God's Island and Hidden Cloud Village

God's Island, Upper Yard.

Sakazuki and Cricket followed the God's Attendant along the road leading to the Temple.

Enormous trees towered into the sky all around them.

"This is incredible. Sky Island has land too, and trees this huge."

Cricket marveled as he followed behind Sakazuki. Hearing him, the God's Attendant ahead turned back and spoke reverently:

"Sky Island had no land before, either. This land was a gift from God."

"Four hundred years ago, right?"

At Sakazuki's words, Cricket froze, then sharply turned to look at him.

The God's Attendant ahead spoke again:

"Do people in the Blue Sea know about it too?"

"No, I just heard about it on the way here."

Listening to their exchange, Cricket gazed around in shock and excitement.

It was as though he wanted to etch every detail of the scenery into his memory.

Before long, a pure white Palace came into view.

Unlike the castle-style buildings on Angel Island, the great hall had an ancient architectural style that looked solemn and imposing.

A long-bearded man in a robe appeared at the entrance.

The attendant was just about to speak when the man waved a hand. The attendant paused, then lowered his head and withdrew.

The white-robed man approached the two of them and extended his right hand.

"Greetings, mighty adventurer from the Blue Sea."

"I am Gan Fall."

Sakazuki looked at the thin man before him and extended his right hand, speaking in a low voice.

"Sakazuki."

Inside the hall.

Once the two had taken their seats.

Gan Fall looked at them and spoke:

"Adventurer from the Blue Sea, I know you have many questions, but would you hear a story first?"

Sakazuki nodded slightly, signaling for Gan Fall to continue. In truth, he already had a rough idea of what this was about.

Gan Fall looked at the map on the table and began in a hoarse voice.

"It was roughly four hundred years ago."

"The Land of Gods was still a very peaceful place."

"The people back then were simple and kind."

"Occasionally, they salvaged the few supplies carried up by the Knock Up Stream."

"The people of the sky treasured every one of them."

"All the Vearth on Sky Island arrived in the sky through such chance occurrences."

"For a mass of Vearth as enormous as Upper Yard... reaching the sky should have been impossible."

"Yet that miracle happened."

"The people of the sky naturally believed it was a sacred land bestowed by the heavens, and rejoiced."

"But... that Vearth had its own native inhabitants."

"They were the Shandia People."

"The God of that time and the people of the sky believed it was a gift from the heavens."

"A sacred land where only God could live."

"They cast greedy eyes upon that vast expanse of Vearth."

"And so the battle over Vearth began."

"For four hundred years since then, the war between the Shandia People and the people of the sky has continued to this day, never once stopping."

"And at some point..."

"An ancient legend began to spread among the people of the sky. Long ago, on the day the sacred God's Island was born, the island's beautiful song rang throughout the land."

"The war between the Shandia and the sky people began then, as though that song had been the signal for battle."

"When the island sings again, that will be the day the war ends."

"..."

Elsewhere.

The Shandia People settlement, Hidden Cloud Village.

Standing on an enormous leaf of the Giant Vine, Kulen, a descendant of the great warrior Kalgara, gazed toward Upper Yard.

He instructed his two children behind him.

"Baro, Gos, do you know?"

"Our Shandia People ancestors originally lived in the Blue Sea."

"They lived in the sacred city of Shandora."

"The great warrior Kalgara always protected our homeland."

"But four hundred years ago..."

"The Knock Up Stream swept Shandora up to this Sky Island."

"It could never return to the Blue Sea."

"That alone was painful enough."

"But..."

"Those people on Sky Island actually called it a gift, a sacred land, and seized it."

"Our ancestors were driven from their homeland."

"They could no longer return to the sacred city."

"They weren't even allowed to touch the soil of their homeland."

His hate-filled voice rang through the sky.

"Four hundred long years!"

"We Shandia People have endured humiliation all this time."

"Upper Yard belongs to us. We must take it back."

"Our homeland..."

"Our honor..."

"All of it..."

"We must... rekindle... the Lamp of Shandora!"

"Kill every last one of those damned Skypieans..."

God's Island, Upper Yard.

"For what our ancestors did in stealing the Shandia People's homeland..."

"I have never found an answer to how we should apologize. All I have been able to do is helplessly watch time pass."

"I am truly powerless."

"If I could, I would bow my head before every one of them and admit our wrongdoing, to atone to the Shandia who lost their lives over these four hundred years in pursuit of their homeland."

"But the hatred between the people of the sky and the Shandia People runs too deep. Though I have tried to ease it over the years, I have achieved very little. We cannot communicate at all."

"So I would like to ask you, mighty adventurer..."

"To enter the Shandia People's settlement."

"And convey my wish for peaceful coexistence."

Gan Fall rose and bowed deeply to Sakazuki.

"Please."

Extra: Original story timeline

1,100 years ago, the golden city of Shandora was still flourishing.

1,000 years ago, the ancient ritual of the golden city of Shandora, the Living Altar, had already long existed.

800 years ago, the flourishing golden city of Shandora fell for unknown reasons, and the surviving Shandia People reverted to a tribal way of life.

They upheld the commandment forbidding outsiders from entering, guarding the ruins of the golden city and the Poneglyph they could not read.