The End and the Endless

If you journey far enough, you will reach the edge of the world. This is well known and well documented. Bold expeditions have carefully mapped the fringes of the terrestrial realm, recording the many varieties of flora and fauna that can be found in these regions, so that there exist a number of books on the subject. More mysterious is what lies *beyond* the ends of the earth.

For where land and sea simply *stop,* the sky goes on.

Gazing through powerful spyglasses from the edge, explorers saw vast, golden tinged clouds that concealed from view anything that might be there, except, on the infrequent occasions when they drifted apart, and revealed a seemingly endless expanse of sky. And sometimes, during these rare occurrences, they saw creatures.

They called them Whales, for that was what they most resembled, albeit colored like living rainbows, and with what appeared to be *feathers* covering their noble fins and backs. And that was what they were, the explorers all agreed. Noble. Gentle too, that much was obvious from their slow, graceful movements, how they seemed to swim through the air with slow movements of their tails. And it was, most of all, clear that there was a magic about them, for how else could they float, in the bright and airy void, or survive, with no food in sight?

How indeed?

In any case, the explorers were eager to get a closer look at this fantastical skyscape, and fortunately their airships seemed up to the task. After brief consultation with their respective employers, they proceeded to do exactly that. These forays, past the world's edge would have been great successes, were it not for the fact that they never returned.

It is a widely known fact, that to be an explorer in this world one must possess curiosity and courage in equal measure.

And so, expeditions still travel the skys to the end of the world. They still stand upon the edge, gazing out at the great golden barrier and imagine what might lie beyond. And, if their courage and curiosity hold, they go boldly onward, leaving the world behind (they are also, it should be noted, rather better armed than those that preceded them. They're not *complete* fools).

What happens after that, is a subject of much debate. Some hold that they are punished by the gods for their arrogance. Others believe that if you journey far enough, you will come to a world like this one, but better, a paradise of such quality that those who land there have no desire to leave, regardless of the friends or family that might miss them, or any unfinished business they might have (though, truth be told, the people willing to make this incredible voyage seldom concern themselves with such things.) There are also those who are of the opinion that the explorers attract the predatory attention of some other, still unknown type of creature, and that members of this species attack and devour the unfortunate crews. Of these theories, the last (and perhaps the first as well,) hold a grain of truth. But it is not the whole truth.

The whole truth is this. When the intrepid explorers breach the wall of clouds, they see empty air stretching on, before and beneath them. They see clouds of every size and fantastical shape, and all seems blue and gold. And, soon enough, a Whale will approach them. And, as they gaze at it in aw, it will open its mouth, which has far more teeth in it then any of them would have guessed.

And then it will eat them.

And, once again there shall be silence, except for the sound of the winds, and the Whale’s own endless, everchanging song.