at night. The Gahl'vuhr Sehn do not allow people to sleep on the streets, which is fine for you because you see no problem with sleeping outside their towns. It's always good to experience new things, but you have to take care in doing so. The wrong situation could see you lose your life at the hands of the local wildlife, which turn out to be unexpectedly hostile…

It's some time before you finally manage to secure employment as a courier, delivering goods and packages between the towns in Majeruk. The job gives you an advance payment, enough so that you can afford to rent some accommodation in the suburbs of the central city. It's hard work, with long hours, but you keep at it and soon begin to learn the various trade routes going around the island. It makes your job easier, and it's another year before you have enough money and resources to try your hand at another job.

Every day, you hear news about the chaos on the surface and how more and more sky islands are falling down to earth in a blaze of constant destruction. It makes you think of home, or what used to be home. You think back to all the events that brought you here in the first place, to Mother Gherad and the captain on the airship which saved your life. You wonder if the captain ever made it out alive.

You make lots of new friends in Majeruk over the years, but still you worry that such a densely-populated island might suffer the same fate as your first island did. What if everything here is destroyed? With this in mind, you take to travelling. You've become quite an accomplished businesswoman by this point, taking on several jobs and even employing your own staff with ease. You're going up in the world. You manage numerous accounts of money, oversee cargo taken on board airships in an organisation built with your own two hands, and you know that you have to expand your horizons.

Many years have passed, and you have more than enough to purchase an airship of your own now. You travel through the skies, venturing far and wide, but never stay on board for too long. Airships can be dangerous. You become a kind of explorer in your own right, navigating countless islands and assembling a crew of your own. For some time, you pursue this exciting choice of life, but you're not really sure what you're looking for. You know you're searching for something, but you just can't put your finger on it.

It's several years after that when you finally return to the island of Majeruk. It's the same as always, and business is booming, but you're now experienced enough to put in several advisors who can easily run your organisation by themselves with only limited help from you. Even the Gahl'vuhr Sehn are respectful to you. They still refer to you as "Unworthy", more out of habit than anything else, but you have a mutual understanding of each other. You a force to be reckoned with.

Looking at everything you've achieved over the years, you finally realise what you've been seeking. You want a place to settle down. Somewhere to settle down. A home, in nature, but you already have several homes across the skies. You decide to settle here in Majeruk. You think about the future, and seek a husband with which to bring up a family of your own. There is no shortage of men in Majeruk, and all of them are falling over themselves to propose to you. It's sweet of them, really, but a woman of your reputation and wealth can afford to be choosy.

At the end of it all, you remain here in the island of Majeruk for the rest of your days. You have lived a life filled with contentment, riches and great respute. You consider having children of your own and handing down the family business to them, once you grow old enough to retire, but that's in the future. You could have never predicted that things would work out so well.

After falling from a great height, you have risen to become a woman of grand accomplishments and great success.