Magic Static Layer... Turbulent Layer...
Gawain was not deeply versed in these concepts, but neither were they unfamiliar to him.
More than a thousand years ago, scholars of the Gondor Empire had attempted to understand the sky above their heads and had compiled a great deal of valuable knowledge. In this world where magic governed all things, scholars had classified the atmosphere by considering both the Magic Environment and its physical structure. Without taking overly specialized, detailed classifications into account, they had roughly divided the atmosphere from bottom to top into the following layers: the Magic Static Layer, the Turbulent Layer, the theoretically existing Steady State Limit Layer, and the conjectured outer space.
The Magic Static Layer was the region in which nearly all life on this planet survived and could reach. It extended upward from the ground to an altitude of roughly thirteen thousand meters. Within this region, the Magic Environment was stable, and atmospheric movement was relatively orderly. Whether mortal kingdoms or the birds and beasts of nature, all were immersed in this cradle of magic as gentle as a soft breeze and drizzle. Mortal magical civilization flourished, and birds soared freely through the sky.
Above the Magic Static Layer, however, the planet began to reveal another face—the Magic Environment in the air suddenly became fierce, and magic readings shot straight upward, turning this region into an "energy-rich zone." Yet this abundant energy was violently unstable. Omnipresent Magic Power Storms made the Turbulent Layer extraordinarily dangerous. No mortal could draw magic from this boiling sea of energy and survive—nor could any ordinary bird fly at such an altitude. It was said that only a handful of powerful Monsters and dragons, practically a legendary race, could soar through the Turbulent Layer, and even they could not remain there for