Chapter 4: A new beginning:

The ship rose up into the clouds. As they set off. The screeches got louder and louder by the second and more clearer to hear. Daisy’s face turned red. She started loading up the cannons to the brim. Finn unloaded the swords and guns and filled them up with bullets. The faster they worked, the slower they felt. 

At that moment, he heard the flattering wings of the enemies skyship and saw the destruction of a far island come into view. From high above deck, Daisy yelled:

“Enemy incoming!”

Captain Summerside grabbed her telescope and paused. They were here. Black fog swarmed the sky like a midnight blanket. Get ready…

Something was arriving. Something could be heard. Something menacing. They were here. The wheel was like a car on a motorway. At that moment, the battle begun… The ship rocked from side to side, left to right. Finn grabbed the sky-breakers and pushed them to the floor. Daisy swung them off and watched them fall to their fate.

Unknowingly, Daisy flicked a lever. Her hands gripped onto it and pulled it down. All of a sudden, the skyship vents let out some sort of gas that repelled all of the enemies onboard. Above, Daisy and Finn lay at the edge of the deck, exhausted. Below, Captain begun treating Summer with special potions.

A few moments later, Daisy and Finn got back to work (throwing the corpses off the ship). As the sun rose, new horisons appeared, and new adventures were revealed…

Chapter 2: The figure:

Over the next hour, the weather didn’t get any better. The sails were torn apart by shards of hail, the deck drowned in a bat of ice ans the wheel was practically a snowman by now. The rip in the balloon intensified and started to expand immensely. The sharp hail wasn’t helping either. Where were they going to land!?

High above the deck Daisy yelled 

“Oncoming island!”.

Captain Summerside spun the wheel left, right, left, right. Outside, Daisy frowned in determination destined to find summer. Inside, she was screaming in agony and fear. Finn glanced at the edge of the island and screamed:

“I think this is the island she landed on!”

He pulled out his map (gripping tight onto the edges) they were landing on Blood-side island.

Minutes passed as they drifted into view of the island and landed safely onto the sand. 

“Search the ship!” shouted the captain “ that’s the only way we will make any progress.”

Daisy pulled out a crimson book from a rusty chest, she rubbed off all the dust and spotted, in the corner, Summer Enser’s initials. SE.

Daisy, Finn and the Captain all split up and searched every corner, every tree ans every mountain of the island. They found nothing. The only evidence Summer Ensers was there is that book. That, book.

Suddenly, from out of the bushes, came some sort of black silhouette that darted from bush to hedge, hedge to bush. They think nothing of it and continue searching. All of a sudden, a voice came from behind Daisy. She turned…

Escape the fear of darkness and fly to the world of pixie dust.

Destroy the unrevealed castle of surprises and control the unknown.

Enter the sound of waves crashing against your feet and grab the feeling of calmness.

Stroll to the middle of the ocean and smell the aroma of glistening sea glass.

Climb to the top of Jack’s beanstalk and hide in the giants shoe.

Travel to the centre of Firm Forest and eat the berries hiding in the bushes.

Find the golden gate and step through into the forest of secrets.

Give the fire god  the giant’s gold and ask for a truce.

Throw the remaining berries into the lake of magic.

Swim through the sea of sadness and find the source of joy.

Put a smile on your face and listen to the whispering of the wind, shaking branches like a squirrel on the run.

Prologue

Have you ever had a family day trip on a skyship? In summer you would have flown over London, soaring high above the hills and across the Bright Bridge. When you flew, there would have been blue skies, a soft breeze and that wonderful beam of sunlight dancing on your legs. When you flown, there would have been the building far below, rich houses with their brightly coloured windows and even a school of kind-hearted children. You probably got taken to one of the nearby islands and landed the skyship so that you could have a picnic. Travelling by skyship in the summer is like that: warm and exiting. 

But travelling on an expedition to unknown destinations is a whole other matter. You should try a skyship journey when the rain floods the the deck, the thunder growls around you and the sky is cut apart by jagged rips in the sky. You should try being there when sky horses attack, spreading across the clouds ready to kick you until you are lying in a pool of blood, or worse, tear the skyships inflatable apart! You should try being there when the food supply runs out and there is not even a drop of liquid in the barrels. Few people would wish that on anyone. Even experienced flyers think twice about travelling west over the unknown islands. Noone knows what creatures might live there. Rumour has it that there are fire-tigers, blood-dragons and cave horses. Few would wish for an encounter with a frost bull… and most say the rumours are for a good reason.

Chapter 1

The crowds cheered as the skyship Sonder took action and fired up into the air, rising up like a helium balloon into the sky’s atmosphere. Captain Summerside gripped the steering wheel, giving all the citizens a comfortable grin before setting sail into the adventure. There they go!

Finn and Daisy beamed down at the crowds beneath them. Miles below, they could see the jumping outlines of people waving and encouraging them on. The Sonder sailed above Brandon, passing over a brick wall of fields separated by roads and lanes that joined from village to town, down to the beach.

They could hear the cool breeze run along the summer draft as the Sonder drifted forwards. Twisting their heads behind, they waved farewell to the ongoing crowds from different villages. The children turned to each other both with an exited grin on their faces. Daisy smiled, exited to again be on an adventure. Inside, her heart seemed to skip a beat and her brain scattered all the worries around like peas on a plate.

Within what seemed like an hour had passed, the Sonder was sailing above the blue sea like a bird skimming the ocean top. Far below, Finn could see the passing boats and fish bobbing up and down in the water. Gripping the deck edges, Finn asked: 

“I wonder if we will make it back to Brandon?” biting his fingernails.

Daisy licked her lips and replied, “Don’t be such a scaredy cat Finn! Last time you were this scared was the time the boards creaked and you thought it was gonna fall and we were gonna die.”

As the moon flickered behind the clouds, the weather turned, hail started racing down like shooting stars on a midnight walk. All of a sudden, a sharp ripping sound could be heard from across the deck. Daisy saw the shining lights dancing onto the skyship and she gripped the deck. They were in trouble.

Dear Captain Harriet Culpepper,

I am writing to you to apply for a job on the skyship Aurora as a member of the crew for your next journey. I hope that you accept me as a young, determined skyship traveller who will bring many different skills and talents to the team on many different journeys.

To start off, I would like to point out that I can control the wheel despite cold, dangerous weather. As a result of this, I can assure you that you have nothing to worry about when I am handling the wheel. To add to this, I am exceptionally skilled at cooking any requested food that has been asked for.

My qualifications include an A level degree in skyship engineering. As a result of this, I would be able to fix any technical problems that occur on any journeys that follow. Another degree out of many others would be that I have a qualification in master sewing. This would come in handy if one of the sails (or other essential fabric equipment) needs urgent mending.

Moreover, I have had previous experience on other skyships and all went fantastically well. Previous travellers reported back that their journey was a success.

Please consider me for a role as a new crew member. I don’t take up much space, I would sleep on deck and I don’t eat much.

Yours sincerely,

Louisa Silkstone

The Explorers Handbook

This handbook will help you decide how and what you will need for your next adventure. It will also tell you to either avoid or tame/become friends with any creature you discover.

A to D

Remember to always carry a portal amulet with you on every journey or adventure. They can be exceptionally helpful when you are travelling to different worlds and/or dimensions. Beware of piles of leaves and compacted dirt as this may well be a bottomless pit. Never! Forget to equip your crystal healer, as it is very common to break your crystals in your pocket. If you encounter a dragon, be aware of what colours it is. If the spotted dragon is yellow+green then slowly approach and ask for advice. If it is red+purple, slowly back away until you are at least 12 metres away from it then you may start running away quietly.

E to H

Stay well away from elves, they may look kind and welcoming but inside they are ferocious multicoloured beasts that will attack at any chance they get. It is guaranteed you will run into a situation where carrying fireworks will be life saving, for example, if it is dark and you urgently need help then just set off a firework and you will be out of there in no time! Always remember to check under every bridge as they are a jackpot for goblins. Always avoid hedgehogs as they are a killer of us humans and will have no hesitation to shoot a spike right through our hearts.

I to L

Don’t forget to bring your invisible bridge with you, which is an essential, at all times as there is a high chance your going to need it. Your jacket of protection is going to be necessary for when you are fighting a huge dragon monster. Always remember to bring your knife of a thousand shards with you in case you need to chop a mountain in half to continue your journey. Keep your levitation spell locked in your brain in case you need to urgently use it.

M to P 

Be careful of mermaids. They may look colourful and kind but they are killers inside. Never go into the never ending night forest of forever. Remember to bring the one weapon forged with the greatest of metals. Just incase you run into a sticky situation, always bring a spare Phoenix gem.

Q to T

Always follow the map, if not you may never finish your quests. Travel to ravens point to gain information from the ravens. Never pull out the sword from the stone or you will be trapped underground forever. Beware of the trees of torture as they may well hook their vines on your feet and drag you down.

U to X

Always ask a unicorn for advice on your journey. Bring the paper of visitation spells with you. Ask for directions to the Xanthus kingdom by the Wizards lair

Y and Z

Bring the yo yo of destruction on your adventure, in case you need to defeat a manticore. Beware of zombies as getting bitten by one could lead to disastrous consequences. (Becoming a zombie).

On the island of Persinoh, 

I stood in a cave, staring at crystals smiling at me from the entrance

On the island of Fireon,

I stepped into a smoky room and glared at ferocious flames forming in seconds.

On the island of Kensil,

Vines grab the floor and building-climbers race down the mossy path.

On the island of Densil,

I tasted tropical fruits filled to the brim with magic hidden deep inside.

On the island of Heronio,

I watched as Heroes flew around like swarming birds arguing over a single chip.

It was a frigid afternoon in November. Snow drowned the streets of Brandon for miles on end. Flakes of water and debris drifted along the side-walk. Margarida glanced out of her window at the snowy paradise that lay in front of her. She ran downstairs to the door of the flat, grabbed the package, and headed out.

Margarida scanned through the large line of foreigners and stepped in the queue. She was moments away from being at the checkpoint. Her mind scanning through what her dad told her-keep your head low- don’t make eye contact with anyone-.

“Oh no you don’t!”, snapped the guard, putting his arm in front of her chest, “Noone gets past me!”.

Margarida’s palms start to sweat uncontrollably.

“I-I’m delivering a p-post to a c-customer,” stuttered Margarida.

“Give me that!” shouted the guard, he paused, “Alright, i’ll let you off.”

Margarida strolled through the checkpoint relieved she could actually get through. She was stunned to the point of silence: Street lamps glistened in the light; people walked around proud to be alive; aged shops were feeding customers to the limit, it was incredible!

‘CRASH!!’

“Oops sorry I didn’t mean to bump into you sir!” said Margarida nervously.” Really I-,”

“Watch where your going!”

Suddenly, Margarida found herself getting robbed!

“Sir please can you let go!?” she said with a fraction of hope.

Desperately, Margarida crawled out of his grasp: traumatised. Out of the blue, Margarida found herself in an abandoned building and hid.