Sky Vine

The general idea is nailed down, details are flexible.

Sky vines are a genus of vine which exhibit large gass filled structures at some stage in their development. They are so named for floating into the sky, and for growing on solid-clouds

Species

There are two main species of Sky Vines: Fly Vines and Nimbus Vines.

Fly Vines

Fly Vines are just like a cross between vines, baloons, and kelp. They have huge bladders filled with floating gas, and stretch up from a solid surface, usually rock. They often become entangled in the solid-clouds, which will then hold them up, allowing some of the Fay to make the bubbles into their dwelling places. Doing this entices the fly vine to create more bubbles nearby, which leads to more inhabitants, and eventually develops huge cities of Fay, suspended between the earth and sky.

Fly vines regularly grow several miles in length, and to a thickness of more than 4m. Their bubbles are around 12m across.

Nimbus Vines

Nimbus Vines subsist solely on solid-clouds, and any long-lasting solid-cloud will soon be entwined in them. They often hang down to bear their fruit, which are slightly positively bouyant bubbles. These, too, are often claimed by Fay and inhabited.

Nibmus vines are much less sturdy than other Sky Vines, and are easily torn by hand. They are a watery green color, and have a satiny texture due to the thousands of hairs which line their surface, which keep the nimbus vines from sinking through the solid clouds, and anchor them more securely. They are usually around 8cm in diameter, and their bubbles grow to around a meter in diameter.

Bead Vines

These tiny Sky Vines look like strings of beads. Their bubbles, rarely larger than 1cm, are so thin that they look nearly transparent, though often tinged with many different colors.

Reproduction

When ripe sky vines release from the surface to drift up into the outer fire. Here they are converted to Fay dust, and settle back down where the dust grows new sky vines. Some species break into several pieces when ripe, where others drift in a large mass. Some species release together to overwhelm the herbiverous creatures which live in the outer fire.

Questions/ideas

• Where can sky vines NOT grow? Probably on sand, where they have nothing to grab on to, and thus float away. There could be plants which are hard for the sky vines to grab on to as well.
• There could be some creatures which suck the buoyant gases from the bubbles to allow themselves to fly more easily!
• What kind of strange creatures would live on/in sky vines?
• How large are sky vines? a few inches in diameter? A few meters? Are there different varieties that "mature" at different times/stages?