As in many fantastical stories, Ferella is home to floating rocks. While these may seem to be magical defiances of reality, it is entirely possible that these rare formations are natural. Only one formation, on the Giant’s Hand island, has been documented. While the mythos of its creation may suggest otherwise, it is unlikely that magic formed this phenomenon. Instead, many of our scientists theorize that magnetic forces may be forcing rocks away from the ground and suspending them. This theory comes from ancient texts that describe the planet Eurth’s rotation. Ancient humans believed that their home planet rotated, thus causing a magnetic pull of some sort. In some places, magnetic rocks could theoretically be repelled by such forces.

This is such a rare phenomena that further speculation would be as properly supported as theories about magic. Thus, we will refrain from further elaboration in this report. The rest of this report will instead focus on the cultural study of those who live near the floating rocks.

It is not uncommon for locals to make their homes atop rocks in the Giant’s Hand, and rumors circulate of buildings built on such rocks elsewhere. Those who choose these locations have cited a variety of reason, including but not limited to the lack of sovereignty over these rock chunks. Others believe that the magic that causes the rocks to float is beneficial to health, and more still claim that it assists them with their own studies or magical research.

Everyday life on these rocks presents a challenge for locals since the rocks do not support their own ecosystems. Instead, people living there must descend on a near-daily basis to collect water and hunt. Crops seem to sustain themselves there, particularly those common in mountain areas. Locals have had to travel far to transplant hardy species of crops, herbs, flowers, and trees from mountainous regions for cultivation on their rocks. For this reason, plant life is valued heavily. Sometimes ground-dwellers in the region will make special trips to visit the rocks and see the plants that are so different from the ones local to the area.

One family claims that their home became unlivable for a short while, and they commissioned a druid to save their ancestral home. The druid determined that the air had “fled” from the location, but was unable to do anything permanent to help the family. The druid referred them to a wizard from our facility, who then brought the region to our attention. With our permission, the wizard performed some experimental magic borrowed from our space travel experiments and used the spell to encase the rock in a magical bubble to keep the air in. She also recommended that the family grow trees within the bubble to help produce oxygen, and they planted their “Mother Tree” in the home’s living room. The tree and the family thrive at the time of this report.

Signed, Eldi Deer-Threader, cultural anthropologist