Floating city

Mason broke through the clouds and found on the other side the floating city of Mansaic, the home of the council which he had been newly appointed to. He stroked the back of Ollen's head, his bird. A massive creature, its wingspan twice the length of Mason's entire body, and his best friend. It carried him through the skies as though he were weightless, soaring on the updrafts and producing more than enough momentum on his own with each flap of his wings to carry him when there was no wind. Mason had raised the bird since it was an egg, which he had had to carry in both arms due to its already remarkable size.

They landed on an outcropping of the city, and Mason quickly and easily dismounted, patting Ollen's head and sending him off to the stable area to be fed and groomed. Mason quickly shuffled his way down the bridge to the main island, which was bustling with people going about their business in the market's and on their way home. In the center of the island was the government building, with dozens of carriers going to and from, carrying messages and proclamations and news. It was one such carrier that had delivered to him the announcement that he was to be a member of the council, and to report as soon as possible. It was hard to believe that he might have been so lucky. He had never considered himself one of great importance. But things had changed, and he had been in the right place at the right time, and sometimes, that was all it took.

He knew he should have been in a rush, but for all the times which Mason had visited Mansaic, he could never quite get over its beauty. The architecture of the buildings and landscaping was simple, yet elegant, with straight forms leading up to arcing tops. The edges of each section were made to the exact edge of the islands themselves, making it appear as though the man created structures grew directly from the ground. And plants grew from that earth and up the man made city, as if embracing it and making it apart of its own wild nature. Mason had never seen another place which had combined the two so seamlessly.

Of course, no one was quite sure of why the city floated. The grounds had simply been discovered one day after the taming of Ollen's kind. There were sparse few collections of the floating islands, and while a small number of them had been set to be untampered with, the islands of Mansaic had been transformed into something incredible. In their new world, it had become one of the most centralized spaces for mankind. Trade, law, and people were constantly coming in and out of Mansaic.

And now, somehow, miraculously, Mason was to be a central part of it.