The Floating Isles
The Floating Isles are islands adrift in a calm sky, in a realm where magic only ever helps: it grows, it heals, it changes one thing into another, and it lets you speak with animals and objects. It never harms. On the home island, the House of the Little Mages sits at the highest point, where young mages learn their first spells, and the city where the families live spreads below. Inside the school grounds lies the Great Garden, the green heart of the whole island. Here nobody loses; you find your way by being kind and full of ideas.
Stories in this world
The Lost Lantern Festival
Adult-ledTonight is the Festival of Lights. Every year the families of the Floating Isles send glowing sky lanterns up into the calm evening sky. But when you look...
The Market of Mixed-Up Magic
It is market day on the home island. The Market Row is bright and busy. Every stall is full: warm bread, ripe fruit, neat shoes, and bright toys.
The Sleeping Garden
This morning you wake up and the whole island is quiet. Too quiet. You look out of the window of the House of the Little Mages. The Great Garden is grey and...
Example heroes
Aria
6 to 8
Magics
Carries
Tomo
6 to 8
Magics
Carries
Nadia
9 to 12
Magics
Carries
Bram
9 to 12
Magics
Carries
Who's who and what's what
Magics
- Light
- Reveals what is hidden and calms frightened creatures.
- Grow
- Makes plants, bridges and paths grow so nobody is ever stuck.
- Change
- Turns one object into another, such as a stone into a key.
- Voice
- Lets you speak with animals and objects, and ask them kindly for help.
- Float
- Lifts and floats heavy things gently up into the air, the way the isles themselves drift on the sky. A stuck cart or a fallen friend rises light as a feather.
Characters
- The Lonely Sprite
- The little sprite of the Heart who sent the garden to sleep, not out of spite but because it wanted a friend.
- Pip the New Mage
- A kind apprentice on their very first day, whose Change spell muddled the market by accident and who was too shy at first to own up.
Creatures
- Mist Cat
- A gentle cat made of fog who gives hints.
- Librarian Owl
- A wise owl who loves a good riddle.
- Bridge Tortoise
- A patient tortoise who lets travellers cross on her broad shell.
- Messenger Butterfly
- A bright butterfly that carries little messages and the odd free hint.
- Talking Flowers
- Flowers that chat in soft little voices when you lean close.
- Nimbo the Cloud-Whale Calf
- A small, gentle cloud-whale who gathered the festival lanterns because it was lonely and loved their glow.
Places
- House of the Little Mages
- The school at the highest point of the home island, where young mages learn their first magic.
- The Great Garden
- The green heart of the home island, inside the school grounds. The whole adventure crosses it.
- The Vine Gate
- The first stop, a gate tied shut by a knot of leaves.
- The Flower Bed
- The second stop, where four flowers must be set in the right order.
- The Talking Fountain
- The third stop, a stone fountain that has gone quiet and sad.
- The Heart of the Garden
- The final stop at the centre of the Great Garden, where the adventure ends with a friend, not a fight.
- Lantern Square
- The wide square on the home island where the families gather for the Festival of Lights.
- The Cloud Bank
- A low drift of soft clouds at the island's edge, where some of the lost lanterns are hidden.
- The High Ledge
- A rocky shelf high above the square, where the biggest festival lantern has caught.
- The Market Row
- The busy row of family stalls on the home island, below the school, where everyone trades on market day.
Items
- Sky Lantern
- A soft paper lantern with a warm little flame that floats up into the sky on festival night.
Words to know
- The Festival of Lights
- The evening when the families of the Isles send glowing sky lanterns up into the calm sky together.