You walk up to the edge of the lake, searching for any sign of the people who came before you. Strangely enough, the footprints disappear into the water itself. After a moment's hesitation, you wade into the lake a short distance, curious to find out what really happened here. The water is cool and fresh against your skin, as if keen to make you feel at ease.

To your surprise, you can hear the faint sound of beautiful singing coming from up ahead. You've never heard anything quite like it before. The words are difficult to make out, but you are captivated nevertheless by the atmosphere that it creates around you. Intrigued, you push further into the lake towards the source of the singing.  

You can make out the words a little clearer now. The water comes up to your waist.


 

"Welcome, welcome, O traveller of the skies,

Drink from the water, and burn out your life;

Our singing shall ease all your worries and fears,

Come closer, young traveller, for all you hold dear…


 

The voices fade away, and you are immediately struck by the impact of the silence all around you. Desiring to break the silence, you wade deeper into the lake's waters. You haven't heard the voice of another soul on this isle for nearly a month. As much as you hate to admit it, the loneliness is starting to get to you. It would be cruel to deprive you of such company.

You push further into the lake, not caring that your clothes are now drenched. From afar, you can hear the singing voices again. The water level comes up to your chest.


 

"Rejoice, rejoice, O traveller of the skies,

No need for emotions, to laugh or to cry;

Sing with us here in the depths of the lake,

Naught but your soul and your spirit shall we take…


 

A strange feeling passes over you, and the singing cuts out. The water level comes up to your neck, turning into a murky green.

Despite yourself, you do not feel that you are in any real danger. A low hum echoes from all around you, almost seeming to resonate from the waters of the lake itself. You can no longer see the edge of the lake anymore. You swim forward impatiently, still searching for the source of the voices…

"What are you doing here?"

The face of a young woman emerges from the water in front of you. She appears to be vaguely human-like in appearance, but when she speaks, it sounds as if you are hearing her voice from underwater. Green hair flows down her back, and you see scales dotting her cheeks. An aquatic lifeform of some kind, perhaps. You didn't know there were such people living in these waters.

"You're not one of us," she says, a surprised look on her face. "Why are you alive? How can you possibly survive here?"

Her questions baffle you. Before you can answer her, a second woman appears from the water, rising up to surface besides her companion.

"Look, sister," she whispers, pointing towards you. "It's not a male this time. The men usually drown themselves trying to hear the song, but she…" She smiles faintly at you, pulling back a lock of matted grey hair to one side. You see the hint of fangs protruding from inside her mouth. "We haven't had a female come here before. Maybe she could join us. Our song has more effect with greater numbers…"

"Another sister?" the green-haired woman sounds dubious. "But we've never done that before. Is she…safe?"

"Maybe not, but we can easily change her." The other woman looks at you curiously. "Traveller of the skies, we are the inhabitants of this isle. Everything you see before you is our property and ours alone. Those who visit our land are drawn into the dark waters and consumed by our sisters and children, giving us new life. We share the energy among us and channel it into the land itself, replenishing it. We do not die. We do not perish. Settlers sometimes come here and seek to drain the resources from the island, but no man cannot resist our song. We take from them what they seek to take from us."

She holds out a slim hand towards you. "Would you like to join us, traveller? Another female would be a welcome addition to our circle. If you become one of our sisters, you too will enjoy the privileges afforded to us all. However, I will not force you. Should you refuse, we will do you no harm, but please think very carefully before you answer."

You refuse

"You refuse?" The woman looks greatly disappointed, and a sigh escapes her lips. "That's a shame. The greatest wonders await you beneath the surface of this lake. I will withdraw my offer."

With that, she turns away from you and disappears into the water with a small splash. Her companion stares at you for a moment and also vanishes underwater with her. You wait there for a few minutes longer, but neither of the women re-emerge. It seems that they have gone for good.

Curious about her words, you try swimming underwater yourself to see if you can find them again. Unfortunately, you find that the waters here are too murky to see much at all, aside from a few schools of fish swimming near the surface of the lake. The singing has stopped, and only dead silence greets you. You swim around for a while longer, but nothing else happens.

Feeling as if you might have missed out on something, you decide that there is nothing else here for you and leave the waters of the lake behind you. You've now explored the entire island and have seen everything there is to offer. It may now be time for you to settle here and find your place in life.

You proceed

Over the coming months, you begin to settle into daily life on this isolated island. There's more than enough food and resources here to keep you set for life, and there's more than enough to be getting on with. Having resigned yourself to the fact that you are going to be living alone, you start setting up some personal projects for yourself. You work on cutting down trees to build a basic shelter, although the natural climate here means that sleeping rough isn't really a problem. Over time, you improve your skills and modify the shelter into a small cabin for all of your needs.

You never see anyone else land on this island, not even the Gahl'vuhr Sehn. For the most part, people leave you alone. It's maybe a year before you see even one airship on the horizon, but it doesn't come anywhere the island and soon disappears out of sight. It's all right, really. You've started to get used to the constant loneliness, day in, day out. It doesn't really bother you anymore. Besides, you still have a firm grip on reality – you're not going to start going mad and go around talking to trees.

Sometimes you lie awake at night, wondering about all the chaos going on at the surface. It doesn't matter anymore, because you're so far removed from that now. You wonder about the fate of the captain aboard the airship, left drifting for eternity through open skies. You hope that she managed to find help, but it's likely that she didn't make it.

With no social contact, you seek the company of animals and begin taking in a few of them as pets. Not that you're going to become a crazy cat lady or something, but it's better than talking to yourself all the time. You start growing fruit and vegetables, using the resources of the island to your advantage. Over time, you see the potential of harvesting crops and raising animal as livestock, though you still have a long way to go.

The island never changes. Nobody is living here but you, so realistically the trees should be growing like crazy and the vegetation going out of control…and yet, this isn't what you see happening. Everything seems to be stabilised in a very balanced order, leading you to suspect that some ulterior force may be at work. You're not complaining, though. It saves you having to curb the area yourself.

In the end, you live here alone for the rest of your days, free from the chaos and violence which plagues the surface. You have your pets and animals for company, and there's enough resources to keep you busy. You have to be careful, though, because it isn't easy living alone. There are times when you feel ill and still have to do everything yourself. The animals grow used to your presence, until you almost feel as if you're a part of their little family. They help out in their own little ways, bringing you food and sustenance when you become sick.

You're alone, but you're still happy and feel fortunate that this is how things have turned out. You take each day as it comes and ensure that you live in the moment.

After falling from a great height, this is the life you've chosen for yourself.