An odd and determined traveler has been journeying for days when he finally manages to see his destination in the distance. He notices something unusual when he finally sees it: it’s enveloped in a bath of clouds. One might think, wow, clouds at ground level? How curious. But the reality will be exposed as the days pass and he gets closer and closer to the castle without yet reaching it. The closer he gets, the more he can see the clouds rise, just like the castle itself.

What kind of person would want to live so high up in the sky? You might ask. The same kind of person who dreams of reaching the stars, of course. Besides, this type of elevated fortress comes with defensive advantages, that is, no one would even think of attacking something that is so high up, right? Well, that's where logic and reality seem to come into dispute again.

Because our traveling friend’s intention is precisely to infiltrate the castle. A knight from the rival faction, a faction whose goal was not to reach the sky, but the seas. It will not be possible for him to enter through the main entrance; he will have to climb up the side and reach the top. But his goals are not vile; he actually intends to rescue someone, one of their elders, who has been captured by the king for interrogation. The knight has heard rumors about this king and his people, rumors that are nothing more than half-truths and distortions of reality.

According to these rumors, the king is a ruthless man who invites his rivals only to imprison them forever. The reality is that, in effect, he does imprison them, but not for being his rivals, but because the king fears everyone who is not like him; he is an extremely cowardly king whose fear controls him and leads him to commit unjust and immoral acts.

It is rumored that the king had a daughter whom he treats like glass and does not even allow her to get close to others; he has her locked in a room, and no one has seen her in years. But in reality, his daughter is the fiercest warrior in the kingdom; despite his concern for her safety, he allowed her to develop as a warrior, and she became the kingdom's golden warrior. Speaking of this warrior, it is rumored that she is the cruelest person who ever existed, but in reality, she is extremely kind, and despite her incredible combat skills and unlike her father, she seeks to avoid conflict at all costs, leaning towards dialogue and compassion. It is no secret that she has ordered the cook, in her role as a princess, to feed every prisoner of the king very well behind his back.

Another rumor speaks of how wicked the inhabitants of the kingdom are. In reality, they are common people—some warriors feed the birds, others have pets, the cook and the silo operator get along so well that some think they have a loving relationship. Perhaps in their efforts to conquer the sky and the horizon, these factions forgot to keep a brick on the plate, a common ground that would allow them to see that at the end of the day, they share many more things than what differentiates them. If someone were to find the knight during his rescue mission, a huge battle could start; unless, of course, he meets a specific person, one who understands what he is doing and that he is not looking to harm anyone, simply to save one of his own, something that anyone in that castle would also do. Perhaps if that happens... who knows.

The idea of the castle in the sky comes from fantasy stories where a castle rises up to the heavens and under the logic that if one faction possibly belongs to the sea, the other might come from the clouds. As for its design, it was lightly inspired by Bouzov Castle. I also took a lot of inspiration for the mill, the mill room, and the houses of Bianco Hills from the Super Mario Sunshine video game.