#33 Ruins of Aer Cairn

Age: Millions of Years

Hidden or Lost?: Lost

History: The origins of the elves are shrouded in mystery, but some say that they literally descended from the sky, exiles from an ancient civilization, forced down to inhabit the woods and oceans of the world. The only remaining evidence of their aerial origins is Aer Cairn, the legendary city now known better as the “Ruins In the Clouds.”

Anyone foolish, lucky, or inventive enough to make their way to Aer Cairn will find a site like none other. The ruins are composed of ancient buildings, crumbling bridges, and worn roads, all built atop a bed of impossibly solid thunderheads. Looking down at the cloud-ground, it appears to be a roiling sea of dark gray waves, spitting lightning and thunder like seafoam. Yet the structures are held aloft either by pure magic or some trick of ancient Elvish engineering. Amazingly, the structures that remain from the city of Aer Cairn are covered in design influences that can still be seen in evolved forms among the ancestral architecture across every Elvish culture.

Some of the more incredible sights found among the ruins include The Wind Tunnels, a wall of unevenly stacked tubes that sing strange secret songs as the wind blows through them; there's also the remnants of The Fishaerie, an ornate ledge that appears to have been a bustling park space where the sky elves would angle for birds flying under and through the clouds; and there is The Command Expanse, a high tower atop which powerful elves with the gift of weathersight, would look out for tornadoes or stratohemoths, trying to predict where the wind would blow them. The lost culture of the sky elves is survived by an archive known as The Invisible Histories, a repository of zephyrs, gales, and other winds that have been magically invested with the memories of the people. One need only breathe them in to gain their knowledge.

The ruins of Aer Cairn are eerily quiet, but they are not empty. A single, immortal sky elf remains, defending the last semblance of her people, and holding the truth of the ruin that destroyed their floating civilization. Having seen her entire culture destroyed, she will not let any more be taken.

1. Command Expanse

2. Decompression Bend

3. Light Gem Repository

4. Gustsmith’s Workshop

5. Court of Heaven

6. The Wind Tunnels

7. Eye of the Cosmos

8. Great Bridge

9. The Rain Pools

10. Den of the Sky Elf

11. The Fishaerie

12. The Aerchive

13. The Sturmcellar

14. Atmostheater

15. Statue of Queen Thunda

16. Lightning Bank