Some two thousand years ago, as near as any historian can tell, some of landmasses of the world broke free from their tectonic plates, somehow rising into the sky without explanation. In defiance of all logic and the laws of physics, hundreds of islands floated above the ocean at dizzying heights.

To add further confusion to the rapid shift of geography, a ring of freak storms surrounded a group of the floating landmasses. In the span of roughly one month, five large isles (as well as numerous smaller surrounding islands) had been cut off from the rest of the world, unable to even see past the seemingly endless sheets of rain, and the torrents of thunder and lightning.

Humans, as humans do, survived through tenacity and adaptability. For two thousand years, the people of the five isles lived, worked, and evolved. Aside from the storm ring, the fatal drop, and the floating, not much else had changed for the inhabitants. Gravity still worked, plants still grew, and human ingenuity continued to shape the world. Somehow the rivers and lakes of the floating planets stayed full, with frequent rain from the storm ring replenishing the water supplies as fast as they drained. For two thousand years, mankind grew better, smarter.

Yet through all that time, one question never stopped being asked: why?" Why had the islands been torn away from their rightful home? What kept the isles aloft? As more time passed, and the five islands remained cut off from the rest of the planet, another question formed as well. What was out there? Perhaps answers. Perhaps more humans.

After the first brave inventor put their parachute to the test, long ago, humanity has been working since then to get back to the ground. The Isles came together on common ground, the United Isles, working for the betterment of everyone within the Ring of Thunder, as they had taken to calling it. The United Isles Naval Coalition was chartered some eighty years ago, and began work on a series of massive elevators, which would finally allow the people of the United Isles to reach the ground.

It was slow going. Fifty years of hard work and experimentation and construction, but eventually the first of the lifts was finished. Christened the "Doherty Outreach Center", humans were finally able to safely travel to sea level and back, and more importantly, large quantities of cargo were finally able to be moved as well.

Alongside the construction of the Outreach Centers, UINC also worked to create new ship technology. Pleasure Yachts and little lake-craft were well established on the islands, but few bodies of water were large enough to accommodate exploration ships, which were massive by comparison. The construction of these ships really only could begin at sea level.

To shorten the story, the world is in a state of constant excitement. An earlier ship expedition found another obelisk beyond the storms, and now everyone and their mother is trying to go out and explore. Great caches of valuable materials--gold, silver, cotton fields--have also been discovered, and everyone wants a piece.

Anyone can use an Outreach Center, provided they reserve use of the lift in advance. Unfortunately, this can often mean waiting years, as there is a large backup of requests. However, on short notice, anyone who is deemed fit enough can take the Drop.

You are on the Garrloch. For whatever reason, you and your fellow crewmates want to see what is out there. Gold, glory...answers from the past. Who knows what could be waiting?