In the center of the Llof, a giant petrified Cumulonimbus cloud towers over a few small islands. This is the Cloud Palace, home to the Civilized Dakiuzuiam. Depending on the context, the name “Cloud Palace” may refer only to the cloud itself, or the Dakiuzuiam’s territory as a whole, including the surrounding islands.

Formation of the Cloud Palace

The Cloud Palace consists of petrified Cloud Fungus. It is assumed that it originated during the Sunfall, which apparently caused rapid petrification of Cloud Fungi all over the Llof, as evidenced by the many fully cloud-shaped formations from that time period. What is special about the Cloud Palace is its huge size, in particular the height. As Cloud Fungi grow slowly, especially vertically, the original Cumulonimbus cloud must have been present in this exact place for a very long period of time before its petrification, presumably for years, for it to be so interspersed with Cloud Fungus.

The Cloud Palace contains many natural caves. Archeological findings show that it was briefly inhabited during the Sunfall, presumably by the Dakiuzuiam’s ancestors as they were seeking shelter from the burning sun outside. It is commonly assumed that it was the Cloud Palace that shielded the Dakiuzen Rasvrisuam from the sun’s radiation and prevented them from undergoing the same genetic mutations as their siblings on the Asiulvesacam, leading to the emergence of the two species Asiuluiam and Dakiuzuiam. Nowadays, the natural caves of the Cloud Palace have been extended by many artifical tunnels and housings, and only little is preserved of the original structures.

The Cloud Palace is also a dimensional anomaly. Similar to how the Llof as a whole regularly shifts its position in the Star Dimension, creating the impression of abrupt rotations, parts of the Cloud Palace also seem to constantly moving around. It appears that the Cloud Palace is internally composed of several tiny dimensions, whose crossings with the outer dimensions change positions. Luckily, this follows a regular schedule, so that the Dakiuzuiam are able to reliably predict the Cloud Palace’s composition at each point in time. From a distance, the shifting crossings can give the Cloud Palace a blurry, surreal look.

Cloud Palace Districts

The Cloud Palace is subdivided into many districts (usually corresponding to the mini-dimensions), which can be grouped into the Upper Plain, the Upper Districts, the Lower Districts and the Underground. Movement within the Cloud Palace is either by foot, by using the subway that runs horizontally through the districts, or by using the large elevators in the central tube that connect the districts vertically.

The Upper Plain district is the outside area on top of the Cloud Palace. It is not inhabited, but used for agriculture.

The Upper and Lower Districts comprise all of the interior areas above the cloud plain level. The division between Upper and Lower is merely a geographical one; both halves of the Cloud Palace contain a mixture of residential, commercial, and industrial areas. The sunward side of the Cloud Palace is largely reserved for food production (vertical gardening) and premium housing.

Finally, the name “Underground” refers to the caves below the cloud plain level. These are the slums of the Cloud Palace. The segregation between the Underground and the rest of the Cloud Palace runs so deep that most of the Underground’s inhabitants don’t even have Cloud Palace citizenship. There is no public infrastructure in the Underground; no schools, no healthcare, and no jurisdiction.

Surrounding area

The Cloud Palace is surronded by a few smaller islands which are also counted towards the Dakiuzuiam’s territory. Apart from a few private estates, they are almost exclusively used for agriculture.