Thimbleful Thursday Fic - Groundfall

My attempt at this week's Thimbleful Thursday Prompt. Unedited and unpolished as I literally just wrote it. Set in my prompt world Afeli.

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Sila needed to get the Swan of Heaven out of this storm before it tore the balloon or blew out the essence engines. Curse the ground dwelling weather worker who'd summoned it. Why couldn't they just let it rain or not where nature intended instead of messing with it. If she could have spared the time she'd have cast a few magefire grenades over the side to destroy the crops they were trying to save.

"We'll have to land, captain!" Her first mate, Anzil, said. "We're not going to make it."

Sila clutched the wheel tighter and tried to ignore him. The nearest Sky Island was half a day's flight away, landing now would mean landing on the Islands below. The ones surround by water not air. The ones that housed the people who had summoned this very storm with no consideration for their sky dwelling neighbours. She couldn't inflict the ground on her crew.

"Captain!" Anzil repeated even as the first essence engine whined and died.

Sila's shoulder's slumped. There was no way they would reach Taril now.

She took a breath. "Prepare for groundfall." She said, the swan's essence system picking up her voice and ensuring the entire crew heard it. "Arm yourselves. Hide." She closed her eyes. "Until this storm clears it's every man for themselves."