So, here’s more original fic from me. This is from a fantasy setting of mine that’s like… It’s very loosely based on Arthurian legends, with inspiration also taken from Dust: An Elysian Tail, Final Fantasy, and the Tales of series. It is full of anthro animals like Dust. Don’t judge me.

A quick list of the OCs from this setting who appear/are referenced:

Gwen: fennec fox and prince of a declining kingdom. Has opinions about people he’s always eager to share. The “Guinevere” of this setting, although please again remember this is *loosely* based on Arthurian stuff so.

Artheia: silver fox who lived in a mountain village, but decided to embark on this adventure when Gwen showed up at the village asking for help (she was the only person to say yes). The “King Arthur” of this setting.

Melody: a black cat witch who lived in a small hut and likes to practice different kinds of magic. Seems to be existing in a reality separate from everyone else. The “Merlin” of this setting.

Lilac: an axolotl priestess of a temple that was destroyed by a rival faction. No Arthurian counterpart as of yet (if ever).

Lady of the Lake: a tiger, immortal and intensely grumpy. Do I really need to explain which Arthurian character she’s based on?

Fantasia: a black and gray cat who is generally angry all the time. The “Black Knight” of this setting by way of cursed armour she was trapped in for about a century.

Lucinda: a calico cat nicknamed the Spirit of the Forest. Immortal and in possession of a magical flute, one of the few remaining magical artifacts left in Alderan that actually works.

Isaak: a raccoon and a thief who likes to fight with Gwen and basically anyone or anything royalty/nobility constantly.

Old Man: a bearded dragon who had lived as a hermit before being dragged out to adventure by Artheia and Gwen. Lovingly nicknamed “decoy Merlin” in my notes.

Zander: red wolf mercenary who’s only here because Gwen promised to pay him for it. There’s definitely no other reason. Just money. It’s not like he cares about anybody else. I mean it!

Marika: a black dog (Labrador) who has wandered this dying world in search of enlightenment. All she’s got to show for it is this lousy homemade staff.

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Flying. Flying was an exhilarating, incredible thing. That is, if your name wasn’t Gwen.

“When we finally get back down, I’m never leaving solid ground again,” the fennec fox prince groaned miserably, slumping over the table and trying not to look out the window, where he could see nothing but clouds… and the land far below if he dared to poke his head out and look down.

Just the thought of being so high up made his stomach churn.

“Hey, are you okay?” Melody asked, tapping Gwen’s head and looking down at him. He hated it when people did that, and felt intensely relieved when Melody stepped away and looked at him by his eye level.

“Never better,” Gwen answered through clenched teeth, trying hard to think of happier thoughts instead of how high up they were and how doomed they were if the skyship fell, said happier thoughts including finally getting to sit on his throne again. He felt like Artheia had forgotten she’d promised to help him get it back, not travel across Alderan to piece together a rusty old sword.

That tiger woman had been very insistent about it, though. Artheia hadn’t bothered to tell any of them what exactly the great Lady of the Lake had said to her, except to bring the pieces of the sword to her. Gwen had heard an awful lot of yelling, though. Not that he questioned it. He felt like yelling at Artheia at the current moment.

Flying was her idea.

There was, supposedly, a shard of the sword hidden with a city that floated in the sky, and unfortunately for Gwen, the city was indeed real. And now they were on their way to it, after repeated warnings from its evacuating populace that the city could fall at any time.

It needed magic to stay up there, and with magic gone from the world, it was only a matter of time…

“Are you sure?” Melody asked, as Lilac lightly pushed her aside, carrying a steaming cup of amber liquid in her hands.

“Drink this, it will make you feel better,” Lilac insisted, placing the cup in front of Gwen and walking away without another word, pulling Melody with her.

Gwen didn’t even want to think about eating or drinking, but he also figured it’d be insulting if he pushed the cup away. He drank it, quickly, the warmth helping to soothe his frayed nerves and aching stomach. He’d thank Lilac later.

The skyship shook from a powerful gust of wind, and he dug his nails into the table as he heard Fantasia swear and Lucinda laugh in the background. Of course Lucinda would find being in a skyship high above beautiful solid ground was amusing. Immortals had no concept for peril.

Assuming Lucinda’s immortality never wore off. Wasn’t it connected to magic, also?

The skyship shook again, and Gwen resisted the urge to hide underneath the table. Firstly, that wouldn’t do any good if the skyship did, in fact, plummet from the sky, and secondly, it was grossly un-prince-like.

He noticed Isaak hiding under another table, counting cards. Well, a thief had no shame, anyway.

The only one who didn’t seem to be reacting was Artheia herself, and Gwen for the life of him couldn’t figure out why. If she was nervous or excited, she didn’t show either. She had steadied herself against a window, staring out it for the entire duration of the trip.

This whole adventure was a farcry from her life in that mountain village, so perhaps that was all this was. She had taken in every experience, the good and the bad, and absorbed them, internalized them, until there came a time where she stopped letting her feelings be as obvious.

It didn’t escape anyone’s notice, especially not Gwen’s, that Artheia hadn’t been the same after speaking to the Lady.

He really wondered what she told Artheia; what was so important about that sword…

If only the Old Man was still with them. He would have known what to do.

He stood up on shaky legs to approach the silver fox, to demand answers or offer some sort of comfort, he wasn’t sure. He didn’t get the chance to figure it out, either, as the skyship crashed into something solid and tilted over, before snapping back upright and sending everyone in it tumbling around. He heard Lucinda laugh even harder among everyone else’s screams.

“Ahoy!” The skyship captain, a colourful parrot clad in equally colourful garments, danced around the wheel of the skyship. “That’s what I’m talking about! Perfect landing!”

“Perfect, as opposed to…?” Artheia mumbled to herself, within earshot of Gwen.
Gwen found he really didn’t disagree with her, for once.

“Are we dead yet?” Zander asked plainly, shoving Isaak off of him, but helping Marika stand back up.

“Best be quick!” The captain hollered as everyone scrambled out of the skyship. “You never know, this city could start falling any second now! Hehahaha!”

“Promising…” Gwen murmured to himself, dusting off his coat. He looked over at Artheia, who was already marching into the city, past a few people who still remained.

Sighing to himself, Gwen rushed after her.

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don’t worry the city will continue to float until it’s Dramatic for it to plummet